ORBS sucked into a black hole!

Declan McCullagh declan at well.com
Mon Jun 11 21:13:08 PDT 2001


I see I was unclear.

I never said ORBS is an *accurate* reputation-publishing tool. I have
never said it was entirely focused on spammers. I have never said I
uncritically accept it or use it on the machines for which I am responsible.*

But it is, nevertheless, beyond question that ORBS and its progeny
allow their operators to broadcast their views about what they think
about some certain network addresses or domains. If they go too far
and are too zealous, the market will move toward a better solution.

Like I said, very cypherpunkly.

-Declan


* In fact, I wrote earlier this year: Slashdot ran a thought-provoking
piece not so long ago about how anti-spam measures (that I have long
endorsed) like the RBL and its progeny are moving from blackholing
spammers to blackholing sites with software that *could be used* to
spam. While that's a private activity, it's treading the same path
that Rep. Bob Goodlatteis with his plan to criminalize software that
could be used to send bulk messages. At least the RBL is limited by
market pressures: If it goes too far, ISPs will stop using it. But
while free markets are the best way we've found yet to order society,
they're hardly perfect, and RBL could overreact and restrict some
folks who are undeserving in the interim.




On Mon, Jun 11, 2001 at 09:28:56PM -0500, measl at mfn.org wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Jun 2001, Declan McCullagh wrote:
> 
> > ORBS is a reputation-publishing tool.
> 
> Total Bullshit.
> 
> None of my domains have *ever* had a single spamming incident, yet we were
> on their list.  I guess our reputation was that we were *potential*
> spammers?  
> 
> Fuck ORBS.
> 
> > -Declan
> 
> -- 
> Yours, 
> J.A. Terranson
> sysadmin at mfn.org
> 
> If Governments really want us to behave like civilized human beings, they
> should give serious consideration towards setting a better example:
> Ruling by force, rather than consensus; the unrestrained application of
> unjust laws (which the victim-populations were never allowed input on in
> the first place); the State policy of justice only for the rich and 
> elected; the intentional abuse and occassionally destruction of entire
> populations merely to distract an already apathetic and numb electorate...
> This type of demogoguery must surely wipe out the fascist United States
> as surely as it wiped out the fascist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
> 
> The views expressed here are mine, and NOT those of my employers,
> associates, or others.  Besides, if it *were* the opinion of all of
> those people, I doubt there would be a problem to bitch about in the
> first place...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------





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