Re: Notes on the Internet for Bell Heads

2002-07-12 Thread Sandy Harris



 ... But there doesn't seem to
 be anything that helps Bell heads understand what switching, routing
 or signaling means on the Internet.  There are a lot of words which are
 spelled alike, but mean very different things in the Bell world and the
 Internet world.
 
 I've been thinking of it like driving in England or the USA.  We drive
 on different sides of the road.  Its safe until you get someone who
 doesn't know the rules of the road driving on the other side of the
 Atlantic.  So how do you explain the rules of the Internet road to someone
 used to driving on the telephone system?

Padlipsky's Elements of Networking Style may be the funiest technical
book ever written. It is a really vicious critique of the whole OSI
approach, written mid-80s. Some chapters are also available as RFCs,
I think 871-875.

If you know what you're doing, three layers are enough. If not, even
 17 won't save you.



Re: SPEWS?

2002-06-20 Thread Sandy Harris


Andy Johnson wrote:

  Let me clarify, then.
 
  If the offending ISP does not respond, and you have exhausted all avenues
  available to you to get the ISP to get its customer to stop spamming -
  whether by TOS'ing the customer, education or whatever -

... and you've waited a reasonable time ...

Then the ISP is obviously either incompetent or deliberately aiding the
spammers. Why should you even consider anything less than blacklisting
every netblock the ISP has? 

  then escalation may work if the collateral damage caused by escalation
  is enough to get the spammers' neighbors to complain to the ISP.

The objective isn't just to stop that spammer. If the ISP is clearly
acting irresponsibly and not dealing with a spam problem, getting them
to wake up is more important than the individual spammer.

  And I don't think this is a potential solution only for spam; it is
  appropriate (IMESHO) in other abusive situations too.
 
 
 Doesn't anyone see the irony here? Fighting abuse with abuse is somewhat
 counter-productive. ...

Not if its the only way to wake up that ISP.

Of course, this sort of block must be a last desparate measure. At
a minimum, the spammer's been at it for weeks and you've mailed abuse,
postmaster and the whois contacts without eliciting a response from
the ISP, before you even consider it. 

Even then, you should likely try phoning the ISP and/or browsing
their website for other contact addresses before taking such a
drastic action.

But if drastic action seems the only way, don't stop at half
measures. Blackhole every netblock they have, and for all
packet types, not just email.