Re: spam whore, norcal-systems.net

[I Am Not An Isp <patrick () ianai net>]

[I shouldn't but.....]

At 09:43 PM 2/2/99 -0500, Dean Anderson wrote:
> You have the right to monitor,  but you weren't monitoring in the first
> place. And thats why Ravi's monitoring and publishing is legal?  You sound
> like the manager on Dilbert.

I repeat, please state clearly how Ravi is "monitoring" this client?
Unless you expect every host on the 'Net to ignore port numbers.....

> I'll tell you what. I'll do my part. I'll assume I was a recipient of one
> of Norcals spams (in fact I think I was), and thus being one of the parties
> whose electronic privacy was violated I can complain about Verio's
> unauthorized monitoring. I didn't give Verio permission. Norcal didn't give
> Verio permission. I'll forward the post to norcal and verio's agents, and
> the US attorney. 

I wonder if Dean thinx it is "illegal" for the phone company to stop
allowing you to connect long distance calls if you do not pay your bill.
Personally, I think it is a nearly parallel case.  You and the phone
company enter into a contract, a business relationship with the telco -
just like an ISP's AUP.  You break part of the contract (don't pay your
bill / send spam).  They deny you service (filter long distance / filter
port 25).  Hey, the phone company has to "monitor" the conversation to see
if it's local or long distance, don't they? :)

I wonder if web caches are now illegal.  They "monitor" port 80 - hell,
they go further.  They monitor individual URLs.  Looks like all web caches
are illegal.

I wonder if e-mail forwarding is illegal.  You have to "monitor" it to see
that it really is on port 25 and even look to see the user name in some cases!

I wonder if MRTG is illegal.  Or even HPOV.  That *definitely* counts as
"monitoring". :)

Things like NetFlow stats and traffic analysis are now out of the question.
 You get to GUESS where to put the next link 'cause otherwise you are ...
breaking the law.

I'm beginning to think that the "World According to Dean" is actually
*more* restrictive than the current world 99% of us live in.

> Thanks.  Now maybe we can get a court case on record.

One can only hope.

>               --Dean

TTFN,
patrick

I Am Not An Isp
www.ianai.net
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