Re: sorbs.net

[Robert Bonomi <bonomi () mail r-bonomi com>]

> From owner-nanog () merit edu  Tue Mar 15 14:28:29 2005
> To: Robert Bonomi <bonomi () mail r-bonomi com>
> Cc: nanog () merit edu
> Subject: Re: sorbs.net 
> From: Valdis.Kletnieks () vt edu
> Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 15:28:17 -0500
>
>
> On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 13:42:24 CST, Robert Bonomi said:
>
> > As with any other 'voluntary use' blocklist, it's "clout" is only as good
> > as the number of people using it.  If serious questions arose as to the
> > 'integrity' of the list, or the list operator, the vast majority of the
> > mail-server operators using it would *stop* doing so. And any lack of
> > integrity would be a moot issue, since 'practically nobody' would still
> > be using it.  It is _textbook_perfect_ "self regulation" at work.
>
> This is, of course, making the rather big assumption that the person who
> decided to use said blocklist:
>
> a) was fully cognizant of the list's goals and policies when they chose to use it.

nope.

> *and*
> b) is willing and able to track deviations on an ongoing basis.

Yup.  That _is_ an implicit part of *any* filtering/blocking job -- and many
other tasks as well.  That you _check_ on an ongoing basis, to make sure that
the automation *is* doing what you "think" it is doing.

> *and*
> c) whoever replaces them is also able to do so.

If they aren't competent to do the job, they shouldn't *have* the job.
If management doesn't know what all the job requirements are, that is
managements failing, and they _deserve_ the consequences thereof. <wry grin>

> If it was in fact "textbook perfect", we'd never hear about stuff breaking 
> when a block list goes belly up with six month's warning, and people *still* 
> being surprised when suddenly everything returns 127.0.0.2 and a lot of mail 
> goes kaboing.

Beg to differ.  "textbook perfect" self-regulation means that when the list
starts returning excessive numbers of false positives, that 'practically
everybody' _stops_using_it_. And in fairly short order.  Which is, in fact,
precisely what DID happen.  The list operator was relying on the effectiveness 
of said "self regulation" mechanism to "get the word out" to those who had
_not_ heard about the shutdown from other sources.