RE: AOL holes again.

[Roeland Meyer <rmeyer () mhsc com>]

> From: Shawn McMahon [mailto:smcmahon () eiv com]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 8:50 AM
> To: nanog () merit edu
> Subject: Re: AOL holes again.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 21, 2001 at 07:55:05AM -0800, Roeland Meyer wrote:
> > But, it would be trivial to claim exemption by contractual 
> agreement. Read
> > the AOL TOS please. There are clauses in there that 
> specifically allow AOL
> > to monitor, modify, or delete email messages at-will. Back 
> in the old days,
> > AOL actually had volunteers going through their 
> message-base, regularly,
> > monitoring and deleting content that didn't meet AOL criteria.
>
> You can't modify federal law with a contract.

Tell that to the ICANN <g>.

You can't sign away your civil-rights, but you can assign agents to perform
specific tasks related to them. I have an MBE, in Colorado, that I pay to
toss anything that is either "Bulk Rate" or to "Resident" (junk mail). They
have no problems doing that, as my agent, even if it involves federal
issues. They've been doing that job for years. I have similar arrangements
here in California. Otherwise, I'd have to hire separate haulers to dump the
junk-mail. Yes, that's US Postal Service delivered mail, under Feral
regulation. Anyone signing the AOL agreement is making the same sort of
arrangement. Again, I suggest a reading of the AOL TOS. The only way you are
exempt from that TOS is to not use AOL (not a bad idea). Simply say "no".