Re: Digex and Akamai are raping the ARIN whois database

[Avi Freedman <freedman () freedman net>]

Marketing has had luck with opt-in lists in the past year or so.  This is
the first time there's been a problem with list-based e-mail.  Here, they
tried a sampling of the list as a trial and had problems.  So then there's
a negotiation internally, since opt-in-based e-mailings have worked in the
past.

The reasonable compromise was made to be more vigilant and shut the practice
off if there was another problem.  The proper emphasis on the affect 
spam has on our network partners and customers has been reemphasized with
multiple clue-by-fours, however, and we're involved in setting up a sanity
filter for anything that would happen going forward with purchased lists.

Avi

> How 'bout only sending marketing emails to email address that specifically
> REQUEST to receive them? 
>
> Sending marketing email to addresses on any type of "purchased" list is,
> by nature, unsolicited. I'm sure it's bulk. Which makes it look awfully
> pink and meaty to me.
>
> -C
>
> On Tue, 4 Sep 2001, Avi Freedman wrote:
>
> > In article <10184.15415.25258 () avi netaxs com> you wrote:
> >
> > : Nothing like the smell of spam in the morning - coming to you through the
> > : "benevolent" acts of Akamai and Digex - sent to POC handles blatantly stolen
> > : from ARIN's whois database.
> >
> > : Yo, Digex: this just reminds me how much your "sales team" sucked the last
> > : time around, when there was a DS3 contract up for grabs on an RFP.
> > : This spam certainly cuts you out of any future consideration for a while:
> > : You'll find yourself in good company with Savvis, I am sure.
> >
> > Very sorry this happened.  Marketing purchased a 'trial version' of
> > a list that apparently had ARIN-gleanings.  Use of that list has been
> > suspended with all partners, and we are working on ways to make sure that 
> > we can 'pattern match' any such similar crud from future lists.  This is
> > the first of the lists that has been a problem (though we have in the
> > past had one or two salespeople who were quickly unconfused on individual
> > solicitations), and we intend to make sure it won't happen again.
> >
> > If anyone has any heuristics for ensuring that lists don't have automated
> > new-domain or SWIP gleanings, I'd appreciate them; for now we'll just 
> > search for hostmaster@, ipspace@, and other role-looking accounts.
> >
> > Sorry,
> >
> > Avi (speaking as Chief Network Architect, Akamai)