Re: Open relays and open proxies

[Brian Wallingford <brian () meganet net>]

On Fri, 25 Apr 2003, Jack Bates wrote:

:
:Christopher J. Wolff wrote:
:> 
:> Therefore, am I just as 'guilty' if I host A.B.C. Homes website, if they
:> choose to advertise new homes in this clearly illegal manner?  The
:> A-Frame signs are a nuisance and use up professional time to remove,
:> just like spam.
:> 
:> There has to be a line drawn somewhere, wouldn't you think?
:> 
:
:A) many spam emails use html links to pull graphics from the 
:spamvertised site. By continuing to let the site run, even more 
:bandwidth is being utilized (especially with todays broken MUAs).
:
:B) most spammers make their money using their websites and not the spam 
:itself. So long as the website exists, there will be a way for the 
:spammer to propogate spam. Remember, it doesn't matter if the emailing 
:account gets cancelled. Once the damage is done, the spammer can sit 
:back and collect revenue via the website that was just adverted. 
:However, if you cancel the website, the company ceases to generate 
:revenue from the spam and is effectly shut down until they can bring the 
:website back up *and* generate another spam run.
:
:C) there are rarely good real world analogies for problems that exist on 
:the 'net. Not only does the 'net afford us speed and convenience in our 
:ability to communicate, it also allows for abuse to be at increased 
:speeds, volume and convenience. If different A-frame signs showed up 
:each and every day in large quantities throughout the city, the city 
:would not just confiscate the signs. They would file charges, and if the 
:owner of the real estate is aware of such activity, the owner would be 
:held liable, or city ordinances would be changed to allow the owner to 
:be held liable.

As much as I'd normally hate to append an example, the following is a real
gem.