[KLUG Advocacy] Re: [KLUG Members] Fwd: FC: City of Battle Creek wants to imprison an anti-spam activist

John Bridleman advocacy@kalamazoolinux.org
Thu, 21 Mar 2002 17:21:25 -0500


* Adam Williams6 (awilliam@whitemice.org) wrote:
> >>But a mail server isn't a case of trespass waiting to happen. The prseumption 
> >>here is that you can use the server to pass mail on to intended recipents that 
> >>ou believe are going to get your messages. There are laws on the books that 
> >>you're violating by "abusing" that server, but failure in normal use is not
> >>considered abuse.
> >So, what he was doing was normal use? I'm not familiar with what he was sending to the mail servers to test them. My guess is that it was far from "normal use" otherwise this problem would have shown itself before now.
> 
> I don't think most non-techies would consider mail-probes normal use.  I 
> do.

Yes, you and I do. But the people who will determine the outcome won't.

> >I'm not familiar with his procedures. What prompted him to check their server?  Did it have to be submitted to a queue?
> 
> Once has to enter an IP at the site.  Anyone can check any IP.

So whoever entered their IP is ultimately responsible! See we have to assign blame before we can do anything else. I'd bet they still haven't updated their server. ;-)

The Wired article is a very good explanation of what was going on. I hope the prosecutor reads it and drops the warrant.
--
John Bridleman / www.bridleman.org