XSServer / Taking down a spam friendly provider

Sun Oct 30 20:52:24 UTC 2011

I would agree that at the moment, we exist in what is supposed to be a
"self-policing" community. How long will it stay so, if livelihoods are
jeopardized?

Some are paid to move bits, and consider that their only obligation. Others
are charged with operating services that are impacted by the aforementioned
types of pollution. But each party cannot exist without the other, at the
end of the day; the economic relationship between the two, at some level,
makes this a shared problem.

While bit-movers _may not_ have an explicit and direct business reason to
aid in reducing the pollution in the community, as members of the
community, is it not our collective responsibility to work against those
polluting it?

It is disrespectful, IMHO, to those who worked so hard to make this
communal resource the shared treasure it is, for us to neglect the duty to
protect and care for it.

I understand that not everyone feels that it should be policed. I have
respect for those who feel this way. To me, this is a complicated
ecosystem, and we are its custodians, responsible for its continued health
and function.

Who among you do not have a custodial relationship with some network or
inter-networking? Do none of you feel a responsibility to maintain it for
those who will come after you?

As a part of ensuring the continued function of our ecosystem, in light of
the reality of this pollution, I think ensuring the integrity of our
individual administrative domains, and working with others, in some
capacity, to ensure the health and integrity of their own, is paramount.

I would make a reference to the way we have treated and are treating our
planet, but the analogy is tired. I do fear that some day, the 'way we
treated the internet' will be a similarly tired metaphor.

-k
On Oct 27, 2011 8:47 PM, "William Herrin" <bill at herrin.us> wrote:

> On Thu, Oct 27, 2011 at 1:52 AM, William Pitcock
> <nenolod at systeminplace.net> wrote:
> > On Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:22:53 -0400
> > Chris <caldcv at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> This is a huge business. Shady "SEO" companies are charging
> >> individuals at least $250 per month to use their spam tools of choice
> >> to spam forums and Wordpress blogs. I got one of the major players on
> >> the run right now because he cannot seem to keep his "business page"
> >> hosted with a company longer than a few weeks and I keep playing
> >> whack-a-mole with him.
> >
> > McColo and Atrivo were not terminated because of spam.  If you believe
> > they are, then you are simply misinformed.  Atrivo and McColo were
> > terminated over their network being used extensively for botnet
> > control centers.
>
> William,
>
> Atrivo and McColo were terminated _late_.
>
> As an industry, might we not consider finding a reasonable way to do a
> more effective job identifying and dealing with shops who can't seem
> to keep out the customers who use those facilities to hurt and abuse
> the rest of us? If we fail to adequately self-regulate, the courts and
> entities like the U.S. Congress will surely find a way to do it for
> us. And they won't care nearly as much about the technical constraints
> as we do.
>
> I make no judgment about XSServer and offer no solution. I merely
> suggest that Chris has posed a legitimate operational problem that our
> community may wish to redress while the while the details of such a
> choice are still in our hands.
>
> Regards,
> Bill Herrin
>
>
> --
> William D. Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
> 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/>
> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004
>
>