Anti-SPAM announcement from AT&T Worldnet

Sat Mar 29 10:36:07 UTC 1997

As enscripted by Kevin Smith:
> 
> Any email...even regular questions/replies....I think specific
> types of email would be more appropriate..."spam","obscene" etc.

Kevin,

We meet again.  The circles certainly seem small at times.  I question
your comments regarding AT&T Worldnet's announcement.  I read it as
clearly stating that _any_ mail (not limited to spam or obscene, etc.)
being relayed (not to or from an AT&T Worldnet customer) will not be
delivered by AT&T Worldnet's mail servers.  I have three things to say,
each from a different point of view.

1. As a frequent recipient of spam delivered by AT&T Worldnet: it's about
   time.  See number 2.

2. As above and a proponent of the open Internet: Yay, another provider
   taking control and repsonsibility for their participation in the
   Internet.

3. As a system admin at an ISP: I don't blame 'em.  I have investigated
   methods for doing this myself and will be proposing early next week
   that we take the same measures.  Nobody has an obligation to relay any
   mail for any other body on the Internet.

If more mail servers on the Internet took these measures, the level of
spam would come down due to the easier job of finding the real point of
origin of the spam.

Take care Kevin,
b.

-- 
Brian J. Murrell                                        Brian_Murrell at bctel.net
BCTel Advanced Communications                                   brian at ilinx.com
Vancouver, B.C.                                                brian at wimsey.com
604 454 5279