ORBS block

Fri Dec 17 19:41:48 UTC 1999

"Greg A. Woods" wrote:
> 
> [ On Friday, December 17, 1999 at 08:49:17 (-0800), Tim Wolfe wrote: ]
> > Subject: Re: ORBS block
> >
> > If Provider X wants to listen to Dean's loony conspiracy theories and block
> > ORBS from going through their network, how is that thef of service?  That
> > would only be true if ORBS pays Provider X for some type of service and then
> > they could fall back to whatever options (arbitration, etc) that their
> > contract allows.
> 
> It's simple:  I find ORBS a valuable service, both for ensuring my own
> mail servers are secure, as well as for telling me about the issues with
> my neighbours servers, as well as all the rest around the world.

I do suppose that says it all. You don't care to talk to large numbers
of people and so you use a service which indistriminantly blocks systems
out of spite when asked to stop probing (whether those systems are
relays or not).

Actually, since your own mail server is configured to block legit mail
from my server (though you may not realize it) I wonder about your use
of SMTP overall. Your server looks for an A record with the domain
sending. This is bogus. I send from a system with an MX record pointing
to the system which is sending, and A records for the names in the MX
records. This valid config is rejected by your server. I suspect mail
through ACM will get to you, though.

>  If my
> provider, or an upstream provider from them, were blocking ORBS, even
> just their inbound tests, then they would be stealing a service I value.
> 
> ORBS is not doing anything whatsoever to affect the network layer and
> network operators and providers should not even see them on their
> horizon.
> 
> If e-mail operators are having some kind of trouble with ORBS then
> that's a different issue, but *not* one that requires network-level
> intervention, especially not upstream from *anyone*.
> 
> It is most important that people not confuse these issues.  ORBS is not
> a network thing -- it only affects a single service.
> 
> --
>                                                         Greg A. Woods
> 
> +1 416 218-0098      VE3TCP      <gwoods at acm.org>      <robohack!woods>
> Planix, Inc. <woods at planix.com>; Secrets of the Weird <woods at weird.com>

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Senie                                        dts at senie.com
Amaranth Networks Inc.            http://www.amaranthnetworks.com