"Default" Internet Service

Mon Jun 14 23:08:54 UTC 2004

Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> writes:
>> It's not crap.  Infected machines are no more the fault of the internet
>> than junkmail in your mailbox is the fault of the post office.  There's
>> literally no difference to the model.  The post office delivers mail
>> that is addressed to you.  They don't care if it's junk mail or not.
>> They deliver it.

* adil at adis.on.ca (Adi Linden) [Tue 15 Jun 2004, 00:58 CEST]:
> So what about little envelopes with white powder? Does the post office 
> still have an obligation to deliver it or should they be concerned
> about the welfare of their customers? Perhaps they should insist that
> customers are properly vaccinated....

Don't you think you're stretching this analogy way past its breaking
point?

Besides, the post office (supposedly) cares about its workers and as
such has a problem with delivering dangerous packages...

> Point I am making is that the post office is not responsible and/or
> liable for the content of the packages they deliver. However, if they
> deliver packages that are obviously visibly dangerous to the recipient
> they have an obligation to investigate and not deliver the package.

If they were so obviously visibly dangerous, why did postal workers die
during the first few anthrax scares?

Again, the analogy breaks down. (Packets don't kill people, packages do?)

Don't junk mailers pay extra anyway?  Or is that an urban legend...

	-- Niels.