Re: In re: Spam and Gate Crashing

Steven Prevaux (prevaus[_at_]mail.bor.state.fl.us) describes an act of cyber-intrusion (essentially crashing a listserv) and writes:
>
> Assuming that the "spammer" is instructed to cease and desist
> and yet persists what course of action would you recommend?

Steven says the perpetrator is known. (though one should be careful that the identity is not forged). In the US at least, pretty much everyone who has net access pays for it either through a commercial provider (like compuserve, aol, netcom, etc.) or through a regional provider (like NEARNet, NYSERNet, etc.). So far as I'm aware all of those have guidelines for appropriate use which would disallow the described behavior. So do most schools and employers that provide Internet access to their constituents.

I would say just contact the postmaster or other authority c/o the perpetrator's Internet provider or employer/school. They will often issue a strong warning or simply discontinue service to the individual.

If the perpetrator comes from abroad, things can get trickier, though most countries seem to value their e-relations with the rest of the world enough to to find ways to fuss at their citizens who get overly rambunctious.

> Also, if you are aware of a more list/place to direct this
> question, please let me know. Thank you!

news.admin.net-abuse.misc carries countless discussions of countless types of abusive situations, though it's unlikely to find legal enlightenment there -- it is more likely to convey advice on tit-for-tat retaliation of which there seem to be numerous varieties.

David Dailey (ddailey[_at_]williams.edu) Received on Thu Oct 19 1995 - 13:48:52 GMT