[ppml] Abstract of proposed Internet Draft for Best Current Practice (please comment)

[Dr. Jeffrey Race]

See inline comments

On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 10:42:25 -0700, John M. Brown wrote:
>Lovely conversation about RIR's fighting SPAM, Hackers
>and that the RIR's should have the power to revoke routing
>and IP space for these evil doers.
>
>Lets get real for a moment, eh...
>
>1. RIR's are not the place to fight the spam problem.
>  

The intent of this proposal is to remove the burden of abuse
from the victims, and place it where it properly belongs, on
the abusers (spammers) and their enablers (ISPs and RIRs 
among others), without requiring any
technical cost metering system.   This is the way the rest of
the society and the economy works.   The Internet is such a
mess because it is exempted from the normal rules that govern
human behavior.

If you don't agree with placing the burden of the damages on
those who create them, then you will find thousands of ways
to nitpick my proposal. 


>   Washington or your local equiv is.
> 
>   You should be asking your Senators / Congress Critters
>   why they keep killing Federal Anti-Spam legislation,
>   why they keep taking reasonable bills and turning them
>   into mush.
>

For the simple reason explained in the proposal
<www.camblab.com/misc/univ_std.txt> no legislation will
ever succeed in decreasing spam.


>
>2. RIR's are not the place to fight hackers, DDOS'rs etc
>

 The RIRs are key enablers because they delegate the abused
resource.


>
>   If you want to keep your network from being hacked
>   place a firewall and participate in the security 
>   of your network,

You continue to live in the "let the victims pay" world. 
We no longer let GE dump pcbs into streams in Pittsfield
Massachusetts.  Why should we let spammers dump their trash
onto the Internet without penalty?


 which is a constant activity.
>
>   If you want to stop DDOS, then filter the edge of the
>   the network and prevent bad packets from leaving YOUR
>   network.
>

"Let the victims pay"

>
>
>Having the RIR's control the routing tables is a pandora's
>box you all really really don't want to have opened up.  It
>will lead to bad laws,

The purpose of this proposal is to AVOID unpleasant legislation
by cleaning up our own sandbox.   If you leave it filled with
dog excrement, then the health inspectors will soon come.  This
has proven true in industry after industry.  Look at what is
happening in the <irony> securities </irony> industry.   

 anti-trust issues, RIR's will have
>a monopoly of control that you don't want.

I'd be pleased if you'd elaborate on the details of any genuinely
foreseeable scenarios you envison.

Jeffrey Race