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From [email protected] Sun Nov 10 22:30:02 2002 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: adam brower <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: RFD: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <[email protected]> Approved: [email protected] Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 22:21:13 UTC Lines: 178 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:11834 news.groups:420645 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1351540 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroup line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Blocklist issues. (Moderated) RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only adminstrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolocited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting, with the exception of PGP signatures. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenence Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderators: Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Additional moderators are still being sought. Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroup should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups. This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the process. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> From [email protected] Wed Nov 13 03:00:02 2002 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: adam brower <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: 2nd RFD: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <[email protected]> Supersedes: <[email protected]> Approved: [email protected] Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 02:45:26 UTC Lines: 194 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:11836 news.groups:421367 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1352923 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting [ Note: This RFD is posted to supersede <[email protected]> because yours truly can't count expiration dates properly, and therefore mistakenly submitted a brandnew RFD originally instead of a 2nd issue one. - piranha, n.a.n moderator ] This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroup line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Blocklist issues. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: - Name changed from news.admin.net-abuse.email.blocklists to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting - Exception to no binaries rule made for PGP signatures - Rationale expanded to include additional history - Charter expanded to clarify approval criteria - Moderator approval changed to 2/3 majority RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only adminstrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolocited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting, with the exception of PGP signatures. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenence Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderators: Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Additional moderators are still being sought. Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroup should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups. This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the process. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> From [email protected] Thu Jan 23 22:30:23 2003 Path: news.isc.org!bounce-back From: adam brower <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: 3rd RFD: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <[email protected]> References: <[email protected]> Approved: [email protected] Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 22:27:36 UTC Lines: 187 Xref: news.isc.org news.announce.newgroups:11872 news.groups:425474 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1402808 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroup line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Blocklist issues. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: - No binaries rule reinstated without exceptions - New moderator added - Sample topics added to demonstrate equanimity - Crossposting permitted at moderator discretion RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only administrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderators: Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Moderator: Gary Callison <[email protected]> Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroup should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups. This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the process. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> From usenet Wed Jun 18 04:33:49 2003 Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.isc.org!bounce-back From: adam brower <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: 4th RFD: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <[email protected]> Approved: [email protected] Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 16:29:59 +0000 Lines: 184 Xref: shelby.stanford.edu news.announce.newgroups:9317 news.groups:442100 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1456920 REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of the world-wide moderated Usenet newsgroup news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. This is not a Call for Votes (CFV); you cannot vote at this time. Procedural details are below. Newsgroup line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Blocklist issues. (Moderated) CHANGES from previous RFD: - Refresher RFD RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only administrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderators: Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Moderator: Gary Callison <[email protected]> Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END MODERATOR INFO. PROCEDURE: This is a request for discussion, not a call for votes. In this phase of the process, any potential problems with the proposed newsgroup should be raised and resolved. The discussion period will continue for a minimum of 21 days (starting from when the first RFD for this proposal is posted to news.announce.newgroups), after which a Call For Votes (CFV) may be posted by a neutral vote taker if the discussion warrants it. Please do not attempt to vote until this happens. All discussion of this proposal should be posted to news.groups. This RFD attempts to comply fully with the Usenet newsgroup creation guidelines outlined in "How to Create a New Usenet Newsgroup" and "How to Format and Submit a New Group Proposal". Please refer to these documents (available in news.announce.newgroups) if you have any questions about the process. DISTRIBUTION: This RFD has been posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> From usenet Wed Jun 18 04:33:49 2003 Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!cyclone.bc.net!sjc70.webusenet.com!news.webusenet.com!news.isc.org!bounce-back From: David E. Smith <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: CFV: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: poster Message-ID: <[email protected]> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: [email protected] Expires: 5 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 03:24:39 +0000 Lines: 245 Xref: shelby.stanford.edu news.announce.newgroups:9325 news.groups:442520 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1475660 FIRST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Newsgroups line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Discussion of ip-based blocklisting. (Moderated) Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 4 Jun 2003. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Votetaker: David E. Smith <[email protected]> RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only administrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's. Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Moderator: Gary Callison <[email protected]> Administrative contact address: [email protected] Article submission address: [email protected] END MODERATOR INFO. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES: READ THIS BEFORE VOTING The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest in reading the proposed newsgroup, and soliciting votes from uninterested parties defeats this purpose. Do *not* distribute this CFV; instead, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups. Distributing specific voting instructions or pre-marked copies of this CFV is considered vote fraud. This is a public vote: All email addresses, names and votes will be listed in the final RESULT post. The name used may be either a real name or an established Usenet handle. At most one vote is allowed per person or per account. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Voters must mail their ballots directly to the votetaker. Anonymous, forwarded, or proxy votes are not valid, nor are votes mailed from WWW/HTML/CGI forms (which should not exist). Votes from nonexistent accounts or with munged, spam-blocked, or undeliverable addresses are invalid and will NOT be counted. Please direct any questions to the votetaker at <[email protected]> HOW TO VOTE: Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines. Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me! Fill in the ballot as shown below. Please provide your real name (or established Usenet handle) and indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot. Examples of how to properly indicate your vote: [ YES ] example.yes.vote [ NO ] example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention [ CANCEL ] example.cancellation DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot! If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot. When finished, MAIL the vote to <[email protected]> Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. Votes mailed to any other email address, including that of the votetaker, will NOT be counted. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible for reading your ack and making sure your vote is registered correctly. If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.stanford.edu/~neilc/uvv. ======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line ======= .----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1ST CALL FOR VOTES: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting | Official Usenet Voting Ballot [NANAB-42-1] (Do not remove this line!) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected. Established | Usenet handles are also acceptable. Place ONLY your name (ie. do NOT | include your e-mail address or any other information; ONLY your name) | after the colon on the following line: Voter Name: | Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each | newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name): Your Vote Newsgroup --------- ----------------------------------------------------------- [ ] news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting ======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ============== DISTRIBUTION: This CFV will be posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email From usenet Wed Jun 18 04:33:49 2003 Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.isc.org!bounce-back From: David E. Smith <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: 2nd CFV: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting moderated Followup-To: poster Message-ID: <[email protected]> Supersedes: <[email protected]> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: [email protected] Expires: 5 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Tue, 27 May 2003 15:58:30 +0000 Lines: 266 Xref: shelby.stanford.edu news.announce.newgroups:9327 news.groups:442838 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1486761 LAST CALL FOR VOTES (of 2) moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Newsgroups line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Discussion of ip-based blocklisting. (Moderated) Votes must be received by 23:59:59 UTC, 4 Jun 2003. This vote is being conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Votetaker: David E. Smith <[email protected]> RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only administrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's. Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Moderator: Gary Callison <[email protected]> Administrative contact address: [email protected] Article submission address: [email protected] END MODERATOR INFO. IMPORTANT VOTING PROCEDURE NOTES: READ THIS BEFORE VOTING The purpose of a Usenet vote is to determine the genuine interest in reading the proposed newsgroup, and soliciting votes from uninterested parties defeats this purpose. Do *not* distribute this CFV; instead, direct people to the official CFV as posted to news.announce.newgroups. Distributing specific voting instructions or pre-marked copies of this CFV is considered vote fraud. This is a public vote: All email addresses, names and votes will be listed in the final RESULT post. The name used may be either a real name or an established Usenet handle. At most one vote is allowed per person or per account. Duplicate votes will be resolved in favor of the most recent valid vote. Voters must mail their ballots directly to the votetaker. Anonymous, forwarded, or proxy votes are not valid, nor are votes mailed from WWW/HTML/CGI forms (which should not exist). Votes from nonexistent accounts or with munged, spam-blocked, or undeliverable addresses are invalid and will NOT be counted. Please direct any questions to the votetaker at <[email protected]> HOW TO VOTE: Extract the ballot from the CFV by deleting everything before and after the "BEGINNING OF BALLOT" and "END OF BALLOT" lines. Don't worry about the spacing of the columns or any quote characters (">") that your reply inserts. Please, DO NOT send the entire CFV back to me! Fill in the ballot as shown below. Please provide your real name (or established Usenet handle) and indicate your desired vote in the appropriate locations inside the ballot. Examples of how to properly indicate your vote: [ YES ] example.yes.vote [ NO ] example.no.vote [ ABSTAIN ] example.abstention [ CANCEL ] example.cancellation DO NOT modify, alter or delete any information in this ballot! If you do, the voting software will probably reject your ballot. When finished, MAIL the vote to <[email protected]> Just "replying" to this message should work, but check the "To:" line. Votes mailed to any other email address, including that of the votetaker, will NOT be counted. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the votetaker about the problem. You are responsible for reading your ack and making sure your vote is registered correctly. If these instructions are unclear, please consult the Introduction to Usenet Voting or the Usenet Voting FAQ at http://www.stanford.edu/~neilc/uvv. ======== BEGINNING OF BALLOT: Delete everything before this line ======= .----------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1ST CALL FOR VOTES: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting | Official Usenet Voting Ballot [NANAB-42-2] (Do not remove this line!) |----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Please provide your real name, or your vote may be rejected. Established | Usenet handles are also acceptable. Place ONLY your name (ie. do NOT | include your e-mail address or any other information; ONLY your name) | after the colon on the following line: Voter Name: | Insert YES, NO, ABSTAIN, or CANCEL inside the brackets for each | newsgroup listed below (do not delete the newsgroup name): Your Vote Newsgroup --------- ----------------------------------------------------------- [ ] news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting ======== END OF BALLOT: Delete everything after this line ============== DISTRIBUTION: This CFV will be posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email Votes in error -- these votes will NOT be counted. (Ironically, several of the bounced acks failed due to blocklisting. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ abuse~sgrail.org Derek Morton ! Ack bounced adam~hermes-grp.com Adam Brower ! Ack bounced address~signature.blk Jay T. Blocksom ! Ack bounced JOE~OREGON.UOREGON.EDU Joe St Sauver ! Ack bounced ramsa~swva.net Patricia A. Shaffer ! Ack bounced rault4242~netzero.net Werehatrack ! Ack bounced rnews~river.com Richard Johnson ! Ack bounced usenet~tirani.net Tirani ! Invalid address From usenet Wed Jun 18 04:33:49 2003 Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news.isc.org!bounce-back From: David E. Smith <[email protected]> Newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups,news.groups,news.admin.net-abuse.email Subject: RESULT: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting passes 200:14 Followup-To: news.groups Message-ID: <[email protected]> Supersedes: <[email protected]> Organization: Usenet Volunteer Votetakers Approved: [email protected] Archive-Name: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 10:58:25 -0700 Lines: 432 Xref: shelby.stanford.edu news.announce.newgroups:9338 news.groups:443259 news.admin.net-abuse.email:1494499 RESULT moderated group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting passes 200:14 There were 200 YES votes and 14 NO votes, for a total of 214 valid votes. There were 3 abstains and 11 invalid ballots. For group passage, YES votes must be at least 2/3 of all valid (YES and NO) votes. There also must be at least 100 more YES votes than NO votes. There is a five day discussion period after these results are posted. If no serious allegations of voting irregularities are raised, the moderator of news.announce.newgroups will create the group shortly thereafter. Newsgroups line: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Discussion of ip-based blocklisting. (Moderated) Voting closed at 23:59:59 UTC, 4 Jun 2003. This vote was conducted by a neutral third party. Questions about the proposed group should be directed to the proponent. Proponent: adam brower <[email protected]> Proponent: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Votetaker: David E. Smith <[email protected]> RATIONALE: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting The increasing use and popularity of methods to propagate and query a list of data in an attempt to reduce network abuse has given rise to the need for a group specifically devoted to the discussion of their use and administration. These methods include dns-based blocklists (DNSBL), right-hand side blocklists (RHSBL,) among others. Historically, blocklists have long been used by local administrators to regularize the habits of not only their local users, but the outside world, at their local hosts and networks. Recently, the use of centrally controlled lists has gained a measure of acceptance, notably in their use to reduce unsolicited bulk email, commonly known as "spam." This practice of blocking traffic from insecure sites, sites believed to have bad policies in place, or sites hosting known abusers has grown in favor. This conclusion follows not only from the large number of distributed or queryable lists in use today, but from the ways in which they are used. Blocklists are no longer used only to prevent spam. Current forums in which discussions of these topics are held attract many contributors whose strong dislike of network abuse and its perpetrators results in the drowning out of more quietly-stated views with which they may be in disagreement. As a result, new readers of these groups are often faced with a bewildering cacophony of advice, ill-conceived technical information, and outright flames. Far from contributing to the reduction of abuse, this actually contribute to its perpetuation by driving away the very participants who have entered the group for assistance. In particular, news.admin.net-abuse.email has been overwhelmed by the volume of discussion of blocklist-related topics. It is hoped that the new group will serve as a more focussed forum for these discussions, thereby returning n.a.n-a.e to the purpose stated in its charter as "a forum for discussion of possible abuses of e-mail." news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting will exist as an alternative forum where interested parties may exchange views and information in a civil manner. It is anticipated that not only administrators with comments, questions, and observations on the use of blocklists, but also those affected by their use (e.g., those whose addresses are listed in blocklists, and abuse personnel) will find such a forum useful, and that the discussions in the group will yield benefits not only to administrators, abuse personnel, and those who find their addresses listed, but to the internet community itself, by focussing attention solely on blocklist issues, promoting calm, rational, informed discussion of those issues, and in the end contributing to the reduction of network abuse. CHARTER: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is a newsgroup devoted to discussion of subjects related to the use, administration, and effects of blocklists in ameliorating the problem of unsolicited bulk email and other unwanted or abusive network traffic. Any topic which is especially of interest to those maintaining, using, or affected by blocklists is welcome in this group. The nature of the topic is such that expressions of anger and frustration are expected, but vulgarity, ad hominem attacks, unwarranted generalisations and non-productive displays of pique (however elegantly worded,) will be rejected at the discretion of the moderators. Rejected articles will be returned to the author. Where practicable, the moderator may include advice on how to revise the article to better meet the criteria for acceptance. In general, the moderators will not reject articles based on content, but only on tone and language. However, some content may be deemed unsuitable. Examples of content-related criteria for rejection may include ad hominem attacks, repetitive expositions of largely identical arguments, and non- informative expressions of opinion on the viability of one or another list, method, provider, or listed entity. The focus will be on information. Although discussions in the group may focus on one or another listing in a specific blocklist, the advice and opinions expressed in the group should not be taken as authoritative for any listing or list. Maintainers of various lists use their own various criteria, and may or may not be influenced by postings in the group, however well-informed or accurate. All messages removed by unauthorized cancels will be automatically reposted by Dave the Resurrector or a similar program, or at the discretion of a group moderator. Spams, gateway spews, and other attacks on the system itself will be removed as appropriate, following standard Usenet guidelines. Binary files will not be approved for posting in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting. The following are sample topics which will be addressed in news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting: Blocklist creation and maintenance Nomination and delisting procedures Criteria used in listings Pros and cons of DNSBL usage Reduction of "false positives" Discussions of blocklist listings Effects of blocklist use on spam volume Other technologies for propagation and querying of a list New uses for blocklists Cross-posting articles to news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting is not allowed; exceptions may be made at the discretion of the moderators, as for example in the case of FAQ's. Moderation will be performed using the Secure Team-based Usenet Moderation Program (STUMP) or similar technology, which will be supplied by Scott Hazen Mueller. Where practicable, the following procedures will be followed by the moderation team: - The moderators will maintain the tone of discourse so as to minimize the heated discussions to which the subject often leads. - Although moderators themselves may have strong opinions on the efficacy, application, or side-effects of one or another blocklist or other method of reducing spam, they are expected to refrain from allowing such opinions to influence their approval or rejection of articles. - The moderators may use the tools provided (now or in the future) to aid in moderation of the group. These may include "white lists," "black lists," keywording of headers, and word-filtering. - Moderators will be added to or removed from the team by a 2/3 majority vote. In the case of a vote for removal, the moderator under review will not be permitted to vote. END CHARTER. MODERATOR INFO: news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Moderator: Kelly Molloy <[email protected]> Moderator: David Romerstein <[email protected]> Moderator: Jim Seymour <[email protected]> Moderator: Matt Tway <[email protected]> Moderator: Larry M. Smith <[email protected]> Moderator: Scott Hazen Mueller <[email protected]> Moderator: Dave Lugo <[email protected]> Moderator: WD Baseley <[email protected]> Moderator: Gary Callison <[email protected]> Administrative contact address: [email protected] Article submission address: [email protected] END MODERATOR INFO. DISTRIBUTION: The CFV was posted to the following newsgroups: news.announce.newgroups news.groups news.admin.net-abuse.email news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting Final Vote Ack (To recreate the original email addresses, replace % with @) Voted Yes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 32123%spamcop.net 32123 72027.3605%compuserve.com Bob Bailin 9cms4%qlink.queensu.ca Corey Seward aardvarkz%austin.rr.com Aardvark Zymurgy abuse%trackdata.com Abuse abuse%treehouse.dyndns.org Admin Treehouse alansz%tala.mede.uic.edu Alan Schwartz aminggs%yahoo.co.uk Andrew M. Inggs amurph%teleport.com A. Murphy andrew%andrewr.co.uk Andrew Rendle andrew%spamcon.org Andrew Barrett anthony%catfish.nildram.co.uk Anthony Edwards Bar630%aol.com Barbara Anne Richards
barryd%idunno.org Barry Dorrans benscott%nwlink.com Ben Scott bfrost%nyx.net Bonnell Frost Bill.Maloy%goldinc.com Bill Maloy bill%scconsult.com Bill Cole blecorchick%earthlink.net Brian Lecorchick bob%cluestick.org Bob O`Bob boblyons%umich.edu Robert H. Lyons, Jr. bouvin%daimi.au.dk Niels Olof Bouvin brian%word-to-the-wise.com Brian McNett (usenet handle "Caveman Og") bsbox%mindspring.com Mark Garrett buff%pobox.com William Denton bz%chemserv.chem.lsu.edu Bob Zinn carel%xs4all.nl Carel cathy%acornhosting.net Cathy Sarisky cfaber%fpsn.net Colin Faber chris%kzim.com Christopher Robin Zimmerman chris%westnet.com Christopher X. Candreva cikovic%cluestick.org Robert Cikovic clare%hawthorne.me.uk Clare Elliott cn236%freenet.carleton.ca Scott Delahunt cshard%cvc.net Shelly csmrl%bath.ac.uk Rayner Lucas csusenet%hotmail.com Cliff Stancil c_ish%mindspring.com Christopher Ish d.rinewalt%tcu.edu Dick Rinewalt davenull%snet.net Martin Roth david%desjardins.org David desJardins david%farrar.com David Farrar davidbath1%bigfoot.com David E. Bath dc%panix.com David W. Crawford devin%thecabal.org Devin L. Ganger dfrost%maths.tcd.ie Dermot Frost dioneo%hotmail.com Onion Knight dlugo%etherboy.com Dave Lugo dmacks%sas.upenn.edu Daniel E. Macks dmckeon%swcp.com Denis McKeon dmurdoch%pair.com Duncan Murdoch don-aitken%freeuk.com Don Aitken dritz%suespammers.org David Ritz dsr%mail.lns.cornell.edu Dan Riley dtesler%tcg-systems.com Hawkeye-X earthscibbs%rogers.com David Ramalho Ed%Bertsch.org edward bertsch edward%paleo.org Edward Reid Ekkehard%Uthke.de Ekkehard Uthke elias%killerlink.net Elias Alvord elucero%inet.cl Eduardo Lucero erik%selwerd.nl Erik Warmelink ermannov%despammed.com Ermanno Iannacci esa.peuha%helsinki.fi Esa Peuha Espen.Randen%rikshospitalet.no Espen Randen expategghead%hotmail.com Adrian Edmonds franck.thales%wanadoo.fr Franck T. george%george.nu George Rickle ggw%wolves.durham.nc.us Gregory Woodbury glenn%delink.net Brian T Glenn gniko%gniko.com Niko Mikkanen grabiner%alumni.princeton.edu David Grabiner graham.drabble%lineone.net Graham Drabble gregb%blackholio.dyndns.org Greg R. Broderick gregga%hickorytech.net Gregg Anderson harder%ifa.au.dk Jesper Harder hezu+usenetvote%iki.fi Heikki Kantola hg-nanabvote%queue.to howard goldstein hokan%me.umn.edu Hokan huey%interaccess.com Gary S. "Huey" Callison InactiveX666%hotmail.com Ronald D. Edge instring%yahoo.com Herb Oxley j.riden%massey.ac.nz James Riden jbl%spamblocked.com J. B. Levin jcolson%ndgonline.com Joshua Colson jdg%diogenes.sacramento.ca.us John David Galt jeffwynn%spamblocked.com Jeff Wynn jfh%avondale.demon.co.uk John F Hall jimhowes%prosig.com Jim Howes jimi-tubman%blueyonder.co.uk Jimi Tubman jjaworsk%mts.net Jim Jaworski jjf%usenet.twinlobber.org.uk James John Farmer jlewis%lewis.org Jon Lewis jley%shaw.ca James Ley JLR%artech.com.uy Jos=E9 Lamas R=EDos jmalina%best.com Jo Ann Malina jmaynard%conmicro.cx Jay Maynard jmorris%cac.washington.edu James Morris jmprice%calweb.com John M Price PhD johan%outerlimits.cx Johan Haagsma john%TheWorld.com Jacmo Fenanay john%tradoc.fr John Wilcock johnday%wordsnimages.com John Day johnl%iecc.com John R. Levine jrusling-0305%cox.net Jim Rusling jseymour%LinxNet.com Jim Seymour julesd%erols.com Jules Dubois JunkDTectr%carolina.rr.com Murray Watson jwalz+nan%radix.net Janet Walz k6cdo%attbi.com Don Root kcole16%ford.com Kathy Cole keithlim%pobox.com keith lim kelly%uppitychick.net Kelly Molloy kenrbnsn%rbnsn.com Ken Robinson kilgallen%Encompasserve.org Larry Kilgallen kkrueger%whoi.edu Karl A. Krueger kmorgan%spamcop.net Kathy Morgan lsimonetta%newsguy.com Leo G. Simonetta mail%sebastian-brocks.de Sebastian Brocks matt.b%myrealbox.com Matt B matthew%blackholes.us Matthew J. Evans md%Linux.IT Marco d'Itri michael%moria.de Michael Haardt mjt%tls.msk.ru Michael Tokarev mmrosa%bigpond.net.au Michal Rosa mongrel_mind%yahoo.com Mongrel Mind naddy%mips.inka.de Christian Weisgerber nanab.vote%ccmt.biz Dot Matrix nanabvote%bac.mailshell.com Bruce Crawford nanabvote%heresiarch.demon.co.uk Chris Suslowicz nanabvote%honet.com Michael Rathbun Ned_Fleming%wr.com Ned Fleming nickptar%mindspring.com Nick Tarleton nihongo%paxonet.com Kevin Wayne Williams nomad%gwu.edu Andrew Tellez nospam%mialfreak.com Claes Tullbrink onetrue%comcast.net Matt Carothers p.texier%genindre.org Patrick Texier pascoedj+usenet%spamcop.net David Pascoe paul%eucleides.com Paul A. Franz, P.E. peter.peters%civ.utwente.nl Peter Peters pgalimatias%hotmail.com Pelerin Galimatias pholmes%mediares.com Phillip Brandon Holmes porjes%spamcop.net Peter Stephenson prickly_pdtar%att.net Jim La Vergne priruss%ev1.net Russ Price p_spinosa%cluestick.org Rick Blackthorn Quasimodo%Yahoo.com Jim Higgins qwerty34560%lycos.com Brian Reed rault00%earthlink.net Russ Ault, aka Werehatrack Richard~%mandarin.com Richard Cox rick%bcm.tmc.edu Richard H Miller rickm%bright.net Rick Mendenhall rkt%keyknife.com Richard C. Tietjens rnews%river.com Richard Johnson Robert.Allen%cityofhouston.net Robert A. Allen romer%hanov3r.com David Romerstein ronnirubin%sprintmail.com Arthur L. Rubin rrclark%rrclark.net Richard R Clark ru.igarashi%usask.ca ru igarashi sapient.fridge%spamsites.org Sapient Fridge sbfaulds%ihug.co.nz Stuart Faulds sean%nisd.net SEAN EMBRY sethb%panix.com Seth Breidbart SgtChains%FahQ2.com Larry M. Smith shrdlu%deaddrop.org Etaoin Shrdlu simon%darkmere.gen.nz Simon Lyall sleeper%dcemail.com sleeper smlucas%flashmail.com Steven Lucas spam%puppet-head.co.uk steve peake spammaster%cpcug.org spammaster spamstop%start.no Rune Persson spamsurfer%ev1.net Chris N. spamtrap%houston.rr.com Steven Marzuola strads%excite.com George Crissman tbetz%pobox.com THOMAS BETZ thg%interoil.com Terry H. Gilsenan thierry%pompo.net Thierry Thomas thomas%wkaz.net Thomas Lemoine thor%anta.net Thor Kottelin tim%denmantire.com Tim Boyer tlgdropbox%mindspring.com Ted Louis Glenn ToledoCyberCafe%aol.com Karen Hoffmann
tskirvin%killfile.org Tim Skirvin usenet.roku%gehena.demon.co.uk Rex M F Smith usenet01+SPAMBLOCK%appropriate-tech.net Jay T. Blocksom van.ette%inter.nl.net Robert-Jan van Ette varys%fortytwo.ch Adrian von Bidder verbila%there.net Verbila vince%spamtraps.org Vincent Schonau vpdura%hiwaay.net Vic Dura warnold%vipnet.org Billy Arnold wbe%psr.com Winston Edmond werner%ccwf.cc.utexas.edu Werner wesu%attbi.com Wayne Sanders-Unrein wimm%wimware.net Wim Morrison (wimm%wimware.net) WireGuy13%aol.com Gary Grossoehme wisanr%catskill.net Dick Wisan wiz%verinet.com Wiz woofridge%aol.com Woof Ridge Voted No ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ alanb%digistar.com Alan Brown cmize%goiter.com Chuck Mize gaillard%panix.com Ed Gaillard gprrspw%mindspring.com G.P. Ryan irenka_gra%yahoo.com irenka gra lsheldon%creighton.edu Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. mhunter%atlantic.net Rob Maxwell mountainmagic%factscanada.com Jason Harrison painmaster%canada.com Michael Masters pan%syix.com Pan psmyth%gmx.net Peter Smyth rolyv%bigpond.com Roland Verlander stainles%realtime.net Dwight Brown tomp%st.net.au Tom Perrett Abstained ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ axlq%spamcop.net Axlq ernestcline%mindspring.com Ernest Cline joele%pop4.net Joel Ehrlich Votes in error ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ abuse%sgrail.org Derek Morton ! Ack bounced adam%hermes-grp.com Adam Brower ! Ack bounced address%signature.blk Jay T. Blocksom ! Ack bounced daigaku%cruelmail.com Andrea Rimicci ! Ack bounced JOE%OREGON.UOREGON.EDU Joe St Sauver ! Ack bounced mikea%mikea.ath.cx Mike Andrews ! Ack bounced ramsa%swva.net Patricia A. Shaffer ! Ack bounced rault4242%netzero.net Werehatrack ! Ack bounced SgtChains%Chickenboner.com Larry M. Smith ! No ballot tpp%chickenboner.com Tero Paananen ! Ack bounced usenet%tirani.net Tirani ! Invalid address
USENET FACT: Big-8
BIG-8 hierarchies are the 8 traditional top hierarchies of the Usenet. See the following page for more