[SunRescue] semi-OT: ISPs that don't suck

[Greg]

[ On Thursday, November 16, 2000 at 17:32:53 (-0500), Mike Nicewonger wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: [SunRescue] semi-OT: ISPs that don't suck
>
> While on the topic of ISP's that DO suck....
> 
> <rant>
> Earthlink just started a new policy where they block port 25 to everyone but
> their mail server. I cannot SMTP mail to my servers now while dialed in from
> home via Earthlink. What a crock of (insert fav feces word here). I have had
> it with them. Thank god I am moving next month.
> </rant>

Thank goodness!  Contrary to your view I find this to be a very very
very very good thing!

In fact it's about bloody time they started doing that.  I've been
bugging them and their kind to do that for several years now.  It really
is for the better.  Hopefully the enormous quantities of spam spewing
from their networks will slow down a bit now -- maybe even enough for me
to unblock their networks on my firewall.  Now if a few more of the big
guys would follow suit then we'd really be getting somewhere!  Of course
such filters don't eliminate the need for fixing all open relays, but
they do reduce the impact, and of course they prevent direct spam.

Please do not complain to your ISP if they block outbound port-25
connects from their dial-up and dynamic IP ranges.  So long as they
provide an authorised SMTP relay server then the blocking of very real
and widely exploited abuses (including criminal theft of service and
fraud) perpetrated by spammers is far more important to the Internet
community as a whole than the needs of a few people who think they know
what they're doing with SMTP.  If you're legit then there's no reason
why you should baulk at using your ISPs relay server.

If the authorised relay server is broken or too slow then of course
you've got a legitimate complaint, but only to get it fixed as even that
doesn't justify opening up the network to abuse.

When you want to send e-mail when using a dial-up port or other
dynmaically/randomly assigned IP address then please login, with SSH, to
some full-time connected mail server and then send your messages
directly from there.  Or if possible use some protocol intended for
moving e-mail over the first hop, such as the various extensions to POP
and IMAP, etc.

If all else fails I'm sure there are lots of us out here who would be
willing to offer shell access by SSH to friends and colleagues who need
it for this purpose.

-- 
							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>