USENET2 BANS SPAM
Tony Barry (tony@ningaui.anu.edu.au)
Wed, 8 Oct 1997 19:01:26 +1000
>From EDUPAGE-
>USENET2 BANS SPAM
>Usenet2, an ad hoc group of veteran network administrators, is promoting an
>additional Usenet hierarchy -- net.* -- that would function as an oasis from
>the glut of "spam" mail that is overwhelming many Usenet groups. Some
>Usenet participants say 80% of the mail they receive is unwanted junk. The
>group has recruited several ISPs, including Panix Public Access Network in
>New York, and universities, including Stanford and Penn State, as well as
>related Usenet divisions of corporations such as IBM and Sun Microsystems,
>to join in its efforts to create a spam-free zone. "We're trying to bring
>back the concept of trust in neighbors, where you can trade traffic without
>having to worry about some neighbor ruining your network by sending out huge
>amounts of crap," says a member of the Usenet2 Steering Committee. Usenet2
>participants pledge to abide by its rules, which require the mandatory
>inclusion of real e-mail addresses in postings and the banning of binary
>files, which make up images and applications. Some administrators balk at
>the notion of Usnet2 "czars," who would monitor postings to ensure they
>conformed with the no-spam rule, but many applaud the return to common
>decency on the Net: "We just want to see if simple social rules would have
>an effect without having to reinvent the wheel," says one. (Electronic
>Engineering Times 6 Oct 97)
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