Re: Spammers and "The Blacklist"

         "MAPS" is the "Mail Abuse Prevention System," also known as the 
"blackhole list."  For details, see http://maps.vix.com/

         There is some hope for those seeking a legal solution to spam -- 
the Supreme Court of the State of Washington earlier this month upheld a 
state law designed to fight spam (although the law is far from perfect).  I 
wrote about this ruling in a recent column, "A Rare Victory in the Fight 
Against Spam," available on GigaLaw.com at 
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001/isenberg-2001-06c-p1.html

Doug Isenberg, Esq.
Editor & Publisher, GigaLaw.com
FREE daily Internet law news via e-mail!  Subscribe at 
http://www.GigaLaw.com/news


At 12:33 PM 6/29/01 -0500, Judith C. Kallos wrote:
>Hey, all....
>
>First let me state I really don't want to get into a flame-fest on spam 
>do's or don'ts because that is right up there with sex, religion and 
>politics.  ;-)   Just that I hate not "knowing" something I've heard about 
>or experienced and hopefully, someone can enlighten me on the subject of 
>infamous "Blacklist".  I know it exists based on a situation about 5 years 
>ago with a client that was blacklisted in error. Their hosting company 
>stated they were on "The Blacklist" and were able to remedy the situation.
>
>Against our recommendations a client went ahead and spammed 100s of 
>thousands of folks and not only that relayed through third party servers 
>in the process.  Needless to say their hosting company shut them down 
>F.A.S.T. (even quicker actually) and it is apparent that they are on the 
>infamous Blacklist as the relocated site is not visible through various 
>ISPs (the domain transfer has propagated) and email is bouncing back with 
>a specific message that the mail was from an identified spammer and 
>blocked from that particular system(s).
>
>Now, I don't feel sorry for this client - it is clear they still don't 
>understand the magnitude of their decision "I get cold-call telemarketed 
>at home at 8 in the evening - this is the same thing".  We are clear about 
>the repercussions as well that my company will not/cannot be their 
>advocate when a client specifically ignores our advice on this topic.
>
>I relocated the site to a new server (warned them again for the last time 
><hint-hint>) and that is as much as I want to get involved in this 
>particular situation.  Thank goodness this is maintenance/strategy client 
>and our name was not on any of the domain records.  BTW, if any of you 
>have handled this type of situation differently please let me know.
>
>That said, for my own knowledge - where can you find out about this topic 
>in general and who is on The Blacklist?   I was really surprised how 
>quickly this site was shut-down and Blacklisted so there must be a site, 
>or a cooperative group of Hosts/ISPs who when someone goes too far this 
>happens.  The question then becomes the legality of Blacklisting a 
>business (how far is too far and what are the criteria) and the potential 
>liability to said Blacklist if they err (more my concern with spammers 
>using false identities) - which based on my own experience 5 years ago can 
>happen.
>
>I just know there has to be more info on this and any thoughts, resources 
>or information any of you may have would be appreciated!  ;-)
>
>/j
>
>"Although it is within the realm of possibility to escort equus
>caballus to a location providing a potable mixture of hydrogen and
>oxygen, one cannot coerce said mammal to imbibe."

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