Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site tektronix.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!davec
From: davec@tektronix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: The burl controversy
Message-ID: <1202@tektronix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 24-Jun-83 23:00:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: tektroni.1202
Posted: Fri Jun 24 23:00:09 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 27-Jun-83 22:08:47 EDT
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 26

Recently a couple of net messages were sent out by sites complaining
that they were being called up by the site "burl" which they had no
known uucp connection with.

A little later, Larry Auton ("burl" system administrator?) sent out
an explanation saying that he was calling those sites.  The information
to make the call came from the site "ihnp4"; apparently it broadcasts
out either all or part of its L.sys file to other AT&T sites on a
somewhat regular basis.  His mailer looks ahead in paths of mail passing
through its system, and if it finds a shorter path, sends the mail
through the shorter path.

There are a couple of problems with this procedure:

1. When Gary Murakami (sp?) of ihnp4 originally solicited uucp connection
information from non AT&T sites no mention was made of the fact that such
information might be broadcast out to other systems.  There are a number of
people that would be very uncomfortable about such a procedure (system
security; potential load on dial-up lines; etc).

2. Using broadcast connection information to send mail creates one way
mail paths where the path that the message took to reach its destination
cannot be used to make a reply.

Dave Clemans
Tektronix