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