Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!ames!think!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!bbn!rochester!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!nyser!njin!aramis.rutgers.edu!porthos.rutgers.edu!webber
From: webber@porthos.rutgers.edu (Bob Webber)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Sendsys fiasco
Keywords: net abuse
Message-ID: 
Date: 22 Jun 88 20:43:27 GMT
References: <106@carpet.WLK.COM>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 52
To: bill@carpet.WLK.COM

In article <106@carpet.WLK.COM>, bill@carpet.WLK.COM (Bill Kennedy) writes:
>...[re the sendsys messages available everywhere in /usr/spool/news/control]
> This is malicious mischief and the perpetrator should be severely punished.

Well, not ``severly'' punished.  I would be quite happy to just log
into their ``home'' system from time to time and explore it in the manner
they seem to be exploring the news software.

> Someone suggested that "net.rarebit" was a forgery and if it is, it's
> intended to flood Bob Webber's mailbox, punishable malicious mischief.

I know of no net.rarebit postings other than ones occurring in news.*
with Sender: clearly indicating webber@aramis.rutgers.edu.  So far, the
only forgeries I have seen are those that came in the control group.
Doubtless they were intended to flood my mailbox -- much as Spafford
did last summer with his call for a vote of confidence (plus request
that a cc of each vote go to me).  

> Anyone who knows enough to do it knows better.

Obviously this is not true.

> I am of the opinion that it is not a forgery, that it _is_ Bob Webber and
> he has certainly been around long enough to know better, intentional
> malicious mischief.  He should be punished, by his news administrator, not
> the net.

An amusing opinion.  Quite wrong.  Now if their return address had
been the mail addresses of each of the moderators, I would understand
such an opinion (it would still be wrong -- but it would be
understandable).  Of course, this posting claiming to come from you
might itself be a forgery since the opinions expressed hardly fit in
with those expressed earlier when nominating me as ``keeper of the
votes.''  Then again, perhaps the weather isn't fair today in your
neck of the woods.

> I read the control messages.  This person needs a news administrator to
> land on them and soon.

Assuming you mean whoever sent the sendsys message, then I would agree
that it is clear that using the net mail facilities in this manner is
not an idea that should be encouraged.  On the other hand, at the
moment I have a rather low opinion of the people who set up the system
so that it could be so easily abused.  It is hard to see a way to
interpret this in the manner advised by Hanlon's Razor (cf
/usr/games/lib/fortunes.dat).  In theory there should be enough
information in various places on the net to establish rather well who
did this, even under the current setup.  Already enough information
has been collected to convince the local admins that it was not
generated from rutgers.edu.

------ BOB (webber@athos.rutgers.edu ; rutgers!athos.rutgers.edu!webber)