Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!dogie!uwmcsd1!marque!introl!dworld!nic
From: nic@dworld.UUCP (Nic Bernstein)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Braindamaged test messages clogging the net
Summary: Appropriate punishment
Message-ID: <495@dworld.UUCP>
Date: 11 May 88 18:16:15 GMT
References: <255@comdesign.UUCP> <1218@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU> <22716@pyramid.pyramid.com> <3266@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>
Reply-To: nic@dworld.UUCP (Nic Bernstein)
Distribution: na
Organization: Discovery World: Museum of Science, Economics and Technology inc.
Lines: 40

In article <3266@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu> fair@ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU (Erik E. Fair) writes:
>So, can anyone think of a suitable punishment for these two
>ignoramuses?

	After getting three of these replies (so far) at 68K each, and
growing with each new header, I spent a fair amount of time trying to 
figure out why.  (I don't read the test groups, or talk.bizarre, so I 
didn't see the original postings).  Needless to say, some examination
of the headers revealed the reason.  By this time, I have had five
copies of this beast on my machine; three in my mail box, one in misc.
test, and one in alt.test.  5 x 68,000 = 340,000 of space eaten up on 
my already overburdened 3B1, it also equals 47.2 minutes of connect
time at 1200 baud with my neighbor, 340,000 of space on each system
down the line, etc.  My first inclination was to flame the idiots that
started this, but that would only waste more space/time/money.  So,
instead I suggest that perhaps the best punishment would be to make
these people PAY FOR IT!!

	Now I know that this is not a realistic suggestion, but the
thought of an unknown number of servant repliers sending two replies
to each of 109 people throughout the net boggles the imagination.
What these foolish posters have done, stupid as it was, is to show us
a very effective form of usenet virus.  Much scarier than the cost of
their stupidity is the prospect of someone else doing this maliciously.
I can only hope that enough sysadmins are aware of this, and doing what
they can to fix their auto ACK systems to prevent something like this
bringing usenet to it's knees.

>> All in all, I've boo boo'ed big-time.
I'd say!!!!!
>> Paul S. Traina			arpa: @pyramid.com:pst@comdesign.uucp

-- 
"You can't spend your history!"		Nic Bernstein
	Melinda Briggerty		Discovery World Museum
"... but you can sell it!"		818 W. Wisconsin av.
	Me				Milwaukee, WI 53233
____________________________________________________________________________
		{uunet|uwmcsd1|gryphon}!marque{!introl}!dworld!nic
____________________________________________________________________________