[lug] off topic, spam laws

[Peter Hutnick]

On Monday 11 February 2002 08:53 am, Jeffrey Siegal wrote:
> Peter Hutnick wrote:
> > On Sunday 10 February 2002 09:23 pm, D. Stimits wrote:
> > > I am considering trying to get some legislation passed that would make
> > > it a criminal offense to forge headers during commercial advertisement.
> >
> > I think that criminalizing theft of service would make more sense.
>
> What you're calling theft of service is probably already criminal, under
> anti-hacking statutes which prohibit "access to" or "use of" a computer
> system by someone who is not authorized to do so by the owner of the
> system.
>
> The problem is that theft of service on a public email server basically
> requires you to notify the spammer not to use your email server; they
> get one free bite at the apple, which may still be a *very* large spam
> problem if there are a large number of spammers (and there are).  Plus,
> if you can't easily figure out who they are, you can't really notify
> them not to use your email server.

I think that everything you said here is true.  But (like so many laws) it 
doesn't make any sense.

If I may draw a metaphor . . . Leaving your front door unlocked is foolish, 
but should you have to show a bugler the door and ask him not to return 
before it becomes a crime?

-Peter