Shutting Down the Highway to Internet Hell

Yahoo News / Ziff Davis: News ^ | 10 April 2005 | Larry Seltzer

[ShadowAce]

[elbucko]

Chief Justice Marshall held that; "the power to tax was the power to destroy".
Tax spam at any source that it can be found.

[TalonDJ]

Bah! This guy is not too bright.

Namely, even if spammers were to move to other avenues, it's still worth closing port 25 to stop them from using it.

Sooo.... spammers can find a way around it but it is worth blocking it anyway.... sure, if that is worth it then why not block all ports and shut everything down? ISP's blocking 25 is a stupid solution. Microsoft actually making harder to hijack your computer is the solution.

[ShadowAce]

If you start taxing spam, you open the door to taxing all e-mail.

That is in addition to deciding whether it's even feasible.

[ShadowAce]

ISP's blocking 25 is a stupid solution.

I think so too--if you are running a mail server, that mail server can use any port it wants to. There's nothing magical about port 25.

[TalonDJ]

That would mean taxing email and would end up requiring the government to track all internet traffic.
"the power to tax was the power to destroy"... You really want to give the federal government the power to destroy email?

[TalonDJ]

Exactly! The server can send OUT any port it wants to. Advocating blocking 25 demonstrates a lack of understanding or internet protocols and packet structure.

[N3WBI3]

I think its an ill advised (not a stupid) solution. So long as I can opt-in (with no extra charge) to having port 25 open I dont see a huge problem with it. Now if they touch 23, ill start the revolution...

[Thud]

ping

[N3WBI3]

Advocating blocking 25 demonstrates a lack of understanding or internet protocols and packet structure.

As outgoing connection dont need to accept on port 25 (start a telnet session to your mailserver and then do a netstat) an ISP can block 25 with minimal impact. Only people who accept connections on 25 would be affected (some ppl like me that run a small mail server) and spambots would be hurt...

[ShadowAce]

Now if they touch 23, ill start the revolution...

You'll still have 443, though...

[ShadowAce]

You'll still have 443 22, though...

Fixed it for me... :)

[elbucko]

That would mean taxing email..

No. I specifically wrote "spam". Isn't there a difference between the mass e-mailing of commercial messages via the Internet and individual or company e-mail communication? I think there is and spam can be classified as such and therefore taxed (destroyed).

[ShadowAce]

Isn't there a difference between the mass e-mailing of commercial messages via the Internet and individual or company e-mail communication?

Technically? No. I subscribe to a couple of (legit) Internet newsletters who have very large subscriber bases. Are those spam when they go out? How do you tell the difference?

[RockinRight]

This highway to hell???

[TalonDJ]

Yes but this would put in place everything the fed need to tax email and leave them with power to determine which emails should and should not be called spam. Companies that send out legit special offer emails to people on a list would be impacted my this. They would either be taxed or have to show records of who signed up for the list to prove they were not unsolicited. I don't want the federal government anywhere near Internet regulating. There are other routes spam senders can use to send stuff to victims. They can't all be blocked.

[proxy_user]

I would think that the main problem would be that the ISPs want to maintain common carrier status. If they start becoming responsible for what users do, there's no end to it.

[N3WBI3]

ack you fixed mine as well, cant believe I put 23 in there... ok they can have 23... 22 is where we hold the line ;)

[TalonDJ]

Every plan I have so far seen to tax spam was basically to tax ALL email by a very small amount (1/10 cent) and those that send up huge amounts of it would get hit hard by it. You might want to take note that a lot of spam gets sent from the computers of victims whose computers have had a program implanted on them. They might use their computer without ever knowing it is there until they get a huge tax bill from Uncle Sam.