RE: [cobalt-users] Spam blocking

["Tom Cameron" <tomcameron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

=> It was repeated in the new CAN SPAM law that took effect in January. You
=> can find it there.
=> But, in the US it's a simple matter of private property. The ISPs only
=> liability is based on their contract with their customers and virtually
=> every one makes no guarantee that any email will be delivered.

Not that I feel like perpetuating this discussion too much, but surely you
are affecting more people other than just your customers. You are often
affecting people who have no contract with you at all.

In the case of innocent people sending mail to those on your network, you
are assuming that they are guilty of something without any reason except
that they happen to live in a certain country or use a certain network
(something that you often have little control over). This is effectively a
form of discrimination.

E.g. About a year ago the about.com network blocked a range that covered
about 2/3 of Australian networks. I was unable to communicate with anybody
on that network for several months. This move affected all the major
broadband providers in the country. Where I live, was only one cable
provider at the time, so I had no way of changing networks. I could not even
email about.com techsupport to discuss as they blocked even that. I was
working with a client who was using hit tracking software from about.com. I
ended up loosing that client because I was unable to work with them. Clearly
only a small loss.

But clearly, the actions of blocking spam indiscriminately affect innocent
people and those people _may_ in some countries have a right to seek
compensation.

Tom