[117912] in Cypherpunks
Re: "Posting Anonymously is the Sign of a Coward"
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Wed Sep 15 00:00:56 1999
Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 05:35:14 +0200 (CEST)
Message-Id: <199909150335.FAA08831@mail.replay.com>
From: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
To: mail2news@basement.replay.com, mail2news@nym.alias.net,
cypherpunks@toad.com
Reply-To: Anonymous <nobody@replay.com>
"Arthur L. Rubin" <216-5888@mcimail.com> wrote:
> Sorcerer wrote:
>
> > The *only* identifiable "source in the chain" for this post is outside
> > the USA, and can prove that the post arrived encrypted at his server,
> > and that he exercises no editorial control.
>
> Much as I hate to be associated with CoS, they did get pnet.fi shut
> down, on pretty much that basis. I admit it would cost much more
> than any Internet libel would be worth to prosecute it, but that's
> not to say it couldn't be prosecuted.
Anon.penet.fi was shut down by its operator after harassment by the
Co$. Scientology succeeded in obtaining the identity of one
nymholder, after originally trying to subpoena the entire database.
The anon.penet.fi concept was fatally flawed in that it required the
operator to keep a database linking nyms to real email addresses.
Keeping this database lures litigious individuals and organizations,
inviting endless costly litigation.
Mailmasher was a more sound concept, but it succumbed to designer
abuse of suspicious origin after a small usenet clique failed in an
earlier attempt to get it shut down. An allegation was originally
made that Mailmasher was somehow being used to "forge" usenet posts.
Actually, Mailmasher never had any such capability. But messages
were showing up, via a mail2news gateway, with mailmasher.com message
IDs and the net illiterati fell for it and accused Mailmasher's
operator, Jeff Burchell, of permitting "forgery". Others pointed
out at the time that it was more likely that whoever was forging the
From: lines was also forging the Message-ID: lines so as to
falsely implicate Mailmasher.
A group of accountholders at databasix.com, led by William
McClatchie (aka "Wotan"), spearheaded a campaign to get Mailmasher
shut down, based on this unproven allegation of "forgery". He urged
others to write to Mailmasher's upstream providers and urge them to
disconnect Mailmasher's internet feed. This failed.
Very shortly thereafter, the coup de grace came. Someone created an
anonymous 'nym at Mailmasher, and proceeded to make usenet posts,
using that 'nym, to advertise a (purported) CD-ROM containing
pirated "warez" software. Another dutiful individual reported this
to the Software Publishing Association which tracks down copyright
violations. Apparently the SPA gave the ultimatum "shut down
Mailmasher or we'll sue". Unable to defend against suits from such
a powerful organization, Mailmasher bit the dust. I have every
reason to believe that the person who created the 'nym and
advertised the "warez" is the same one who anonymously turned the ad
into the SPA. And its timing right after DataBasix.com's own failed
attempt to shut down Mailmasher is indeed suspicious. Mailmasher's
operator, Jeff Burchell, considered Billy McClatchie to be a prime
suspect at the time.
