AOL now rejecting mail from Comcast residential IPs.

[Kenneth E. Lussier]

On Mon, 2003-03-31 at 08:22, Derek Martin wrote:
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> On Sun, Mar 30, 2003 at 10:09:38PM -0500, Ben Boulanger wrote:
> > Ya know, I said my part.  I put my .02 in... but I just can't sit here and 
> > listen to this anymore.  Here's what it comes down to:  You ARE in IP 
> > Space of known open relays.  You ARE in known residential space.  You ARE 
> > paying a low premium for high bandwidth (compare it if you disagree).  
> 
> No, I don't disagree with any of the facts you stated, but SO WHAT?
> That argument is of the same mentality as, "Well, you live in the
> neiborhood where all the drug dealers live, so if you are wrongly
> imprisoned for dealing drugs, that's just too bad."

This is completely flawed logic, since the comparison doesn't work. You
are in no way trapped, since you have a usable, working alternative. A
more likely comparison would be: You live in a neighborhood known for
thieves. Everyone locks their doors. If you want to get into their
house, you have to knock, and they have to let you in. Oh, hold it, my
deadbolt must be repressing my neighbors freedom... 
 
> I don't buy it.

You don't have to. Truth is free ;-)

> And while most other providers of high-bandwidth connections are a lot
> more expensive, there are two types of high-bandwidth connections that
> are (more or less) universally inexpensive for consumers: broadband,
> and DSL.  The problem is that neither are universally available, and
> more importantly neither market has sufficient competition.  We have
> the latter thanks to government listening to the lobbyists for the
> large telecoms (like AT&T/Comcast), shutting out everyone else.
> So, you can go complain to Comcast about anything you like until
> you're blue in the face, but they don't have to listen to you, and in
> general they simply won't, because they know they have you by the
> crunchies.  And they're doing everything in their power to keep it
> that way.

This is true. Sort of. There are several DSL companies out there that
have designed their services and pricing around users like us:Speakeasy,
Mindspring, Lightband, etc. They provide excellent service, and allow
you to do the things you want. They are a little more expensive then
broadband. But, if you want a Lexus, don't buy a Toyota and demand that
the manufacturer change it to suit your desires. 

As to your other argument about your TOS being between you and your ISP
and AOL should stay out of it, this again is not totally true. AOL is
aware of the fact that Comcast/AT&T/Mediaone/Whatever does not enforce
their TOS, and therefore, people are running open relays and spam
services on high speed connections. This has a direct effect on AOL's
customer base. AOL, acting on behalf of their subscriber base, took
action to block traffic that shouldn't exist to begin with. You say that
"You don't have to run an SMTP server...", but the fact is, you are.
There is absolutely no entitlement here. There is also no trampling of
freedoms. I doubt that anyone can show me anywhere in the Constitution
where is says that you have the right to run an SMTP server. 

C-Ya,
Kenny