Re: [Asrg] Re: SPF abused by spammers

[Markus Stumpf <maex-lists-spam-ietf-asrg at Space.Net>]

On Thu, Sep 09, 2004 at 09:28:23AM -0700, Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. wrote:
> ..but one can easily see why the press grabbed what it did and ran with 
> it.

Can you elaborate what you mean?

I have no warm hearted feelings to press people. But:

There is the IRTF ASRG group which works for more than a year towards a
"solution for the spam problem". Then, based on some pressure on the
IETF, MARID gets formed, a group that starts with all the output the ASRG
has produced so far and besides the people from the ASRG working on
MARID there are even more well known in the email business and even
some big names from the IETF steering group actively participate in
the process.
There is big enthusiasm and a close timeline, but all are in a good
mood to solve "the spam problem". But when the charter is accepted careful
observers notice: this is not a group working on "the anti spam solution".
But most of the journalists, even those lurking on the list have
probably not enough background to really understand all that talk.

Reports show that the group is proceeding very well and different
methods are merged to provide a joint solution with the best of all.
Shortly before the finish line is reached there are biiiiig problems,
Microsoft claims IPR (which they did even before the group was chartered,
btw, but everyone ignored it). Ok, no need for headaches. We have a
second trump card, we play ... SPF. Tataaaa. Some minor changes and we
are back on track. We still don't have "the anti spam solution", but hey,
who cares or realizes this. Meng himself stated it occasionally, some
others did, but everyone always says "this is the way to go", so nobody
asks where the way will really lead to.

And now the report by CipherTrust. The world is collapsing. SPF is not
working? Spammers are using SPF to deliver spam? Even more spammers are
using SPF than others? Hell is freezing. A black day for the Internet.
The finest heads in the Internet business cannot put the spammers behind
the gates and control them. All is lost.

If you mean this with
> ..but one can easily see why the press grabbed what it did and ran with 
> it.
then I agree with you ...

	\Maex

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Research & Development |       D-80807 Muenchen    | Fax: +49 (89) 32356-299
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