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Dutch Anti-Spam Ruling Nullified on Appeal
dex@ruunat writes: "Today, the Amsterdam court nullified an earlier ruling by a lower judge that that spam outfit AbFab is forbidden to send spam to customers of the Dutch ISP XS4all. According to the XS4all website (Dutch only), the judge ruled that spam doesn't cause very much inconvenience, and that people who want to get rid of it can easily change their email address. XS4all considers appealing to the Dutch high court. There's one other ray of hope though: in 15 months, the new European spam directive will come into force, effectively outlawing all spam." A prize of zero dollars to the reader who can suggest the translation engine which does the best job with Dutch :)
[ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]
When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.
Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.
FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.
It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.
So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.
Discussion
I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.
From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.
There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.
Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.
Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?
Shouts
To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.
To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. It's when you get distracted by the politickers that they sideline you. The tireless work that you perform keeping the system clean and building is what provides the platform for the obsessives and the prima donnas to have their moments in the sun. In the end, we need you all; in order to go forwards we must first avoid going backwards.
To the paranoid conspiracy theorists - yes, I work for Apple too. No, my resignation wasn't on Steve's direct orders, or in any way related to work I'm doing, may do, may not do, or indeed what was in the tea I had at lunchtime today. It's about real problems that the project faces, real problems that the project has brought upon itself. You can't escape them by inventing excuses about outside influence, the problem stems from within.
To the politically obsessed - give it a break, if you can. No, the project isn't a lemonade stand anymore, but it's not a world-spanning corporate juggernaut either and some of the more grandiose visions going around are in need of a solid dose of reality. Keep it simple, stupid.
To the grandstanders, the prima donnas, and anyone that thinks that they can hold the project to ransom for their own agenda - give it a break, if you can. When the current core were elected, we took a conscious stand against vigorous sanctions, and some of you have exploited that. A new core is going to have to decide whether to repeat this mistake or get tough. I hope they learn from our errors.
Future
I started work on FreeBSD because it was fun. If I'm going to continue, it has to be fun again. There are things I still feel obligated to do, and with any luck I'll find the time to meet those obligations.
However I don't feel an obligation to get involved in the political mess the project is in right now. I tried, I burnt out. I don't feel that my efforts were worthwhile. So I won't be standing for election, I won't be shouting from the sidelines, and I probably won't vote in the next round of ballots.
You could say I'm packing up my toys. I'm not going home just yet, but I'm not going to play unless you can work out how to make the project somewhere fun to be again.
= Mike
--
- posted by poopbot: for the crapflooder in all of us
TUjBo33OWS Post #272
fp
that people who want to get rid of it can easily change their email address.
Changing your e-mail address is not as easy as one thinks. Sure, the change of address itself is not difficult, but notifying all the contacts that used the address can be.
Soemtimes, changing addresses to defeat spam is not worth the hassle, especially since spammers will get the new address anyway.
CLIT. Are you a memb
Yeah, right, so I change my e-mail address, then I have to tell everyone I actually want to contact me what the new e-mail address is, then they have to actually remember that I am at the new e-mail address (or update their database, address book or whatever on me), then when the spammers find me at the new e-mail address, the whole thing repeats all over again. Meanwhile, the ISP is getting spam trying to get sent to the abandoned e-mail addresses... Would the judge feel the same way if this were a phone number we were talking about here?
Anti-Spam Legislation Opposed By Powerful Penis Enlargement Industry
yeah, sure. most people have fixed addresses, as they're assigned by their employer, school, etc. Let's see bill gates try and change bgates@microsoft
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
What's the judge's email-address? His wife's, kids' addresses?
or we could just outlaw all spam seeing as it is completely worthless, and targets horny husbands and unknowing beggining internet users, the fact alone that the spycam website xs or whatever is one of the top hits websites right now shows that its not only unwanted, but should be illegal, maybe its me but, the only spam i can remember from a few years back was internet porn coming to your email, that was a pain also, but not near as annoying as spam today
Righteousness postpones the inevitable
http://burningaureole.caveism.net
This translation brought to you by WorldLingo's free machine translation service:
18 July of 2002
The Court court Amsterdam today cut down sentence in the business of Abfab the US XS4ALL and 4 customers. The court destroys the diction in short lawsuit in which Abfab become forbidden still longer unasked commerciele e-mails (spam) to send to customers of XS4ALL, under penalty of a penalty payment of EURO 50 by bulletin. The possibility leaves the court in order continue if in the general spammers to she gives rise to nuisance; "In the case of the type spam which looks after for nuisance, is proportionaliteits-eisen in the lawsuit and can at niet-inachtneming from that it of onrechtmatigheid talk be. "
The court enters vastly on several layers on which the spamverbod had based XS4ALL, namely telecommunicatie-wetgeving, privacy - and (netwerk-)eigendomsrechten. Unfortunately concludes the court which does not satisfy none of these layers in order call a halt behaviour of Abfab, very the undesirable in the eyes of XSÂLL, to.
Simply rash XS4ALL the official report of the court which considers the violation on the privacy of the addressees is relative small. In to understand with difficulty a reasoning to the court notes that then a e-mail address is less given public (woon-)adres, and therefore certain a confidential character has, but that would cause the leaking out of it on the other hand less damage then a real address, because for each easy and against small costs of e-mail address can change. In the eyes of XS4ALL blijk of small opinion in the value give the court those internetters suture to conservation of their e-mail address as digital identity. More certainly now much internetters change, broadband Internet, go up it moreover in order change address strong overstapkosten in order of to.
XS4ALL are disappointed concerning this negative diction and have themselves recommended concerning the possibility in cassation go. The new European directive for privacy in the telecommunication sector issues an explicit prohibition on impeding internetters with unasked bulkmail. The European Council accepted the final text meanwhile and publication in the officiele publication booklet of the EU become thus expect in the short term. Afterwards it the member States have implement still 15 months the time the prohibition to. The court recognizes this and puts: "The problem of XS4ALL and [ the 4 customers ] himself, to himself now let aanzien, vanzelf to solve. "XS4ALL had hoped save Abfab and similar digital marketing companies of harte her customers with immediate entrance further nuisance of, but customers can now only to help with establishing technical spamfilters to the access to keep to serious communication.
More information regarding opt-in the spamfilters of XS4ALL:h tml
http://www.xs4all.nl/nieuws/overzicht/spamfilter.
The sentence:. html
http://www.xs4all.nl/nieuws/overzicht/abfab180702
July 18th 2002 ...not important, tells that really annoying spam can be forbidden or something)"
The Amsterdam court today ruled in the case of Abfab vs XS4ALL and 4 customers. The court destroys the ruling which forbade Abfab to send unsollicited commercial e-mail (spam) to customers of XS4ALL, with a punishment of 50 EURO per message (that had to be paid of Abfab did send spam). The court does leave the possibility to sue spammers in general if they cause severe interference ; "In the case of the type of spam which causes interference, the proportionality-claims (?) are in place and
The court extensively talks about the different grounds upon which XS4ALL had based the anti-spam ruling, namely the telecommunication-law, privacy- and (network ) ownership rights. Unfortunately the court concludes that none of these grounds justify the stop of Abfabs very -according to XS4ALL- unwanted behaviour.
XS4ALL really doesn't agree with the Court's finding that the breach of privacy of the adressees is relatively small. In a hard to understand point of view the Court concludes that an e-mail address is less of a a public given than a (mail-)address, and thus surely has a more confidential character, but that the publication of it on the other hand would cause less damage than a real address, because you can easily and at low costs change e-mail adresses. In the eyes of XS4ALL the Court hereby shows little insight in the value netizens attribute to the conservation (transl?) of their e-mail address as a digital identity. Especially now when lots of netizens are moving to permanent, broad-band internet, costs of changing address rise.
XS4ALL is disappointed about this negative ruling and is asking advise about the possibility to go to the supreme court. The new European Guideline for Privacy in the Telecom-sector explicitely forbids interference of internet-work with unwanted bulkmail. The European Counsil has accepted the final text and the publication of in the official publication of the EU is therefor expected soon. After that the member states have got 15 months to implement the prohibition. The Court acknowledges this and says: "The problem of XS4ALL and [the 4 customers] will fade, as the situation looks now, away automatically." XS4ALL had hoped wholehartedly to immediately help her customers avoid this kind of interference from Abfab and other similar digital marketing companies, but can now only help customers installing technical spam filters to maintain access to "serious" communication.
I think that for a one month period, sometime this year, all anti-spammers and ISP's around the globe should suspend any activities that they are currently undertaking to supress spam.
The judge in this case said that spam is not much of a problem. I think that's his honest perception, because he doesn't see the full magnitude of the problem. By suspending all anti-spam activities, the full weight of the spam problem will become known by all.
I propose that the month of September be set aside for this purpose this year.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Let's just send all our spam to the Dutch court, since all they need to do is change their email addresses.
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
OK, isn't that a little like moving to avoid crap through your mailslot? Or perhaps I should get a P.O.Box and change it regularly? The hell with all my subscriptions.
Methinks it's pretty obvious this judge doesn't even have an email address to begin with. He's never gotten spam, so he can't possibly know wtf he's talking about.
-- This sig for rent.
XS4All does have an English version of the page:l .html
http://www.xs4all.nl/uk/news/overview/abfab_appea
--
Ehm... I'm not very creative