>My question is, what gives them the right to >cut me off from the public database due to >query patterns -- regardless of how fast or >how automated the search is?
Why is this limitation on number/speed of retrievals any different than similar limitations you can find on countless servers designed to prevent (1) easy scooping of spam lists and (2) denial of service attacks?
From the "one spam a semester" I infer your primary account is an.edu address? Spammers tend to avoid these, in my experience. Some possibly out of whatever small conscience they have, more probably because they know that.edu users are often more able and willing to track down and block spamming sites. (Probably not because they think.edu users are too smart to fall for their ads--that would be giving too much credit to the American educational system.)
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Actually, given Earthlink's origins, wouldn't "MindHead" be a more appropriate name?
>My question is, what gives them the right to
>cut me off from the public database due to
>query patterns -- regardless of how fast or
>how automated the search is?
Why is this limitation on number/speed of
retrievals any different than similar limitations
you can find on countless servers designed to
prevent (1) easy scooping of spam lists and
(2) denial of service attacks?
From the "one spam a semester" I infer your primary account is an .edu address? Spammers tend to avoid these, in my experience. Some possibly out of whatever small conscience they have, more probably because they know that .edu users are often more able and willing to track down and block spamming sites. (Probably not because they think .edu users are too smart to fall for their ads--that would be giving too much credit to the American educational system.)