Well, having kids and seeing first hand, having myself passed my school days abroad:
1) whimpy 'potential' kind of junk: solid scores and solid knowledge cannot be replaced. Yes, it seems hard to tell a kid 'you did not make the grade', but hetter 'hard' now, than ruining an entire life due to a lack in proficiency in reading, writing, basic calculus (schook is not teaching 'math')
2) downgrading requirements in the face of lack of performance: entire school districts do that: minimize the number of bad grades at all cost, not by upgrading teaching, but by downgrading requirements: My just recent example: my son had to do summer school to pass the grade. Great, I thought. This was just an eyewash of the local school district to have kids pass who would otherwise not. Don't get me wrong, he is bright and intelligent, but the teaching methods basically suck (sounding out instead of spelling! calculus they do in 5th and 6th grade, I had in 2nd grade, fractions and decimal fractions were done for me in 4th grade, because then I moved to 'gymnasium' for 5th).
3) lack of brain training: grow dendrites by learning stuff, like poems, musical pieces, etc. If it is not used, it atrophiates: that's true for the brain interconnectivity count. Sure, it does not seem to make sense to learn a 3 page poem and have to recite it. The goal is not the poem, the goal is brain gymnastics. Compare to phys.ed. (here 'fayette', what a farce!): it does not make sense to lift weights, balance balls, or climb ropes. However, it strengthens skeletal muscles, which in turn helps improve posture, which in turn later on reduces health care cost!
4) Shortsighted 'immediate gratification' thinkimg amd meglect of attention span training. Most younger people I know here are unable to pay close attention for longer than 4 to 5 minutes. Reason: probably TV: every 3 to 4 minutes kids programs are interrupted for commercials. Bad training for a developing brain. Result of this: if the reward does not come within the attention span or shortly thereafter, the individual is frustrated. Learning to do good without immediate reward: very necessary!
5) fake 'good job' just to keep the kid happy: unhappiness is an integral part of our lives. If we don't teach this to our kids, they grow up under a false assumption: passive aggressive pouting adults are the result (see the workplaces here around, as a consultant I come around a lot!).
6) lack of a nationally imposed curriculum: every school district rolls their own. Mine just nixed German, French (yes, I know, they are evil people anyways, right? got that from your school district too...), not even ever thinking about Russian. Foreing languages are starting in Europe in 4th grade (English, mandatory when I was in school), the second mandatory language (choice between French, Latin) comes in 6th grade.
7) lack of real nationwide result testing guidelines and rules. The SAT is not a school/state/national thing. And get real, this is a mickymouse test!
8) power to the knitting ladies who run the school district: lack of global worls citizenship thinking, nationally centered geography and history (no wonder people here cannot place Belgium, Belarussia, Tibet on a globe, nor the Marianen Trench); same for technology: if it was not invented here, it is not mentioned, or it is 'redirected' to a national 'inventor'. The Russians did that too, basically everything invented was doen by a Popov guy, from the Diesel engine to the nuclear fission).
Overall, the over-emphasis on national, us, we, the evel others limits what kids really get. This is especially true for history, as an example: this is a young nation here, 'tradition' reaches back 200, maybe 250 years. European history, world history is an integral part from where this nation emerged. Not teaching this leaves kids in a bubble, with the planted thought that 'this is the greatest here', forgetting the recent origins, which actually make the richess of this nation. Looking
just a little detail from a purist assembler coder: in real supercomputing you do not want your processor to 'auto-schedule' or rearrange your code.
in the end, real special code is still hand oprimized, since no compiler nor any built-in rescheduling algorithms can actually know what I really want to achieve.
Maybe I just want to accept the half ready value because I don't care for part of it.
Maybe I want to put one instruction way ahead to prime a set of registers for what is coming.
A processor which is always auto-scheduling can achieve only performance within the foresight that the rescheduling design put into it. But not for my very special algorithm for just this one dumb equation I want to solve.
It is not a 'fail' criterion for a processor to strictly adhere to what I tell it, and thus provide an exactly reproduceable solution path each time.
The result of this automatic rescheduling is that execution times in the end become non deterministic. In some cases you just want to avoid that.
The scope is for sure not gaming, but hand optimized supercomputer grade code: check the compiler's result over and manually squeeze clock cycles out by doing things that seem to put cycles in, but reward in the end because one 'senseless' instruction may just have served to prime a cache o, register file, or vector set with new content for the next run, just in time when the pipe runs empty.
Curious why the DecAlpha does not appear in these posts....
you are wrong it was on TV Al Gore invented the Internet, he said it himself, I do have it tapad and also cut to DVD. So it is true! Would you accuse a U.S. VP of misrepresenting this? I do believe in TV and politician's own words, because that's always a clean, solid guarantee for a good laugh!
aren't those who "know how to work the system" behind the DHCP (ug....) and Internet Service Providing business?
Currently many ISPs do have underperforming DNS services (or do implement it as bandwidth throttle.....); can't get worse than it is already, can it?
Just chose the ISP with the set of root lookups you like....
... and domanin names are, like trademarks, the property of the registrant.
As you can have a fake rolex, you can also have today a fake amazon.com; happens all the time...
And in censored countries, DNS hijacking is one of the tool used to prevent ppl to get the real skoop.
now to the French and Germans: what' s the color of your neck......? Won't even comment on your 'us' in 'who work the system', looking at this very objective and non pejoratif view of the world!
well, look, how else could they get all the things you are not declaring but hosting on your PC....? they depend on a cooperating OS for that (I bet their software downloads an applet, and that's in vbscript....
don't worry about losing skills using one or the other.
I do 10 finger blind on U.S./International, French, and German kbds.
I use one physical 110 or so key kbd (I don't care what's written on the keys, I do have a spare one that has them marked for Portuguese)
Clicking between kbds (yes, Linux....) will become just as 'normal' to you as clicking between desktops. The language context makes you stay within the kbd topology.
And sure, why not type on a Dvorjak for qwerty, once you have multiple kbds down you will skip the switch button and run English texts from one of the other kbds. Only the other way round is then requiring some switching action, latest at the first cedille or umlaut;-}
I would program my system to consult all servers I would need,
and I would be happy if the persistent spam networks in China would not get any root server access, or just limited one from those who will still allow queries from these sources
fragmented dns is no problem, it is already fragmented (tons of registrars, RIPE, APAC, etc.).
Something technical about who owns the root servers:
any system could not care less who the root servers are.
just edit the root server file, add whatever server _you, the mature Internet user_ want to use.
Being a root server is not an inherent privilege, but a decision by systems who do DNS queries.
I can run all my stuff with any server plugged in as a root server. If it provides enough DNS space resolved for what I need, I could not care less where it is located, or who controls it.
However, it is only out of mutual respect that there is not such a thing as the 'International' set of root servers yet, vs. the 'U.S. set of root servers'.
Functionality would be the same (of course, no filtering and cheating assumed...)
DNS async: we do have that already: any change takes days to trickle through the net, that does not depend on who or where the root servers are
Here is how you do your own root server:
plug in all first level domains (do DNS queries) you are interested in: e.g. ans.com, uunet.net,... etc.
Advantage: adserver.biz would not be in it......(not in mine, and doubleclick.net is served by my own DNS server as my DNS server's special address for 'connection refused' answers to my systems)
So tayloring your own 'root' server gives you extreme advantages on who can put popups on your screen, send you spam, etc. (a domain not in my private root server would just trigger 'invalid email address')
The optimmum solution: run your own root server for everything you need. If something does not come up that you would need: just automagically have it added (dns update.....) with the click of a button on the 'not found' popup (needs a little tktcl work....no biggie!)
There would for sure be no 'war of the root servers', because those not liked for any reason would then sport the sign 'we control the root server but nobody came'....
Root servers are not root servers by decree, they are root servers by acceptance. I can edit my root hint file and chose any server that fulfills my needs.
significant development of Internet assets (softwares, methodologies )has shifted to RIPE (NL, that's in Europe...) since the 90s when MIT started to get greedy and for profited the route server.
ICANN is not an authority: it is a 1 guy (dead) and one secretary office.
The route servers would then finally be able to curtail spam right at the root: no root service for spammer networks (oh, sorry, only U.S. root service.... let's keep the commercial interests going, right?).
While ICANN et al are supposed to be internationally run, the 'inter' is still missing...
Putting myself into the boots of a foreign government, I'd hurry to make the Internet international, and not be administrated by people who cannot even protect their own DoD servers (lol).
and the meddling.....
during the first Gulf War, Cisco disabled military routers because someone did not pay a bill......
OPen up NAPs for real hardware would be a next good project.
My personal opinion is that the U.N. should run the INternet agencies; this way they can disconnect nations who don't pay their dues....
... and by right away deleting that gibberish string in/etc/shadow, right afer userid/gid, you won't need a password at all: nothing to forget!
btw: better still: by not using pam and shadow you would avoid a lot of problems with forgotten passwords! Just edit your nsswitch file accordingly, uninstall PAM (she's pretty but high maintenance:-} )
In the recommendations, 'write down password' is set against 'store password on computer'...
yes, and copy it to the clipboard which I can empty the moment you access one of my spiked pages....
My rules for passwords for others:
- use simple, easy to guess ones so you won't forget them
- use a set of simple passwords and rotate them through your different accounts, so you have just a small set to try (less than 3....?)
- tape your root password under your keyword (or administrator...)
- publish your mail passwords by using unsafe pop3
- router passwords, as with all devices you have that you either administrate through a web interface or a serial link: use permanent marker, bottom of the device
- email your passwords to yourself frequently via unencrypted links, so you are sure they are stored in some email account of yours somewhere
- use all free avalable password management software you can get, prefer those that need to be connected to the Internet while encrypting your passwords for the local store.....:-}
- writing passwords on a piece of paper is useless, unless you note also exactly for which computer and account they are, where the device/terminal is, and what the dial-up modem number/password are.
- don't bother to protect modems and cable routers with passwords: nobody will hack these because they are boring and don't contain your private information
- keep the world at peace: one password for all occasions!
My rules:
I use the NOYB method to safeguard my passwords.
Mike
first: it is enough to get a blip here and there to track any person: how many doorframes do you pass a day?
Tracking stations can easily be made mandatory on all public building entries, which would include stores, parking ramps, airport gates/doorframes/screening stations, reilway car doors, public bus line vehicles...
With some well intended legislation, this could very easily become 'the' thing to do to provide security.
Because: if you don't have anything to hide, then why would you object to well meaning governmnet to know where you are? There might be an emergency and you might need to be contacted....imagine!
So let's go, let's start testing it in some confined, controlled environment, and then let's implement nationwide!
a small step for legislator, a huge leap for the "illuminati"
your 'I hopt that 747 isn't using...':
sure is: nearly everything in Boeing is contracted out to lowest bidders.
As is the space shuttle: a hodgepodge of Millions of parts done by lowest bidders. (how does it fly?)
greed, not design.....
Even the Titanic went down because of greed. Not told in the anglo-saxon versions of that story: the board of directors changed the steel to be used from one that can operate in low temperature waters to one that becomes brittle like glass at 4C. Goal: the directors did pocket more, because they built 'cheaper'.
Well, well: looks as if IBM is throwing rocks from within the glass house:
There are I guess only two countries worldwide, where a patent can be obtained for something that has been published prior in another country.
One of them is the U.S.. Occurrence: RSA patent The RSA patent content had been published in the scientific community, I think it was in Israel. It was possible, after publication as a scientific paper, to obtain a patent in the U.S. for the RSA methodology.
The first step to protect prior art would thus be to immediately change the patent laws, right?
Another very useful thing is communication. I remember an occurrence when, in the 90s, someone tried to patent on big/small endian and network endian. I myself had 'prior art' in formulating network endian to mediate between disparate boxes, when TCP/IP was not around, and I had to write my network protocols and drivers myself. And the routines everyone uses look the same: once optimized the result is just obvious.
Communication is everything. I could enter the prior art (one of many others) claim, that network endian was not patentable. And this only because someone posted it on a mailing list I happened to read at the time.
Communication, and changing patent laws to achieve an internationally even playing field.
I would not call for additional legislation...who knows who's interests will be served once it is written up and tagged with all kinds of piggyback stuff.
Well, well: my recommendation to you: switch providers ASAP.
One spam complaint, or 'a couple' of complaints not being followed up does not bring anyone into a blackhole list.
RBL lists and spam tagging services (spamcop, spamhaus, etc.) are a very good thing: they keep in check those who want to take more for themselves than they have the right to.
Your hosting provider did not get into the RBL for 'one or two' spam complaints 'not dealt with fast enough': it takes a couple of independent complaints, each backed up with full spam emails, including all headers. I am not sure how many MAPS requires to see before acting, but I would guess it is not one alone. MAPS also works with providers before swinging the big axe.
Spammers do good bandwidth, and I guess your provider is cashing for GB/month. Maybe they did not prevent spammers from signing up again, so the spammer could actually 'poison' a ouple of different subnets. Maybe there were several different spammers operating successfully off your hosting provider.
Switch to a different provider now.
You are probably working with one of the 'spam friendly' ones, who actually advertise that, and hide spam hosts with all kinds of 'no traceroute', no lookups, etc. Just check, there's more to it than you think, and than your provider tells you.
Calling the list or spam tagging service is the wrong approach.
You should have called your provider, who should have given you immediately an address outside of the blackholed ranges. Sure, that takes a while to trickle through the Internet, but is still faster than waiting for a resolution of the blackhole listing issue.
Did your provider do that? Was your provider available? Did they send you to MAPS?
If they sent you to MAPS then they know what they are doing and just try to give MAPS unjustified grief by directing 100s of customers to their phones. And that's spam too.....blocking someones phone lines this way...
Slashdot Mirror
Well, having kids and seeing first hand, having myself passed my school days abroad:
1) whimpy 'potential' kind of junk: solid scores and solid knowledge cannot be replaced. Yes, it seems hard to tell a kid 'you did not make the grade', but hetter 'hard' now, than ruining an entire life due to a lack in proficiency in reading, writing, basic calculus (schook is not teaching 'math')
2) downgrading requirements in the face of lack of performance: entire school districts do that: minimize the number of bad grades at all cost, not by upgrading teaching, but by downgrading requirements:
My just recent example: my son had to do summer school to pass the grade.
Great, I thought.
This was just an eyewash of the local school district to have kids pass who would otherwise not. Don't get me wrong, he is bright and intelligent, but the teaching methods basically suck (sounding out instead of spelling! calculus they do in 5th and 6th grade, I had in 2nd grade, fractions and decimal fractions were done for me in 4th grade, because then I moved to 'gymnasium' for 5th).
3) lack of brain training: grow dendrites by learning stuff, like poems, musical pieces, etc. If it is not used, it atrophiates: that's true for the brain interconnectivity count. Sure, it does not seem to make sense to learn a 3 page poem and have to recite it. The goal is not the poem, the goal is brain gymnastics.
Compare to phys.ed. (here 'fayette', what a farce!): it does not make sense to lift weights, balance balls, or climb ropes. However, it strengthens skeletal muscles, which in turn helps improve posture, which in turn later on reduces health care cost!
4) Shortsighted 'immediate gratification' thinkimg amd meglect of attention span training. Most younger people I know here are unable to pay close attention for longer than 4 to 5 minutes. Reason: probably TV: every 3 to 4 minutes kids programs are interrupted for commercials. Bad training for a developing brain.
Result of this: if the reward does not come within the attention span or shortly thereafter, the individual is frustrated.
Learning to do good without immediate reward: very necessary!
5) fake 'good job' just to keep the kid happy: unhappiness is an integral part of our lives. If we don't teach this to our kids, they grow up under a false assumption: passive aggressive pouting adults are the result (see the workplaces here around, as a consultant I come around a lot!).
6) lack of a nationally imposed curriculum: every school district rolls their own. Mine just nixed German, French (yes, I know, they are evil people anyways, right? got that from your school district too...), not even ever thinking about Russian. Foreing languages are starting in Europe in 4th grade (English, mandatory when I was in school), the second mandatory language (choice between French, Latin) comes in 6th grade.
7) lack of real nationwide result testing guidelines and rules. The SAT is not a school/state/national thing. And get real, this is a mickymouse test!
8) power to the knitting ladies who run the school district: lack of global worls citizenship thinking, nationally centered geography and history (no wonder people here cannot place Belgium, Belarussia, Tibet on a globe, nor the Marianen Trench); same for technology: if it was not invented here, it is not mentioned, or it is 'redirected' to a national 'inventor'. The Russians did that too, basically everything invented was doen by a Popov guy, from the Diesel engine to the nuclear fission).
Overall, the over-emphasis on national, us, we, the evel others limits what kids really get.
This is especially true for history, as an example: this is a young nation here,
'tradition' reaches back 200, maybe 250 years. European history, world history is an integral part from where this nation emerged. Not teaching this leaves kids in a bubble, with the planted thought that 'this is the greatest here', forgetting the recent origins, which actually make the richess of this nation.
Looking
I did not mean to pay the U.N. for Internet access. I meant the U.N. could then disconnect nations who don't pay the U.N. dues...... Please.....
in real supercomputing you do not want your processor to 'auto-schedule' or rearrange your code.
in the end, real special code is still hand oprimized, since no compiler nor any built-in rescheduling algorithms can actually know what I really want to achieve.
Maybe I just want to accept the half ready value because I don't care for part of it.
Maybe I want to put one instruction way ahead to prime a set of registers for what is coming.
A processor which is always auto-scheduling can achieve only performance within the foresight that the rescheduling design put into it. But not for my very special algorithm for just this one dumb equation I want to solve.
It is not a 'fail' criterion for a processor to strictly adhere to what I tell it, and thus provide an exactly reproduceable solution path each time.
The result of this automatic rescheduling is that execution times in the end become non deterministic. In some cases you just want to avoid that.
The scope is for sure not gaming, but hand optimized supercomputer grade code: check the compiler's result over and manually squeeze clock cycles out by doing things that seem to put cycles in, but reward in the end because one 'senseless' instruction may just have served to prime a cache o, register file, or vector set with new content for the next run, just in time when the pipe runs empty.
Curious why the DecAlpha does not appear in these posts....
you are wrong
it was on TV
Al Gore invented the Internet, he said it himself, I do have it tapad and also cut to DVD.
So it is true!
Would you accuse a U.S. VP of misrepresenting this?
I do believe in
TV and politician's own words, because that's always a clean, solid guarantee for a good laugh!
aren't those who "know how to work the system" behind the DHCP (ug....) and Internet Service Providing business?
Currently many ISPs do have underperforming DNS services (or do implement it as bandwidth throttle.....); can't get worse than it is already, can it?
Just chose the ISP with the set of root lookups you like....
As you can have a fake rolex, you can also have today a fake amazon.com; happens all the time...
And in censored countries, DNS hijacking is one of the tool used to prevent ppl to get the real skoop.
now to the French and Germans: what' s the color of your neck......? Won't even comment on your 'us' in 'who work the system', looking at this very objective and non pejoratif view of the world!
great, that keeps stoners off campus computers...
get real, put yourself into their smelly shoes...
I do 10 finger blind on U.S./International, French, and German kbds.
I use one physical 110 or so key kbd (I don't care what's written on the keys, I do have a spare one that has them marked for Portuguese)
Clicking between kbds (yes, Linux....) will become just as 'normal' to you as clicking between desktops. The language context makes you stay within the kbd topology.
And sure, why not type on a Dvorjak for qwerty, once you have multiple kbds down you will skip the switch button and run English texts from one of the other kbds. Only the other way round is then requiring some switching action, latest at the first cedille or umlaut ;-}
I would program my system to consult all servers I would need,
and I would be happy if the persistent spam networks in China would not get any root server access, or just limited one from those who will still allow queries from these sources
fragmented dns is no problem, it is already fragmented (tons of registrars, RIPE, APAC, etc.).
Something technical about who owns the root servers: any system could not care less who the root servers are.
just edit the root server file, add whatever server _you, the mature Internet user_ want to use.
Being a root server is not an inherent privilege, but a decision by systems who do DNS queries.
I can run all my stuff with any server plugged in as a root server. If it provides enough DNS space resolved for what I need, I could not care less where it is located, or who controls it.
However, it is only out of mutual respect that there is not such a thing as the 'International' set of root servers yet, vs. the 'U.S. set of root servers'.
Functionality would be the same (of course, no filtering and cheating assumed...)
DNS async: we do have that already: any change takes days to trickle through the net, that does not depend on who or where the root servers are
Here is how you do your own root server:
plug in all first level domains (do DNS queries) you are interested in: e.g. ans.com, uunet.net, ... etc.
Advantage: adserver.biz would not be in it......(not in mine, and doubleclick.net is served by my own DNS server as my DNS server's special address for 'connection refused' answers to my systems)
So tayloring your own 'root' server gives you extreme advantages on who can put popups on your screen, send you spam, etc. (a domain not in my private root server would just trigger 'invalid email address')
The optimmum solution: run your own root server for everything you need. If something does not come up that you would need: just automagically have it added (dns update.....) with the click of a button on the 'not found' popup (needs a little tktcl work....no biggie!)
There would for sure be no 'war of the root servers', because those not liked for any reason would then sport the sign 'we control the root server but nobody came'....
Root servers are not root servers by decree, they are root servers by acceptance. I can edit my root hint file and chose any server that fulfills my needs.
significant development of Internet assets (softwares, methodologies )has shifted to RIPE (NL, that's in Europe...) since the 90s when MIT started to get greedy and for profited the route server.
ICANN is not an authority: it is a 1 guy (dead) and one secretary office.
The route servers would then finally be able to curtail spam right at the root: no root service for spammer networks (oh, sorry, only U.S. root service.... let's keep the commercial interests going, right?).
While ICANN et al are supposed to be internationally run, the 'inter' is still missing...
Putting myself into the boots of a foreign government, I'd hurry to make the Internet international, and not be administrated by people who cannot even protect their own DoD servers (lol).
and the meddling.....
during the first Gulf War, Cisco disabled military routers because someone did not pay a bill...... OPen up NAPs for real hardware would be a next good project.
My personal opinion is that the U.N. should run the INternet agencies; this way they can disconnect nations who don't pay their dues....
http://www.brunners.com/life_gem.htm
if you don't want to wait for a death to occur naturally:
you need about 2 pounds of unprocessed (i.e. carbon left in) cremation ashes:
two dozen rats, orthwo to three dogs,po
8 cats, or
100 miles worth of roadkill
NO kartell involved
No blood
Fresh from the oven, no middlemen at all! Count anywhere between 5k$ to 11k$ for the stone (1/2 carat to 1 carat).
There are other sites. I think most of them have it done in Switzerland.
mike
btw: better still: by not using pam and shadow you would avoid a lot of problems with forgotten passwords! Just edit your nsswitch file accordingly, uninstall PAM (she's pretty but high maintenance :-} )
1 user account per machine is the rule: root m
yes, and copy it to the clipboard which I can empty the moment you access one of my spiked pages....
My rules for passwords for others: - use simple, easy to guess ones so you won't forget them
- use a set of simple passwords and rotate them through your different accounts, so you have just a small set to try (less than 3....?) - tape your root password under your keyword (or administrator...) - publish your mail passwords by using unsafe pop3 - router passwords, as with all devices you have that you either administrate through a web interface or a serial link: use permanent marker, bottom of the device
- email your passwords to yourself frequently via unencrypted links, so you are sure they are stored in some email account of yours somewhere
- use all free avalable password management software you can get, prefer those that need to be connected to the Internet while encrypting your passwords for the local store ..... :-}
- writing passwords on a piece of paper is useless, unless you note also exactly for which computer and account they are, where the device/terminal is, and what the dial-up modem number/password are.
- don't bother to protect modems and cable routers with passwords: nobody will hack these because they are boring and don't contain your private information
- keep the world at peace: one password for all occasions!
My rules: I use the NOYB method to safeguard my passwords. Mike
that one copy of 3.1 (duplicated about 1 billion times);
freedos
all they need.....
Because: if you don't have anything to hide, then why would you object to well meaning governmnet to know where you are? There might be an emergency and you might need to be contacted....imagine!
So let's go, let's start testing it in some confined, controlled environment, and then let's implement nationwide!
a small step for legislator, a huge leap for the "illuminati"
your 'I hopt that 747 isn't using...': sure is: nearly everything in Boeing is contracted out to lowest bidders. As is the space shuttle: a hodgepodge of Millions of parts done by lowest bidders. (how does it fly?) greed, not design..... Even the Titanic went down because of greed. Not told in the anglo-saxon versions of that story: the board of directors changed the steel to be used from one that can operate in low temperature waters to one that becomes brittle like glass at 4C. Goal: the directors did pocket more, because they built 'cheaper'.
Well, well: looks as if IBM is throwing rocks from within the glass house:
.
There are I guess only two countries worldwide, where a patent can be obtained for something that has been published prior in another country.
One of them is the U.S.
Occurrence: RSA patent
The RSA patent content had been published in the scientific community, I think it was in Israel.
It was possible, after publication as a scientific paper, to obtain a patent in the U.S. for the RSA methodology.
The first step to protect prior art would thus be to immediately change the patent laws, right?
Another very useful thing is communication. I remember an occurrence when, in the 90s, someone tried to patent on big/small endian and network endian.
I myself had 'prior art' in formulating network endian to mediate between disparate boxes, when TCP/IP was not around, and I had to write my network protocols and drivers myself.
And the routines everyone uses look the same: once optimized the result is just obvious.
Communication is everything. I could enter the prior art (one of many others) claim, that network endian was not patentable. And this only because someone posted it on a mailing list I happened to read at the time.
Communication, and changing patent laws to achieve an internationally even playing field.
I would not call for additional legislation...who knows who's interests will be served once it is written up and tagged with all kinds of piggyback stuff.
damicha
Well, well:
my recommendation to you:
switch providers ASAP.
One spam complaint, or 'a couple' of complaints not being followed up does not bring anyone into a blackhole list.
RBL lists and spam tagging services (spamcop, spamhaus, etc.) are a very good thing: they keep in check those who want to take more for themselves than they have the right to.
Your hosting provider did not get into the RBL for 'one or two' spam complaints 'not dealt with fast enough':
it takes a couple of independent complaints, each backed up with full spam emails, including all headers. I am not sure how many MAPS requires to see before acting, but I would guess it is not one alone.
MAPS also works with providers before swinging the big axe.
Spammers do good bandwidth, and I guess your provider is cashing for GB/month.
Maybe they did not prevent spammers from signing up again, so the spammer could actually 'poison' a ouple of different subnets. Maybe there were several different spammers operating successfully off your hosting provider.
Switch to a different provider now.
You are probably working with one of the 'spam friendly' ones, who actually advertise that, and hide spam hosts with all kinds of 'no traceroute', no lookups, etc.
Just check, there's more to it than you think, and than your provider tells you.
Calling the list or spam tagging service is the wrong approach.
You should have called your provider, who should have given you immediately an address outside of the blackholed ranges. Sure, that takes a while to trickle through the Internet, but is still faster than waiting for a resolution of the blackhole listing issue.
Did your provider do that?
Was your provider available?
Did they send you to MAPS?
If they sent you to MAPS then they know what they are doing and just try to give MAPS unjustified grief by directing 100s of customers to their phones. And that's spam too.....blocking someones phone lines this way...
Go get your money back.
da micha