We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

A victory for spammers?

I do not as yet know a great deal about this. It appears that some company has managed a court order requiring the domain name for spamhaus.org to be taken down.

Spamhaus.org are one of the better anti-spam sites and supply an excellent real time blocking list to anyone who wants it. Their service has been free and voluntary and much appreciated by many harried network system administrators, among whose ranks I have from time to time been included.

I know nothing about this ‘Ensight’ but I can think of no reason for a legal attack on the Spamhaus folk other than as a means of stopping the information about your current spam hosts from getting distributed to all those who voluntarily wish to block you.

Whether Ensight is or is not run by a bunch of spammers I do not know. If anyone has any more information on the events leading up to the court order, feel free to comment.

3 comments to A victory for spammers?

  • Dale:

    Spamhaus is asserting that the court has no jurisdiction in this issue; and since spamhaus.org is still up and accessable as of this evening, it appears they are correct. See:

    http://www.spamhaus.org/legal/answer.lasso?ref=3

    for further updates on this issue.

    Bears some watching.

  • Julian Taylor

    What a dreadful wretch this David Linhardt is. My take on his gambit is that if he can obtain a judgement against Spamhaus, in this case apparently by deception as stated in the article in DeDoc’s link above, then I presume his next step will be to take action against Google for the Google Groups alert to his foul activities.

    Full marks to Spamhaus though and even more for their considerable restraint in not giving this man the stock 2 word Private Eye response to such lawsuits.

  • Please note that, to date, neither ICAAN, nor Spamhaus’ domain register, has taken any notice of this judgment. Nor are they likely to.

    Just because a judge was convinced he had jurisdiction, does not mean he HAD jurisdiction.

    I think Spamhaus is correct to pursue the appeal, not because they are at risk, but because the precedent set by this … Dickensian… “judgment” needs to be overturned.

    “Judgment”, in this case, being oxymoronic as well as ironic.