Sitting on the fence? Remember and the decision will be easy.
Tag Archives: politics
Who’s Filtering Your E-Mail?
12
And why?
The other day I sent an e-mail message to one of my editors. Within seconds, the message was bounced back to me with this notice at the top:
Hi. This is the qmail-send program at smtpauth22.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net.
I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following addresses.
This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out.<[redacted e-mail address]>:
[redacted IP address] does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 554 5.7.1 Service unavailable; Client host [64.202.165.44] blocked using dnsbl.ahbl.org; GoDaddy – Continued hosting of FreeSpeechStore hate website on 72.167.250.55, ignoring abuse
Giving up on [redacted IP address].
My first thought was WTF?
I tried again and got the same result. Then I started researching. I discovered that www.ahbl.org is the domain name for the Abusive Hosts Blocking List (AHBL), an organization that apparently maintains a list of IP address it deems as abusive. The owner or manager of the site had decided that he/she didn’t like GoDaddy.com because it hosts the conservative “hate speech” site FreeSpeechStore. (And no, I won’t link to that drivel.) My editor’s ISP was evidently using AHBL to filter incoming mail.
I e-mailed AHBL the following message using my MobileMe e-mail address (since I assumed my e-mail account hosted at GoDaddy.com would be blocked):
Unfortunately, I host a non-abusive site and my main e-mail (not this one) is at GoDaddy.com. Your site is preventing my e-mail from reaching some destinations because of some link between GoDaddy.com and freespeechstore.com.
Do you really think this is fair to me and others in the same situation?
The response I got was surprising. Someone named Brielle Bruns wrote:
Unfortunately, your provider has stated to us that they will not enforce their Terms Of Service or Acceptable Use Policy. They are turning a blind eye to abuse and harassment, which is something we can no longer ignore.
To give you an idea of why we are taking this issue as seriously as we are, one of Mr Scoville contacted the local police department, fire department, child welfare, schools, etc of one of his victims, and claimed that he and his wife were molesting their children and others from the school.
Put yourself in the victim’s shoes, and then ask yourself weather or not you’d do whatever it took to prevent anyone else from being victimized by Mr Scoville.
I repeat: WTF? My response explained exactly how I felt about the situation:
I really don’t see why I need to be dragged into this.
I agree wholeheartedly that if what you say is true, this Scoville character is an asshole and a menace to society. But let’s look at this objectively on two fronts:
– One of the founding principles of this country is free speech. If Scoville wants to create a website full of hate speech, it is his right to do so. You’re attempting to censor him by acting as a third party filtering service. Seriously: what gives you the right?
– To punish him and (assumedly) GoDaddy.com, you’re punishing ME, an innocent bystander to this whole thing. Your failure to allow my message to be received by my editor directly interferes with my ability to submit work and invoices for that work. You are cutting into my ability to make a living. WTF?
I don’t care WHY you are taking this seriously. It’s none of your business — or mine. Let the police handle it — that’s what our tax dollars pay them to do.
I’ve issued a complaint to my editor and asked him to contact his ISP or system administrator — whoever is using your services. I’ll forward this message to him as well. You are stepping beyond your legal rights in this. I’m hoping my editor complains and your service is no longer utilized by his company or ISP.
The response I got back picked apart my e-mail message paragraph by paragraph, attempting to justify the site’s action against GoDaddy just because it hosts some wacko’s Web site. Honestly I didn’t even bother reading it. It was clear that Bruns was just as wacko as the person he/she was trying to harm — by harming people like me. Clearly, I was wasting my time communicating with this person.
So I wrote to the editor I’d been trying to contact, this time using my MobileMe account. I’d already updated him about what was going on. Now I decided to make a formal request:
I respectfully request that you ask your ISP or system administrator to stop using the services of Abusive Hosts Blocking Service. They are preventing me from communicating with you on my primary e-mail address, dragging us into some sort of war they have with GoDaddy.com, and simply do not care how much they inconvenience innocent bystanders.
The fact that your ISP or System Administrator utilizes a service that would do such a thing is unthinkable to me.
When I didn’t get a response, I followed it up with this:
Seriously…you need to do something about this. Whoever authorized use of this blocking organization is preventing me — and possibly your advertisers! — from contacting you. THIS IS DEFINITELY A PROBLEM ON YOUR END. Tell your ISP or System Administrator to shut that service off.
The woman who runs it is on some kind of holy crusade and she’s been very rude to me in our e-mail exchanges. I’ve lost an hour of my day troubleshooting this issue, only to be frustrated by her holier-than-thou attitude.
The day ended. The editor is back east, so I didn’t really expect immediate action. In the morning, however, I had the result I wanted. My editor wrote:
Thanks for letting me know what you’ve learned. I’ll be discussing it with my boss today and we’ll figure out what the next step will be.
I later was CCed on an e-mail message from my editor’s boss to the company’s ISP:
Below is a dialogue between one of our writers and someone named Brielle Bruns from an outfit called “The Summit Open Source Development Group” which seems to be at the root of our problem receiving some business critical e-mails from Godaddy based addresses.
In addition to blocking e-mails from our writer, I have had one of my attorneys e-mails blocked and missed an important deadline as a result. I have no idea how many e-mails have been blocked from our subscribers or [redacted] customers but I have to believe the number is sizable.
As far as any of my businesses are concerned, please IMMEDIATELY STOP using what ever “service” is being provided Brille Burns’ outfit. What ever dispute she or her group has with this Scottville guy, it nothing to do with us and her organization is negatively impacting our business and customers.
Please take care of this immediately.
I replied with a thank you message to my editor and his boss. The block was soon lifted and I could again begin using my regular e-mail address to communicate with my editor.
One of the subsequent messages flying back and forth between the parties included this comment:
PS: We just found this: from 2.5 years ago ref: “Brian J. Bruns convicted felon and owner of www.ahbl.org Abusive Hosts Blocking List AHBL” http://criminal-brian-j-bruns.blogspot.com/
The link is to a Blogger blog that purports to share documents about this person’s felony conviction and sexual deviations. (I still can’t believe the kind crap out there on the Web.) It looks pretty real, but I’m a skeptic on these things and wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to learn that it was Brin’s nemesis, Scoville, slinging dirt. Seriously: some people need to get a life.
When the hubbub had died down, I e-mailed the ISP representative. I had his e-mail address from the message initially to him that I was CCed on. I told him I was interested in blogging about this and asked a few questions. He replied that he’d have to ask his boss about some of the answers, but he did state the following:
I can tell you, though, in regards #3, we were using the service entirely for spam prevention. We use a number of different services for spam prevention, and had no knowledge of their political agenda. As soon as we found out what was going on with this service, which was, coincidentally, shortly before [redacted] e-mailed us, we stopped using this service. I am very sorry for the problems this caused, and we would never knowingly use a service that had a political agenda like this.
Which begs the questions:
- What “service” is your ISP using to combat spam?
- How many important, legitimate e-mail messages have you missed because of a situation like this?
- What gives organizations the right to classify an IP address as abusive or harmful, regardless of who else might be using it via shared hosting or e-mail?
If you or your ISP is using AHBL, stop now. The company obviously has a political agenda that does not consider the negative aspects of its actions. Why would anyone use a company like this to filter e-mail? Wouldn’t you rather get a little spam than miss out on important communications from friends, family, and business associates? I would!
As for me, I’d already begun moving my Web sites and e-mail addresses away from GoDaddy.com — but for other, service-related reasons. They still have not provided a satisfactory explanation to me about what’s going on with the “hate site.” This just confirms that my switch to a new ISP was long overdue.
John McCain’s Miracle Fence
McCain uses his vast ignorance to mislead the public.
Lately, the radio here in Arizona has been full of commercials for John McCain. You know. That Senator from Arizona who gave Sarah Palin her ticket to wealth and fame? The man with the creepy smile who lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election? The man who’s trying hard to stay in the public eye by speaking out against everything our President is in favor of, even when the President’s plan would benefit his constituents?
Yeah. That guy.
Although I usually switch channels when a McCain commercial comes on, I actually listened to one yesterday. It was old Johnny, talking about his immigration plan. And what pissed me off was his promises to “build a fence” along the Arizona – Mexico border.
I’ve flown the Arizona border in a helicopter 300 feet off the ground from Yuma to Nogales — a distance of 230 statute miles. (There’s another 100 miles of border beyond that before you get to New Mexico.) Although the first bunch of miles are flat and already have some sort of fence, there are long stretches of mountainous terrain where the erection of a fence would be downright impossible. The landscape is rocky and rugged with towering cliffs and tall peaks. Other than white markers positioned more than a mile apart, the border is impossible to see. (I actually slipped over to the Mexican side during the flight because I couldn’t see the next marker.) It’s Sonoran desert, home to cactus, rattlesnakes, and coyotes. There are few roads on the U.S. side. It would take a miracle to build a fence there — and if one were constructed, it would be a crime against nature.
Yet John McCain continuously promises to build this miracle fence, leading people who haven’t seen the border first hand — 99+% of the population, including, no doubt, John McCain himself — to believe that such a task is not only possible, but it’s reasonable.
It’s neither.
In fact, even attempting such a feat would be a blatant misuse of public funds. Arizona’s own “Bridge to Nowhere.”
I believe that the Arizona-Mexico border is impossible to fully secure. Even if fences were built, they’d be cut, tunneled under, or torn down — as they already are. Illegals will get into the country from Mexico. That’s a fact of life in Arizona. Don’t get the idea that it’s easy to get it; it’s not. But it is possible and it will always be so — just as it’s possible to get across the Canadian border. Building a fence will not deter those who are serious about crossing the border.
What’s the answer? I don’t know.
But I do know that I’m sick of listening to John McCain mislead the American public into thinking that the solution is as easy as putting up a fence.
Health Care: How the U.S. Stacks Up
Very disturbing info from National Geographic.
A Twitter friend of mine, @BWJones, tweeted a link to a graphic that clearly showed three disturbing things when comparing the U.S. to other developed nations:
- People in the U.S. spend far more for health care than any other nation.
- People in the U.S. visit doctors fewer times than many other nations.
- People in the U.S. have a lower than average life expectancy.
As summarized in “The Cost of Care“:
The United States spends more on medical care per person than any country, yet life expectancy is shorter than in most other developed nations and many developing ones. Lack of health insurance is a factor in life span and contributes to an estimated 45,000 deaths a year.
What does that say about America?
On Internet Petitions, Virtual Marches, and Slacktivism
Want to make a difference? Get off your ass and do something.
Yesterday, I got an e-mail from an acquaintance who was spreading the word about Fair Tax and the Online Tax Revolt. It said, in part:
This email is for everyone who pays federal income tax. This is NOT about politics. High taxes affect EVERYONE. The tax system is broken – Help fix it! I have never sent such a large mass email, but this is so important for America that I hope you will forgive this one, short intrusion into your life.
I am doing these things
1)I am learning about the FairTax (See for yourself: http://www.fairtax.org/ )
2)I am showing my support by joining the April 15th online march to Washington; I can’t make it in person, but I can make it from my computer (See for yourself: www.OnlineTaxRevolt.com )
3)I am telling everyone that I knowI am asking your help. Please, please, please help. Learn about the FairTax, show your support for the online march and spread the word. Every American can help in this way.
In a way, I guess I’m helping him spread the word. But that’s not my purpose here. My purpose is to discuss slacktivism.
What is Slacktivism?
Slacktivism, as defined by Wikipedia, is:
Slacktivism (sometimes slactivism) is a portmanteau formed out of the words slacker and activism. The word is a pejorative term that describes “feel-good” measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel satisfaction. The acts also tend to require little personal effort from the slacktivist.
I recommend reading the entire entry. It includes examples of what qualifies as slacktivism, just in case you’re not clear on it. It also includes several links to other resources that make good reading, if you’re interested in how words are created and come into our vocabulary.
Internet Petitions and Virtual Marches are Slacktivist Efforts
This isn’t the first time I’ve received an appeal to join an online effort in support or denial of some cause. I usually get petitions — I can’t tell you how many I’ve received over the years. Snopes.com has a great page about Internet petitions that uses the word slacktivism. If you read it, you’ll learn that “signing” something online is a complete waste of time — for you, anyway. What it does do is add your information to a mailing list that the person who started the petition can use for whatever he needs/wants to, which might include spam or selling to spammers.
Read More Here about Slacktivism
I’ve written about slacktivism in the past, but I just didn’t have a name for it. Interested in reading a couple of my classic rants? Try “Support Our Troops” (1/23/05) and “Support Our Troops” (11/25/07). (Honestly, until today I didn’t realize these posts had the same name. They are, however, ranting about different things, both related to the brave men and women we’ve sent to the Middle East.)
I’ve written about slacktivism in the past, but I just didn’t have a name for it. Interested in reading a couple of my classic rants? Try “Support Our Troops” (1/23/05) and “Support Our Troops” (11/25/07). (Honestly, until today I didn’t realize these posts had the same name. They are, however, ranting about different things, both related to the brave men and women we’ve sent to the Middle East.)
Now I’m not saying that all people who start Internet petitions are spammers. I believe that some of these people really do think they’re making a difference. And I’m pretty sure the people who forward the petitions to me via e-mail think they’re making a difference, too.
But the brutal truth is that slacktivism does not get results. What gets results is repeatedly writing to legislators and sending it via snail mail (to start a paper trail), physically attending meetings and marches that get mainstream media attention, and volunteering your time and efforts at events that help spread the word and fire other people up to do the same. These are not slacktivist efforts. They take a real commitment to a cause that goes beyond five minutes of your time. They prove you’re serious and really want to make a difference.
Sending an e-mail message to everyone in your address book imploring them to submit their name, address, and zip code to a Web site to join a virtual march does nothing but make you feel as if you’re doing something — and possibly annoy the people in your address book who know better or don’t share your views.
I’ve Been There — I Know
I was a local activist here in Wickenburg for several years. I went to Town Council and Committee meetings and spoke up. I started petitions and got signatures. I wrote letters to the editor of the local paper and articles on my site about the town, wickenburg-az.com. I attended citizen action group meetings and helped them create materials to spread the word.
On some issues, we really did make a difference. When a developer tried to con the town into handing over our rodeo grounds so they could put a golf course on the land, I was one of about 100 people who attended a Planning and Zoning Meeting and spoke up against it. The developer was unprepared for the onslaught and didn’t have much to say in defense of his plan. Not only did the project stall, but the Town Manager and Town Planner who had considered the plan were subsequently fired. Now a For Sale sign stands at the frontage, offering some other developer the opportunity to build yet another subdivision we don’t need.
Although our petition to stop a housing development at the end of Wickenburg Airport’s runway was rejected on a technicality, we managed to stall the developer long enough so that he missed his window of opportunity. The housing bubble burst and demand for tract housing at the approach end of an airport runway dried up before the infrastructure was completely put in. Yes, he scraped the desert clean in his 40 or so acres of land, leaving an ugly scar on what was once pristine desert. But the project went bankrupt, leaving angry investors behind. I’ve heard the greedy bastard left town. Good riddance. I hope the same fate befalls the sardine-like housing project across the road and its developer.
Neither of these efforts would have succeeded if people like me had just sit on their asses, content to click a few buttons on their computer screens. It took a lot of real work, but in the end, it was worth it.
Don’t Be a Slacktivist!
Feel strongly about something? Isn’t it worth more than three minutes of your time? If so, get off your butt and do something about it. You can make a difference, but only if you really try.