From:	UsenetCentralControl_comp AT ngpjfcad DOT gov
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Subject:	..,,.. Warning To @Home Users - Your ISP Is SPAM CENTRAL ...,,
Date:	14 Jan 2000 17:17:16 GMT
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Usenet may block Excite AT Home users
By Corey Grice
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 13, 2000, 12:30 p.m. PT
http://news.cnet.com/category/0-1004-200-1522444.html
Excite AT Home is hoping for a pardon from a proposed Interent newsgroup
"death penalty" that could prevent its 1 million high-speed users from
posting Usenet messages.
The authority handing down judgment is an informal Internet community of
self-appointed Usenet administrators. The group, which oversees the
bulletin board-like computer system containing messages on specific topics,
is prepared to begin blocking new messages originating from Excite AT Home
domain names Tuesday.
Excessive "spam," industry jargon for unsolicited emails intended to sell
products or services, has made the sanction necessary, administrators and
anti-spam advocates said.
"It's another example of how fed up people are about Internet abuse," said
John Mozena, a spokesman at anti-spam advocacy group the Coalition Against
Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE). "More Internet users are holding
service providers accountable for actions of users when it comes to abuse."
The move, if imposed, would be an embarrassment for Excite AT Home and is
likely to infuriate a significant portion of the company's more than 1
million cable modem users who pay about $40 per month for access to the
Internet, email and related services such as Usenet.
Excite AT Home estimates that roughly 10 percent of its customers use Usenet.
Last night, Excite AT Home asked for an extension, which executives expect will be granted as a result of new efforts to curb Usenet spam generated
from @Home's service.
Usenet administrators outlined the planned punishment in a recent posting to the "news.admin.net-abuse.usenet" newsgroup.
"Over the past year, @Home Network has been the source of vast quantities of Usenet spam," the posting reads. "Despite countless complaints, reports
and phone calls, @Home Network shows no inclination towards stopping this ongoing abuse. By December 1999, the situation reached unconscionable
levels of abuse."
Because of continuing problems, Usenet administrators have proposed blocking all Excite AT Home messages by imposing a so-called death penalty.
"Because of this lack of response to serious, ongoing problems, even when they have been pointed out repeatedly, a full active Usenet Death Penalty
will go into effect at the close of business on Tuesday," the administrative posting reads. "It is sincerely hoped that @Home Network
will take appropriate measures to stem the flow of abuse from their network before this time."
But Excite AT Home said the unwanted messages are the result of spammers who, taking advantage of @Home users' mis-configured proxy software, are
commandeering their accounts to send spam. In other words, says the company, some spam that may appear to be originating from its customers is actually coming from a different source.
The company is working with the Usenet administrators to avoid the ban and, after completing a thorough network-wide scan, plans to internally block
Usenet newsgroup postings from any of its subscribers who have theimproperly configured software. "Excite AT Home is very committed to participating respectfully on the
Internet, and we have taken previous requests for action seriously," states a letter from Excite AT Home posted to the newsgroup last night.
"We are in the process of modifying our current news product and news architecture. We are also implementing more user education," the company
wrote. Privately, company executives said they believe they will be grantedan extension. Usenet spam has been a hot topic for years.
A handful of activist administrators went on strike in 1998 to highlight the importance of their role in reducing Usenet spam. Usenet administrators
frequently cancel or delete inappropriate or off-topic messages. Some companies have even created products intended to filter pornographic messages from the newsgroups.
CNET News.com's Jim Hu contributed to this report.

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