Re: [Request for Correction]To Gnus team -- Gnus Info about spam

[Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com>]

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004, jas@extundo.com wrote:

> Feel free to modify the text again, I should have let you, as the
> author, fix it.

That's not a problem at all.

> IMHO, I think Cheng has a point; using a specific country does not
> improve the understanding, 

I think specific real-life examples are always better than "country X"
or "Jumanji."  I know hackers have a tendency to be cute, but throwing
in a Dilbert reference is worse than an example that I've seen in real
life (yes, there are real people that block Asian IPs, and I've argued
with them about what a bad idea that is).  See the fadden.com URL
below for one of many stories about blocking mail from Asia.

> and may be perceived as insulting, regardless of the intended
> meaning.  If imaginary country names are not good, perhaps "a
> certain region of the world" or something.

OK, but "certain region" lacks specificity, so it's no better than
"country X."  Korean ISPs have also been known to relay spam.

> Or use Norway.  ;-)

Yes, I could.  As everyone by now has understood, mentioning a
specific country in that example does not imply an insult to that
country.

This brings me to the real reason why I was upset by Cheng Gao's
comment.  He assumes that because I use China as an example country, I
think badly of the Chinese (as "morons" in his words).  This is simply
not true, and I don't want the implication to be that I did something
wrong, and now we must change the language because it's offensive to
the Chinese.  I did not say or suggest that China or its population
were beneath anyone else, as Cheng Gao implies.  Even if one assumes
that I used China because there are spammers there, that does not mean
that I or anyone else thinks badly of the Chinese.

Actually the situation is more complex.  See the following URLs for
more information (it's just a sampling, there's LOTS of information on
this topic), and then maybe you'll see my point with using China as an
example.

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/04/06/chinese.spam.idg/
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,50856,00.html
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,50455,00.html
http://www.fadden.com/techmisc/asian-spam.htm
http://www.newhouse.com/archive/story1c050102.html

I'm not making things up, and pretending that China does not host
spammer ISPs and open relays in the name of political correctness
does not change that fact.

Ted