The Spam Problem: Moving Beyond RBLs

I am not a spammer and never have been. I do not support spammers and never have done so. I believe that spam is a first-class annoyance and ought to be stopped somehow. One of my servers is listed on an RBL in spite of the fact that no spam has ever passed through it (I know all of the users of this particular system personally). The reason for this RBL listing is because the entire netblock that houses my server is blacklisted. What? The entire netblock? Yes, the entire thing. I represent Collateral Damage in some rather vigilant person's effort to change my ISPs opinions about the best way to combat spam.

People have strong views about spam. I intend for this to be an accurate, even-handed and balanced discussion of RBLs. Please do not contact me with death threats, flames and the like, because I will ignore them. If you disagree or can provide further information on the subject of RBLs, please contact me with your opinion, supporting or refuting evidence, your own personal stories, etc. and I will endeavor to make any necessary corrections to this document.

I hope after reading this paper that, at least, you will understand what an RBL is on a deeper level than "a simple spam blocking mechanism" which it really is not. These mechanisms have implications and their architecture creates power and renders people subject to this power. As such, everybody subject to RBLs should question and understand them.

The link for this article located at Philip Jacob is no longer available.