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From: chip@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Charles H. Buchholtz)
Newsgroups: comp.admin.policy
Subject: Re: Community Standards (was Re: Possibly nefarious users)
Message-ID: <44913@netnews.upenn.edu>
Date: 20 Jun 91 19:36:30 GMT
References: <1991Jun7.184025.25010@eng.umd.edu> <44640@netnews.upenn.edu> <PCG.91Jun19200023@aberdb.aber.ac.uk>
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Reply-To: chip@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Charles H. Buchholtz)
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In article pcg@aber.ac.uk (Piercarlo Grandi) writes:
>
>Normally when you walk along a street you know which are private homes
>and which are shops you may enter to browse in. On the Internet you have
>no visual cues; a passwordless account called 'guest' or 'anonymous' is
>an invitation to browse, I would surmise. If that's not the case, I
>wonder what would a cue be that the system welcomes the public.
>
>Now question time: if all Internet hosts, including those that have
>accounts called 'guest' and 'anonymous' without a password, are to be
>presumed private systems, should we get a registered mail letter giving
>explicit access permission from any FTP server before attempting to use?
>
>Because surely unless somebody is explicitly authorized in writing,
>attempt to use that computer is trespass.

Where did "in writing" come from?

When I walk down a street, I look at the advertisements (signs,
displays, etc) on each building.  If I see a sign saying, "Merit
Bookstore", I may walk up and try the door, to see if they are open.
If a building next to that has no signs on it, I won't try the door to
see if maybe it's open and maybe it's a bookstore.

If someone puts a big sign on their home saying, "We buy an sell used
books", and then leaves the door unlocked, I think I would be excused
for walking in thinking it was a bookstore.

If Archie tells me that foo.bar.edu is the anonymous FTP source for
wonderwidget, then I assume that this is a public service.  If someone
writes to comp.sys.sun and says that all the Sun patches are available
on boff.baz.edu, and that you can log in as guest to browse through
them, then I assume that that is a public service.

Why even attempt an anonymous FTP or a guest login, unless you've been
told that that system is providing some service that you might be
interested in?

I am posting as an individual, not as a representative of U. of P.

Charles H. Buchholtz       Systems Programmer     chip@seas.upenn.edu
	      School of Engineering and Applied Science
		      University of Pennsylvania