Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!exodus!geraldo.Central.Sun.COM!texsun!letni!rwsys!sneaky!gordon
From: gordon@sneaky.lonestar.org (Gordon Burditt)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Should we let students run COPS to get each other's passwords?
Message-ID: <59830@sneaky.lonestar.org>
Date: 14 Jun 91 23:39:54 GMT
References: <1991Jun12.042513.20870@athena.cs.uga.edu> <1991Jun12.141657.29238@athena.cs.uga.edu> <26888@as0c.sei.cmu.edu>
Organization: Gordon Burditt
Lines: 20

>> (2) Are you saying "People with easy-to-guess passwords deserve to have their
>> accounts broken into"?  Blame the victim, of course, folks!  Do you say
>> the same thing about rape victims?
>
>  Getting the password is not the same as breaking into the account.
>In addition, as was said in another post (muffy@remarque.berkeley.edu),
>there is no defense against rape (short of killing yourself.)  There

There are defenses against rape, even though they aren't perfect. (And
killing yourself isn't a perfect defense, either).  Placing yourself on 
an otherwise uninhabited and unknown desert island is one.  Knowing martial 
arts and having an Uzi built into your artificial arm is another.  Some of 
the people on alt.sex.bondage have sources for equipment which can act as 
protection.

The existence of a defense is not a justification for blaming the victim
because they don't use it.

					Gordon L. Burditt
					sneaky.lonestar.org!gordon