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From: bch@ecsvax.UUCP (Byron C. Howes)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Reading other peoples' mail
Message-ID: <1451@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 21-Apr-86 12:05:29 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.1451
Posted: Mon Apr 21 12:05:29 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 24-Apr-86 06:19:59 EST
References: <1921@decwrl.DEC.COM> <197@valid.UUCP>
Reply-To: bch@ecsvax.UUCP (Byron C. Howes)
Organization: N C Educational Computing Service
Lines: 26

In article <168@dione.rice.EDU> salex@iapetus.rice.edu (Scott Alexander) writes:

>If you rely on any utility of mail being private, especially if it
>goes through machines not controlled by sender or recipient, you are
>fooling yourself.

I don't rely on it being private.  I do rely on it being unmolested by
other Systems Administrators.  Mail's utility is predicated on it being
as reliable as the network will allow.  

> It has been my observation that
>all mail administrators that I have dealt with have very few qualms
>about reading others mail.  Perhaps, it shouldn't be that way, but
>it's not going to change any more quickly than any of the other
>problems which result from a system of decentralized control of the
>network.

I'm sorry that's the case.  *I* figure my users have some right to
privacy.  For those SAs that go out of their way to read mail, I hope
they read something about themselves.  
-- 

  	  Byron Howes
     Systems Manager -- NCECS
usenet/bitnet address:  bch@ecsvax