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From: vixie@palo-alto.DEC.COM (Paul Vixie)
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: JJ's phone number
Message-ID: <2894@palo-alto.DEC.COM>
Date: 30 May 88 00:42:08 GMT
References: <5954@cup.portal.com> <2877@palo-alto.DEC.COM> <6013@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: vixie@volition.UUCP (Paul Vixie)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Western Research Lab
Lines: 50

In article <6013@cup.portal.com> Customer_Portal_Service@cup.portal.com writes:
>First, JJ (aka Rob Noha) used his real name on at least one of his messages.
>He also provided his address, and is listed with information.  We did not
>provide any information that is not readily available to the general
>public.  A pseudonym on Portal (such as JJ) is a convenience, not a way
>to hide one's identity.

Understood.  As I've pointed out to someone @Portal in e-mail, however, it
reflects poorly on Portal's professional image that they supplied the number.
I don't know if Portal's user contract states that users' real names and
phone numbers can be given out by Portal without specific permission -- if
it doesn't, you may still find yourself the target of a complaint.  (I would
prefer to see Portal's policy change such that no pseudonyms were allowed at
all...)

>If you move, the Post Office and the phone company (and your current
>employer, I bet) will tell callers how to reach you.

Actually, no.  Employers (at least here in the valley) are taken to court
regularly by "disgruntled former employees" who feel that the company's
personnel department slandered them unfairly in the process of providing
a reference.  I think it's both sad and silly, but such are the times.

The Post Office won't tell anyone how to reach you unless you specifically
file a request.  Likewise the phone company.  You can sometimes get a court
order to release the information, but even that is sometimes not possible.
(This probably varies from area to area, but I know what things are like in
this regard around here.)

Summary: since the jerk was kind enough to post his name and since directory
assistance will provide the number, I retract my earlier complaint -- you
provided no information that wasn't available without your aid.  I thought
you had, since you didn't say "this information is already available but
we're saving you the trouble of dialing directory assistance."  My apologies.

>It seems ironic that Portal gets flamed for permitting JJ to (in our
>opinion) deliberately abuse the net, then also gets flamed for not
>protecting him from the consequences of his actions.

I would never ask anyone to protect JJ from the consequences of his actions.
He is an asshole and he deserves to suffer.  I was angry only because it
seemed that you had broken a confidence -- which would have been as wrong
as anything JJ did.

I guess we're all sick of this issue now, right?  Okay, I'll shut up.
-- 
Paul Vixie
Digital Equipment Corporation	Work:  vixie@dec.com	Play:  paul@vixie.UUCP
Western Research Laboratory	 uunet!decwrl!vixie	   uunet!vixie!paul
Palo Alto, California, USA	  +1 415 853 6600	   +1 415 864 7013