[AusNOG] Inappropriate commercially sensitive discussion threads on AusNOG mailing list

[Bevan Slattery]

Oddly enough I found this thread to be on-topic.   The original author was expressing his frustration about one of his clients having a network problem caused by possible route poisoning.  The original poster also explicitly refrained from naming name and even more appropriately went to exclude the commercial issue (and fault for the disconnection) which may have led to the situation.  Furthermore the original poster also indicated that this may simply be a mistake by the network operator.  In fact the original author made every endeavour to ensure that he was not interested, nor apportioning any blame, but was merely trying to find a solution to the problem.

IMHO the issue of poisoning of routes is something that is entirely appropriate for this list.  The originating poster clearly articulated the frustration he was having and sought the expertise and experience of other persons here to resolve a NETWORK OPERATIONAL ISSUE. 

I understand that some people who have posted here have made some stupid comments and that's unfortunate.  Operating a public list is a double edged sword.  But if you feel that the topic of route poisoning and the manner it was originally posted as inappropriate then that's entirely your call.  If you feel so aggrieved as to unsubscribe, then that's your decision.

For the record, I provided an off-list response to the original poster with my suggestions and recommendations.  I felt it was an appropriate subject for the list and was posted in a considered and professional manner.

Cheers

[b]




> -----Original Message-----
> From: ausnog-bounces at lists.ausnog.net [mailto:ausnog-
> bounces at lists.ausnog.net] On Behalf Of Kevin Karp
> Sent: Saturday, 13 November 2010 7:12 AM
> To: ausnog at lists.ausnog.net
> Subject: [AusNOG] Inappropriate commercially sensitive discussion threads
> on AusNOG mailing list
> 
> AusNOG'ers
> 
> I was disturbed to read this Saturday morning a discussion thread that
> occurred on the AusNOG mailing list yesterday afternoon concerning the
> actions of parties involved in a commercial dispute involving ISP's and
> upstream transit providers.
> 
> The source of my concerns are:
> 
> 1. The discussion was devoid of any technical merit or consequence
> 2. The thread involved a matter that was of a purely commercial and
> legal nature between the parties involved
> 3. The names of apparently innocent third party organisations were
> brought into the thread for no apparent reason or benefit
> 4. The discussion could only present one side of what may be a complex
> commercial matter
> 5. The act of posting the item on the AusNOG mailing list may have
> consequences for all of those that participate on the AusNOG mailing
> list even to the level of passive subscribers who did not actually
> contribute to the thread.
> 6. Sufficient information may have been divulged to identify individual
> parties involved in the dispute so representing breaches of
> confidentiality at many different levels (client-ISP, outsourcer-client etc)
> 7. No indication as to what authority or in what role the originating
> poster had in raising the topic
> 
> My reading of the AusNOG list charter is such that discussion threads of
> this type would be in breach of that charter. In particular the charter
> states:
> 
> "The AusNOG mailing list has been established to provide a forum for
>     the exchange of technical information, the discussion of specific
>     implementation issues that require cooperation among network service
>     providers, the discussion of operational issues, and the discussion  of
>     technical issues directly relating to the internet service provision
>     and telecommunications industry."
> 
> For instance, I don't believe that "operational issues" is meant to
> cover commercial and legal issues.
> 
> The charter further states that the list "is NOT a forum for...
> end-users to pester their ISP".
> 
> Could managers of the list please advise if the thread is to be honoured
> in the list archives and if discussion threads of this type are going to
> be permitted to occur again in the future?
> 
> The response of the list managers will be a prompt for me to consider my
> continued subscription to the AusNOG mailing list.
> 
> Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
> 
> Best Regards
> 
> Kevin Karp
> PPS Internet
> e: kjkarp at pps.com.au
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