[Pan-users] Re: Pn 0.97 won't start

[Duncan]

Lenny_Nero <address@hidden>
posted address@hidden, excerpted
below, on  Fri, 26 May 2006 21:47:15 +0100:

> I will say it again this is not a newsgroup, you (and I) might be reading
> it via a list to news engine, but its not usenet.
> 
> I understand what you say about HTML

News, mail, they have the same problems in terms of HTML.  In fact, mail
is worse, because with news, they post to the newsgroup so can only put
the newsgroup name in their web bug, and only know that somebody with IP X
reads the newsgroup and read their spam, while with mail, they can and
often do encode the address they sent the mail to in the web bug, thereby
not only confirming that the mail gets read, but mapping an
IP/email-address pairing.  If it's someone like doubleclick, they can then
track that IP as it visits various sites on the web and associate the
profile with a browsing profile as well.

The malware issues are the same, too.  News or mail doesn't matter there
either.  If your client is vulnerable, quickly become a zombie to whatever
virus or worm was being propagated.

Looking like an AOL newbie due to failure to know and practice security
and observe the norms of the list or group also doesn't change.  If it's
HTML, using it makes you look like you either don't know or don't care
about security either for yourself or the others on the list or group,
regardless of whether it's mail or news.

Let me ask you a question.  If it was common for someone to sneeze into
their hand, then without washing, offer to shake hands, and if you
accepted, you came away with a slimy hand, would what country you were in
or the customs of that country in any way change the hygiene problems of
doing it?  Regardless if it's an accepted custom or not, it remains a very
good way to transmit sickness.  That applies whether it's sliming one's
hand and offering to shake hands whether in the US or country Z, and it
applies using HTML whether posting to a newsgroup or a list -- the
malware, biological or computer, gets transmitted either way.

HTML belongs on the web, not in a news /or/ mail post!

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman