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Re: Just the facts, ma'am.
> Date: Wed, 26 May 93 09:14:50 EDT
> From: [email protected] (Joe Thomas)
> Subject: Re: Just the facts, ma'am.
>
>
> > Thank you for your insights. I will ask UUNet, but I'm beginning to
> > wonder if other local comm providers practice the same deceptions.
> > Does anyone have any experiences with digex.com that they would like
> > to share?
>
> Nothing but good ones. Doug Humphrey <[email protected]> even
> posted to the list a few times as I recall. I'm still not sure I see
> a problem with someone providing a newsfeed to the NSA, FBI, or anyone
> else, though.
>
As one of the former tech-weenies at Express Access, and now just a friend
with no formal association to the business, I feel compelled to give you my
thoughts on that particular service provider.
Rarely will you find a system administration staff more concerned with your
privacy that the guys at Digital Express Group. As I recall, the set of
username->real name mappings isn't even on machine readable media on the
system. When I was working with them, we had a big book, and people only
accessed the book when absolutely necessary, for instance to inform a user of
a file system problem or the like.
In fact, on several instances, I would ask other staff people who a
particular username belonged to when I had a need to contact them - more
often than not, they/we couldn't remember, and I had to look it up anyway.
This was by design.
From day one, there was a policy of not disclosing customer information to
ANYONE without a warrant. To date, thankfully, I don't think that it's been
put to the test, though I have no doubts as to the grief they'll give those
trying to get the information.
The original machine room was one of the best jobs of low-cost RFI/EMI
shielding construction I've ever seen. (BTW, the foam insulation with foil on
both sides is a boon to mankind.) It wasn't really intended to keep people
from looking at the emissions as to keep the emissions from wiping out all
the shortwave receivers in use, but hey, every little bit helps.
I'm still a user there, and I have a hell of a lot of respect for that crew.
I would also implicitly trust them as a site for anonymous remailing, key
certification, or the like. I hope that becomes a part of their business
focus in the future, because we need service providers who won't be
intimidated.
--Strat