Check out this very old presentation about the Mail Abuse Prevention System (MAPS) , from October, 2000. I had already left MAPS at that point, but apparently, my personal brand was strong enough to leave my name in the presentation, as it indicates that RSS was created by me. Also, I designed that presentation template, as well as the MAPS logo and logotype of the time. Oh, how horribly dated it all seems today. MAPS created the first Realtime Blackhole List (RBL), the very first DNSBL, way back in 1997. It's hard to believe that anti-spam blacklists are over ten years old! One of MAPS other blacklists, RSS, was a re-branded version of my original Radparker Relay Spam Stopper (RRSS) blacklist, which I first shared with the world back in May, 1999:
Subject: BLOCK: Radparker Relay Spam StopperFrom: Al IversonReply-To: Al IversonDate: Sat, 15 May 1999 20:57:03 -0500Content-Type: text/plainHi gang. Just wanted to take a second and toot my own horn about a newtool I'm proud to be able to share (with the help of many others) withthe internet community.The Radparker Relay Spam Stopper (RRSS), at http://relays.radparker.com, is a realtime DNS-based list of open relays, to be used by fellowantispammers as a shared blocking list. What makes this different thanthe IMRSS or ORBS is that I'm only interested in listing relays thathave obviously been used in a spam run. And, a sample spam from that runis cataloged, and presented upon request, when you query my web serverabout that specific relay.Also, my focus is primarily on overseas (meaning non-US) non-Englishspeaking countries, and US companies with seemingly unmanned mailservers, my current #1 source of relay spam. I'm generally not going tolist "multi-level relays," and there's no way in hell I'm going to listsome huge ISP like Earthlink (or whomever) unless they have serioustotally open relays that we've complained about for months with noresponse. I'm less interested in collateral damage, and more interestedin blocking spam.I'm hoping to avoid the pissing matches that people seem to get intowith regard to tools like ORBS.Submission to the list works both manually and automatically.Submissions occur automatically, when they are from spam auto-trapped bymy system, or forwarded in a special manner by a few trustedcontributors. Submissions are manual (send me the spam via email) forall others. By doing so, I intend to lessen the amount of "fudging thetester"[1] problems that seem to plague us open relay blockers -- youknow what I mean, people who block the tester, or make their machinerelay for (just) the tester, in the name of some misguided form ofsocial dissent.To also lessen the amount of relay testing, there will be no automaticremoval process. I'm not going to retest a relay every few weeks, as itwill simply inflame the relay operator. They are able to contact meeasily via mail or web, even if their site is listed and therefore theycan't mail radparker.com.Additionally, I discussed the creation of the RRSS with my serviceprovider before implementing it. I would not have implemented it if theyhad misgivings about it, or didn't understand what I'm doing. I'm luckythat my provider is very anti-spam and supportive of my efforts, sothere WON'T be any "BCTel effect" of bogus complaints getting me bouncedoff line. (Even if that did occur, I've already been offered otherhosting arrangements! Yay!)The system has been up since last Wednesday, and it's working quite wellso far. So far, there are 123 relays listed. About, oh, 10administrators have already taken the time to write me and let me knowthat their servers have been repaired, and I should remove theirlisting, which I was happy to do. (If a relay is also listed on IMRSS orORBS and the operator tells me it is closed, I also forward thatnotification along to either IMRSS or ORBS.)Fellow SPAM-L subscribers, please feel free to email me or post to thelist any comments, questions, or suggestions you might have about theRRSS. I welcome and appreciate your input.Thanks to everyone who helped me get this up and running, especiallyPeter Seebach, and Gordon Fecyk, who basically held my hand throughsetting up the DNS servers and scripting the auto-updates.Best regards,Al IversonOwner, radparker.comOperator, Radparker Relay Spam Stopper--[1] Also known as "giving people named Al or Alan the finger becausethey don't like your testing system."