From the Postmaster From the PostmasterAs the following examples illustrate, most complaints that we get come from people outside of NYU. They know that every Internet host is required to have a person who answers mail to the address postmaster@host.name regarding problems with e-mail or with users at the host. As postmaster for New York University, I have seen the trouble that can result when the basic rules of usage are ignored. Most people are unaware that once e-mail is sent or a message is posted in a newsgroup, it becomes public and permanent. Mail gets saved on hard drives; newsgroups get archived at sites like DejaNews, so be aware that what you send to a newsgroup or say in e-mail could come back to haunt you. These stories are true, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent.
To: postmaster@nyu.edu From: Amanda Bannon (ban@hypno.com) Subject: Off-topic posting Cc: xyz200@nyu.edu I attach a recent posting from one of your students. She clearly did not read the names of the numerous groups that she posted to (the attached is but one of many); please teach her to post to appropriate groups in the future. Amanda --------Forwarded message------------ >To: rec.pets.cats >Subject: my web page > >Hey, check it out! >http://pages.nyu.edu/~xyz200 >Xanthippe To: ban@xyz.com From: xyz200@nyu.edu Subject: Re: Off-topic posting Cc:postmaster@nyu.edu Hey Amanda, I'm very very sorry that you feel that way about how I tell people about my page. Maybe *you* could tell me how I should do it. I mean, duh, I'm new here, and I want people to see the page that I worked REALLY hard on, so don't get on my case! XanThe first lesson of this interchange is that you should be careful about the tone of your e-mail. Our user compounded a simple mistake by being rude. In spite of the much-touted multimedia aspects of the Internet, e-mail is still a text medium whose technical simplicity tends to make people more careless about word choice. Unlike the phone, there are no tone and inflection cues to help recipients understand whether you mean something as a joke or as an insult.
Regarding the specific complaint, it's considered "good netiquette" to post messages only to Usenet newsgroups on the same topic. In this case, rec.pets.cats is probably a group related to the care of house cats. Unless the message relates to that topic, posting there is considered inappropriate. An on-topic group would be something with a more open topic, such as nyu.general. If you are unsure, read the group and see the kind of postings that are there to see whether your posting fits. Users can also register with Web search engines, such as Yahoo or Infoseek, to let more people know about their page.
If you want to post the same message to several groups whose topics overlap, you can "cross-post"by putting the names of all the newsgroups (separated by commas) on the "newsgroups" line of the message header. This gives one message ID to all of the postings, so that once someone reads the message, it is marked as read in all other groups where it is posted and they do not have to see it again. If the message is posted to each group separately, it would have to be viewed multiple times. This tends to annoy people and provoke heated responses from seasoned newsreaders.
To:xyz200@nyu.edu (Hot Babe) From: concerned guy (smithb@podunk.edu) Cc:postmaster@is.nyu.edu Subject: NYU student I attach a message that you posted to alt.binaries.dogsncats. This newsgroup is for pictures of normal people with their pets, not sickos like you. This message is beyond off-topic, so I am cc'ing a copy of this vile posting to your postmaster so that the administrators of NYU will know how you students are using their accounts. Bob Smith Concerned Citizens for Proper Internet Behavior To: postmaster@nyu.edu From: xyz200@nyu.edu (Hot Babe) Subject: Re: NYU Student Dear Postal Person: I understand from your last letter about off-topic posting, but this time I don't know WHERE the message came from. I certainly didn't post it. Please tell me if someone broke into my account, because all my saved messages are missing and my friends say I sent them weird mail. Also, my name has been changed! Help! XanUnfortunately, this is an all too typical occurrence. No one "hacked into" this account they were let in. Users at the public terminals (such as those in Loeb) often minimize the session window without logging out. This leaves the account open so that the next person who walks up to that terminal can open the window, going directly into the account without having to know the username or password. Malicious users can then make changes to the account, deleting or altering files, sending mail, or posting to sexually oriented newsgroups, just to "teach the account owner a lesson." There have even been death threats to the President, which brings a visit from the Secret Service not fun. This is why you should let us know when your account has been compromised, so that records of follow-up can be kept to protect you. Report security problems to postmaster@nyu.edu or to security@nyu.edu.
The other type of hacking by permission is when users give their passwords to their friends or significant others, who then do something wrong. Remember that your account is for your individual use only and you are responsible for everything that happens through it. Sharing your password is a violation of the Rights and Responsibilities agreement that you sign when you get an NYU account. By giving your password to someone else, you are saying that you are willing to take responsibility for anything that they do as if you had done it yourself. Many users have gotten burned by trusting someone they should not have.
There are several steps to bringing your account back to full working order once a problem has happened: For file recovery, you can write to restores@nyu.edu, giving the names of the files to be restored. The name that appears on the From line when you send e-mail can be changed back by going into Pine and choosing Setup, then Config, and entering your name on the "personal-name" line. If you get harassing mail as a result of the unauthorized use, contact us and we can help you deal with the senders.
To: postmaster@is.nyu.edu From:marsluvr@awl.com Subject: evil NYU student As an avid reader of alt.culture.martian, I wish to protest the malicious venusian-loving comments by a user of yours. xyz200@nyu.edu (venusgal) has been extremely disruptive to the loving (if thin) atmosphere of a.c.m. I attach a copy of her latest posting "Better dead than red (was: Green is keen)" I demand that you close her account at once and ensure that she never posts to a Usenet newsgroup again. Bob Jones Mars Alliance To: postmaster@nyu.edu From: xyz200@nyu.edu (venusgal) Subject: Re: evil NYU student Cc: marsluvr@awl.com I would like to complain about the following user from awl.com. He is constantly sending me e-mail about my postings to alt.culture.Martian, trying to stop me from pointing out the inaccuracies of his beliefs of life on Mars. Has Pathfinder seen anything? No! XanWe do not get involved in personal discussions such as this one. Users are free to engage in public (or private) debate on issues that concern them. Before you wade into such a debate, however, be aware that others may not agree. The Internet can be a contentious place, and this is nowhere more true than in Usenet newsgroups, especially those which include discussion of political and sporting issues. Just as you have free speech rights to express your opinion, so do others who may be reading your comments. One of the strengths of the Internet is the ability of strangers to communicate on topics of interest to them, but the flip side of that is the ability of those same strangers to take you to task for your opinions.
It is generally in your best interest to know when to let an argument go. As I pointed out above, it is very easy to shoot off an e-mail without considering the impact it will have. Insisting on having the last word will often prolong an argument past its natural death, causing annoyance not only to you, but all the other readers of the newsgroup.
To: postmaster@nyu.edu From: KrisKringle (santa@northpole.com) Subject: Re: Pictures of Venus--cheap! I didn't know that universities allowed their students to use their accounts to spam unsuspecting e-mail users. Do something about this moron! >To: outer space list >From: xyz200@nyu.edu (venusgal) >Subject: Re: Pictures of Venus--cheap! > >If you visit my web site, you can see digital >versions of the photos I've taken. The print >versions are cheap, cheap--be sure to check the >price list! > http://pages.nyu.edu/~xyz200Your NYU-Internet account is provided as an academic service, and as such, it cannot be used for commercial purposes. This means that you cannot advertise your own or others' services either on your web page or through e-mail. Also, it is considered "bad netiquette" to send mail (especially commercial mail) to people you do not know, and it may provoke a very negative response from the people who receive it.
To: postmaster@nyu.edu From: xyz200@nyu.edu (venusgal) Subject: Re: I'd love to explore your surface Dear Jane: I have been getting the creepiest letters like this one from a guy I met on the #venusmars chat channel. I get several like this every day. I've told him to stop, but they just keep coming. Can I change my e-mail address or can you stop these? I'm starting to get really freaked out! Xan > > To: xyz200@nyu.edu (venusgal) > >From: 102934.3485769@compuserve.com (marsman) >Subject: Re: I'd love to explore your surface >Xan baby, >I know you love my letters. Why don't you want >to meet me? I know we'd have a lot in common, >just set a time. I saw you go to your Physics >class at 10 am yesterday. I know where your >classes are, I can just find you and make sure >you know who I am. >marsmanThere are several types of harassing e-mail; this one is of the most extreme variety. If you ever feel that you are in physical danger, contact the police or campus security. ACF is happy to help out with investigations, providing records of mail received and other technical assistance to law enforcement agencies; however, we cannot be responsible for your protection.
If you contact us before things reach this stage, there are some ways in which we can be of assistance. The first thing to do is to ask the sender to stop in plain, neutral language and cc that letter to postmaster@nyu.edu and to the sender's postmaster. Try both postmaster@host.name and abuse@host.name, replacing host.name with whatever follows the @ symbol in the sender's e-mail address. If the letters continue, ask the sender's postmaster directly for assistance. They may choose to suspend the account or may otherwise use their influence to encourage the sender to stop. Make sure to send copies of the offending letters with the headers intact (see the Q&A on this page), so the postmaster can confirm that the e-mails came from that person's account. If you feel that it would be helpful, we can also write to the sender and the sender's postmaster.
The role of postmaster was designed to be flexible: incorporating security,
etiquette and plain old common sense to help resolve the day-to-day problems of
users. At the ACF we accomplish this by constant communication between postmaster
and the representatives of the other areas. ![[ C ]](../icons/CSmF97.gif){kind=icon}
Posted 1 Sept 1997
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