Does the name 'Ed Kelleher' ring any bells?

[der Mouse]

>> Former president of American Internet Relay League and proud open
>> ARPA Internet mail relay operator, until being forced down by
>> harassment from criminal paramilitary death squad organisations like
>> MAPS and ORBS.

My dear sir, if you believe criminal behaviour was involved you should
be going to law enforcement, not whining here.

> Anyone who runs an open relay mail service is quite frankly the very
> definition of harassment and criminal.

Hardly.  At least so far, it is not actually illegal, and thus not
criminal - at least not (as far as I've heard) in any relevant
jurisdiction.  Nor, as far as I can see, is it harassment, though it
certainly could be an accomplice before and during the fact.  (At least
in most senses of harassment.  There is a meaning for "harass", "to
irritate or torment persistently", by which it could be construed as
harassing you for such a thing to merely exist, if its bare existence
irritates you.)

> There is never, ever, under any circumstance whatsoever, a reason to
> have an open relay.

Oh, nonsense.  Say, on a network not connected in any way to the
worldwide Internet, where the (local) convenience *does* outweigh the
(small) risk.

> For any situation that you can propose as to why an open relay is
> needed, I can show you an example of clear lack of understanding in
> how to configure the system.

Not "needed".  Just, like most security, a risk/benefit analysis, here
coming out in favor of the low setup and maintenance cost.

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