The <i>idea</i> of reducing spam is great, but the <i>method</i> of using
blocklists has some unfortunate side effects, specifically, it
concentrates far too much influence (power) in the hands of a few
individuals. Sadly, there are occasions when said individuals abuse the
power they have acquired. [1, 2, 3]<p>The recent massive DDoS against spamhaus and this new BGP based routing
attack make it painfully clear that spamhaus has upset someone, but the
question of who they upset, and whether or not they are justified in
fighting back are still unknown. If you were a legitimate, non-spamming
business and some vigilante shut down your capacity to send email, you'd
be rightfully angry.<p>If spamhaus considered you "acceptable collateral damage" in their war
against spam, you'd be absolutely livid.<p>These kinds of situations happen with blocklists.<p>[1] <a href="http://paulgraham.com/sblbad.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/sblbad.html</a><p>[2] <a href="http://paulgraham.com/spamhausblacklist.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/spamhausblacklist.html</a><p>[3] <a href="http://paulgraham.com/spamhaussbl.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/spamhaussbl.html</a>