From: nc0022@netcom.com (Margaret)
Subject: Re: yet another cancelbunny on Netcom
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 11:48:28 -0800 (PST)

The "gmart" account has been suspended.  Thanks again to you all for
prompt notification; please remember that we don't always have the
resources to acknowledge every report, but we do read them etc. 

Some of you have asked about preventative measures; unfortunately,
right now there's not much any ISP can do to screen out this kind of
abuse.  It's not possible to reliably determine any user's identity, or
to prevent a user from legitimately paying for an account in order to
abuse it.

As for disabling cancels by anyone other than the author of a post,
it's not feasible at this point in time.  Some of our customers are
newsgroup moderators, and we'd like them to be able to continue their
activities.  Also, Netcom's news admins are working on several major
changes and improvements to service; we won't be able to think about
new news projects for some time to come. 

Please do continue to notify us of forged cancels and let us know any
suggestions you may have. 

-- 
____________________________________________________________________________
Margaret                                        Netcom On-line Communications
System Security Admin                           nc0022@netcom.com
Computer Operations Division            Security Incidents: security@netcom.com
                                        Netiquette Complaints: abuse@netcom.com