CENSORING AGAIN: Comcast Blocks Emails Linking to Cindy Sheehan Website!

[BradBlog]

CENSORING AGAIN: Comcast Blocks Emails Linking to Cindy Sheehan Website!
Cox Cable Joins Nation's Largest Net Provider in Keeping Citizens in the Dark!

Comcast (and Cox) are at it again! Last month we reported on the Email containing www.afterdowningstreet.org being by the nation's largest Internet provider, and now it appears to be happening again...this time, email containing www.meetwithcindy.org is not reaching any Comcast (or Cox) customers!

BRAD BLOG's Guest Blogger Winter Patriot has the details:
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001720.htm

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[Roland99]

1. It's how the automated spam filters work

Massive hits of a new domain get that domain blocked.

[rocktivity]

6. If she's using a subscribed e-mailing list, that shouldn't apply.

That's why it was such a controversy with Raw Story--it isn't as though they were e-mailing people arbitrarily.

:headbang:
rocknation

[ET Awful]

9. Spam filters can't see her mailing list, all they see is an e-mail

that is identical being sent to thousands of addresses which is exactly the behavior that spam filters search for.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. I don't know if it's censoring, but I can't reach rawstory.com directly.

I have to type in the entire www.rawstory.com, and sometimes I have to do it twice.

My bookmark works fine, though.

[Ian David]

3. We can retaliate, you know

1) Subscribe to right-wing email lists via web forms
2) Create a free SpamCop reporting account
3) Anonymously report those right-wingers for spamming

From what I understand, this is what they're doing to us, and the reason why Comcast is blocking email from our side.

Reporting Spam

SpamCop parses reported email, sending warning information to the internet service provider responsible for hosting the services used by the spammer (web sites and email sending sites). SpamCop also uses the information to generate SpamCop's free blocking list.

Unfortunately, this is an ongoing battle. Spammers adapt quickly and persistently. Report spam and help SpamCop turn the tide. SpamCop makes this otherwise slow and technical task quick and easy.

The SpamCop reporting service is free.

More:
http://www.spamcop.net/anonsignup.shtml


I said we CAN retaliate.

I did not say we SHOULD retaliate.

That would be bad, m'kay?

[jim3775]

8. Thats a very bad idea. Don't abuse spamcop

ISP's hate fake spam reports. If they find out that a group is using spamcop for political purposes they will ignore future spam reports. This would increase spam for everybody and make the great spamcop service useless

[Ian David]

13. Good point.

[wli]

21. no chance of lawsuits for malicious spam reporting I take it n/t

[jayfish]

4. I Use Comcast At Home And Just Sent...

the e-mail to that account. It came through fine. :shrug:

Jay

[Walt Starr]

5. Yup, just confirmed it

I sent from two different accounts to my Comcast account. No meetiwthcindy.org gets through. anything else does

[Roy]

12. The url is missed spelled in your post?

Could that have caused a problem?

[Walt Starr]

17. Nope

I sent myself an email from two seperate acocunts with the URL in it (spelled correctly).

I just now received one of the two emails.

[RoyGBiv]

7. Good grief ...

The problem with the exponential increase in the number of people with Internet access is that the number of people who have not a single clue how any of this works is increasing exponentially as well.

I don't know about Comcast specifically, but I suspect what I'm about to say holds true for them as well. In short, the company itself is not blocking anything. The automated SPAM blocker has detected elements of the e-mails that mark it as SPAM, which results in it being blocked.

I use COX for Internet service, and I have received plenty of e-mails with that URL in the headers. But, I don't have the company's internal SPAM filtering software activated. I use my own, which is internal to Thunderbird and does just fine. Cox customers, if they want to test things and still use the SPAM blocking functions, can as an alternative have all messages the system thinks are SPAM marked in the subject header with --SPAM-- and then delivered anyway. This gives you a chance to see what the automated system thinks is SPAM and to report problems such as this.

I suspect, but do not know for certain, that the reason the SPAM blocker is picking this up is because A) it is mass e-mailed to multiple recipients at once rather than individually to small groups or individual recipinents or B) the SPAM blocker is detecting a sudden and enormous amount of traffic from a previously unrecorded domain. Both tend to result in automatic blocking.

This is NOT a deliberate conspiracy. Call COX or COMCAST and report the problem, and it will eventually be fixed.

[ET Awful]

10. Bingo.

It's a spam filter doing what spam filters do. Blocking mail that has spamlike features such as identical messages being sent to thousands of addresses simultaneously.

[shance]

16. Roy, so glad to know you have the answers. Thanks

for shedding light on a bias here.

Seems to me I've heard something about a significant amount of censoring and Civil liberties violations going on in our country lately. It seems this Administration and private corporate interests are rather eager to invade and pry into every area of our lives or have you not heard of the Patriot Act? It's really weird, but they seem to have a particular affinity for Democrats, progressives.

So what's your point? That anything you say is not a 'conspiracy'?

Im assuming since it has not happened to you then it hasn't happened, is that what you're saying?

Apparently you have all the answers and everyone else is a CONSPIRACY THEORIST.

We should all be silent and heed to wisdom of Roy. Whew Im glad I don't have to think anymore.

Thanks Roy glad to know you have it all under control for us.

[RoyGBiv]

22. Give me a break ...

That's a mighty fine strawman you've got there. Going to knock it down or just burn it?

This particular issue -- you know, the one upon which I actually commented -- is not a conspiracy. I explained what is happening. If you have information to the contrary, please present it.

As for thinking, I was trying to provide a bit of information that would allow people to draw a rational conclusion about what is taking place. If you'd rather just uncritically go with the notions of those who hadn't bothered even to call and ask Comcast what might be causing the issue, that's your perogative.

[Mistress Quickly]

11. We are always having to unblock specific

address at work, they get blocked, someone calls us, and we can then unblock it.

Before everyone runs to get their pitchforks and storm Comcast, has anyone called them to ask about it?

[Ian David]

18. Complain to Comcast, they'll change your name to "Bitch Dog" on your bill

Related thread:

woman gets 'threatening' cable bill
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=150x8913

[dbonds]

14. I have COX internet and that gets through to me.

[TahitiNut]

15. I advise everyone to get and use independent email services.

The cable companies are NOTORIOUS for abomnable email services. Delayed and lost email are a plague ... once with AtHome, then AT&T, now ComCast!

These ISP cable compnaies only offer email (and web) services as an anti-cannibalism measure. If you consider using a "competitor" (to the limited degree they exist), you'll be less inclined to switch when folks know your email address and/or your web address and you don't want to go through the hassle of telling everyone to change.

An excellent independent email service (and there are several) is very inexpensive - about $30/year. It's very well worth having one (or more) if only to forward email to your ISP account (if it's working).

[progressivebydesign]

19. Just tested that, as Comcast customer.. and it didnt' block it.

Last time we had this discussion I also tested it, and the emails were received and sent just fine.

[seabeyond]

20. i sent an email to me with cindy sheehan and camp casey

i am with cox. i received.