Russell Nelson wrote:
>
> Forwarded with permission (the permission being the short quote below,
> the message being the long one). I don't have a copy of the
> traceroute, but it definitely showed packets going from Washington DC
> to NYC through Paris.
This[1] is similar to the argument made to me by a UK FTP server
operator (who shall remain nameless), when I was wondering about export
controls on software from the UK - I said I was reluctant to export
Apache-SSL, because I was not sure whether that was legal[2]. He said
"put it on my server, then". I said, "but won't that get you into
trouble if the export turns out to be illegal?". His response was that
_he_ wasn't doing any exporting, nor was his machine. If anyone was, it
would be the router on the border between the UK and wherever the
downloader was (or the first international hop), which most certainly
didn't belong to him or anyone he cared about.
I'm still not convinced I believe this argument - though I should really
seek legal advice before seriously doubting it. For example: if I send
munitions in the post to parts exotic, can I really claim that it was
the Post Office that did the export? I think not. But I suspect there
are special rules for the Post Office that ISPs do not enjoy the benefit
of.
Cheers,
Ben.
[1] The idea that packets routed from US-somewhere-US may violate export
regs.
[2] I'm now pretty damn sure it is. But I still don't.
--
http://www.apache-ssl.org/ben.html
"My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those
who work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the
first group; there was less competition there."
- Indira Gandhi
