Gambia-L,

It appears that many people have been having and do continue to have problems with
postings to the List since the confirmation string became attached to messages
posted to the list. I came close to contributing to this issue on several occasions
but repeatedly refrained from doing so mainly because I do not feel good about
pointing fingers while sitting comfortably with arms folded. The list managers have
certainly been of great service to the L and I am sure most if not all of us
appreciate their efforts. Notwithstanding, Gambia-L has become too important for us
to take the wait and see attitude. It is this thought alone which has finally
prompted this contribution, which I hope will be taken in good faith.

The fact of the matter is that this supposedly security measure was adopted to
avoid abuse in the form of some people sending messages in the name of others. So
far, two such messages have been sent to the list in the name of Tombong Saidy and
Demba Jawo. Certainly this was wrong. The reaction to these mails are now history.
George Sarr apologised for his behaviour and offered some explanation and in Demba
Jawo's case another message was sent to correct the situation (although someone has
intimated to me in private that the second message was not from Demba Jawo either).

The questions we should ask are:
1.) Is it possible to totally prevent this kind of abuse?
2.) Is it really worth all the trouble?
3.) Are there other ways of dealing with this problem?

The Geore Sarr experience taught us that it is possible to open an e-mail address
which differs only slightly from the "prey's" address, subscribe to the list with
an initial name and then change it afterwards to the users name. For example,
assuming I wish to send a false mail in the name of Wanjiri Touray at
[log in to unmask], I can register as Sumanguru Biko at [log in to unmask] Once
subscribed, I'll change my name to Wanjiri Touray and my messages will appear to
come from Wanjiri Touray at [log in to unmask] Many people will overlook the dot
(.) in the second address and assume that the message actually came from Wanjiri.
My messages will still get through to the list! And if I want be really mean, I'll
arrange with a friend in Changsha (a city in China) to be sending all mails from
there to avoid being suspected.

Furthermore, if people can hack into computers and cause damages in the order of
billions, who can really guarantee that nobody can sneak into Momodou Camara's
computer and steal information, including passwords, without him knowing or simply
corrupt the e-mail message to make the user and address appear to be original? The
IP address, you may say. But internet based addresses can be sent from anywhere and
from my understanding of the security measure in place, as long as the IP of the
sender and the confirmation mail tally, the message will be accepted. Well that
wouldn't make headlines in the news but the possibility cannot be ruled out. Or can
it?. That provides some clues to the answer to the first question. IT specialist
can certainly paint more scenarios.

Now, considering the fact that so far only two cases of abuse are known against the
numerous complains both on the list and in message addressed to the List managers,
one cannot fail to see that many more innocent people are paying the price,
including the list managers themselves. Yet there is no absolute solution! So is it
really worth all this trouble? I am inclined to answer in the negative. The time,
money and energy wasted can be put somewhere else.

So are there other ways of dealing with the problem? Yes there are. One way of
dealing with the problem is to put the responsibility in the hands of Gambia-L
subscribers. As experienced so far the victims of this kind of abuse (Tombong and
Demba) have both disclaimed the messages sent in their names publicly. Obviously,
any subscriber knows whether he/she sent a message or not, so no one will have
difficulty noticing a hoax message. Secondly, those who are tempted to jump on the
prey should first enquire whether the message is original or not before firing
their missiles. I am inclined to believe that the embarrassment associated with
responding to a hoax with all the hardware of the tongue only to see one in a funny
trap afterwards must have been a lesson learnt. So the issue is after all not
complex. Why make a mountain out of an anthill then?

To conclude, I wish to challenge the list managers to prove me (and perhaps other
more informed views to be heard) wrong beyond reasonable doubt. Should you fail to
do so, then I would like to suggest that you remove the confirmation string and
please spare all of us, including yourselves the unnecessary troubles. I would also
like to further suggest that you initiate some kind of discussion or at least
inform and solicit opinions from list members before taking any major decisions
which will affect list members in a major way. By doing so, you will promote the
spirit of collectivism and spare yourselves the blame afterwards, should things
work otherwise. I hope we will all be able to rise to the challenge. After all true
liberation is about people thinking for themselves and taking charge of what
affects them, being able to accept what is genuine and finding solutions to their
problems. I also hope that we can deal with this issue promptly and not allow it to
continue to divert our attention.

Allow me to add that I do not intend to erode your responsibility in any way, nor
do I intend to demean you or your noble role as list managers.

Alpha Robinson


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