[PRCo] Re: Ecartis

[Dwight Long]

Joshua

Your extended explanation of how Ecartis works simply proves my point--that 
in order to see a photograph (or presumably any other graphic sent through 
that system), one must go to some place other than the email as sent, as 
Ecartis has stripped the photo from it.

My Verizon server does not do that.  Ecartis and Yahoo do.

I assure you I do not FEAR Ecartis.  I DISLIKE it just as I dislike Yahoo, 
for the same reason.

Dwight

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joshua Dunfield" <joshuad at cs.cmu.edu>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 6:51 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Ecartis


> On 18 April 2012 00:22, Dwight Long <dwightlong at verizon.net> wrote:
>>
>> Joshua
>>
>> When I send you this message, it will appear on your email screen. It 
>> will
>> also appear on mine.
>
> Yes, eventually.  Something happens along the way.  It's not magic.
>
>> If I were to (I've learned not to) include (or attach) a photo, or map, 
>> or
>> any such sort of graphic with the email, it will not appear on either 
>> your
>> or my computer screen.
>
> No, it will certainly appear on my computer screen—when I click on the 
> link.
>
>> It has been "stolen" by Ecartis and put into the
>> proverbial trash can in cyberspace. I realize that it may be possible to
>> retrieve it therefrom, if one cares to dig about in the trash.
>
> When you reply to this message, your computer will send your message
> to your mail server (from your email address, I expect that's some
> computer at Verizon).  Your mail server will see the line "To:
> pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org" in the message.  Your mail server
> will look up the IP address to be used to send mail to "dementix.org".
> That IP address is 128.2.235.26.  Like dialing a phone, your mail
> server will then "call" 128.2.235.26, and the computer at that address
> will answer and accept your message.
>
> The computer at the address 128.2.235.26 is Derrick's server.
>
> Derrick's server will, after committing the apparently mortal sin of
> moving attachments to the server's hard disk, resend your message to
> everyone on this mailing list.  The mail server I use (somewhere on
> the CMU campus) will receive your message from the computer at address
> 128.2.235.26 which, again, is Derrick's server.
>
> Now, when you (assuming you can overcome your fear of Ecartis) follow
> one of the links that Ecartis adds to a message, that link is
>
>   http://lists.dementix.org/...
>
> Your web browser will look up the IP address for "lists.dementix.org".
> You know what?  That IP address is also 128.2.235.26.  When your web
> browser asks 128.2.235.26 for a photo that the "dreaded Ecartis" took
> from a message, the very same machine (Derrick's server—the
> "proverbial trash can in cyberspace", as you put it) will send it to
> you.  Just like this message.
>
> (In my experience, trash cans get emptied, hopefully on a regular
> basis.  AFAIK Derrick has never deleted any of the material that
> Ecartis has gathered from our messages.  It's all there on his server,
> along with all of our messages.  Quite an interesting trash can.)
>
> -j.
>
>