[aprssig] RE: IGate Abuse (Firenet Data)

[dick at kb7zva.com]

>Firenet has no adverse effect on your RF environment.  Someone who is
>gating an excessive number of objects to RF does.  There is a big
>difference.  I am sorry that you don't see that difference.  If we were
>to shut something down the instant someone abused it, there would be no
>APRS-IS nor, I dare say, any APRS.  My statements regarding Firenet
>being a well isolated subnet of APRS-IS yet still having full access to
>APRS-IS still stands.  Nothing you have posted says anything different.

It does have an adverse effect because the data comes from Firenet. Any
previous reference to 'The Sea of Blue' was in regard to seeing the data
on RF.

First, from the beginning of the Firenet program, the argument was always
how someone could abuse local RF. There are no safeguards in place the 
would prevent the non-ham data from going RF, accidentally or on purpose.
Your point is how well Firenet, as a subnet, blends into the APRS-IS. That's
the tunnel vision I was talking about. The program is flawed! APRS is both
RF and the Internet.

Second, and this is hard for me to understand. Firenet uses your program
javAPRSSrvr as the transport vehicle to the APRS-IS. I never said that the
transport vehicle was a problem. 

You offer no solution other than saying it's a personal problem. Is it possible
from your programming skills to prevent this data from being seen on RF?

>If we were to shut something down the instant someone abused it, there would
>be no APRS-IS nor, I dare say, any APRS.

Dramatic statement, and false assumption. And, not true.
We have shut down programs because of abuse or added the ability
to filter. Like the message packets generated by aprsD that were never meant
to be propagated throughout the APRS-IS. To think that every time a program
was being abused, I would suggest it be shut down, is incorrect information.

Am I the only person seeing Firenet data on my RF screen? Is it really OK to force
something down my throat I don't want to see? I have to see it because some
law-enforcement agency think channel buoys, water gages or incorrect WX objects
are cool. Most locations aren't maintained on a regular basis and produce false
information.

I have a feeling this is going to be a small issue soon compared to what is in
the works.

I'd like to thank everyone for the private emails and feedback. Please consider
posting your ideas and suggestions to this list. I have no further comments on
this subject.

Dick, KB7ZVA
APRSWest