Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2000 19:40:59 -0600 (MDT) From: "Jumpin' Joe Schroedl" <joe@ns1.uscreativetypes.com> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>, freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Two kinds of advisories? Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0007161916300.52298-100000@localhost> In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20000716145126.049d4ba0@localhost>
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On Sun, 16 Jul 2000, Brett Glass wrote: > > I wish this would help! However, the situation is anaogous to being a > doctor and fielding questions about general health matters. A patient > scans the rack of magazines on the local newsstand or in the library > and sees a headline on a medical journal: "Orange Juice Carcinogen > Warning." He's not an idiot, but also realizes that he doesn't know > enough to understand the jargon. So he asks YOU whether this affects > him and relates to the particular brand of juice he drinks. > > That's similar to what's happening here. If the headline doesn't > put a scare into the user/patient, everyone is better off. > > --Brett > Brett: I disagree with your analogy to a point; I believe email is not analogous to a scanned headline on a local newstand -- the headline is not solicited by the viewer like email, nor is a headline intended to be clear. Instead, a headline is meant to grab attention. I think this is a better analogy: A doctor owns a Porsche (excuse my prejudice that every wealthy person drives a Porsche ;). One day, he recieves a letter in the mail from Porsche with the message printed on the envelope 'Important Recall Information Inside.' Now should the Doctor a) panic and call his mechanic or b) open the letter and *read* it. Common sense dictates that a 'Recall' message could mean anything from a 'not-so-cold' air conditioner to a serious safety defect. Although the letter may refer to parts he might not know he has (rack and peanut steering, zum beispiel), he still can understand the basic gist of the warning. Either way, most people would simply read the letter to find out, and then take the appropriate action. It comes down to this; a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. By subscribing your clients to securities lists, you are imparting them with only a little knowledge, a partial picture of the whole which they have no ability to fill in themselves. With this little knowledge they can really do more damage than good, and that damage you are experiencing personally in lost time and generally irritability. I think you should either desubscribe them to the respective securities lists, and then set up a list which you subscribe them to where you personally filter the info or how it is presented. Either that or draft some document which explains to them what the header message means (really, what a Port is) and when they should be concerned. In other words, (and not to be harsh), take responsibility for correcting a problem you yourself probably caused. Good luck. Joe > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-security" in the body of the message
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