Editing John Gilmore (activist) (section)

== Activism ==
Gilmore owns the [[domain name]] toad.com, which is one of the [[List of the oldest currently registered Internet domain names|100 oldest]] active [[.com]] domains. It was registered on August 18, 1987. He runs<ref>As of June 1, 2023, new.toad.com is still an open mail relay.</ref> the [[Message transfer agent|mail server]] at toad.com as an [[open mail relay]]. In October 2002, Gilmore's ISP, [[Verio]], cut off his Internet access for running an open relay, a violation of Verio's terms of service. Many people contend that open relays make it too easy to send spam. Gilmore protests that his mail server was programmed to be essentially useless to [[Spamming|spammers]] and other senders of mass email and he argues that Verio's actions constitute censorship. He also notes that his configuration makes it easier for friends who travel to send email, although his critics counter that there are other mechanisms to accommodate people wanting to send email while traveling. The measures Gilmore took to make his server useless to spammers may or may not have helped, considering that in 2002, at least one mass-mailing worm that propagated through open relays&nbsp;— W32.Yaha&nbsp;— had been hard-coded to relay through the toad.com mail server.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2002-021514-1810-99&tabid=2 |title=W32.Yaha@mm technical details |first=Douglas |last=Knowles |date=February 13, 2007 |publisher=Symantec |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070524131323/http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2002-021514-1810-99&tabid=2 |access-date=September 26, 2016 |archive-date=May 24, 2007 |quote=if it cannot connect to the email server listed in that registry key, it will use one of the following: [...21 domain names snipped...], toad.com, [...2 more...]}}</ref>

Gilmore famously stated of [[Internet censorship]] that "The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it".<ref name="Censorship">{{Cite magazine |url= http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/outerspace/internet-article.html |title=First Nation in Cyberspace |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] International |date=December 6, 1993 |first1=Philip |last1=Elmer-Dewitt  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210408023213/https://kirste.userpage.fu-berlin.de/outerspace/internet-article.html |archive-date=April 8, 2021 |access-date=July 31, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Quote Origin: The Net Interprets Censorship As Damage and Routes Around It |url=https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/07/12/censor/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=[[Quote Investigator]]}}</ref>

He unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of [[Secret law|secret regulations]] regarding travel security policies in ''[[Gilmore v. Gonzales]]''.<ref name="UST 2004">{{Cite news |first=Richard |last=Willing |url= https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-10-privacy_x.htm |title=Airline ID requirement faces legal challenge |work=[[USA Today]] |date=October 10, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615061359/http://www.usatoday.com:80/news/nation/2004-10-10-privacy_x.htm |archive-date= Jun 15, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="SFC 2005">{{cite news |first=Bob |last=Egelko |url= https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Judges-cool-to-ID-complaint-2557606.php |title=Judges cool to ID complaint |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=December 9, 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415105834/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Judges-cool-to-ID-complaint-2557606.php |archive-date= Apr 15, 2021 }}</ref>

Gilmore is also an advocate for the relaxing of [[Prohibition of drugs|drug laws]] and has given financial support to [[Students for Sensible Drug Policy]], the [[Marijuana Policy Project]], [[Erowid]], [[Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies|MAPS]], [[Flex Your Rights]], and various other organizations seeking to end the [[war on drugs]]. He is a member of the boards of directors of MAPS and the Marijuana Policy Project.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.maps.org/about/board/ |title=Board of Directors |publisher=[[Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies]] |access-date=October 16, 2014 |archive-date=May 6, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160506135355/http://www.maps.org/about/board |url-status=dead}}</ref> Until October 2021, he was also a board member of the EFF.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/10/john-gilmore-leaves-eff-board-becomes-board-member-emeritus |title=John Gilmore Leaves the EFF Board, Becomes Board Member Emeritus |date=October 23, 2021 |publisher=[[Electronic Frontier Foundation]] |access-date=October 23, 2021}}</ref>