Scientology in the Media [Internet]

A Documentary History of the Church of Scientology and the Net
Deana M. Holmes

[Part 9 of 10]

Usenet: alt.religion.scientology
April 1995

Main Index A.R.S. Web Summary Media

==========================================================================
A Documentary History of the Church of Scientology and the Net
VERSION 1.0 / April 17, 1995
Compiled by Deana M. Holmes (mirele@xmission.com)
==========================================================================

Compilation (c) 1995 by Deana M. Holmes.


Denunciation from the denizens of a.r.s was swift.


Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: modemac@netcom.com (Modemac)
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Message-ID: <modemacD6wF7w.G1v@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 01:38:19 GMT

Vera Wallace  <vera@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Eric Walker - who is on as "Modemac"

BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

What a great revelation, Vera.  You revealed my human name to the Net -
something that I've been doing for months.  I gave my human name out in my
.sig file for the better part of a year.  I wrote a letter to CoS with my
human name.  I handled the RFD and CFV for a Usenet newsgroup
(soc.support.youth.gay-lesbian-bi) under that name.  Many people on the
Net know my human name. 

It doesn't matter.  You don't have anything on me, and I am Modemac.  I've
been Modemac since 1987, and as far as I'm concerned, it IS my name.  Even
my friends off the Net like to call me "Modemac" as a nickname.  I chose
that name because I like it. 

Snap away, Vera.  You have nothing!  All you do is prove that the OSA is 
keeping files on all the users of this newsgroup.
-- 
               +---------------------------------------+
               | Reverend Modemac (modemac@netcom.com) |
 +-------------+     "There is no black and white."    +------------+
 | First Online Church of "Bob," A Subfaction of the Excremeditated |
 |     Congregation of the Overinflated Head of L. Ron Hubbard      |
 +------------------------------------------------------------------+
       FINGER modemac@netcom.com for a FREE SubGenius Pamphlet!

===

From: jlyons@haven.ios.com (John)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Date: 12 Apr 1995 01:26:21 GMT
Message-ID: <3mfa7t$elr@ankh.iia.org>

Quid pro quo, "Vera".

Name, address and phone number, please.

Time to be upfront.

--
|                              | Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night |
| John                         |    Has flung the Stone                  |
| jlyons@haven.ios.com         |       that puts the Stars to Flight     |
who is on as John Lyons you clueless cultie fucks

=== 

Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: Tony@sidaway.demon.co.uk (Tony Sidaway)
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 01:50:10 +0000
Message-ID: <797651410snz@sidaway.demon.co.uk>

In article <3met9p$rf2@mars.earthlink.net>
           vera@earthlink.net "Vera Wallace"^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H
           Andy Milne,surely!
           writes:

> I believe in free speech and freedom on the net.  I also believe that
> it is my right to publish the names of the true identities of 
> individuals on the net who are taking actions which threaten those
> freedoms by their irresponsibility.   

    Please justify this statement.  What acts of irresponsiblity are
    you referring to?  Posting articles critical of scientology?
    
    Take a trip to any other alt.religion group, Andy.  You will see
    the same.  This is what free speech means.
    
> There have been instances of ars being used for illegal purposes in-
> cluding to make death threats (in the case of Martin Hunt), to 

    Substantiate this.
    
> illegally distribute copyrighted materials (in the case of Dennis
> Erlich and others),

    arguably

< to advocate illegal activities be taken against
> Scientologists (this came out recently from an anon poster), 

      who was almost certainly a scientology stooge
      
> and use
> of the net as a forum to foment bigotry and hate crimes.

        in your humble opinion, Andy.    
> 
> I believe that this type of activity is not really an expression of
> freedom of speech and will ultimately cause legislators to start 
> making restrictions on the net which will penalize us all.  Laws are
> generally made to protect the majority from the criminal minority but
> end up restricting the rights of everyone equally. 

    You just want to stop us criticising your religion.
    How are you going to stop me, Clara, Peter, Ashraf, Tilmann,
    and all the other non-US posters?  Do you think you could stop
    us, even assuming you could make the legislators listen to
    you whining?
> 
> Those who are using this newsgroup to criticize are free to do so,
> however, IMHO there are those who are using it to create hatred and
> bigotry.

    So you say.  Please substantiate this claim.

>  This I believe is morally wrong.  Thus, if I learn the 
> true identities of anyone on this newsgroup, I will publish them so 
> that all can see who is behind such acts.

    You use a non-specific charge of bigotry to justify a general
    act of hostility on your part.  What's wrong with this picture?

>  If anyone has the name of
> an anonymous poster or a poster using a false identity and you do not
> wish to reveal the name yourself, send it to me and I will publish
> them.

    This is true to your nature, Andy.

> There is nothing illegal about this whatsoever and any attempt
> to make it seem so is bs.  So far we have:

    It may be illegal to intimidate people in this way.

    Keep it up.  More great wins for scientology.
    
-- 
Tony Sidaway

===

Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: clara@holsoft.demon.co.uk (Clara)
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 00:06:13 +0000
Message-ID: <19950412.002327.68@holsoft.demon.co.uk>

In article <3met9p$rf2@mars.earthlink.net>,
          vera@earthlink.net (Vera Wallace) wrote:

> I believe in free speech and freedom on the net.  I also believe that
> it is my right to publish the names of the true identities of 
> individuals on the net who are taking actions which threaten those
> freedoms by their irresponsibility.   
> 
> [rest of diatribe cut]

Good. As we say in my country, "what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the
gander". Or, to put it another way, it is time for the TRUE name behind the
mask of "vera wallace" to be revealed. You are quite high up in the
organisation, aren't you? Oh yes, you are high up all right. Access to all
kinds of information that you could have obtained only through the
cooperation of fellow Scientologists.

Like Dennis's letter, which you could only have obtained from Helena
Kobrin's office. Like the IDs of various posters to ars. You have had the
authority to post this information. You haven't needed anyone's permission,
have you?

And all the time, playing the clueless vera. Good troll, was it "Vera"? Of
course YOU are allowed to read critics' posts. But you are very selective
about posting yourself. Others beneath you have carried out the mundane
postings. Have you "handled" ars well, Vera? Was this going to be your big
triumph?

Shame really. You have been panicked, haven't you? Suddenly, everything is
out of control. That is why you are rushing to "out" your critics. Sheer
desperation. "Milne" boobed in a big way. You were holding back the names
and then "Milne" got carried away. So you have been forced into battle at a
time not of your choosing. And that is a recipe for disaster.

You are going to get "pulled", Vera. You have screwed up all the way through
this campaign. You have completely misjudged both the mood of the net
community and the resolve of the critics of your nasty festering cult. RPF
beckons. Or maybe you are too high up even for that. Maybe you are too
deeply implicated in the crimes of the organisation for you to be able to
get out before the whole stinking mass collapses on top of you.

Am I trying to provoke you? Of course I am. The more I can provoke the evil
beings who organise and carry out the mind terrorism devised by the fat toad
Hubbard, the happier I will be.

And I am happy to speculate which of the following events will happen next:

1. You have your network account pulled.
2. The organisation take you off the ars project.
3. You get "outed" by one of the critics.

I don't care - any of these would make us very happy indeed. Hope you can
sleep at nights, you sad, sad "woman".

--
Clara
faithful nun supplicant of the Rev. Mutha Tarla,
member of the Little Sisters of the Perpetually Juicy;

===

Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: grady@netcom.com (Grady Ward)
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Message-ID: <gradyD6wJxn.IB@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 03:20:11 GMT

Don't forget:

Grady Ward
3449 Martha Ct.
Arcata, CA  95521-4884
+1 707 826 7715 (voice /fax)

Why don't you try to dead agent *me* you criminal cultie sacks of shit.

And one more thing: how come you haven't been able to stop your degrading
and contemptuous comic book cosmology from being published to potentially
25 million people on the net?  Too weak, stupid, or just bumbling?

With your OT powers you should easily be able to stop it, but no...
will all of your lying lardass-Hubbard crap be published? How
degrading to be shown to be so weak.  Will David Miscavige be
pleased?  We he do an end-of-cycle on you *personally*?

BTW my father was an eye surgeon. I bet you criminal cultists have
no idea how easy it is to perform a lobotomy while performing eye 
surgery. How many children have been "modified" while undergoing
amblyopia "correction".  Something to think about you paranoids
and psychopaths in the criminal cult of scientology.

You have no idea of the galactic conspiracy against you.
You have no hope. Give up now you weak pathetic cult turds.

-- 
Grady Ward  +1 707 826 7715 (voice / 24hr FAX)  grady@netcom.com

===

From: jost@itd.itd.nrl.navy.mil (Patrick Jost)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Date: 12 Apr 1995 00:18:59 GMT
Message-ID: <3mf69j$6o5@ra.nrl.navy.mil>

In article <3met9p$rf2@mars.earthlink.net>,
Vera Wallace  <vera@earthlink.net> wrote:

[poodlepoop deleted]

>
>[who cares]- who is on as [who cares]
>
>Vera

Whee! The CoS, with all of its superior mental powers, pulls off 
a trick in every 2nd rate PI handbook. I'm so impressed.

I'd do the same to you, Vera, but I don't care who you
really are, and "outing" you would make me be like you,
and that's about the last thing I want.

How about those of us (me, Grady, ???) who aren't afraid
of you? Are you being fitted for an RPF boiler suit
because you don't know what to do about us?

===

From: stevem@primenet.com (Stephen Marinick)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Date: 12 Apr 1995 07:07:05 GMT
Message-ID: <stevem-1204950009160001@ip182.phx.primenet.com>

In article <3met9p$rf2@mars.earthlink.net>, Vera Wallace
<vera@earthlink.net> wrote:

> I believe in free speech and freedom on the net.  I also believe that
> it is my right to publish the names of the true identities of 
> individuals on the net who are taking actions which threaten those
> freedoms by their irresponsibility.   
> 
(snipped rest of absurd rant on exposing identities of a.r.s posters)

Vera, please post your correct name and address if you wish to verify that
you believe this statement. You certainly fit your description of someone
who should have their true identity revealed - your ugly, unsubstantiated
and possibly libelous personal attacks are as irresponsible as anything I
have ever read. Don't the posters here have a right to know who's making
these statements?

We all know what happens when the Co$ gets your name & address - they send
their hired bully to investigate you. You and your idiotic cult should be
ashamed of your actions - the rest of the world is.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Stephen E. Marinick <stevem@primenet.com>    Design/Illustration
http://www.primenet.com/~stevem/             Multimedia Programming
Finger for PGP public key. ID = 35DEE06D     Encrypted mail preferred

===

Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: dennis.l.erlich@support.com
Subject: Re: names of ars posters
Message-ID: <9504111751.0P36W02@support.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Apr 95 17:51:32 -0700

Vera Wallace <vera@earthlink.net>

>I believe in free speech and freedom on the net.  I also believe that
>it is my right to publish the names of the true identities of
>individuals on the net who are taking actions which threaten those
>freedoms by their irresponsibility.

[snip]

>Vera
 
    They've got poodleboy herself standing in for our favorite 
    venom-slut.
    
           +---------------------------------------+
          Rev. Dennis L Erlich   * * the inFormer * *
                 <dennis.l.erlich@support.com>
                        that person (tm)

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
There was a pathetic attempt by CoS posters to justify their actions.

But since most of these guys were already killfiled, it really didn't matter. The following post illustrates what the a.r.s reader (me) who doesn't use a killfile gets in her news fifty or one hundred times a day.


Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: noodle@netcom.com (Rick Sherwood)
Subject: Re: Names of ars posters
Message-ID: <noodleD6wGns.8At@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 02:09:27 GMT

Joe Acosta (acosta@West.Sun.COM) wrote:

: In article <3met9p$rf2@mars.earthlink.net>,
: Vera Wallace  <vera@earthlink.net> wrote:
: >I believe in free speech and freedom on the net.  

: As long as you believe what Vera and CoS believes ;-)

: Also, since you like posting peoples home addresses 
: how about posting yours to the net?  

: >I also believe that
: >it is my right to publish the names of the true identities of 
: >individuals on the net who are taking actions which threaten those
: >freedoms by their irresponsibility.   

: If Illegal methods are used to obtain the identity of these people
: than you don't have the right.  If it is legal than you do.  But,
: this looks very close to being harassment (sp?) of critics of the
: net.  Remeber the net is watching what will happen to these people
: now.  As what you define to be "threaten freedoms..." 
: seems to be a subject to debate.    Seems that anything found
: dis-agreeable to CoS is defined as "Threatening our religous freedoms".

: >
: >There have been instances of ars being used for illegal purposes in-
: >cluding to make death threats (in the case of Martin Hunt), to 
: >illegally distribute copyrighted materials (in the case of Dennis
: >Erlich and others), to advocate illegal activities be taken against
: >Scientologists (this came out recently from an anon poster), and use
: >of the net as a forum to foment bigotry and hate crimes.

: Erlich's case has will be judged whether his posts fall under
: the "Fair Use" of copyright law.  We will see what happens.  I 
: have never seen "Martin Hunt's death threat" on the net so 
: I can't say.  I don't know of "critics" advocating illegal
: things done to Scientologists nor do I support any such behaviour.
: The closest thing to debatable is the SCMAZDAT postings which
: I disagree with.  Right now the *true* souce of these posts are
: coming into question.  It will be interesting to see where the
: really come from.

: >
: >Those who are using this newsgroup to criticize are free to do so,
: >however, IMHO there are those who are using it to create hatred and
: >bigotry.  This I believe is morally wrong.  Thus, if I learn the 
: >true identities of anyone on this newsgroup, I will publish them so 
: >that all can see who is behind such acts.  

: Just make sure you don't get this info illegally and these acts
: don't venture into the relm of harrasment!

: > If anyone has the name of
: >an anonymous poster or a poster using a false identity and you do not
: >wish to reveal the name yourself, send it to me and I will publish
: >them.  There is nothing illegal about this whatsoever and any attempt
: >to make it seem so is bs.  So far we have:
: >
: >Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx - who is on as "Tarla Star"
: >
: >Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx - from the great state of Texas, who is on as
: >     "Sri Changi Saar"  (or however he spells it)
: >
: >Xxxx Xxxxxx - who is on as "Modemac"
: >
: >Not to mention "Deeney3" who is really Xxxxxxx Xxxxx (aka Tubby).
:                                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

: Now that's the Vera we all know and love, one who can sling
: rude comments in a single OSA one-liners.  

:                       Enjoy
:                       Joe

: `
: >
: >Vera
: > 

   Anonymity has no place on the net. Especially if it used to persecute
   people, religion. Particularly if it affords the poster the feeling
   of invulnerability, allowing salacious, reviling, denigrating remarks
   and the forwarding of hate.

  ARS persecutors have routinely done all the above.

 Woody

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Woody also inadvertently revealed that milne had been yanked off Delphi (at least temporarily).


Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: noodle@netcom.com (Rick Sherwood)
Subject: Re: Clamlink (Attn: Andrew Testa)
Message-ID: <noodleD6xnsp.n4r@netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 17:41:12 GMT

TarlaStar (bmyers@ionet.net) wrote:
: dennis.l.erlich@support.com wrote:

: >testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa)

: >> The entity known as Vera Wallace (vera@earthlink.net) posted:
: >>
: >>* [Tarla's name] - time to be responsible for what you post.
: >>
: >>* By the way these are the full particulars:
: >>
: >>* [Tarla's address]
: >>* [Tarla's telephone number]
: >>* Vera
: >>
: >>Ah, Vera, you crusty little love puddle.  I hope you enjoy yourself doing
: >>this, because you have signalled to all the thousands of people reading this
: >>that you AND your alledged "church" are very slimy indeed.  As this is
: >>a serious netiquette breach, I've forwarded a copy of your post to Mr.
: >>Sky Dalton (sky@earthlink.net), president of your ISP.  We'll see how
: >>responsive he is to such brazen ugliness on your part.  I hope your
: >>I/C is proud of the massive net-revulsion this move of Milne's and yours
: >>will cause against your cult.  You are your own worst enemy.  But I'll be
: >>glad to help.

: >    Andrew, please let us know what Clamlink responds.

: Yes...please do. I received a short response from Sky Dalton this
: morning in my e-mail saying that he had answered A. Testa and that I
: should get the info from him. (nevermind that *I* was the injured
: party).  So please, Andy, post his response.


       Tarla, I saw that Milne is posting again. You attempts to get him
       oppressed didn't succeed.

       Your greatest enemy seems to be people that can reason and see through
       your persecution of the Church. So, tell your leader, Dennis, that you
       struck out, with no hope of success.

       Woody

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The outing of Tarla Star and others led some to wonder whether "Vera Wallace's" Internet provider was allowing "Vera" to get away with things that he would not allow non-Scientologists to do. The following is part of the discussion about the behaviour of earthlink.net. By April 15th, there had been some people openly discussing whether or not earthlink.net should be declared a "rogue" site because it allowed "Vera" to continue her abuse with impunity.


From: testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Clamlink
Date: 12 Apr 1995 14:54:08 GMT
Organization: Xenu's Clambake Palace
Message-ID: <3mgpig$sps@uuneo.neosoft.com>

 The entity known as dennis.l.erlich@support.com posted:

*     Andrew, please let us know what Clamlink responds.

*            +---------------------------------------+
*           Rev. Dennis L Erlich   * * the inFormer * *
*                  <dennis.l.erlich@support.com>
*                         that person (tm)

My mother always told me to do whatever the bus driver said, so:

I got a quick response, as usual.  Included in that was a gentle finger-
waggin-at for posting Mr. Dayton's replies to me, so he does read the group.

He sent me a copy of their policy regarding proper use, which stated that
three warnings are issued to users before they are canceled.  Vera will
be sent a first warning.  I think it is in line with most policies I've seen
and I'm satisfied with it.  Since Earthlink has been polite with me, I'm
going to cease posting my email with Mr. Dayton, and I'll keep the 
communication open.

--
 /                      Xenu stole my lunch money                       \ 
/ Andy Testa (KoX)                       I'm OT!  I could KILL you with  \
\ testa@hou.moc.com                      a thought!  BWAAAHHAAAAHAAAAAA! /
 \        Contributing to the downfall of Scientology since 1995.       /

===

Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
From: clara@holsoft.demon.co.uk (Clara)
Subject: Re: Clamlink
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 16:10:29 +0000
Message-ID: <19950412.162943.84@holsoft.demon.co.uk>

In article <3mgpig$sps@uuneo.neosoft.com>,
          testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa) wrote:

> I got a quick response, as usual.  Included in that was a gentle finger-
> waggin-at for posting Mr. Dayton's replies to me, so he does read the group.
> 
> He sent me a copy of their policy regarding proper use, which stated that
> three warnings are issued to users before they are canceled.  Vera will
> be sent a first warning.  I think it is in line with most policies I've seen
> and I'm satisfied with it.  Since Earthlink has been polite with me, I'm
> going to cease posting my email with Mr. Dayton, and I'll keep the 
> communication open.
> 

So, let's get this right. Vera now has two more opportunities to break
"proper use" guidelines before her account is closed. Is there no question
of degree of offence being taken into account? Canter and Siegel will be
queueing up to use EarthLink with those conditions. Just think, three spams
before you are kicked off - C&S heaven!

I suppose this is some kind of variation on the "Three Strikes, You're Out"
Law we've been hearing about. In this variation, however, you're given three
credits first. My provider disconnected a user who spammed a "Make Money
Fast" letter on his *first* offence. Is a spam really more serious than the
naked intimidation inimical to Vera's postings? Anyhow, she posted the
information in at least *two* separate mailings, quite gratuitously. Should
this earn *two* warnings?

This Sister smells the unmistakeable tang of whitewash.

--
Sister Clara
faithful nun supplicant of the Rev. Mutha Tarla,
member of the Little Sisters of the Perpetually Juicy;

===

From: lippard@Primenet.Com (James J. Lippard)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Clamlink
Date: 12 Apr 1995 18:40:18 GMT
Message-ID: <3mh6qi$7jt@news.primenet.com>

In article <19950412.162943.84@holsoft.demon.co.uk>,
Clara <clara@holsoft.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <3mgpig$sps@uuneo.neosoft.com>,
>          testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa) wrote:
>
>> I got a quick response, as usual.  Included in that was a gentle finger-
>> waggin-at for posting Mr. Dayton's replies to me, so he does read the group.
>> 
>> He sent me a copy of their policy regarding proper use, which stated that
>> three warnings are issued to users before they are canceled.  Vera will
>> be sent a first warning.  I think it is in line with most policies I've seen
>> and I'm satisfied with it.  Since Earthlink has been polite with me, I'm
>> going to cease posting my email with Mr. Dayton, and I'll keep the 
>> communication open.
>> 
>
>So, let's get this right. Vera now has two more opportunities to break
>"proper use" guidelines before her account is closed. Is there no question
>of degree of offence being taken into account? Canter and Siegel will be
>queueing up to use EarthLink with those conditions. Just think, three spams
>before you are kicked off - C&S heaven!

Primenet's policy is that nobody's account gets permanently closed until
we're sure that they've violated our agreements and they don't have a
good explanation for what they've done.  However, depending on the offense,
we may immediately suspend a user's account prior to consulting with them.
(For instance, if a user is spamming the net, the account is suspended as
soon as we find out about it.  This turns out to be a strong encouragement
for them to call in and give their side of the story.)  I think for 
something like what Vera has done, we would not immediately suspend her 
account, but give her a warning and check with the lawyers about the 
legality of her actions.  If there was a good case that they were 
illegal, we'd probably issue a strong warning--do it again and your 
account is gone.

So I agree with Andy that EarthLink's response doesn't seem unreasonable.
--
Jim Lippard                   lippard@primenet.com   lippard@ediacara.org
Web Administrator, Primenet           lippard@skeptic.com
Phoenix, Arizona              http://www.primenet.com/~lippard/
PGP Fingerprint: 35 65 66 9F 71 FE 50 57  35 09 0F F6 14 D0 C6 04

===

From: testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Clamlink
Date: 12 Apr 1995 18:41:53 GMT
Message-ID: <3mh6th$sps@uuneo.neosoft.com>

Sister Clara,

  First off, I am the messenger.  I've heard what you of the LSotPJ can do
do to normal humans, even from a distance.  I wish to continue the use of 
ALL my bodily functions, so bear with me...

 Sister Clara (clara@holsoft.demon.co.uk) posted:

* So, let's get this right. Vera now has two more opportunities to break
* "proper use" guidelines before her account is closed. Is there no question
* of degree of offence being taken into account? Canter and Siegel will be
* queueing up to use EarthLink with those conditions. Just think, three spams
* before you are kicked off - C&S heaven!

Those are the conditions as explained to me.  He mentioned no consideration
of degree in the decision.  As long as she breaks no laws, all offenses are
covered under the same guidelines.  Personally I have to agree with this 
approach.  Mr. Dayton told me I shouldn't have posted his earlier e-mail
to me, as that is considered a netiquette breach.  Quite serious in some
situations.  I felt it would be OK considering that I was asking for info
to clear up rumours, but he did not.  In a one-shot AUP that would be
grounds to boot me if he complained to my provider.  As usual, some evil
survives that the general good continues.

* I suppose this is some kind of variation on the "Three Strikes, You're Out"
* Law we've been hearing about. In this variation, however, you're given three
* credits first. My provider disconnected a user who spammed a "Make Money
* Fast" letter on his *first* offence. Is a spam really more serious than the
* naked intimidation inimical to Vera's postings? Anyhow, she posted the
* information in at least *two* separate mailings, quite gratuitously. Should
* this earn *two* warnings?

I believe that Vera is much more serious than mere spam, or I would have
been complaining about Marius.  He just met the Killfile.  But I don't think
an automatic boot is a good idea.  I would want another chance, even if we
believe that Vera will only look on the warning as a nuisance.  The rules
must be consistant.  

As for additional warnings, I would think that any more of this behavior 
AFTER she receives her warning is grounds for #2.

* This Sister smells the unmistakeable tang of whitewash.

Let's watch and see how Vera responds.

--
 /                      Xenu stole my lunch money                       \ 
/ Andy Testa (KoX)                       I'm OT!  I could KILL you with  \
\ testa@hou.moc.com                      a thought!  BWAAAHHAAAAHAAAAAA! /
 \        Contributing to the downfall of Scientology since 1995.       /

===

From: bmyers@ionet.net (TarlaStar)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Clamlink (Attn: Andrew Testa)
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 12:20:38 GMT
Message-ID: <3mgivn$gk8@ionews.ionet.net>

dennis.l.erlich@support.com wrote:

>testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa)

>> The entity known as Vera Wallace (vera@earthlink.net) posted:
>>
>>* [Tarla's name] - time to be responsible for what you post.
>>
>>* By the way these are the full particulars:
>>
>>* [Tarla's address]
>>* [Tarla's telephone number]
>>* Vera
>>
>>Ah, Vera, you crusty little love puddle.  I hope you enjoy yourself doing
>>this, because you have signalled to all the thousands of people reading this
>>that you AND your alledged "church" are very slimy indeed.  As this is
>>a serious netiquette breach, I've forwarded a copy of your post to Mr.
>>Sky Dalton (sky@earthlink.net), president of your ISP.  We'll see how
>>responsive he is to such brazen ugliness on your part.  I hope your
>>I/C is proud of the massive net-revulsion this move of Milne's and yours
>>will cause against your cult.  You are your own worst enemy.  But I'll be
>>glad to help.

>    Andrew, please let us know what Clamlink responds.

Yes...please do. I received a short response from Sky Dalton this
morning in my e-mail saying that he had answered A. Testa and that I
should get the info from him. (nevermind that *I* was the injured
party).  So please, Andy, post his response.

===

From: testa@starbase.neosoft.com (Andrew J. Testa)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: Clamlink (Attn: Andrew Testa)
Date: 12 Apr 1995 17:16:47 GMT
Message-ID: <3mh1tv$sps@uuneo.neosoft.com>

 The injured party known as TarlaStar (bmyers@ionet.net) posted:

* Yes...please do. I received a short response from Sky Dalton this
* morning in my e-mail saying that he had answered A. Testa and that I
* should get the info from him. (nevermind that *I* was the injured
* party).  So please, Andy, post his response.

  Tarla,

I'm really suprised he would direct you to me and not answer you directly.
He chided me for posting his previous e-mail to me, but now he is telling
people to ask me what he e-mailed me.  So, this what I sent to him:

>Mr. Dalton, [uh, actually it's "Dayton", I fucked up]
>
>  A few weeks ago I emailed you regarding any links between your Internet
>Service and the Church of Scientology, as well as to ask your position
>on abuse of the net.  You assured me that you would enforce basic
>netiquette on all sides of any posts originating from your system.  I wish
>to now bring your attention to a serious netiquette violation by one of your
>subscribers, Vera@earthlink.net.  Vera has gone beyond the bounds of
>acceptable behavior by posting the private name, address, and telephone
>number of a female opponent of her position on alt.religion.scientology.
>This information was obtained and is being diseminated specifically to
>harrass the woman involved.
>If such behavior is allowed to continue, What is now a flame war can escalate
>to real-world repercussions beyond what has already occurred.  I urge you to
>let this user know that such actions can not be tolerated.  The offending
>article is included below.

He responded that the user would receive a warning that they had violated
Earthlink's Acceptable Use Policy.  If the abuse continued and more 
complaints are received, another stronger warning is issued.  If this does 
not stop the abuse, the account is terminated after the third wave of 
complaints.  He emphasized that warnings are not issued for content, as that
would be censorship, and I agree. But he apparently agrees that posting
personal information does violate policy. Vera gets two more offenses before
she gets her account terminated.  I don't know when she'll receive her
warning, but I'm sure we'll all hear from her when she does.

So, if she reposts Tarla's personal info anymore, or anyone elses, 
let Earthlink know.

--
 /                      Xenu stole my lunch money                       \ 
/ Andy Testa (KoX)                       I'm OT!  I could KILL you with  \
\ testa@hou.moc.com                      a thought!  BWAAAHHAAAAHAAAAAA! /
 \        Contributing to the downfall of Scientology since 1995.       /

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Sky Dalton, owner of earthlink.net, appeared over the weekend on a.r.s and attempted to calm fears that his ISP was a haven for Scientologists violating netiquette.


From: sky@earthlink.net (Sky Dayton)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: EarthLink Network, Inc. is not affiliated with any church
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 1995 19:22:51 -0700
Message-ID: <sky-1504951922510001@mac0.earthlink.net>

[NOTE: I am only posting this to alt.religion.scientology, though I have
noticed many of the postings on the issue have been cross-posted to other
groups they may or may not pertain to. In my interpretation, this is a
violation of USENET Netiquette and I will not participate in it.]

As founder and president of EarthLink Network, Inc., I would like to take
issue with the questions raised in this group. In the past, I have not
paid attention to the goings-on of this group, and I will not other than
to post this message.

I hope that the facts will lay bare and reason will prevail. Only the
facts are productive. I am no "side". I will not take part in a flame war
over this; I will simply present the facts.

Anyone wishing to receive more information about EarthLink Network, Inc.
is welcome to email me directly, and I will be happy to provide it. Basic
information on our services and rates is available at info@earthlink.net
and prices@earthlink.net, by auto-reply email.

I thank you for your time and consideration.

Sky Dayton
President, EarthLink Network, Inc.

--

Recently, I was contacted by email by Andrew Testa, who asked pointed
questions regarding EarthLink Network, Inc. and its affiliations. I
responded with the facts in two subsequent email messages. He also
apparently posted my response to this newsgroup. It was my understanding
that the issue was resolved.

Occurrences in the last 24 hours have disabused me of this idea.

Yesterday, a person named Morten Welinder took it upon himself to send
unsolicited form-letter email to at least 20 of our customers, claiming
that we were affiliated with the Church of Scientology, and "suggesting"
that they should leave our service. He collected these customers' email
addresses through our Web site.

Regarding EarthLink's affiliations:

The claim that we have anything to do with the Church of Scientology, or
any other church for that matter, is groundless. 

Some of our subscribers are apparently Scientologists. Some of our
subscribers are also Christians, Jews, and atheists, and of various other
beliefs. 

We make no distinction and feel that religious affiliation has no place in
or relevance to business, in accordance with the First Amendment of the
Constitution of the United States.

We have registered domain names for the Church of Scientology, and we have
registered hundreds of others for other companies and organizations. We
charge $75 for this service. If you would like your domain name
registered, we will do it for you. It doesn't equate to us having anything
to do with our customer other than a professional relationship.

Some of our staff are Scientologists, but the company itself has
absolutely no connection to the Church of Scientology, just as we have no
connection to the Catholic churches or synagogues of our Catholic and
Jewish staff.

I would not even bring up the religious beliefs of some of our staff as an
issue, as it is of the most private nature. But because of the amount of
erroneous information circulating, I felt I had to counter it with the
facts.

EarthLink Network, Inc. is a subchapter S California Corporation owned by
myself and private investors. Our charter is to provide excellent Internet
services to our region, which we are succeeding at.

We have no ties to any special interest group, church or organization,
save for professional trade organizations such as the Association of
Online Providers, non-profit groups such as the Electronic Cafe
International, and strategic partnerships with companies such as Pacific
Bell, Com-Net Industries and many others.

We have been written up in such magazines as Interactive Age, NetGuide,
and local newspapers such as the LA Daily News and Los Angeles Times. We
were one of the first Internet providers to supply easy, inexpensive
Internet access to the area, and we are now the largest ISP in Los
Angeles.

Now to the issue of Morten's unsolicited email:

As you know, sending unsolicited form-letter email is both rude and a
violation of the most basic and important laws of the Internet.

After getting word of the messages Welinder sent, I immediately responded
to him with a single email message (I have not included it here, as it is
also a violation of Netiquette to post private email), and politely asked
him to retract his statements by sending apologies to all those he has
contacted. I offered to provide whatever evidence necessary to clear up
the matter.

I have not heard from Welinder for 24 hours. I have, however, already
received complaints from customers he sent the unsolicited email to. The
customers were rightly furious over such a breach of their privacy.

Morten Welinder unjustly slandered EarthLink's name and caused damage to
our reputation with our customers by sending them bogus, unsolicited
information.

I feel that the act committed by Welinder is grave enough for me to
formally request a retraction and apology to customers he contacted. As I
said, I attempted to contact him by email yesterday with a single message.
But the lack of any response from him has forced me to post this publicly,
as I can see he also posts to this group. 

Whether it was Welinder's misunderstanding of our affiliations, malice or
other, I don't care. I would like the damage repaired and the issue closed
for good.

As to the issue of EarthLink Network allowing violations of Netiquette, I
have decided to post our internal policy on the matter, which is included
below.

We are vigilant about protecting the Internet as a resource for all
people, and educating our subscribers against violations of Netiquette.

The subscriber we received complaints about a few days ago has received a
warning consistent with our policy on the matter.

--

EarthLink Network, Inc. Internal Policy on Netiquette Violations

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following steps are taken immediately after receiving a complaint and
verifying that a breach of Netiquette has occurred.

1. Send a polite note that we've received a complaint about a posting in USENET.

The note format:

Currently, there are no "laws" keeping you from posting except for
Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) of other networks on the Internet, many of
which prohibit postings for business purposes on their USENET feed. Per
the EarthLink Network Subscriber Agreement, we cannot allow a Subscriber
to violate the AUPs of other networks.

"1. The Provider agrees to allow Subscriber to connect computing
facilities at Subscriber's site to Provider's computing facilities and to
transmit data to over the Network in accordance with the terms of these
Subscription rules and the Provider's Acceptable Use Policy, which
follows:

"a. Any traffic which is disruptive or destructive of any source is
absolutely prohibited.

"b. If data from any source leaves the Provider and enters any other
network, that data must follow the acceptable use rules of the entered
network (including member networks, regional or backbone networks). It is
the responsibility of the Subscriber where this traffic entered the
Provider to meet this requirement."

The Internet, and especially USENET, is a community. It is all or our
responsibilities to make it work. We hope you will take this advice to
heart.

There are other great ways to give your business a presence on the
Internet, such as having a Web site, and distributing the address of it in
your signature, etc. You may consider looking into these as alternatives.
Our Sales Dept. would be more than happy to discuss these other services
with you.

Thanks for your attention.

EarthLink Operations


2. If the complaints persist, we send a second note:

Dear ______,

We continue to receive complaints about your posting(s) to USENET.

Please be advised you are in violation of the EarthLink Network Subscriber
Agreement, which states:

"1. The Provider agrees to allow Subscriber to connect computing
facilities at Subscriber's site to Provider's computing facilities and to
transmit data to over the Network in accordance with the terms of these
Subscription rules and the Provider's Acceptable Use Policy, which
follows:

"a. Any traffic which is disruptive or destructive of any source is
absolutely prohibited.

"b. If data from any source leaves the Provider and enters any other
network, that data must follow the acceptable use rules of the entered
network (including member networks, regional or backbone networks). It is
the responsibility of the Subscriber where this traffic entered the
Provider to meet this requirement."

All postings to USENET are propagated to other networks on the Internet,
many of which have specific AUPs forbidding commercial posting in
non-commercial groups.

We urge you to cease such posting.

We will consider another such complaint regarding your posting(s) grounds
to enforce the Subscriber Agreement, and we will, regretfully, be forced
to close your account.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

EarthLink Operations


3. 3rd and final action, if another complaint on the same matter received
within 30 days:


Dear ______,

After two warnings, we have received yet another complaint about your
posting(s) to USENET. At this time, we will be forced to cancel your
account with EarthLink Network.

We regret this action, but it is necessary, as the Subscriber Agreement
has been violated.

If you have any further questions regarding this action, please contact
our Legal Department at 213-644-9500.

A hard copy of this letter will be forthcoming.

Thank you.

EarthLink Network

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above steps are taken in an effort for people to resolve issues
between themselves, and not bring us into it.

We refuse to be the judge of any posting, for that would be censorship and
is against our charter. However, we try to educate and enforce Netiquette
insofar as our Subscriber Agreement will permit us.

The most common complaint received is from one or more sides of an
argument, rather than a specific, technical issue. If the issue is
technical, then it is the subject of an AUP, which is our single weapon
against abuse of the Net.

An effort to educate is our first action.

---

--
Sky Dayton, President
EarthLink Network, Inc.
Internet Service Provider             |  Voice: 213-644-9500             
Info via email:  info@earthlink.net   |  Fax:   213-644-9510             
Human via email: sales@earthlink.net  |  3171 Los Feliz Blvd., Suite 203  
WWW: <http://www.earthlink.net>       |  Los Angeles, CA 90039

====================Deana M. Holmes================================
mirele@xmission.com================ Compiler of History of a.r.s ==
========You can get anything you want at Xenu's Restaurant=========
================Practicing encheferation since 1995================