Path: sn.no!uninett.no!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.internetmci.com!139.130.235.93!news.telstra.net!MYNEWSPATHNAME!nsw.news.telstra.net!news.syd.connect.com.au!news.mel.connect.com.au!news.labyrinth.net.au!news.access.net.au!news.teragen.com.au!news.apana.org.au!thingy.apana.org.au!fjc From: fjc@thingy.apana.org.au (Frank Copeland) Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,comp.org.eff.talk Subject: Grady Ward Date: 17 Oct 1997 12:40:04 +1000 Organization: Australian Public Access Network Association Lines: 50 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: thingy.apana.org.au X-Newsreader: slrn (0.9.4.3 UNIX) Xref: sn.no alt.religion.scientology:385063 comp.org.eff.talk:73494 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- [This message has been posted to alt.religion.scientology and comp.org.eff.talk, and mailed to eric@wright.northcoast.com, admin@tidepool.com and postmaster@tidepool.com] It has been brought to my attention that Grady Ward has had his account summarily cancelled. It has been claimed that this was in response to complaints by one wgert@loop.com among others, and that the grounds were that Grady had violated Tidepool's Terms of Service by posting off-topic articles to alt.religion.scientology. If this is accurate, I believe Tidepool administrators have made an error of judgement and I urge them to restore Grady's access immediately. alt.religion.scientology is an unmoderated newsgroup, and like all unmoderated groups off-topic articles are a normal feature. In any case, the topic of a newsgroup is largely in the eyes of the beholder, and in this beholder's eyes Grady Ward is as legitimate a contributer to the newsgroup as anyone else. wgert@loop.com is a well-known pro-scientology poster who is engaged in a campaign of harassment and vilification of Grady Ward, Keith Henson and other people critical of scientology. wgert@loop.com does not represent the opinions of the great majority of alt.religion.scientology participants, who I am sure will join me in urging you to reverse this decision. I also urge you to remove the off-topic posting provision from your Terms of Service. By having such a condition in your Terms of Service you simply leave yourselves vulnerable to pressure tactics by individuals and groups seeking leverage in personal disputes, and indeed this appears to be exactly what has happened. Enforcement of newsgroup charters is best left up to the newsgroup's participants. - -- Home Page: Not the Scientology Home Page: Keep it in Usenet. E-mail replies and 'courtesy' copies are not welcome. If you're selling, I ain't buying. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.3i Charset: noconv iQCVAwUBNEbPxIBOXdsElwbdAQHXXgQAkGr+d3+ZoSPW0dTU8pfPcIujc8zqfx0R 83adh7PO3nzzGVv101RWtmdWN9CeAxt64MjCgKtK8fFA/kLeRHepa2v+w+sCmQyq +67We7c6yH64wh9PSRiHsI+ejYJZM84kbVSt+N5hhCrvMGVaiCJVEWZCcv2DYHz3 LENjeuPvKoY= =Ou7y -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----