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Preempting net.archive.blacklist
Tim May:
> This is just one example of how "the little people" can benefit from
> the schemes we are exploring. Understand that I have no illusions that
> our friend Cindy will soon be using such methods...but maybe in 5 years.
Did you forward her a copy of your excellent ariticle? That would
be a start. More generally, we can explain how Usenet can be
archived and used for these kinds of purposes, posting
to newsgroups far & wide (esp. alt.drugs, *.activists, soc.motss,
support newsgroups, flame-prone political newsgroups, etc.) until
net.users have been made aware of the consequences of their posting.
Alas, mere explanation and exhortation might indeed take five years.
Illustration could be far more effective. Perhaps we should do some
dossier accumulation ourselves, blatantly. Interesting replies
could be sent via anon remailer to people who post on controversial
political topics. For example, a hit on '/black/ && /welfare queen/'
might trigger the following:
----------------------
From: [email protected] (Racism Tracking Project)
Organization: Multicultural Unity Activists
To: [email protected]
Your recent post to soc.culture.usa, enclosed below, has been archived
as part of an exciting new experiment to stamp out racism worldwide.
Our first step is the Racism Tracking Project is to track
racist hate speech in order that society may never again be caught
unaware of those promoting hate. Our database will be made
available to selected scholars, journalists, and law enforcement
officials upon request.
Your posting has been recorded as follows:
<carbon copy of redneck's post here>
Please let us know if this is in error. Have a good day.
--------------------
A more sophisticated version would respond to intercepted private
e-mail in addition to grepping netnews. Such "Tracking Projects"
might, if net.users continue scrawling their private thoughts on
the public archives, accumulate detailed blacklists on homophobes,
homosexuals, satan-worshipers, Aryan Nationalists, Communists, anarchists,
Scientologists, atheists, pagans, promoters of illegal drug use and tax
evasion, etc. Preemptive, blatant Net.Blacklists may be the only way
to effectively raise awareness of the issue before the real blacklists
start up -- if they haven't already.
Nick Szabo [email protected]