("Quid coniuratio est?")
PRAIRIENET "FREE NET" MOVES TO SQUELCH DISSENT
Although burning with anger at the moment, I will try to calmly explain bullying tactics used and apparently in the works against this alternative news outlet by a person or persons at this time unknown to me who go by the alias of "The Prairienet Systems Staff."
This entity, "The Prairienet Systems Staff," has denied me due process by (a) receiving an allegation that I have "spammed" someone, i.e., apparently meaning I have sent an unsolicited e-mail message or messages to an Internet user, then (b) finding me guilty of the charge, without EVER bothering to hear my side of the allegation, and finally (c) issuing a ruling that if it happens one more time, my account can be cancelled.
If my Prairienet account is cancelled, this will (a) greatly limit this news service's ability to disseminate controversial, alternative information and (b) presumably also mean that news archives compiled by this alternative news service and made available as a public and patriotic service, and at no charge, will no longer be available. Specifically, it can be seen that the cancellation of my Prairienet account will likely also eliminate the public archives at the "Citizens Committee to Clean Up the Courts" site ("go citcom") on Prairienet.
Also suffering due to this possible arrogant outrage being apparently planned by a person or persons unknown at this time and operating under the alias "The Prairienet Systems Staff" would be Mr. Sherman Skolnick, Chairman and Founder of "The Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts." Mr. Skolnick is a well-known investigator, operating in the public interest for three decades, whose work is widely read worldwide. The great majority of material to be found at the "Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts" archive on Prairienet is by Mr. Skolnick. Thus, Mr. Skolnick would also be injured by possible censorship being secretly planned by a person or persons using the alias of "The Prairienet Systems Staff," and acting under the disguise of preventing alleged "spamming."
Said "spamming" allegations are strongly denied by this editor. I never send unsolicited e-mail. What is more, I have not conducted mass mailings from the Prairienet account for several months, at least. What is more, all those on the Conspiracy Nation mailing list, which is sent from a different Internet account and not from the Prairienet account, are on that list because they themselves have signed onto it. It is never this editor's policy to subscribe persons himself; all such requests receive the standard response that the user himself must subscribe. Furthermore, any user is free to cancel their subscription at any time.
Speculation on the part of this editor leads him to believe that the Prairienet "Free Net" system, a non-profit entity supported in part by corporate monies, in part by user donations, and presumably also receiving federal and/or state monies, may be under some pressure to pull the plug on the "Citizen's Committee to Clean Up the Courts" archives on Prairienet. It is well-known that Prairienet lacks funding. It is not impossible that certain corporate and business entities, as well as certain narrow-minded citizens, are using the hint or threat of cutbacks in funding by them as a means to silence this independent news outlet. So too, Illinois government officials and agencies, as well as federal government officials and agencies, who are critically scrutinized by this news outlet, have it in their power to use hints or threats of decreased funding to attempt to silence dissent. Furthermore, the very unknown person or persons operating under the alias of "The Prairienet Systems Staff" may themselves wish to silence me by using false, trumped-up charges as an excuse to shut down points of view they do not like.
See below for additional information. Note especially that if the entity calling itself "The Prairienet Systems Staff" had carefully checked, they could have seen that the supposed "spamming" had as its destination two NEWSGROUPS, "alt.activism," and "alt.conspiracy," and not any individual's e-mail account.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
On Sun, 8 Sep 1996, Prairienet System Administrators wrote:
> Just a reminder that sending unsolicited mass e-mail is explicitly in
> violation of Prairienet's Acceptable Use Policy. Any further complaints
> against this account may result in its suspension.
>
> -- The Prairienet Systems Staff
> Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 23:31:30 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Micheal XXXXX <xxxxx@x.xxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
> To: Brian Redman <bigxc@prairienet.org>, xxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx,
> xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
> Subject: Re: Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 9 Num. 07
> In-Reply-To: <50t0jm$e36@vixen.cso.uiuc.edu>
> Message-Id: <Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Mime-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
>
>
> What a coincidence. This is re-sent by the same address that just dumped
> over a dozen spam messages into my email boxes. And at the same time as
> well. And to the same people as well.
>
> Thank you for using Aexia On-Line's E-Mail Archiving Service. By sending
> unsolicited E-Mail to this address, you have agreed to the terms of this
> agreement as listed on my webpage:
> http://weber.u.washington.edu/~aexia/license.txt
>
> Currently, the rate is two hundred dollars($200) per 5K per month,
> pro-rated. The minimum storage time is one month. Send payment to:
>
> Micheal Keane
> 5819 St. Andrew's Drive
> Mukilteo, WA 98275
>
> Any unsolicited mail sent to that address will be archived in Aexia
> On-Line's Junk Mail Archiving Service and will require payment. Failure to
> send payment within 20 days will result in legal penalties.
>
> Thanks you for using Aexia On-Line.
>
>
> On 7 Sep 1996, Brian Redman wrote:
>
> > Date: 7 Sep 1996 23:31:02 GMT
> > From: Brian Redman <bigxc@prairienet.org>
> > Subject: Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 9 Num. 07
> > Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy,alt.activism
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> > Resent-Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 22:33:56 -0500 (CDT)
> > Resent-From: Aardvark <xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
> > Resent-To: 1 <xxxxx@x.xxxxxxxxxx.xxx>, xxxxx@xx.xxx, xxx@xxxxxx.xxx,
> > xxxxxx@x.xxxxxxxxxx.xxx, xxxxxx@xxxx.xxx, xxxxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx,
> > xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx, xxxxxxx@xx.xxxxxx.xxx, xxxx@xxxx.xxx,
> > xxxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx, xxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx, xxx@xxxxxx.xxx,
> > xxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxxxx.xxx, xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx, xxxxxxx@xxxx.xxx
> >
> >
> >
> > Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 9 Num. 07
> > ======================================
> > ("Quid coniuratio est?")
> >
> >
[...]
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