Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!hellgate.utah.edu!cs.utah.edu!thomson
From: thomson@cs.utah.edu (Rich Thomson)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: info needed for homegrown....
Summary: NSA/FBI may receive a USENET feed, just not through uunet
Keywords: NSA, FBI, monitoring, paranoia
Message-ID: <1990Jan20.014653.26818@hellgate.utah.edu>
Date: 20 Jan 90 08:46:53 GMT
References: <51127@bbn.COM>
Distribution: usa
Organization: Oasis Technologies
Lines: 41

Just to clarify things a little further regarding the dangers of making
possibly incriminating postings (I don't think it's obvious):

In article <1990Jan18.175335.6478@hellgate.utah.edu> thomson@cs.utah.edu
	I wrote:
>} Regarding illegality, those new to the net should realize that a complete
>} feed of the USENET traffic is fed to the NSA (FBI too?) every week on
>} magnetic tape.  They buy the tape from uunet, a public access site.  Since
>} you have most certainly distinguished yourself enough to be identifiable to
>} the relevant authorities, you should be careful.  Especially after the rash
>} of raids by FBI types on suppliers of growing equipment who advertized in
>} High Times.

In article <51127@bbn.COM> cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) wrote:
>Rick adams is the sysadmin at uunet... /bernie\

>} From: rick@uunet.UU.NET (Rick Adams)
>} Date: 14 Jan 90 22:43:10 GMT
>} Organization: UUNET Communications Services, Falls Church, VA
>} 
>} In article <1431@umigw.MIAMI.EDU>, aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
	(a.e.mossberg) writes:
>} > As for USENET, it's a *well known fact* (WKF) that uunet supplies tapes
>} > of USENET postings to the FBI.... 
>} 
>} Yet another well know fact that is wrong...

I talked with Berni after seeing this message that he posted and we arrived
at the mutual conclusion that although uunet may not be sending a tape to
the government types, that does not preclude the government from receiving
a full tape of the USENET feed as is so often reported by net.people.

Caution would dictate that if you feel the slightest possibility that you
could be incriminated by something you want to say in alt.drugs that you
use one of the anonymous posters available (myself and John Berryhill
berryh@udel.edu, among others).

						-- Rich
Rich Thomson	thomson@cs.utah.edu  {bellcore,hplabs,uunet}!utah-cs!thomson
	  More Colombians are killed by American cigarettes
		 than Americans by Colombian cocaine