Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site uwmacc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!uwvax!uwmacc!rick From: rick@uwmacc.UUCP (the absurdist) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: John Williams and all those untrue things.... Message-ID: <1230@uwmacc.UUCP> Date: Wed, 19-Jun-85 16:30:14 EDT Article-I.D.: uwmacc.1230 Posted: Wed Jun 19 16:30:14 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 00:37:58 EDT References: <15074@watmath.UUCP> <219@ttrdc.UUCP> Reply-To: rick@uwmacc.UUCP (Rick Keir) Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center Lines: 56 Originally, Colin Biggin (watmath) included the phrase "kill yourself" in a flame to Alex Quilici at ucla-cs. From the context, it is clear that he was quoting various messages one John Williams (who is at DEC). Colin's response in turn elicits this from Daniel Levy, at ttrdc: > >>problems Alex. Maybe you should kill yourself... > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >> >> Colin Biggin >Colin, I have heard of people getting KICKED OFF THE NET for this kind of abuse. >Doubtless you mean no harm, but when you request somebody to commit suicide, >that is a bit much to sit quietly to one side and watch. Hope you have a cool >administrator at the 'Univperversity of Wonderloo'. Two points. First, this is net.flame, and I doubt that the comment that Colin made is really any more abusive than the persistent use of scatological and obscene suggestions which characterize the behavior of certain people on this subgroup. By my standards, actually, what Colin said was considerably LESS offensive. Second. I KEEP SEEING THESE REFERENCES TO "someone" being kicked off the net. Various versions of this story float around, sometimes mentioning net.singles, sometimes mentioning the suicide request, other times mentioning people e-mailing his site administrator. Well, here it is, folks. John Williams took to mailing a long series of abusive letters over the net to an individual at another company. Person refused to accept delivery of any more mail from this person. John Williams took to POSTING these in net. singles. John Williams has indeed published an apparently SERIOUS suggestion that this person commmit suicide, since she doesn't read mail from him any more. John Williams had previously used net.singles to post a series of scatological ramblings with titles like "Bicycle Pump Enema". Many people find John Williams offensive, and people have e-mailed his site administrator, phoned his site adminstrator, and even posted to the net their wish that John Williams lose his net privileges. However, to the best of my knowledge, DEC has never censored Williams. (Certainly he has continued to post after several of the occasions when DEC and the net was getting these complaints). John Williams isn't a martyr to censorship. He is living proof that some companies still haven't realized what kind of idiotic public image they are projecting by hiring these bozos. Mind you, I wish you people who think he's a martyr were right.... Disclaimer : This is my opinion, not the University's in case you were confused. -- "Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain." Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC 1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706 {allegra, ihnp4, seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!rick