Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!jade!violet.berkeley.edu!skyler
From: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.sysadmin
Subject: The state of the Net
Message-ID: <5618@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sat, 24-Oct-87 16:27:39 EST
Article-I.D.: jade.5618
Posted: Sat Oct 24 16:27:39 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 26-Oct-87 04:18:47 EST
Sender: usenet@jade.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu ()
Lines: 34
Xref: mnetor news.admin:1247 news.sysadmin:424


Larry Lippman has described one of the problems with the net.  People make
false claims and present them as facts; people threaten one another;
the government spends money on sending harassing articles.  The results
of this kind of behavior is, quite obviously, that the net is potentially
threatened should lawsuits ever become involved, the quality of postings
on the net is immediately lowered, all substantial issues deteriorate.
What one would expect from his postings, therefore, (since he seems to
be aware of the problems) is that he would not engage in this kind of
behavior.

However, in addition to saying that his job provides him with ties to the
government which gives him access to a lot of information, he says:
[In Message-ID: <2133@kitty.UUCP>]
>(You're wrong, friend.  I am serious.  And I do have a "presence" in the
>state of California, even though I am in Buffalo, NY.  And I'm no person
>you want to tangle with, so cool your threatening email.)

There is something very strange going on with his postings.  One would
expect, as I said, that he would not engage in the kind of behavior he
so heavily criticises.  Yet, in addition to insisting (unsubstantiated)
that Mark Ethan Smith is a pseudonym, he seems to be threatening to use
government funds to research his attacks on Mark Smith, and he is
threatening other users.  Hypocrisy on the net is perfectly commonplace--
that is not actually the strange part.  What I think is strange is that
Mr. Lippman clearly has a vendetta against Mr. Smith and when he abandons
that vendetta in one group, simply picks it up in another.  Why is he so
interested in trying to get Mark off the net?   And what is this tie to
the government?

-skyler

usenet  ucbvax!jade!violet!skyler   
arpa    skyler@violet.berkeley.edu