Xref: utzoo alt.flame:1603 soc.women:9250 soc.singles:13499
Path: utzoo!hoptoad!ptsfa!ames!aurora!agate!ucbvax!BOSCO.BERKELEY.EDU!gsmith
From: gsmith@BOSCO.BERKELEY.EDU
Newsgroups: alt.flame,soc.women,soc.singles
Subject: Re: the solution to the forgery problem
Keywords: Gene Ward and other such victims
Message-ID: <8802080230.AA02652@jiff>
Date: 8 Feb 88 02:30:26 GMT
References: <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <7086@ihlpa.ATT.COM>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: jiff!gsmith (Gene Ward Smith)
Organization: Bosco Gang Chocolate Center
Lines: 39

In article <7086@ihlpa.ATT.COM> gadfly@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Gadfly) writes:

>In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU>, pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU
>(for you to know and me to find out) writes:
>> Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign
>> to forge their articles can easily solve the problem.

>> Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting
>> to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and
>> that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you"
>> should be ignored as a forgery...

  I was going to point out that the "reasoning" here was seriously
flawed, but then I found:

>Don't go to sleep!  And for Heaven's sake, don't stop posting!
>If you do, the pod-people will take over.  Why would Pooh even
>mention such an unthinkable strategy, unless...

  I thought of that possibility too. In fact, the fact that I
*did* have to think of it should alert people to the fact that
merely because you are unaware of any forgeries going out under
your name does not mean articles you write will automatically be
above suspicion.

 I should also like to remark I was sorely tempted to post a
forged "pooh@oddjob" article to get the point across to her,
maybe following it up with phoney Michael Berch articles and
stuff.  I still think it is possible this forgery business is on
the way to getting out of hand. The recent claim that all of the
forgeries have been in "talk", "soc" or "alt" groups, for
instance, is false.

  If you want a public announcement of some kind, here is one: I
forswear all forgeries, I promise not to forge anything, even as
a joke. Make you feel any better? Thought not.

ucbvax!brahms!gsmith     Gene Ward Smith/Brahmsgangster/Berkeley CA 94720
"What is algebra exactly? Is it those three-cornered things?" J.M. Barrie