bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan) (12/08/88)
In article <5999@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: >The press already has most people who've heard of bulletin boards >convinced that only white supremacists and child molesters use them; *Who* is disseminating this info? My wife has even heard the latter ("it's how they get in touch with other, and share ideas and methods, etc."). She won't say where she heard it... --
cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (12/09/88)
In article <1942@sigma.UUCP>, bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan) writes: > In article <5999@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes: > >The press already has most people who've heard of bulletin boards > >convinced that only white supremacists and child molesters use them; > > *Who* is disseminating this info? > > My wife has even heard the latter ("it's how they get in touch with > other, and share ideas and methods, etc."). She won't say where she > heard it... I've seen both claims reported in the popular press. In the case of neo-Nazi groups, they mentioned a specific BBS in Montana which was providing a way for them to distribute their ideas into Canada, which at the time wasn't allowing free expression of offensive (and I mean "offensive" -- to me as well) ideas. The claims about child molesters have been much more vague. I've seen "50-100 different BBS" claimed in newspaper articles, but remember that much of what appears as "news" in newspapers is a rewritten press release. I recently challenged Newsweek to give a source for an article claiming that $25 handguns were avaiable on the streets of New York City, and they finally wrote me a letter admitting they didn't have a source for it, but they were sure it was true anyway. -- Clayton E. Cramer {pixar,tekbspa}!optilin!cramer (Note new path!)
tim@hoptoad.uucp (Tim Maroney) (12/09/88)
In article <5999@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) had written: >The press already has most people who've heard of bulletin boards >convinced that only white supremacists and child molesters use them; In article <1942@sigma.UUCP> bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan) has written: >*Who* is disseminating this info? > >My wife has even heard the latter ("it's how they get in touch with >other, and share ideas and methods, etc."). She won't say where she >heard it... "The mass media". Meaning: network television news, the major newsweeklies, and the wire services. I haven't been hearing it much lately, but about three years ago it was quite common, and as your wife shows, such first impressions leave a lasting effect. I fear the Richmond action may lead to a resurgence. -- Tim Maroney, Consultant, Eclectic Software, sun!hoptoad!tim "Mere opinion without supporting argument is no more than the American Bandstand school of literary evaluation." -- Tom Maddox