Amiga Plus 1995 #2

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Archive-name: online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part1 Posting-Frequency: monthly *** FAQ (Part I - Censorship ) *** How can I leave AOL? Delphi has full internet access. Netcom has a new graphical user interface, and commercial GUI's also work on any UNIX account. For a list of internet access provider's sorted by area code, send an e-mail message with the subject "send pdial" to kaminski@netcom.com, or to archive-server@cs.widener.edu with the subject "send nixpub long". There's also a Usenet group called alt.internet.access.wanted to help you leave AOL. Did AOL really change the names of the newsgroups? Yes. alt.aol-sucks appears on AOL as "Flames and complaints about AOL." Well, this is because AOL didn't like the word "sucks", right? Nope. This is because they didn't like the content of the name. AOL didn't touch the names of five other newsgroups with "sucks" in their name. A newsgroup with the name alt.aol.rejects also had the AOL in its name concealed--it was changed to "Why We Don't Play by the Rules" for a while. Ironically, that newsgroup was created to try to circumvent AOL interference. Are you saying that AOL censors? Yes. Messages are frequently pulled from AOL public posting areas. Your service can be revoked if you say certain words in public chat rooms. Anyone seeing you use such a word can page an AOL Guide, who will appear in the room to monitor it's content within 5 minutes. (This has been used by ultra-conservatives that taunt gay users into using profanity, then summon a guide to get their access revoked.) AOL's terms of service also specifically prohibit certain topics which cannot be discussed; for instance, it's forbidden to advocate the use of drugs. Restrictions on "discussing with the intention to commit illegal activities" are applied to chat rooms about "Hackers". Okay, but people don't just go in and arbitrarily shut down things on a whim. The New York Times ran a story about AOL shutting down any public chat room with "Riot Grrl" in its name. (Riot Grrls are young punk feminists.) They didn't like the content. At the time, the reason given was "riot" implied violence. But compare that to the story of the Michigan man charged with electronic stalking: after calling a woman and leaving a message on her answering machine saying "I stalked you for the first time today", she called the police, who told him not to contact the woman again. *That night* he sent e-mail to her AOL account using his AOL account, and when she reminded him that the police had asked him *not* to contact her, he sent her threatening e-mail... Criminal charges were filed. But AOL never touched his account. He sent me e-mail from AOL the day his story appeared in the New York Times. You can still download his GIF from the AOL gallery, or read his AOL profile--including his quote, "Sometimes you just gotta go for it". Come on, that's just your opinion. If AOL is censoring, how come the New York Times hasn't run a front-page story about it? They have. Peter H. Lewis New York Times Wednesday, June 29, 1994 Censors Become a Force on Cyberspace Frontier Freedom of expression has always been the rule in the fast-growing global web of public and private computer networks known as cyberspace. But even as thousands of Americans each week join the several million who use computer networks to share ideas and "chat" with others, the companies that control the networks, and sometimes individual users, are beginning to play the role of censor. Earlier this month, the America Online network shut several feminist discussion forums.... [copyright New York Times] The American Library Association felt so strongly about the issue, they reprinted the article in their newsletter, "Intellectual Freedom". Andrew Kantor reported in Internet World that AOL even edits the results of their Gopher searches. Why don't the AOL user's complain? A Usenet posting listed the headings of dozens of complaints AOL-ers posted in the complaint area devoted just to complaints about AOL's internet access. Among the headings were "Suggestion box broken." Also included were: >Newsgroup suggestion box >Does the suggestion box ever work? >Please respond to this! >Is anybody listening? >I wonder if anyone reads these? AOL's philosophy borders on net-abuse. They went online with a Usenet software containing a bug that re-posted every message seven times, and even without that, the worldwide cost of transmitting AOL messages just to the alt.binaries.pictures.* groups over one year has been calculated to be 700 million dollars. { 1790.69 kilobytes per two weeks x 26 x .264 ("cost per kilobyte for each site") x 58402 (number of sites) = $717,836,278.34 } Allowing their one million users access to FTP sites without consideration of the load was similar; straining resources shared for other work often forces sites to close. Several sites have blocked AOL access because of this. And because of net-citizenship issues: AOL users can *take* files from FTP sites, but they can't leave any, and while AOL charges for access to resouces made available to them freely, they prohibit access to any of their own. This gets into an ideological war. Technology now allows people to freely exchange information at an amazing rate. AOL attaches a meter to that process. In addition, aggressively pursuing new users, AOL exploits the lack of awareness of existing technological capabilities, and establishes a model that follows the traditional role of pre-packaged entertainment designed for a mass audience. New users are taught to expect commercial content, pay-as-you-go access, and regulatory oversight determining what's appropriate. Last October there were rumors that AOL even wanted to acquire their own backbone to exploit changes in internet backbone status. This has come to pass. The internet community is left to hope that as the internet and information technology evolve, the greater good will prevail. [End Part I] Archive-name: america-online/sucks-FAQ/part2 Posting-Frequency: monthly *** FAQ (Part II - Celebrities ) *** AOL has appearances by important people. This is being done on IRC (especially on the Undernet). Speakers have included David Gergen, Frances Moore Lappe' (Diet for a Small Planet), Paul Martin Du Bois (co-author, The Quickening of America); Susan Stamberg (NPR Special Correspondent); and Howard Rheingold (Executive Editor, HotWired). But I like commercialism! What about when a celebrity appears on AOL? On AOL, most questions don't get answered, and again, questions are picked through by an AOL Guide. Attendance is limited to a few hundred, and the experience also suffers when questions are limited to the pool of AOL users. Here's how Scott Rosenberg of the San Francisco Examiner described his attempt to watch Mick Jagger's appearance. "I Can't Get No Interaction" You couldn't see the thick lips, and you couldn't hear the thick British drawl. But Monday night on America Online, you could watch Mick Jagger type. The online celebrity forum is an increasingly common marketing tool that puts a famous name behind a keyboard to take questions from a crowd of cyber-onlookers...It's a pretty inefficient way to find out stuff about the rich and famous--though it does provide the best insight yet available into their typing skills. Like many others, I spent the hour from 6 to 7 p.m. vainly clicking on the AOL "Coliseum" icon, pounding on the door to the room where Jagger was answering questions. I wound up with a bunch of other Jagger turnaways in another AOL forum, the Odeon, where Oingo Boingo bandleader and movie-soundtrack composer Danny Elfman was also holding an online chat. After curtly dismissing several questions relating to Jagger, Elfman finally lost it when someone asked, "What about the rumors involving you and David Bowie which have been repeated again and again by Howard Stern?" "I'm not Mick Jagger, you blithering idiot," the musician responded. [copyright San Francisco Examiner] AOL excised this exchange from the transcript they made available to their users. But from what's left, it's still obvious that Elfman wasn't having a good time. Question: Loved "wierd science" & "dead man's party". How about a new Oingo album? Elfman 1: Are you trying to piss me off or what? I just came out with a new Boingo album. Why the f*** do you think I'm here right now? Question: where should composers go who want to get their music placed in a film (songs/soundtrack/themes,etc.? Elfman 1: I would suggest a good long stay in a nice quiet sanitarium. Make sure you find one with pretty nurses and lots of strong drugs. Masturbation four times a day is also an excellent exercise in becoming a film composer. I put most of my music up my butt, not knowing where else to place it. Question: what is your favorite food?? Elfman 1: My girlfriend's p#$@y Question: Did you invent Batman?? Elfman 1: I am Batman, you imbecile. Use the freeze frame on your video player and you'll see that it's me. BTW, I also invented Superman and Spiderman. Question: --please answer this!!! Did you invent batman?? Elfman 1: Batman was my son in law twice removed, from my first marriage -- if you really must know. Then there was the interview with Kennedy. Like Elfman, she eventually got so frustrated with the AOL-ers, she typed in the following joke. VJKENNEDY: What's the worst part about having sex with an 8 year old girl? VJKENNEDY: Getting the blood stain out of the clown suit. Can you blame her? These were actual questions the AOL-er's asked. WHERE ARE YOU? I am a dork please help me- from Ha ha Ha What is your favorite kind of cheese? Kennedy Will you Be My Friend? What is the meaning of life? Are you cool? i think you're really a black man wearing dresses. Are you Regular or Extra Crispy? you should get a tan kennedy You look good in a bathing suit! You should mud wrestle Idalas at the Beach House! You should convince Daisy Fuentes to wear more revealing clothing on Beach MTV !! Will you dance naked on a table for my birthday? ever think of posing Nude? I want to lick your butt Do you shave your private parts? Hey Kennedy are you Bi? Kennedy how big are you under the shirt? uncross your legs kennedy your crushing my glasses Which artist gets you hot? I here that you and Madonna are lovers, is that true? DID U REALLY FLASH BILL BELLAMY TODAY AT THE BEACH HOUSE? THAT WUZ COOL. The amazing thing is, she answered them! Question: What is your favorite kind of cheese? VJKENNEDY: Gouda. Quesiton: Are you Regular or Extra Crispy? VJKENNEDY: I'm creamy! Question: Kennedy what do your neighbors think of you? VJKENNEDY: They don't speak English so it's hard for me to tell. Question: Kennedy how big are you under the shirt? VJKENNEDY: 42DD Question: you should get a tan kennedy VJKENNEDY: Why, so I can be the melanoma VJ? Question: Are your glasses subscription VJKENNEDY: No but they are prescription. Question: do you have a boyfrind? VJKENNEDY: No, I don't have a boyfriend either. Question: You should convince Daisy Fuentes to wear more revealing clothing on Beach MTV !! VJKENNEDY: Blow me you Putz! Penn Jillette thinks even less of AOL. These are the questions the AOL-er's asked him: Question: If you had a dog, what would you name him? Question: Are you Canadian? Question: What do you think can make us nerds any cooler? Question: hellllllloooo one question...what;s the largest animal you couldbeat up (with your bare hands) (for a collage essay) Question: I think the show could use a little more blood. Question: What's your favorite rock group, Penn? Question: Will I be as cool as you if I got those shelves you have in your office? Question: Understand that Penn is a grad of Ringling's Clown College. Metoo! Question: Was that a real bunny in the chipper shredder at the gig at theBeacon in NY? [The reporter with him started asking questions mocking the AOL-er's] Josh Quit: what's your favorite food? Josh Quit: who's your favorite beatle? Josh Quit: if you could be any animal, what would you be and why? [ Penn did his best...] P Jillette: I've never hit a person or animal on purpose. C'mon let's have some questions. P Jillette: Buster, the dog would be named Buster. He would be mean and never bark. P Jillette: I didn't like the Beatles very much, but John was good after he left. I hated Paul, that stoned ****** ****. What makes this interesting is Penn's remarks were passing through the AOL moderator, and AOL's Terms of Service prohibit words Penn wanted to use. It starts like this: P Jillette: I'll take all questions, what the hell are we waiting for. P Jillette: I'm in the desert and I've got a Tony Bennet concert and a strip show to go to. Let's get this reactor on fucking line. Question: First, what kind of cardiovascular program are you on? You are going to have a hear attack. Second, will I be as cool as you if I got those shelves you have in your office? P Jillette: I dug it. I eat 5% of calories from Fat and I'm in "The Zone" 35 minutes a day. My heart kicks ***. P Jilette: Hey, who's censoring me? I thought *** would be okay. What about ****? [ He starts doing it on purpose: ] Question: How did you decide on a career in magic? P Jillette: We thought since everyone ***** in magic that we could be noticed. Question: Have you and Teller ever tried to make David Copperfield disappear? P Jillette: Copperfield is in a different biz from us, he's doing magic, last I heard. We're kicking ******* ***. P Jillette: Josh, say ******* something. Josh Quit: can you do a trick for us, Penn? P Jillette: The computer shows get a little rougher. I say ************ even. Josh Quit: levitate me. P Jillette: That was a private message to Josh, can't I swear to Josh? P Jillette: I loved "Lois and Clark" Great **** She has a great **** of ****. Question: Penn-We're worried about your health. Do you have a work-outprogram? P Jillette: WHO is censoring me! Yeah, I work out every day and I eat smart. I've just lost 22. But who cares? stop ****** censoring me. Question: Penn, how about an article for WiReD? Josh Quit: yeah, you can say *** and ****. Question: Penn - you and Teller sure make great Christmas presents. Anythingneat planned for this year you could share with us? P Jillette: Talk to the Cubans risking their lives to live in the landof the free. Talk to them about Fat boy. What did you see this Xmas, nipple tape? How did you see it? P Jillette: Maybe you haven't read the constitution. Question: Okay, so where's Teller? Will he be doing stuff like this? P Jillette: Teller has done one of these before and we're going to start doing them often. Probably on CompuServe where they don't have a moderator. Amazingly, Penn's statement "Let's get this reactor on fucking line" appears in the transcript AOL made available online. AOL's Terms of Service even prohibit profanity masked by symbols, so the entire transcript violates their own rules. Finally, the first entry in Jennifer Finch's Lollapalooza Tour Journal to be made available on AOL, which she was keeping as part of a record company promotion. 7/9 Hey, So here I am in Denver with an evening off with every good intention of writting out a tour diary ( a "log" if you will) but wouldn't you know it, Star Trek is on... [end part II] Archive-name: online-providers/aol-sucks-faq/part3 Posting-Frequency: monthly *** FAQ (Part III - alt.aol-sucks ) *** Is this a flame newsgroup? YES. That's not what the review said in news.groups.reviews. It was a troll. It was not! It was too. Someone noticed that news.groups.reviews was one of the default newsgroups AOL made available to its users. They added a review of alt.aol-sucks, so the very first newsgroup new users would come across would point to one criticizing AOL. News.groups.reviews was so poorly posted to, that for a while it was the only message in the newsgroup! What did the review say? "Originally started to flame users of America Online (AOL) about software bugs in AOL's Usenet reader, this newsgroup has evolved into a surprisingly high-level and thoughtful discussion. Besides comparisons of online services, tips on internet access providers, and the inevitable debate about UNIX interfaces, newsgroup topics have included GUI's vs. command lines, how to perform high-level internet functions like FTP using conventional e-mail, software bugs, and rot-13 message-coding. This newsgroup provides a good glimpse into the evolution of the internet community as a whole, and where commercial on-line services fit in the scheme." Okay. So where is it written that the discussion on alt.aol-sucks is actually going to reach flame intensity? On AOL. They renamed the newsgroup "Flames and complaints about AOL". What about the innocent AOL-ers who wander in to alt.aol-sucks, and find furious discussion with venomous scatalogical attacks, and gets really uncomfortable? "You may find that in certain Newsgroups, the participants use language and discuss subject matter that would not be acceptable on America Online....you may choose to avoid certain Newsgroups if you are uncomfortable with the discussion that takes place in them." ---America Online's "Note about Content" If the book editor for "In These Times" read the newsgroup, what would he say? He's probably got more important things to do. I bet he doesn't. I bet he does. I bet he doesn't. I bet he does---whoops. You're right! He doesn't. He wrote a whole article about it in the October 31 issue. So what's his opinion of alt.aol-sucks "The regular contributors to the group (called, appropriately enough, "alt.aol-sucks") are masters of the art of 'flaming'..." "...the only purpose of the group was to let Net veterans (and would-be veterans) pick on hapless AOL newbies." I heard he posted to the newsgroup shortly after his article appeared. What did he say? "Please be more specific. Blow *what* out my ass?" This sounds okay. I just want to have fun with people. "alt.aol-sucks offers only a poor parody of real human interaction." --David Futrelle (Book Editor, "In These Times") Is that true? Some believe the sanitized offerings on AOL are more of a parody. They restrict what words you can use, and what you can say. Why do the anti-AOLers feel free speech is so important? Anything to control what you speak, say or do is, according to the anti-AOLers, not right. People should be free to express themself. The level to which the AOL staff attempts to control your speech is ridiculous. You can always attack someone on AOL if you're really angry. No. "Personal attacks against other members are soundly prohibited." That's an AOL rule? Yes. AOL's Terms of Service. They're that specific? Yes. AOL's Terms of Service outline a long list of behaviors which aren't permitted on AOL. "Any action by a Member that, in AOL, Inc.'s sole opinion, restricts or inhibits other Members from using and enjoying America Online (such as but not limited to, the use of vulgar language; inappropriate screen names; committing, or discussing with the intention to commit, illegal activities), is strictly prohibited. Member specifically agrees not to submit, publish, or display on America Online any defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, racially offensive, or illegal material; nor shall Member encourage the use of controlled substances. How could AOL call for a level of discussion that's so...insincere? This is a company that signs its form letters "Warm Regards". So this newsgroup is just flames? "Flames and complaints." About anything? They usually have a theme: they're related to America Online. They also challenge the opinions of people who've made points about America Online. I wanted to post a critique of AOL, and dissect the origins of its censorship. It will be welcome. But someone might flame me? Yes. Why? Because we feel like it. That's mean. Bite me. It's fun. [End Part III]