Yet Another Web Page -Causing Trouble!

OK, so I Got a Bit Mad...

Although I've done more than my share of disturbing shit before the internet, I've contributed heavily to the stirring up of feces on the net, and this page is dedicated to that.

Recipe for a Flame - Newsgroups
I got into newsgroups in a big way with my UNIX-G account at UBC. I started with newsgroups covering my interests, like the ones for homebrewing, autoracing, and other things, then I discovered van.general, the newsgroup for Vancouver residents. I read it mostly in the first 4 months of my internet existence, then I started writing.

When I left UBC, I got an account with Internet Direct, and I then discovered another popular newsgroup - direct.general, a local newsgroup for ID. Within a couple of months in that group, I tossed my first flame. It was towards Matt Ion. Pretty soon, I was involved in several flame wars, with Ion, Trevor Wilson, and a few others I don't remember.

I left ID in February, 1996 (see below), and I concentrated many of my postings to van.general. I got into some serious flame wars with a few racists that post there frequently, including some idiot who uses a female name, and other aliases in some vain attempt to deflect criticism. I hate racists, especially online racists who don't have the balls to say what they say in real life. I've never said anything in newsgroups that I wouldn't be prepared to say to a person's face... but that goes back to my pre-internet shit disturbing times.

I don't get into flame warz as much as I used to, partially because, looking over some of my past posts (all archived), I sometimes made some pretty weird statements, and I got drawn (baited) into a lot of flames I should have known better about. Now, I use kill files to weed out the baiters on the net, and for others who dare to try to rile me, most of the time, I let it slide, unless of course, I didn't have my coffee that morning. I still get mighty annoyed by racists, anti-abortionist males who really have no say in the matter, IMO, and right wing gun nuts.

Anti ID logo

Internet Direct
For a long time, I hated Internet Direct. The company, without warning, cut my internet access for about 6 days, along with an unknown amount of other users (some estimates are about 2,000). The only explanation I got initially was that it was for "security reasons". I was very concerned about this. I don't spam, I don't send hate mail, and I don't send threats. What security? Finally, they told me that my account was cut because of abuse. What abuse, I asked? Internet Direct was the first ISP in Vancouver to offer flat rate, no time restriction access to the net. Yet, they claimed that since I was over a certain amount of hours a month (200, I think), I was abusing my account. They also accused me of giving others access to my account.

I, like many others, signed on with Internet Direct because it was flat rate, and I didn't want my hours timed. I didn't like the automatic shut down, especially since it happened on the Friday before a long weekend, ensuring that no one would be around ID to answer questions. So I rose a stink. Jeanette, who also had an ID account, started posting complaints about this practice, and ID cancelled her account too! Talk about the suppression of freedom of speech!

Anyway, ID finally turned my account and Jeanette's back on, only after I spoke to the local press about the issue, and got my quotes published. The debate raged on. I argued against their business practices and ethics, and some of their employees started flaming me in newsgroups, even resorting to pretty vicious name calling. What really bothered me is how they would tell me certain things in private, and then say the opposite in pubic. In the meantime, I was interviewed more by the press, and even Street Cents, the CBC television show.

I started up the anti-id web page, chronicling the events at the ISP, including most of the usenet posts, especially the flames and insults and lies from staff. I dropped my account at ID in February of 96, after they changed their policy from unlimited hours to fixed hours, and continued to run the web site.

The site was very popular - I even had a little netscape-esque button for it. In some ways, the site contributed to some big changes at the ISP, including much better communication between staff and customers, and a newer respect for customers, something ID really lacked.

Finally, in the early summer last year, after a few e-mail discussions with ID's prez, I decided to pull the page, because I was convinced that they had turned the corner and become a business worth paying money to. I would never go back to ID, but I can once again recommend them to my clients.

C E N S O R E D
B Y
B U L L Y I N G I N T I M I D A T I O N

Did you know that in Canada, when someone accuses you of being libelous, generally, the onus is on you, the accused, to prove what you said is not libelous?

Did you know that there are big powerful organizations, companies, and even electronic superstores in this country who not only exploit this letter of the law, but they also use it in bullying tactics even when they know that what they are accusing you wouldn't stand a chance in court?

Did you know that this morning. November 21, the action of auto-faxing documents before 7:30am the morning had a disturbing effect on Jeanette, who was sleeping at the time? Jeanette has suffered from sexual harrassment over the phone in the past, and these early morning calls, clearly intended to intimidate with its constant ringing (on a line that has a part time fax), left her seriously distraught for the day?

Did you know that the person responsible for this probably couldn't care less?

Did you know that there are people in my country who think that, as long as they have money, and unscrupulous people to back them up, they can twist and distort laws, even laws dealing with our basic human rights to freedom of speech and expression - they can twist and distort these laws to their own favour?

Did you ever wonder why people think lawyers are scum? See, not all lawyers are scum, but the actions of some of them give people the impression they are all like that.

Did you know that maybe, just maybe, we don't have to put up with this?

Did you know that there are both companies and people who just suck, big time?

Well, stay tuned, and drive up the massive hit count for this specific page - which, at last count was around 45 in the last 4 months - woo how damaging.

Click here to get to the other stuff I do.