X-Message-Number: 3302
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 00:58:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Charles Platt <>
Subject: CRYONICS:Mailing Lists


I have never seen the Alcor mailing list, and I have only briefly seen 
the CryoCare list on labels, so my comment here should be taken only in 
the most general terms.

I was once told by an Alcor director that Alcor's member list contained 
some "dummy" names which were not actually used by Alcor in its mailings. 
If the list fell into anyone else's hands, however, no one would know 
which were the real members and which were the dummy names, and 
consequently, the dummy names would receive the mailing from the group 
which had misappropriated Alcor's list. At this point, Alcor would have 
proof that their list had been taken. (This system is widely used to 
protect mailing lists; it is not unique to Alcor.)

I have two questions for Steve Bridge:

1. Is Alcor still using this system? I assume it is, since I was told 
about it only a year or so ago.

2. This being so, has Alcor noticed mail being sent to the dummy names on
its list? If so, let's hear about it. If not, then it would seem that
Alcor's list has not been abused, and a little less excitement might be
appropriate. We all receive solicitations which we don't want, once in a 
while. I have heard, for instance, that Alcor members who initiate the 
process of switching to another group have received long and very 
irritating phone calls "warning" them about the "hazards" of their 
choice and making some statements about CryoCare that are not entirely 
fair. I haven't bothered to mention this before because it seemed kind 
of predictable. But several people have complained to us about it. (No 
one described it as "creepy," though. I'm still trying to understand what 
Steve Jackson meant by that.)

Re the general subject of bickering:

I used to think that CryoNet was a mess of angst till I started reading 
other Usenet groups. At that point I discovered that the exchanges
here are actually more restrained than average. I don't believe that 
CryoNet would make a bad impression on anyone who has sampled Usenet 
widely, and I tend to think that a certain level of irritability and 
outspokenness is a built-in feature of online communication. 

I must also note that there are many examples of "competing" groups 
cooperating without a second thought in case of emergency. The case in 
New York a few months ago was one example. And as Mike Darwin has 
mentioned, exchange of information is ongoing. So, nonmembers of cryonics 
organizations need not take the disagreements here too seriously.

############################################################
Charles Platt, 1133 Broadway (room 1214), New York, NY 10010
      Voice: 212 929 3983      Fax: 212 929 4467

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