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 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=3302