X-Message-Number: 6289
Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 08:48:30 -0700
From: H Keith Henson <>
Subject: trolling, trolling

I wouldn't post this--since it is only remotely related to cryonics,
but since "trolling" was mentioned in last night's CryoNet, one short
example might be forgiveable.  This is one of the best parts of a 
recent issue of:

    **Biased Journalism** : a net magazine designed to compensate for 
    the shortcomings of the professional news media.          

    Copyright 1996 Shelley Thomson; all rights reserved.  

The rest is available by email on request to ,
and does have references to cryonics as well as most of the other things
I have been involved with in the last 20 years.  Keith Henson

**Biased Journalism**  Volume 2, issue 10      May 14, 1996.  

Contents:  NOTS Bombshell; Henson Deposition; Mike Godwin (EFF) interview;
Georgia Chops Anonymous Posters; Rodent Report (a gossip column); Flame
of the Week.

Read at your own risk.  This is **Biased Journalism**!

1.  Bad Day at Cult Rock

    Readers of alt.religion.scientology were astonished to notice
a large collection of alleged secret, copyrighted and trade
secret protected documents of the church of scientology posted
anonymously over the weekend of May 5.  An expert source known to
**Biased Journalism** verified the documents as authentic.

[snip--to transcript from a deposition of Keith Henson by the "Church"
of Scientology.  Lieberman is their lawyer.]

        Lieberman:  do you know who Patrick J. Volk is?

        Henson:  to the best of my knowledge I've never heard of this
person.        

        Lieberman explains that Volk is apparently communicating from
some educational institution in Pittsburgh.  Henson still doesn't
recognize the name.  Lieberman hands Henson a document.

[inserted by hkhenson:

From:  (H Keith Henson)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Re: OT Materials...
Date: 6 Apr 1995 19:35:38 GMT
Organization: Portal Communications Company -- 408/973-9111 (voice)
408/973-8091 (data)
Lines: 16
Message-ID: <3m1fqa$>
References: <3lvsre$>
NNTP-Posting-Host: jobe.shell.portal.com
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]

Parick J Volk (pjvst+@pitt.edu) wrote:
:    Screw the courts....

:    I have an ftp site for all the OT materials...

:    ftp:127.0.0.1  /pub/texts/news/alt/religion/scientology

:    I don't know how long I'll have it up.

:    P J Volk

:    (alt.2600 lives! All hail the clams and trolls!)

Great stuff!  But don't you expect the 'ho to blow a gasket?
Ps, 14th file, 42 lines down on page 5, third word, there is an 'ei'
reversed. ]                                                              

        Henson: (cracks up)  this is a great troll.

        Lieberman: (acidly)  you find this amusing?

        Henson:  yes.  It's an in joke.

        Lieberman quotes from the Volk post: "screw the courts" and
also says that he has an ftp site for all the OT materials.  "Mr.
Henson is laughing hysterically about this posting for reasons that
I suppose he understands--"  Henson offers to explain.

        Lieberman:  What's an ftp site?

        Henson explains that ftp means file transfer protocol.  You
can use almost any machine on the Internet to access a file on almost
any other machine, that has been placed in an ftp directory, he says
with relish.  [He goes on at length about how this is done.]

        Lieberman:  Okay.  "So when he said 'I have an ftp site for
all the OT materials,' he is saying he has all the OT materials on
a site which people can access."   Was Henson aware of Patrick
Volk's ftp site?  Does this refresh your recollection? he demands.

        Henson:  well, you see right after the colon, it says
ftp:127.0.0.1?

        Lieberman:  yes.

        Henson:  that's a loopback address.
                                                           
        Lieberman wants to pursue the question of the site with the
OT materials.  Was Henson aware of Patrick Volk's ftp site?

        Henson: (patiently)  It's at 127.0.0.1.  This is a loop back
address.  This is a troll.

        Lieberman:  what's a troll?

        Henson:  it comes from the fishing where you troll a 
bait along in the water and a fish will jump and bite the thing,
and the idea of it is that the internet is a very humorous place
and it's especially good to troll people who don't have any sense
of humor at all, and this is a troll because an ftp site of 127.0.0.1
doesn't go anywhere.  It loops right back around into your own
machine.

        Lieberman [not getting it]:  So the idea here was to make the
church think that this person had an ftp site and to take action 
against him and, in fact, he didn't have it; is that  your point?

        Henson:  Oh, it's really humorous, and I picked up on it
and instantly added something to extend  the troll.  Extending the
trolls like this is an art form of the highest order.

        Lieberman (acidly):   I see.  So this is part of your art
form where you say, "don't you expect the 'ho to blow a gasket?"

        Henson:  yes.

        Lieberman (starting to lose his temper):  so you do remember
this posting apparently?

        Henson (helpfully):  I can't remember for certain that I
did this one, and certainly I could not swear to any of the material
on here being letter perfect on it (but he goes on to say that it
is such a good one that he would be happy to take credit for it).

        Lieberman:  You find this whole thing kind of amusing, don't 
you?

        Henson:  Oh, this is screamingly funny.

        Lieberman (no more Mr. Nice Guy):  You find it amusing to
make Helena Kobrin and the church go after you or other people for
this sort of thing, whether you have the materials or not; is that
right?

        Henson:  It's a great game.

        Lieberman:  It is a great game.  You really find it amusing,
don't you?
 
        Henson:  It's an extremely amusing thing.

[snip]


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