From: thug@phantom.com (Murdering Thug)
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 93 18:25:31 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: toad.com mailing list postings from possible virus authors
In-Reply-To: <9302190140.AA08377@toad.com>
Message-ID: <m0nPNK9-000jqZC@phantom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



With regard to Mr. Peterson:

I think we are finally seeing the net gestapo coming out of the woodwork.
We all knew they are on the net, we just couldn't pinpoint who exactly
they were.

This Peterson fellow seems to think he is the self-appointed protector of
decency on the net.  I have run across this Peterson fellow before, and
he seems to have this crazed desire to call up (by voice) system
administrators to complain about the net postings and mailing list postings
of users at those sites, and then threaten further action if his demands
are not met.

My previous encounter with Mr. Peterson occurred rather indirectly.
Apparently, a novice user here at phantom.com mistakenly mailed a posting
about gay lifestyles to some mailing list that Mr. Peterson was on.  Being a
net nazi, Mr. Peterson proceeded to call up the sysadm of phantom.com and
threatened to call up phantom.com's feed site (PSInet) complaining about
"inappropriate use of the net" and threatened to ask PSI to cut phantom.com
from the net.  This would not have worked since PSI is a commercial feed
provider, but I can see where this gestapo tactic would work on sites who
get their feeds for free/cheap from universities and other non-commercial
sites.

Is this guy on a power trip or something? And who the fuck appointed him
to watch over what is being said on the net?


Re: my virus posting

As you can read from the posting itself, there is nothing in there that
technically allows anyone to write a virus based on my words.  Nor is
there anything in there that encourages people to write viruses.  But
that's not the real issue, even if my post contained such information,
I think I am free to send it along to whever I wish.  The fact that my
post was devoid of such information, only makes Peterson look even more
foolish than he already does.

If anything, my post was meant to be humerous and sarcastic.  Especially
that part about how 9 year olds will be able to point-and-click together
viruses within a year, and how overpaid underachievers like Peterson and
his cronies in the virus-protection-racket are powerless to stop
this from occuring.

I think the other thing that made Peterson fly off the handle was the
fact that I am writing under an alias, an especially offensive one like
"Murdering Thug".  I'm sure if my virus post came from a "respected"
and "approved" individual like McAfee or John Dvorak, he wouldn't have
raised an eyebrow.  In fact Dvorak wrote an Editorial in PC Magazine
about a year back which was VERY similar to my post.  In his editorial
he discussed D.A.M.E. and Stealth viruses, and explained how they worked
in similar detail as I have done.  Did Mr. Peterson write a letter to
PC Magazine to complain?  I think not. He knows that someone like Dvorak
could make him look like the true idiot that he is.

Mr. Peterson, I am glad your are showing your gestapo personality
in front of the entire net.  Your underhanded tactics of threatening
system administrators with harassing voice phone calls will be exposed
to the net community at large, and YOU will be the one who is mocked
and censured, and rightly so.


Respectfully,

Murdering Thug