From: skaplin@mirage.skypoint.com (Samuel Kaplin)
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 95 00:43:41 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: --> A Net-Petition to the Church of Scientology, Please Read (fwd)
Message-ID: <pAD7lKjqRe1O077yn@mirage.skypoint.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


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I thought this was topical and VERY much of interest here.

Sam

- -------- Forwarded message --------
Newsgroups: alt.2600,alt.activism,alt.atheism,alt.censorship,alt.clearing.technology,alt.conspiracy,
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 15:23:44 GMT
From: noring@netcom.com (Jon Noring)
Subject: --> A Net-Petition to the Church of Scientology, Please Read


[Hurry!  Signature tallying for this petition EXPIRES February 6, 1995!
Be sure to send your signature to cos-petition@netcom.com -- see the
instructions after the petition statement.  The petition statement
begins 68 lines down from here.]


Following this short introductory section is the petition statement to
the Church of Scientology and affiliated organizations regarding their
recent legal actions which have very serious ramifications for freedom
of expression on Usenet and the Internet.  It is somewhat long, but the
length is necessary to give you sufficient information to make an
informed decision.

I want to stress that this petition is NOT focused on the beliefs or
practices of the Church of Scientology.  Rather, it is focused on their
recent legal action, and this petition demands that they reconsider
these actions for the good of everyone, including themselves.  It should
also be made *very clear* that none of us should ever condone or support
any action which would censor or inhibit Scientology supporters from
being able to express their views and opinions on Usenet, the Internet,
and all other electronic forums, provided they do so in accordance with
accepted netiquette, as all of us should.

I encourage you to read the petition statement carefully, and if you
agree with all three demands (given near the end of the statement), to
then "sign" it via Internet e-mail using the instructions which follow
the statement.  Do follow EXACTLY the directions on how to "sign";
they are not difficult.

Note that only those with valid Internet-accessible e-mail addresses can
sign this petition.  Fortunately, nearly all on-line services, such as
CompuServe, and many BBS, do offer Internet e-mail acess, so just about
anybody who is electronically hooked up to some network in the world can
sign this petition.  If you are not sure what your Internet e-mail
address is, ask your site's sysadmin/sysop for assistance.

Please do upload this petition statement as soon as possible to any BBS
and on-line service in your area.  If you have access to one of the
major national on-line services such as CompuServe, Prodigy, AOL, etc.,
do try to upload it there.  We are trying to get at least 5000
signatures.  Even more signatures are entirely possible if we each put
in a little effort to inform others, such as friends and coworkers,
about the importance of this petition to electronic freedom of
expression.

I plan to make the signatures publicly available on or shortly after
February 7, 1995, and will also submit them to the Church of Scientology
as well as the newsmedia.

Important Note:  Because of the unusual sensitivity of this petition, I
will not submit nor reveal the e-mail signatures IF the total number of
validated signatures is less than 1000.  This offer is made for those
who would feel "exposed" if their name appears on a list with a small
number of signatures.  I fully expect to surpass 1000 signatures in one
or two days!  In addition, unlike past net-petitions, providing one's
full name in addition to one's e-mail address will be optional.
However, I highly encourage you to be brave and include your full name,
as all petitions are traditionally considered more "binding" if real
names are used.  I will tally the number of signatures with and without
full names when the petition drive ends February 6, 1995.

Thank you for your signature!  Let's all do our part to keep all
electronic networks free and open for everybody.

Jon Noring

(Disclaimer:  Nothing written in this petition transmittal should be
              construed as legal advice.  If you need legal assistance
              or advice concerning any of the issues brought up in this
              document, contact a qualified attorney.)


**************** Beginning of Petition Statement ********************

TO: The Church of Scientology, The Religious Technology Center, Bridge
    Publications, Inc., Office of Special Affairs, and all other
    affiliated organizations, divisions and corporations of the Church
    of Scientology

We, the undersigned, are disturbed by your recent legal attempts to
stifle the free flow of information on the Internet and Usenet.
Specifically, you have 1) threatened legal action against several
automated anonymous remailers unless they filter out *all* e-mail
targeted to the legitimate Usenet newsgroups alt.religion.scientology
(a.r.s.), and alt.clearing.technology (a.c.t.), open forums where all
points of view about Scientology, both pro and con, are welcome, and
2) demanded and actually attempted the removal of a.r.s. in gross
defiance of accepted Usenet practice and netiquette.

Concerning 1), since nearly all (if not all) of the e-mail sent to
a.r.s. and a.c.t. via the remailers is legitimate and originates from
individuals who sincerely believe they need to post anonymously because
of the nature of discussion, your demand, if implemented, would prevent
these individuals from freely expressing their views in the proper
forum.  Freedom of expression is internationally recognized as one of
the most important and sacred of basic human rights, and your demands
fly in the face of this recognition.  Your second demand, removing
a.r.s., would go even further in inhibiting freedom of expression on
all electronic networks.  It is a *very* serious matter to attempt to
remove forums of free expression.

Your primary argument for issuing these legal threats, according to
your statements, are that some people (the "perpetrators") have
knowingly posted *alleged* (meaning not yet demonstrated in a court of
law) Church of Scientology copyrighted and trade secret material to
a.r.s. and a.c.t., sometimes using the anonymous remailers as the
carrier (because of the common carrier-like nature of anonymous
remailers, the administrators of the remailers have no knowledge of such
activity taking place).  Though we do not condone making copyrighted
material available on any electronic network without the permission of
the copyright holder, your specific legal threats are short-sighted,
perceived to be mean-spirited, ineffective, and are on tenuous legal
grounds because

1) It won't stop those who are determined to make available alleged
   copyrighted materials on electronic networks.  They will find other
   avenues on the electronic networks to do so.  Only prosecuting the
   actual perpetrators will deter this alleged illegal activity.
2) Your demands, if met, will have the effect of leading to significant
   stifling of free speech and the exchange of information on all
   electronic networks which, if not illegal in some jurisdictions, goes
   against all accepted conventions of a free and open society,
3) You have not stated, nor is there any indication, that you intend to
   work in a cooperative manner with legitimate law-enforcement
   agencies, the courts, and/or the Internet to locate and prosecute
   the perpetrators of the *alleged* copyright violations in the
   countries they originated.

Thus, your threats are being construed, rightly or wrongly, by most on
the electronic networks as an attempt to stifle free discussion on
Scientology rather than trying to locate and prosecute the perpetrators
of the *alleged* copyright and trade secret violations.

With respect to the attempted removal of the newsgroup a.r.s., you also
stated that the word 'scientology' is trademarked and thus the name
a.r.s. infringes on such trademark.  This is appallingly ludicrous based
on past case law of similar situations, as well as your implicit
acknowledgement of the legitimacy of a.r.s. by allowing Church of
Scientology approved information to be posted to it by your supporters,
and possibly with your knowledge and/or approval, ever since it was
created July 1991, almost 3.5 years ago.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, make the following demands.

1) Regarding your charges of copyright violation over electronic
   networks:  You will cease all legal action, now and in the future,
   against any person, company, organization, etc., associated or
   affiliated in any way with all electronic networks, including the
   Internet, except that action which is necessary to locate and
   prosecute the perpetrators (as previously defined) of alleged
   copyright and trade secret violations, and other activity in
   violation of law, and *only* in full cooperation with legitimate
   law-enforcement agencies and/or the courts.

2) Regarding your trademark challenge of the Usenet newsgroup
   alt.religion.scientology:  You will cease all legal action, now and
   in the future, to remove any Usenet newsgroup, BBS forum, mailing
   list or other similar forum of public exchange of information over
   any electronic network, or to inhibit in any way the flow of
   information to and from these forums.  This includes, for example,
   ceasing all legal action demanding a) the removal of the Usenet
   newsgroup alt.religion.scientology and b) that anonymous remailers
   add filters as previously described.

3) You will publicly and officially state

   a) That you support the existence of free and open forums on all
      electronic networks to discuss Scientology from all perspectives
      and points of view (which includes yours), and

   b) That you do not support nor condone attempts by any entity to
      electronically censor, remove, obstruct, or tamper with any
      electronic communication except when allowed by a valid court
      order.

If you outright reject or refuse to even discuss these demands in a good
faith manner on Usenet, we have no other option but to consider such
rejection or refusal to even discuss to be an act of hostility by the
Church of Scientology towards the users of all electronic networks and
forums, including the Internet.  We are certain you do not want this,
and we do not want it either, so we offer to work with you any way we
can with regard to any legitimate demands you may have concerning
alleged copyright violation(s) and other illegal activity.

However, any attempts by you of any kind to tamper or in any manner
restrict the free flow of information (other than that *specifically*
restricted by law -- and *only* that) on any electronic network is
totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated for the reasons stated
above.

Signed,




******************* End of Petition Statement ***********************

======================================
Instructions for Signing This Petition
======================================

It must first be noted that this is a petition, not a vote.  By
"signing" it you agree with *all* the demands of the petition
statement.  If you do not agree with all the demands, then your only
recourse is to not sign it.

In addition, all e-mail signatures will be submitted to the Church of
Scientology as well as the newsmedia provided more than 1000 validated
signatures are obtained.  Including your full name is optional, but
very highly encouraged as that would add to the effectiveness of the
petition.  Signing via an anonymous remailer is discouraged, but not
forbidden, as an attempt will be made to separately tally signatures
from anonymous remailers.

Signing this petition is not hard, but to make sure your signature is
not lost or miscounted, please follow these directions exactly:

1) Prepare an e-mail message.  In the main body (NOT the Subject line)
   of your e-mail include the ONE-LINE statement:

SIGNED <Internet e-mail address> <Your full name (optional)>

   You need not include the "<" and ">" characters.  'SIGNED' should
   be capitalized.  As stated above, your full name is optional, but
   highly recommended.  If you do supply your name, please don't use
   a pseudonym or nickname, or your first name -- it's better to just
   leave it blank if it's not your full and real name.

              ***************************************
              Example:  My e-mail signature would be:

              SIGNED noring@netcom.com Jon E. Noring
              ***************************************

2) Please DON'T include a copy of this petition, nor any other text,
   in your e-mail message.  If you have comments to make, send e-mail
   to me personally, and NOT to the special petition e-mail signature
   address.

3) Send your e-mail message containing your signature to the following
   Internet e-mail address and NOT to me:

                     ===========================
                       cos-petition@netcom.com
                     ===========================

4) Within a few days of receipt of your signature, an automated
   acknowledgment will be e-mailed to you for e-mail address
   verification purposes.  You do not need to respond or reply to
   this acknowledgement when you receive it.


Thank you for signing this petition!

Jon Noring

(p.s., send your signature to cos-petition@netcom.com)


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