From: tallpaul@pipeline.com (tallpaul)
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 1996 15:34:07 +0800
To: Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>
Subject: Re: [DETWEILING?] Re: The Iron Mountain Report
Message-ID: <199604300048.UAA28939@pipe6.nyc.pipeline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Apr 25, 1996 00:17:25, 'Rich Graves <llurch@networking.stanford.edu>'
wrote: 
 
 
>On second thought, this is so *obviously* a troll that it *must* be 
>intended to be obvious. Of course there are a lot of really stooooopid 
>Nazis out there, but this last round is too much. Did you see the one 
>about Smart Cards being the Mark of the Beast? Follow the URL that message

>gave -- it's even loonier than it looks.  
> 
 
The sense I have is that the highest liklihood is that it springs from a
standard run-of-the-mill loon on the conservative side of the spectrum. 
 
The net nazis are busy with far more creative trolls and the leftists have
no record of picking up on this particular report (since, if nothing else,
it was designed as a semi-humor piece when originally published in
hardcover.) 
 
It more reminds me of the space-alien kidnapping piece on "Penelope Kuntz"
from one of the fake newspapers that the _National Lampoon_ ran a few years
ago. It was picked up and reposted by some of the paranoids. 
 
>Only nobody@replay.com knows... 
> 
>Possibilities: 
> 
>1. Some anti-Nazi (such as Tallpaul -- note this is *not* an accusation!) 
>trying to make the Nazis look bad. 
> 
 
I didn't take it as an accusation. There's nothing wrong with running
through a complete(ish) list of hypotheses when working on a problem.
However, this hypothesis is not likely since: 
 
1) I don't think it came from nazis; 
2) I (modestly) think I can make the nazis "look bad" by quoting them, not
inventing trolls; 
3) I don't troll political issues for political reasons. (OK, the BABYLON-5
troll was sort of political but I thought the reference for people to "bite
my third secondary grasping tentacle" made it obvious but a couple of
left-wing dufuses still took it seriously). 
4) I am a generalist, without the detailed technical knowledge for really
good trolls. 
 
Similar arguments against your other hypotheses.  
 
>2. Some really, really stupid Nazi who doesn't realize that he looks bad 
>(if you don't believe sich people exist, look up just about any Usenet  
>post from Les Griswold or A HUBER). 
>3. Some Detweiler tentacle/clone trolling just for kicks. 
>4. Declan, trying to troll me. 
>5. Me, trying to troll Declan, or myself. 
> 
><pot-kettle-black=on> 
> 
>In any case, the person doing it is an asshole, and there is little call 
>for substantive replies. Don't feed the animals. 
> 
></pot-kettle-black> 
> 
>-rich 
> 
>