Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!ncar!ames!lll-tis!lll-winken!tekbspa!optilink!cramer
From: cramer@optilink.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: news.misc
Subject: Re: BBS bad publicity  Re: Jonathan Richmond vs. USENET
Message-ID: <700@optilink.UUCP>
Date: 8 Dec 88 22:22:55 GMT
References: <33065@bbn.COM> <4355@pbhyf.PacBell.COM> <5999@hoptoad.uucp> <1942@sigma.UUCP>
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA
Lines: 27

In article <1942@sigma.UUCP>, bill@sigma.UUCP (William Swan) writes:
> In article <5999@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes:
> >The press already has most people who've heard of bulletin boards
> >convinced that only white supremacists and child molesters use them; 
> 
> *Who* is disseminating this info?
> 
> My wife has even heard the latter ("it's how they get in touch with
> other, and share ideas and methods, etc."). She won't say where she
> heard it...

I've seen both claims reported in the popular press.  In the case of
neo-Nazi groups, they mentioned a specific BBS in Montana which was
providing a way for them to distribute their ideas into Canada, which
at the time wasn't allowing free expression of offensive (and I mean
"offensive" -- to me as well) ideas.

The claims about child molesters have been much more vague.  I've
seen "50-100 different BBS" claimed in newspaper articles, but 
remember that much of what appears as "news" in newspapers is a
rewritten press release.  I recently challenged Newsweek to give
a source for an article claiming that $25 handguns were avaiable
on the streets of New York City, and they finally wrote me a letter
admitting they didn't have a source for it, but they were sure it
was true anyway.
-- 
Clayton E. Cramer
{pixar,tekbspa}!optilin!cramer          (Note new path!)