Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1993 02:34:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Kenneth Werneburg <johnston@SPARTAN.AC.BROCKU.CA>
Subject: File 3--Response to Mark Carter in CuD #5.02 and #5.03

Submitted by:
     Derek A. Borgford (s9546284@Sandcastle.cosc.BrockU.CA)
     Frederick J. Vanderzwaag (Fvanderz@Spartan.ac.BrockU.CA)
     Kenneth Werneburg (Johnston@Spartan.ac.BrockU.CA)

RE: CuD #5.02 "Any one Who Owns a Scanner is a Hacker, or..."
RE: CuD #5.03 File 9--Canadian Media and BBSes

With all due respect to Mark Carter and his two submissions to CuD, we
fail to see what new light he has shed on the articles that were
published in the St. Catharines Standard. Although his article pointed
out that the Standard's depiction of the BBS community in the Niagara
Region was less than accurate, his pre-occupation with FidoNet boards
in the area would seem to have clouded his judgement somewhat. His
submission would indicate that FidoNet boards in the area are regarded
as a higher class of BBS, and his comments concerning non-FidoNet
BBSes indicate his own negative prejudice towards these independent
boards. After reading Mark Carter's comments, we have found his
remarks to be lacking in substance.

We are also familiar with, and active in, the Niagara region BBS
community; and currently run a local BBS called the Steam Tunnels BBS
(FidoNet 1:247/133). Also, Kenneth Werneburg was the sysop of
Alleycat's Emporium 'o' Toads BBS, as well as co-sysop of numerous
boards in the Niagara area.

We agree that the St. Catharines Standard's article was replete with
misquotes, misinformation and misrepresentations, which would indicate
their lack of understanding of the local BBS community as a whole. It
seemed to indicate that the authors had their own agenda which focused
on the dark side of BBSing, and failed to highlight any of the
positive aspects, which boards in general offer to the community. What
we fail to see is how Mark Carter's commentary on the subject has
elucidated the topic, adding any response to the Standard's inadequate
coverage which bordered on sensationalism.

The primary focus of the article entitled "Limits Set On Access to
Computer Porn: But Explicit Images, Stories Still Available" (by Paul
Forsyth and Andrew Lundy, Standard Staff) centred on two interviews.
One with Kenneth Werneburg, and the other with the co-sysop of a
popular BBS in the Niagara region, called Interzone.

Mark Carter cited Interzone as "hardly a good example of local
boards," and yet it has a wide user list which would denote it as the
second most popular board in the region. Ads posted around the region
about Interzone boast 600 callers per week on three nodes, without the
benefit of being connected to any of the local echomail networks.

According to Mark Carter, Interzone's non-affiliation with FidoNet
would indicate "that the message areas it has are basically filled
with obscenities...," however, as users to this board will attest,
frequent use of obscenities are not as prevalent he suggests.
Moderators of the local FidoNet echoes have imposed restrictions on
language used; because of the wide distribution throughout the region,
and public nature of such echoes as the Niagara Chatter Echo. Some of
the sysops in the area had expressed concern over younger users being
exposed to offensive language in these public echoes and subsequently
it was agreed that use of profanity would be limited to inference by
substitution of asterixes, in place of certain letters.  Interzone,
because of the privacy maintained by not joining FidoNet, does not
have the same constraints placed on it.  Instead, both the sysop and
co-sysop encourage a relaxed atmosphere which tends towards a homey,
"Interzone family" feel.  Most of the users enjoy a camaraderie in the
message base which is primarily based on light hearted discussions, on
a broad range of topics.

Another inconsistency in Mark Carter's remarks, pertains to
Interzone's alleged "commercial interests". According to Mark Carter
"it (Interzone) is sponsored by a commercial interest, which pays the
phone bills," however, we have found this to be inaccurate. Of the
three nodes which comprise Interzone, only one of these nodes is
sponsored by commercial interests, through a local CD store. Mark
Carter is illustrating an uninformed viewpoint, which is factually
inaccurate.

His treatment of Alleycat's Emporium 'o' Toads also suffers from the
same "factual inaccuracies and narrow-minded presentation" which
typify Mark Carter's statements. He refers with condescension to a
board which he himself knows of only through second hand information.
Alleycat's Emporium 'o' Toads had a message base far outstripping any
of the FidoNet boards that he so covets. The second article in the St.
Catharines Standard was spawned from a letter to the editor, written
by the co-sysop of this BBS.

We fail to understand Mark Carter's implicated hierarchal delineation
regarding the relative worth of BBSes in the Niagara region. He
exemplifies an attitude which ranks FidoNet boards as superior, while
denigrating all non-FidoNet BBSes. We would find that Mark Carter's
comments regarding boards that are not affiliated with FidoNet
represent a "narrow-minded" prejudice on his own behalf; due in part
to his own pre-occupation and involvement in FidoNet. His articles
maintain an attitude which is not indicative of the general BBSing
community. Most of Mark Carter's comments would indicate that he has
missed the point of the articles, and has obviously trivialized them.

Contrary to his comments, FidoNet boards were also cited in the
articles, although they remained un-named. One must question Mark
Carter's motivation for writing these remarks, as it seems that his
role in FidoNet is more weighty to him than any genuine concern over
the issues.

The primary issue dealt with by the Standard, is that of pornography
and its accessability by minors. Although the Standard demonstrates
that there is willingness on behalf of the regional sysops to place
restrictions on the distribution of adult material, they couch this in
a sensationalist criticism of local BBSes. Contrary to what Forsyth
and Lundy maintain, sysops had been imposing restrictions long before
these articles were written. Their articles would indicate that it was
solely through their intervention that there were "limits set on
access to computer porn."  However, most of the sysops in the area
have exercised common sense when granting access to users on their
boards. In fact, not all boards in the area even carry adult material.
Obviously the problem is not as severe as the Standard has portrayed.
Had they seriously researched the boards in the area they would have
found that pornography is not a primary feature.

Although there is currently no legislation in Canada governing the
distribution of pornographic material through this electronic medium,
the writers in the Standard would indicate that there is a need for
legal intervention. They seem to feel that most BBSes are best
typified as distribution sites, where minors have access to
pornographic material. Clearly, however, this is not the case.  In
comparison with other media, the amount of pornography distributed
through bulletin boards is relatively minor. Any youth is capable of
accessing this material through means far more readily available to
them.

In the main, when one logs on to a board in the Niagara region, one
would find little difference between that and any other board in North
America. Although adult files remain some of the most popular items
transferred over the boards, this is not to say that this is all they
have to offer. It is not fair to say that focusing on two boards in
the region is a fair indication of what is available. It must be
clarified, however, that the existence and popularity of this type of
material is a reflection of a tendency in the userbase which indicates
a genuine demand for these items. This is not to say that these
materials are accessible to the general user without some
restrictions.

In response to the second article in the St. Catharines Standard, some
of the local sysops banded together in an organization named S.O.A.P.
(System Operators Against Pornography) which provides parents the
certitude that their child can call their board without being exposed
to pornographic material, or any obscenities, either in the message
base or file areas. Many of these boards had not carried any of these
materials previously, for example, the originator of the organization,
Clayton Matattal of InfoTech. Other sysops who have joined SOAP,
formerly carried pornographic materials, which have since been removed
from their BBSes, and they claim to not offer these files to their
users. This has not been without controversy in the local echoes, as
this has been seen by some to be a show of blatant hypocrisy. Some of
the controversy has centred around a dispute between boards which are
affiliated with SOAP and those who are not, and the self-righteous
attitudes displayed by some of the former. This was not the intended
purpose of this organization, but was in response to various boards
joining SOAP, whose names had previously been synonymous with adult
material.

According to recent messages in the Niagara FidoNet Chatter echo, the
St. Catharines Standard has plans to publish another feature article
on bulletin boards on January 23, 1993 in an attempt to highlight
their positive aspects. It remains to be seen whether this will
reflect a more accurate portrayal of BBSes in our community, seeing
that it is due to be edited by the same Paul Forsyth and Andrew Lundy
who wrote the original two articles. If past articles are any
indication of what they intend to write in this future publication,
then it is sure to be based on a "narrow-minded," sensationalist
portrayal, featuring only a few boards in the region.

Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253