Homer Smith responds to Helena Kobrin
From: homer@poly.math.cornell.edu (Homer Wilson Smith)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,comp.org.eff.talk,misc.legal
Subject: HELENA KOBRIN CALLED ME TODAY...
Date: 4 Apr 1995 04:35:33 GMT
Organization: I SPEAK ONLY FOR MYSELF
Message-ID: <3lqial$rt1@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>
Dear Folks,
I received a polite call from Ms. Helena Kobrin today, legal
counsel for the Church of Scientology, concerning a recent post of
alleged Church copyrighted trade secrets through my Free Zone remailer
at homer@rahul.net
She asked if I knew who posted it, and I told her that it had
been chained. She also asked if I could cancel it, and I said no, but
I meant more that it would be politically inexpedient to cancel it,
rather than a physical impossibility.
I told her that she could have it canceled, and she responded by
saying 'Well *I'm not canceling anything.' (not an exact quote.)
I told her that I have placed my remailer into moderation mode
concerning a.r.s. and a.c.t. and all known gatesways leading to
them, including mail to news gateways, so that any future posts
through my remailer to these two groups will come to me for
consideration.
I also directed her to my various responses to the posting along
the SCAMIZDAT subject thread. I am highly annoyed that I have been
put in this position.
I do not know what my proper course of action is. I probably can
cancel the posting, I certainly would expect the Cancel Poodle IV to
do so, and frankly he has my blessings on this one.
...
I just received a second call from Ms. Kobrin.
She asked me if I could tell her what remailer the posting came
to my remailer through. I told her that she was pushing it asking for
that data. We talked a bit about the present situation on the net and
possible solutions to it, but she was unwilling to discuss the various
strategies they are planning, and frankly I have no bright ideas about
how to stop the postings.
She then pressed me on the subject of canceling the posting
again, and I said I would do it. The posting will get reposted anyhow
over and over whether or not I cancel it, it has all already been
posted multiple times, so basically to show good faith, along with
moderation of the remailer, I have agreed to cancel the posting.
Homer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homer Wilson Smith ART MATRIX
homer@rahul.net FRACTALS!
(607) 277-0959 http://www.rahul.net/homer/
------------------
From: "Homer W. Smith"
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology,comp.org.eff.talk,misc.legal
Subject: HELENA KOBRIN CALLS 3rd TIME...
Date: 4 Apr 1995 04:42:32 GMT
Organization: I SPEAK ONLY FOR MYSELF
Message-ID: <3lqino$emm@hustle.rahul.net>
I recevied a 3rd call from Ms. Helena Kobrin. She was interested
in talking me into giving them the name of the earlier remailer that
the posting SCAMIZDAT #3 came through.
I explained that my sworn written policy was that such data would
only be given out with a court order. She mentioned that this could
get 'expensive' for me.
I told her I have no choice in the matter, my reputation would
be destroyed on the net if I renegged on the written statement in
my remailer intro. 'This is SACROSANCT'.
The whole matter of why I keep logs comes up again. The primary
justification for doing so, besides an effort to be somewhat responsible
with a loaded gun, is the fact that Rahul Dehsi keeps sendmail logs like
most systems do. Thus if I am pestered to forward a complaint to a
sender, which is reasonable, I can forestall people from bothering Rahul
with it, because I have the data at hand. Ms. Kobrin pointed out that if
I do not cooperate with handing over the sender's address, it will end up
on Rahul's desk anyhow.
I don't know what Rahul will do, he won't appreciate the
situation, fortunately we will be leaving Rahul shortly for our
own site. Whether I will be running a remailer there, I really don't
know. This is creating serious PTSness for me.
In any case, finding the posting FOR SURE that came into me
that eventually went to a.r.s. from the send mail logs will be
dicey at best because the To: line will say homer@rahul.net, the
sendmail logs do not record the Anon-To: a.r.s. etc.
Secondly by now, I am sure most of the remailer operators
have burned their logs since they know a posse if coming for them.
Anyhow even if me and Ms. Kobrin do the 'expense tango', they
will merely get a name of another remailer and they will go bother
them. Most remailers do not keep logs, many not even send mail logs, and
the probabilities are very high that they will run into a blank wall.
However they will use the data to further harass the remailers in turn
to get to the earlier remailer. The end result will be the harassment
of the remailer operators, and not the original poster.
Which is why SOME solution to this problem must be found and fast,
lest the entire remailer network go out of existence.
So I am sort of on the firing line. Again. There is no easy way out
of this one, although I told her that if she got a court order or
something signed by a real judge I would hand over the name of the prior
remailer. Of course I might have gotten the name wrong, or the prior
remailer could even have been a total forge. In any case its almost sure
that there will be no logs at that remailer, as I am the only remailer
that I know that keeps logs, for just such an occasion. A lot of good it
is doing me.
Homer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Homer Wilson Smith ART MATRIX
homer@rahul.net FRACTALS!
(607) 277-0959 http://www.rahul.net/homer/
--
Homer W. Smith