==================== Ansible 91, February 1995 [snip] Enturbulated Thetans Mighty noises of gibbering resounded across Internet following the Church of Scientology's discovery of the `information superhighway'. Perhaps they call it the clearway. The Cof$ (its frequent nickname in Usenet's alt.religion.scientology newsgroup) reacted as it usually does on learning that people are going around committing free speech. Legal threats were issued against Internet sites, demanding that alt.religion.scientology be closed down -- a bit like suing the post office for carrying mail of which you disapprove -- and that the net accounts of offenders like renegade churchman Dennis Erlich be cancelled. Dirtier tricks are rumoured, some deeply bizarre.

The problem for the ever-secretive and paranoid Org is that it can't directly intimidate those naughty people who use anonymous-remailing services to place embarrassing material in Usenet newsgroups. So Scientology's famous policy of always going on the offensive forces it into conflict with the net as a whole ... Clash of the Titans!

Morally, the issues are somewhat messy. Such dissemination of scientological `sacred teachings' indeed violates copyright;

yet many feel it's legitimate whistleblowing to expose the alternately risible and menacing doctrines of an outfit whose aim is to take over the world (for our own good, of course).

And why, after all, should publicizing the loonier utterances of L.Ron Hubbard bring down litigious wrath when quoting from the likewise copyright New English Bible does not?

Charles Platt explains more about `the text which the Scientologists were upset about. One piece was crossposted to alt.conspiracy (a wonderful forum for all kinds of stuff). It was about 200 kilobytes (yes, 200, not 20) and consisted of a legal deposition by a one-time senior Scientology aide telling everything, including allegedly successful attempts to use "black audits" to trigger the suicide of several Scientologists who had "lost the faith". The word "devastating" barely begins to describe this document. If I was in the Church of Scientology, I'd be trying to shut down the Usenet group, too!

Actually it's a nice demonstration, in miniature, of the threat to totalitarian systems posted by free information.' Bruce Sterling adds, wistfully: `Perhaps some day, in stark futurity, people of goodwill (euphemism for you and me) will be able to dance a rickety arthritic fandango over the final grave of Scientology.' It is a beautiful thought.

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