From: Ted.Mayett@worldnet.att.net (Ted Mayett)
Subject: Re: ARS Literati $10,000 Challenge - Judge's Report
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 20:22:26 GMT
Message-ID: <37f6c0d4.2464530@enews.newsguy.com>

On Wed, 29 Sep 1999 20:51:55 GMT, ralph@scientology.at (Ralph Hilton) wrote:

>So I'll start the straw poll going and maybe I'll push enough buttons to get
>a bit of response.
>
>First of all I would say that I felt the conditions of the competition to be
>extremely exacting. To communicate to Scientologists without lecturing a
>little is extremely difficult.

I had honestly thought this contest was a troll by Bob Minton. Or to put it differently. An essay by an SP will get a current member to leave just like that 'way to happiness' book will make an addict give up drugs.

Or do we mail out 150,000 copies of Joes essay and watch the orgs close down this month? What I'm saying is that I don't think any essay matched the criteria, as it is not possible for one essay to get through to the hard-core member.

In fact, Joes essay itself points out that the 'trap' is laid in gradually, one piece at a time, with each piece building on the other.

Being an ex-member, getting my "exit-counseling" off the web pages, dealing with clams still under The Spell all these years, I'm convinced no single essay will do anything. And so I personally thought the contest was a troll.

As to the essays themselves. I like them, those that I read.

But will they get current members to leave? I don't see how they possibly could. How in the world will the essays ever get to the current members?

OTOH, I once read a few lines here on ARS, told them to a current member, and the guy left the cult. We have a few seconds to speak sometimes when we picket them or meet them in something like a supermarket. But I defy anyone to get them to read a long essay.

No, the essays were written by us and written for us. Let us take our clues from the winning essay... the trap is laid down gradually...

And congratulations to all the winners.