Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 14:12:45 -0500 (EST)
\nTo: freemcluhan@tao.ca
\nSubject: mcluhan: don't believe the hype
\nSender: owner-freemcluhan@tao.ca<\/p>\nHoly Spins Batman, the McLuhan Project declared
\nInformation Warfare!<\/p>\n
Well I reply with peace.<\/p>\n
I did not steal the mcluhan-list, I did not rape
\nanyone.<\/p>\n
I am a lover, not a fighter.<\/p>\n
This is public space, I walked into the room,
\nand invited the friends of mcluhan to the
\nseminars continued in his name.<\/p>\n
My name is Jesse Hirsh, I am 22, and I am the
\nDirector of the New Media Unit at the McLuhan
\nProgram in Culture and Technology at the
\nUniversity of Toronto. The program is a
\nnot-for-profit organization in the University of
\nToronto. I am both a volunteer and student at the
\nprogram. The seminars are free and open to the
\npublic. There are no commercial interests
\nassociated with the seminars or these postings.<\/p>\n
We have brought back the Monday Night Seminars
\nas a free gift to the people. McLuhan Scholars
\nof past generations have in-fought over the
\northodoxy of McLuhan. Factions have arisen like
\na childish techno-clergy.<\/p>\n
I am the new generation, and I come in peace and
\nunity.<\/p>\n
I organize the seminars with the help of Eric
\nMcLuhan, Derrick de Kerkchove, Liss Jeffrey, and
\nany other member of the McLuhan Community who
\nwishes to revive the spirit of life and
\ninnovation inherent in the name.<\/p>\n
In fact my friend Nelson Thall, even had this to
\nsay:<\/p>\n
>Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 20:01:21 -0500
\n>From: Nelthall@aol.com
\n>To: jesse@tao.ca
\n>Subject: Reply
\n>
\n>Best regards on your seminars.<\/p>\n
And I thank dear Nelson for his kind words, as
\nhe is someone who I deeply respect and admire.
\nIn fact it was my intention this morning (before
\nthis attack) to invite him to be a speaker for
\none of the seminars. (Interested Nelson?)<\/p>\n
I am the digital generation. I know not walls or
\nbarriers, privacy or property. We are redefining
\npublic space, and an email list is as much a
\nroom, as it is for one and all.<\/p>\n
I am 'McLuhan in Action', the existential hacker
\nof the datashpere who lives the medium as
\nmessage. I have taken the teachings from 1964
\nUnderstanding Media and have integrated them
\ninto 1997 life. I am the living probe that
\nexplores the externalized global brain. I am the
\ngeneration that will truly 'hack the planet'.<\/p>\n
I did not steal this list. I did not break into
\nany computers to get it. As a longstanding
\nmember of the mcluhan-list I had access to the
\nlist membership just like everyone else. All I
\nhad to do was send an email to
\nmajordomo@astral.magic.ca with the command 'who
\nmcluhan-list'. I then received an email with all
\nthe members of the list. I didn't even leave my
\nemail program.<\/p>\n
My new friend spencer had this to say:<\/p>\n
>Date: Sun, 05 Jan 1997 08:11:40 -0500
\n>From: spencer cosmos
\n>To: jesse@tao.ca
\n>Subject: re: \"theft\" of McLuhan\"
\n>
\n>Go, Jesse, Go! Someday, someone is going to
\nconvince somebody that
\n>thought is not property and needn't be
\n\"authorized.\"
\n>
\n>spencer Cosmos
\n>scosmos@usa.net
\nThe person who runs the mcluhan-list is named
\nRobert. Robert I believe you owe any woman (or
\nman) who has been raped an apology. Claiming
\nthat I raped the list is absurd, and detracts
\nfrom the seriousness and severity associated
\nwith the word. Only a man would use it in such a
\nway.<\/p>\nYour response was childish and reactionary. You
\ncannot own a list of subscribers, and you cannot
\ncontrol what is posted to it. When a group of
\npeople converge in a room you cannot control
\nwhat they talk about.<\/p>\n
When I logged into my server this morning (I own
\nand run tao.ca) I had a 250mb collection of mail
\nbombs. My server was effectively shut down, and
\nmy account sabotaged. This is contrary to the
\nfederal criminal code, section 462.2, computer
\nmischief, with a maximum penalty of 10 years and
\n$10,000. I am at this point debating whether I
\nshould call my friend, the computer crime
\nspeicalist at 52 Division here in Toronto, and
\nask him to press charges. My server logs have
\nfull records of all involved. I have broken no
\nlaws, but instead I have been subject to libel
\nand attack. I'd appreciate hearing what others
\nthink of this course of action.<\/p>\n
I had only intended to use this list once. I
\ngreatly enjoy the mcluhan-list and do not want
\nto hamper its continued operation. After this
\nmessage I will not use this list again. Although
\nall of you may be certain that you will hear from
\nme again, as I am very active, vocal, and
\ninvolved in the continued development of
\n'McLuhan Scholarship'. All requests to be
\nremoved have and will be ignored, as this list
\n'does not exist'.<\/p>\n
In the short while that this incident has been
\ngoing on I have been contacted by a number of
\nmedia outlets. Please consider this my formal
\nstatement, and I can be reached for further
\ncomment at either jesse@tao.ca or at the McLuhan
\nProgram at 416-978-7026<\/p>\n
As for those folk still interested in the
\nseminars, I have set up a new list called
\nseminars@tao.ca. To subscribe send an email to
\nmajordomo@tao.ca with the message subscribe
\nseminars in the body of the message.<\/p>\n
Folk interested in participating via
\nvideoconference are encouraged to resend their
\nrequest as many were lost during the attack.<\/p>\n
Anyone interested in obtaining a copy of the
\nmembers of the 'mcluhan-list' are invited to
\nsend email to majordomo@astral.magic.ca with the
\ncommand:'who mcluhan-list' in the body of the
\nmessage.<\/p>\n
I apologize for any inconveniences of any sort.
\nPeace and Happy New Year to All<\/p>\n
Jesse Hirsh<\/code><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The “information warfare” had escalated, and I waited with bated breath for the next installment. It was turning into what is known on the internet as a ‘flame war’. The ‘owners’ of the list replied again:<\/p>\n
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 15:59:16 -0500 (EST)
\nTo: McLuhan-List.Subscribers@astral.magic.ca
\nSubject: *McLuhan* -- Separating Hype From
\nTripe...
\nSender: owner-mcluhan-list@astral.magic.ca
\nReply-To: mclr@astral.magic.ca<\/p>\nThis is the (inevitable) FOLLOWUP to the note
\nall \"McLuhan-List\" subscribers have now received
\nfrom Mr. Jesse Hirsh on the topic of the \"stolen
\nlist.\"<\/p>\n
At the end of his missive, Mr. Hirsh notes:<\/p>\n
> \"I had only intended to use this list once. I
\n> greatly enjoy the Mcluhan-List and do not want
\nto
\n> hamper its continued operation. After this
\nmessage
\n> I will not use this list again.\"<\/p>\n
That's fine with us. This whole affair was
\nawkward for both ourselves and our readers. In
\nfact, one of the reasons this list posts only
\nonce a month (officially) is to minimize CLUTTER
\nfor our subscribers -- no doubt one of the
\nreasons for its strong popularity as an
\n\"eclectic list.\"<\/p>\n
There is a lot of other \"stuff\" in Mr. Hirsch's
\nmessage which, in the interest of avoiding a
\n\"war of words,\" we prefer not to delve into too
\ndeeply.<\/p>\n
HOWEVER, we must take exception to Mr. Hirsh's
\nimplication that fabricating a duplicate list --
\nwhich is what he clearly DID -- is as easy as
\nfalling off a log.<\/p>\n
Mr. Hirsh is a \"Net expert\" [we spoke with him
\nover the phone today] and is well aware that the
\n\"who\" command exists for the purpose of allowing
\nan existing member of a large list to verify
\nsuch individual membership. Converting that
\ncommand sequence into a \"duplicate list\" is not
\nonly a bit of a stretch, but is also considered
\na breach of \"Net-Etiquette\" of cosmic
\nproportions. In fact, unless we are
\nill-informed, that's precisely what SPAM is --
\ntaking names you have no connection with, and
\nsending them messages they weren't really
\nexpecting!<\/p>\n
Had Mr. Hirsh sent his message to us for
\nposting, we almost certainly would have passed
\nit along in the normal course. But he doesn't
\nseem to work that way...<\/p>\n
As we explained to Mr. Hirsh over the phone, we
\nwish him well with his seminars. That wasn't the
\npoint of our objection. And we take him AT HIS
\nWORD that he won't do this again.
\nSorry, folks, for all the fuss.<\/p>\n
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
\nCommunication and Editorial Offices
\nProject McLuhan On The 'Net (since 1994)
\nOur Web Site: http:\/\/www.magic.ca\/mcl-prj\/<\/p>\n
*****
\n\"Even mud gives the illusion of depth\" --
\nMarshall McLuhan<\/code><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Again the SHOUTING was in evidence, and again the message was unattributed to an individual. The list-owners were, thankfully, aware of the potential for this to become a fully-fledged flame war of the kind that Hirsch experienced when 250Mb of data arrived at his server. They explicitly state that they want to avoid this for the recipients of their list; “There is a lot of other “stuff” in Mr. Hirsch’s message which, in the interest of avoiding a “war of words,” we prefer not to delve into too deeply.” But before the war of words came to its unresolved ending, there was one more message that arrived in my mailbox:<\/p>\n
Return-Path:
\nDate: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 21:16:50 -0500 (EST)
\nTo: The Willi-List
\nCc: buschert@chass.utoronto.ca
\nSubject: Re: McLuhan-List \"Raped\" -- Your Name
\n\"Stolen\" <\/p>\nFor quite a while now it has struck me that the
\nlatest generation of McLuhan fans are mainly
\ninterested in spouting a puffy, cloying, jargon of
\ntechnology while, for the most part, remaining
\nblissfully ignorant of how the gadgetry they worship
\nactually works. (Compare the rhetoric of _Wired_
\nwith risks.digest, say.) This latest tempest would
\nseem to support my suspicion:<\/p>\n
On Sat, 4 Jan 1997 Project.McLuhan@astral.magic.ca
\nwrote:<\/p>\n
[SNIP]
\n> What's more, we think the electronic \"theft\" of
\n> our list -- a list we took three years to build
\n> -- is REPREHENSIBLE. If you agree, you can direct
\n> your comments directly to . If you
\n> receive any more communications from these
\n> people, consider that these also are
\n> \"unauthorized\". These are no better than junk
\n> mail or SPAM. Worse, they are designed to give
\n> the IMPRESSION they are part of a list you are
\n> already subscribed too. At present the ONLY way
\n> you can be sure you are receiving a VALID message
\n> from THIS list is :
\n>
\n> * return URL states \"mclr@astral.magic.ca\"; OR
\n> * \"astral.magic\" in the sending ID; OR
\n> * direct quotes from NELSON THALL in the body of
\n> the message
\n>
\n> We regret the inconvenience. We are as shocked
\n> and amazed by this as you are. Probably moreso.
\n>
\n[SNIP]<\/p>\nIf, as a listowner, you are truly concerned about
\nsuch REPREHENSIBLE tactics you can simply do what
\ncountless other lists have done: switch to Listserv
\nand disable the \"REView\" command. To describe a
\nsubscriber using a feature that you yourself have
\nmade available as THEFT is bascially incoherent, to
\ndescribe it as \"rape\" is hysterical and plain stupid
\n(and likely as not the reaction of someone who has no
\nexperience of the real sexual violence he invokes with
\nhis metaphor).<\/p>\n
-- Will <\/p>\n
NB: Since sending this out to the principals earlier
\ntoday, I note that the Majordomo \"who\" command is
\n*still* enabled for this list. Hence this message in
\nyour inbox. I rest my case.<\/p>\n
------------------------------------------
\nWilliam Buschert
\nDepartment of Philosophy
\nUniversity of Toronto
\n215 Huron Street
\nToronto, Ontario <\/p>\n
The poet and the dreamer are distinct,
\nDiverse, sheer opposite, antipodes.
\nThe one pours out a balm upon the world
\nThe other vexes it.
\n-- John Keats
\n------------------------------------------<\/code><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The quote from Keats in the author’s signature footer seems to sum up the divergence of opinion in this flame war; it was a battle between the poet and the dreamer, and the outcome had reflected the opposite attitudes to the same ‘territory.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Project McLuhan Dispute This group is one which I have been following closely for about two years. They run a website for those with WWW access, and a mailing list for those without. The mailing list is sent out to subscribers once a month – “we try not to bore” – and features debates of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":75,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[3],"class_list":["post-81","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/81\/revisions\/82"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpmu.haystack.co.uk\/newbie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}