From: pauls@css.itd.umich.edu (Paul Southworth)
Subject: Shutting Down Discussion
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: University of Michigan ITD Consulting and Support Services
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1993 00:37:40 GMT
Apparently-To: pach

I just wanted to add my two cents to what's been going on between harelb
and company and the evil Maooids.  It never particularly seemed to me that
the MIMers were particularly disruptive to the process of MAP/ACTIV-L
***************************************
carrying out its daily business, nor is a little disruption
necessarily a bad thing.  For my part, I see this ban as claiming a
victory you haven't earned, and qualifying your move in a pretty
backhanded manner when it appears to be nothing more than a simple
power exercise to make a "closed game".
**************

But I don't want to get into a tirading battle with harelb & co, since
I don't see it as productive.  Those screaming loudest about dogmatism
appear to be dogmatically arguing that MIM will never come up with
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something they agree with ever again, and since they support
"terrorists" (a contention that I think deserves more discussion, not
less) they should be nuked out of the net-sandbox.  Well have it your
****
way, kids.  If you took politics a little more seriously you wouldn't
stifle this kind of debate.  I think it shows a pretty obvious lack of
principle in the matter.

Anyway, as my contribution, I just wanted to note that leftists here on
MAP/ACTIV-L and alt.activism, as well as alt.society.revolution and 
alt.society.anarchy, appear to be quite interested in reading up on the
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Maoists. (Those groups, along with alt.zines, are the only ones I advertise
the ftp site "red.css.itd.umich.edu" on.) 

They appear, in fact, to be interested in reading up on whatever
controversial material they can get their hands on.  Maybe that's because
the usual reformist drivel is starting to taste like a political diet
more akin to Ultra-SlimFast.  There are other explanations as well, but
that's what I've caught from the comments that I've received about these
materials.

Anyway, here are the top archive access areas for the last eleven days
or so for the anonymous ftp site, red.css.itd.umich.edu (141.211.182.91).
The Maoist stuff is certainly no more heavily advertised than anything
else, and they rank somewhere around half-way in terms of how much 
quantity of material of theirs I have available for downloading.

TOTALS FOR SUMMARY PERIOD Thu Jan  7 1993 TO Mon Jan 18 1993

Files Transmitted During Summary Period          2485
Bytes Transmitted During Summary Period     164723697
Systems Using Archives                            191

Average Files Transmitted Daily                   207
Average Bytes Transmitted Daily              13726975

Top 15 Most Popular Archive Sections By Bytes Transferred

                                                 ---- Percent  of ---- Interest
     Archive Section      Files Sent Bytes  Sent Files Sent Bytes Sent  Factor
------------------------- ---------- ----------- ---------- ---------- --------
poli                             102    72589695     4.10      44.07        n/a
poli/History                     276    20556875    11.11      12.48        n/a
cud/phrack                        93    15732057     3.74       9.55        n/a
poli/LaRouche                    234     7816796     9.42       4.75        n/a
poli/Essays                      537     5715499    21.61       3.47        n/a
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
poli/MIM                         219     4129253     8.81       2.51        n/a
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Egad! 219 files!  Hmm, that figures to about twenty files a day, out of a
total of around sixty files they have on the site.  You didn't happen to
download any of those, did you Harel?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cud/cud                          112     4002937     4.51       2.43        n/a
incoming                          18     2778179     0.72       1.69        n/a
cud/inform                        15     2434164     0.60       1.48        n/a
cud/lod                           13     1828858     0.52       1.11        n/a
EFF.journals                       4     1734656     0.16       1.05        n/a
poli/Somalia.News.Update         141     1539991     5.67       0.93        n/a
386bsd                            14     1534263     0.56       0.93        n/a
poli/Amateur.Computerist          12     1324575     0.48       0.80        n/a
pub                               11     1284704     0.44       0.78        n/a 


The top one is the main political directory that contains several of the
subdirectories on this list.

poli/History features the big JFK archive.

cud/phrack is a big p/h newsletter (and needs no introduction).
b
poli/LaRouche has Lyndon LaRouche materials (read at own risk).

poli/MIM is Harel's whipping boy (whipping person?!) also read at own risk.

cud/cud is Computer Underground Digest

etc etc.


Go turn off your computers and THINK for a while, people.  Whatsa matter?
Keyboard got your tongue?