Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia
Date:         Tue, 13 Oct 1992 20:36:43 MST
From:         Madge McBurney <ISPMOM@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Subject:      Members of Christia

Christia list members,

During the past few weeks, we (the listowners) have been under fire for
having "the most active Hate Group chartered under BITNIC." (BITNIC is
the Network Information Center operated by EDUCOM).  The accusations have
come from a person that is not a member of the Christia list nor a regular
reader of Christia via news.  This person feels the need to periodically
browse the log files of active BITNET lists, which includes Christia.  In
browsing a file this person ran onto posts that this person considers to
be shocking and constitute Hate E-Mail.  Consequently we (the listowners)
have been put on notice by this person that BITNIC should be made aware of
our list and the hate mail that is going out on it.

I have attempted to explain our list management philosophy of private posts
to "offenders", and how we try not to regulate subject matters discussed on
Christia (other than it pertaining to Practical Christian Life) to no avail.
Indeed, the base of criticism has broadened from homosexuality hate mail to
include quotes from Rush Limbaugh, liberal politics, bias in (secular) media,
and other subjects.  This person continues (we assume) to go through the log
files and extract whatever they consider to be hate mail.

So, where does that leave Christia?

First, let us say right out front that we reject the charge of running a Hate
E-mail list in the strongest possible terms.  We also deny any and all efforts
to conform to the so-called political correctness (non)movement sweeping the
country.  We do not attempt to regulate the topics of discussion on Christia,
other than to those subjects that pertain to Practical Christian Living, and
we have NO plans to form any kind of forbidden subjects list.  We do try to
maintain a certain civility in the tone of the discussions and from time to
time we ask that subjects be given a rest.  But we do not and will not forbid
discussions on any topic that pertains to Practical Christian Living.

Second, we feel that anyone that is considering posting to Christia should be
aware that there are people out there watching and passing judgement on them
and their posts.  We say this not to put a damper on anyone but to make sure
that everyone is aware that they are being watched from outside the Christia
list.  Here is a reminder from an article in the Spring 1990 CAUSE/EFFECT:

     "Don't send anything electronically that you wouldn't want to see on
     page one of The Chronicle of Higher Education.  There is no assurance
     that a message you intend to be confidential isn't being read routinely
     by a secretary or casually by a colleague or family member passing by a
     terminal, and lack of encryption in most systems means that someone
     unscrupulous could be monitoring network traffic somewhere along the
     line.  Moreover, as shown in the Iran-Contra affair, even 'deleted'
     messages might be saved on system backup tapes."

Third, we encourage any and all that are interested and willing to write
publicly to the list and express your feelings concerning this hate e-mail
subject.  Please be truthful and honest.  If you think Christia is a hate
e-mail group please say so, if not, please say that.  We readily acknowledge
that tempers tend to run high on Christia, however, we believe there is a
significant difference between hot tempers and hate e-mail.  If the above
mentioned person is still reading the logs, they will be able to read your
comments concerning this list, as well as this message.  Also, the comments
will be on record for anyone else to inspect, should the need arise.

Fourth, we (the listowners) offer our assistance to anyone that suffers
retribution for posts to Christia.  We will do what we can to assist, write
in response to questions, etc.

Thanks for your attention, please feel free to write to us if you have any
questions or concerns.

Christia list owners,
Madge McBurney    Bitnet:   ispmom@asuacad
                  Internet: ispmom@asuvm.inre.asu.edu
Steven Klepzig    Internet: sklepzi@ssb1.saff.utah.edu
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU