From: jester@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Jester)
Subject: Introduction to alt.overlords
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 14:44:31 GMT

What is the OOO, you might ask?

Basically, we are a group of people (many are college students)
who have formed this really twisted organization.

The reason for the name is that we humorously ask our members
to "self-deify" and choose a title for themselves when they
join.  For instance, I am the Director of Physical and Non-physical
Phenomena.  Another member is Arch-chancellor of the Unseen
University.  It is all quite harmless, really.  We do have some
members who also belong to organized religions such as Christianity,
so we are not "ungodly" or blasphemous.

Since December, our focus has been to stir up debate on the
issues of the environment, politics, and the military.  The
first issue we discussed was a nuclear test-ban.  Near Jan 1,
the charter members put out a set of "platforms" for people
to debate. For further information on the debates, see the
post "Debate Guidelines."

Thank you very much, and we hope you enjoy and continue
to subscribe to this newsgroup.  We can promise you hours
of laughs and intelligent discussion!
Please suscribe to alt.overlords to receive 
information on our discussions and actions!!!!!


The Charter Members,

Ben McCall (Director of Physical and Non-Physical Phenomena)
Chris Christian (Secretary of Global Domination/Confusion)
Matthew Dyer (Commander of Military and Chaos)

Note: to reach ALL three of the charter members, simply
mail to bjmccall@ugcs.caltech.edu, and your mail will be
forwarded automatically.


Your first task as a new member is to pick a title
for yourself.  This title should be as creative as
possible, and should not be in conflict with another
member's title, and also should not be too power-hungry.
All titles must be approved by the charter members.

See posts entitled "Memberlist" for an up-to-date
membership list.  Read through and try to get a feel
for the title concept.

What must you do to become a member?  Well, just pick
a title for yourself, and send mail to
jester@sage.cc.purdue.edu telling him your title, real name,
and shoe size.

The OOO attempts to be somewhat politically active,
so please try to get involved in the debates (see
the post entitled "Debate Guidlines" for more info).
Also, try to read the YAQOTD posts (Yet Another
Quote Of The Day) - not only are they funny, but
they may contain other important information from
jester.

About E-mail: members don't mind getting E-mail from
you if it's directed to them, but don't send mail to
everyone - that's what this newsgroup is for!

In the past, long .sigs have been shunned, but with
a newsgroup (rather than a mailing list) they are
probably more apt to be tolerated!

Now, a little bit of OOO trivia (which is far from trivial,
and you ought to know these things!):

The Line of Succession: In the new world order which the
OOO has created, power is on a first-come, first-served
basis.  You will be assigned a number which represents
your "height" on the pyramid.  Those above you are more
powerful than yourself, those below you less so (in some
abstract sense).  HOWEVER, the final authority IN ALL
MATTERS lies with the three charter members.

Recruitment: Please recruit as many people as possible!
In order to sign someone up, have them read alt.overlords
for a while, and get a sense of the organization.  If they
want to join, have them follow the same process you are!

NOTE: We are no longer keeping track of who recruits who -
it is just too tedious for the accountants!

THE RULES:

#1 No pooftahs! (Note: we are not anti-homosexual, it's just a Monty-
Python quote, so if you're offended, get a life!!!!!)
#2 You must always remember these rules.
#3 No pooftahs!
#4 You must always remember the O.O.O. symbol.
#5 No pooftahs!
#6 There is no rule six!!
#7 You must always yield to your superiors.
(Note: Rule seven is only symbolic, of course.)

Any and all similarities to Monty Python is mere coincidence.
Or maybe they aren't?

THE OOO SYMBOL (lousy ASCII version, but you get the idea!):

        /\               /\
       /  \             /  \
      /    \           /    \
     /      \         /      \
    /       /\       /\       \
	   /  \     /  \
	  /    \   /    \
	 /      \_/      \
		/ \
	       /   \
	      / OOO \
	     /       \
	    / _______ \
	   / / /   \ \ \
	  / ( (  @  ) ) \
	 /   \_\___/_/   \
	/                 \
       /___________________\

For those of you who are FTP buffs, there is an anonymous
FTP directory set up on cco.caltech.edu called pub/bjmccall/
which has some interesting stuff, including a spiffy Mac-ized
version of the OOO symbol with a decent-looking eye.

For more info on this FTP site, including an updated directory,
see the post entitled "FTP site available."

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, and SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!!!

To carry on the debates that will hopefully take place on
the newsgroup we ask that the following guidelines be followed.

  1.  That you read the articles pertaining to a specific debate
before jumping in to give your opinion.  What you have to say
may have already been said, and repetition is not appreciated.

  2.  That if you want to attack specific points in another
article, that you print who has said them.  It will allow
the debates to proceed more smoothly.

  3.  If you present ideas which are not your own, such as
from alternate newsgroups, reference sources, etc. that you
make all possible effort to give credit to the source.
This is mostly to allow the rest of the organization to do
their own research on the subject.

  4.  Though this will probably not happen, do not let personal 
bias against another member influence your reaction or opinion.  We
want to follow the correct path, regardless of who proposed it.

It is the goal of the charter members to provide an opportunity
for all of us to express our ideas in a censorship free environment,
and by following these guidelines, I hope that it will be possible
to do so.

Here are the OOO's tentative "platforms":


Environmental Platform:

The OOO believes that awareness of environmental problems and active
involvement in developing and inplementing the solutions 
to those problems are the responsibilities of all people.

Furthermore, the OOO seeks to become a clearinghouse for information
about our environment, and seeks to organize participation in events
to develop this awareness and implement changes.  The OOO is seeking
to refine its stance on the environment - please post suggestions.


Political Platform:

The OOO believes that political awareness and involvement are the 
responsibilities of all free-thinking people, and that among the 
OOO's roles in society is to foster said awareness and involvement.

To this effect, we are looking for ways to combat the ignorance of
the general populus of the world.  Sugestions for this endeavour 
should be posted.


Anti-War Platform:

The OOO believes that demilitarization and world peace should be
striven for by all persons.  Military power should be stricly
controlled by a world organization and be used only to tacitly deter
those actions which would lead to international or intranational
military conflicts. All opinions concerning this subject should be posted.


YOU ARE ALL ENCOURAGED to post your stance on these issues, so
we can have lively discussions.  LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!
-- 
manifestations of a sort so insidious off the point
simple solution never confusion sport a gun kill a cop
crazy world of weary thought so receive me had enough
lock me up lock me up --- aSSiMilAte  SkiNNy puPpY