From: williams@nd.edu (PEGGY WILLIAMS)
Subject: Re: FAQ
Organization: University of Notre Dame
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 18:13:33 GMT

In article <BxrnDv.Gw3@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> jester@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Jester) writes:
>From: jester@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Jester)
>Subject: FAQ
>Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 16:34:42 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)

>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!!!!!
>-- 
>Join the Omnipotent Overlords of the Omniverse today. Add to intelligent    	
>political, environmental, and social discussions. Buck the growing trend of 
>apathy in the world today, and most importantly have some well earned fun.  
>Read all about us on alt.overlords or e-mail : jester@sage.cc.purdue.edu