Who Knows What E-Mail Lurks In The Hearts Of Fen?
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| Title: | Who Knows What E-Mail Lurks In The Hearts Of Fen? |
| Creator: | Gordon Carleton and Lori Chapek-Carleton |
| Date(s): | August 1994, with continuations the following year |
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| Fandom: | |
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| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Who Knows What E-Mail Lurks In The Hearts Of Fen? is a 1994 essay by Gordon Carleton and Lori Chapek-Carleton.
It was printed in the 1994 MediaWest*Con post-con report.
The essay had two follow-up responses, both printed in separate 1995 progress reports for MediaWest*Con.
The essay/s were written in response to fan discussion regarding MediaWest*Con on GEnie, a then-new electronic forum. While fan discussion of the con, and many other topics, had previously been carried out one-to-one over the phone, in person, and in print letters, an electronic forum was bigger, faster, and visible to many fans.
Some Topics Discussed
- different platforms for discussion
- rumors, gossip, discussion
- access to information
The Essay
While we would prefer to concentrate on the positive aspects of fandom, we are sometimes forced to address the darker side, the petty jealousies, feuds, and personal vendettas that make fandom less enjoyable for everyone. Human nature being what it is, we have undoubtably offended some people (however unintentionally) over the years, and there are those who are envious of the success of T'Kuhtian Press and MediaWest*Con It should come as no surprise, then, that there are those who would spread malicious rumors and misinformation about MediaWest*Con and/or its staff. Naturally, these whisper campaigns are generally conducted in dark corners, behind our backs, where rules of evidence are not in effect, and there is little opportunity to expose the lies and dispel the misconceptions they generate. Strangely, they often assign motives that make no sense in context; we can only assume that they represent some sort of projection on the part of the rumor-monger (dishonest people lend to assume everyone is dishonest, etc).
By their very nature, rumors are hard to pin down; their origin is rarely attributed, and they often change in the telling. The most insidious are simply innuendos, which create an air of suspicion without saying anything that can be directly refuted. Despite these difficulties, we will expose some of the longer-running fabrications to the harsh light of reality. One such rumor involves supposed "enemies" lists of people we have some sort of undeclared war against. The closest approximation we can think of is the handful of people who, by their own actions (ranging from gatecrashing to a few we've had to take legal action against), have earned the dubious distinction that we won't sell them MediaWest*Con memberships (we do not keep a written list). While it takes a fair amount of effort to earn such a negative status, we suspect this rumor was started by someone who'd rather shift the blame than accept responsibility for such misbehavior. Besides, if we were as vindictive as these rumors suggest, wouldn't we print the names of these people so that they'd be publicly humiliated?
The flip side of that rumor is the one claiming we give some kind of preferential treatment to our "friends," which apparently applies to anyone who benefits in any way that the rumor-monger doesn't. This also seems to be based on the premise that we have more direct control of all things than we really do; such charges have been made concerning decisions made by subordinates that we weren't even aware of at the time (as is their job), and the unfortunate actions of GoFers who did the opposite of what they were instructed to do. If we are so all-powerful, why was the only piece Gordon got in the Art Auction in lot S? His name was also spelled wrong in the auction list!
We do know of one source of rumor propagation, if not origination. We have known for some time that a number of people have been using GEnie (an on-line computer service) as a forum to misrepresent and denigrate MediaWest*Con and its staff. While we are not GEnie subscribers, we have documented this by accumulating an extensive listing of postings covering a broad period of time,from a variety of sources. In recent months, a handful of people have tried to generate controversy by misrepresenting the MW*C 15 hotel room reservation request system as a lottery, bouncing numerous misconceptions, distortions, and outright lies off each other, thereby whipping themselves into a frenzy. Answers to many of the supposedly unanswered questions posted were, in fact, published in Progress Reports and the Program Book, and personally addressed by us during the RTC (Real Time Chat) on GEnie and by e-mail,as well as at the "Dead Dog" panel and elsewhere during MW*C 14. However, the content of many of these postings are so unbounded by reality that we cannot leave them unchallenged. Unfortunately, we cannot quote directly from most on-line postings due to copyright restrictions.
Randy Landers (who, as far as we can determine, has never attended MediaWest*Con) has for some time disseminated such misinformation on GEnie (and elsewhere), despite the fact that his factual inaccuracies have been repeatedly pointed out to him. Among other things, he has misrepresented both the intent and content of the MW*C 15 hotel reservation policy, the manner in which it was devised, the manner in which it was implemented, the size of the Holiday Inn South relative to other hotels in Lansing, and supposed conversations with Holiday Inn representatives. He has defamed Bill Hupe numerous times, making specious claims and blaming him for imagined offenses in areas Bill has little or nothing to do with. While we can only guess at his motives, it appears to be connected to his apparent obsession with the failure of Orion Press to achieve recognition via the Fan Q awards. He has previously indicated his intention to damage the reputation of MediaWest*Con; he has since issued a statement trying to turn his readership (few of whom are, by his own admission, MW*C members) against MediaWest*Con because "a number of our readers, contributors and editors" didn't immediately get rooms in the host hotel (that the hotel has 300 sleeping rooms and MW*C has 900 Attending members wasn't mentioned), somehow "adding undue expense to our convention budget" (he didn't explain how staying in a cheaper overflow hotel would have this effect). He further misrepresents our actions as a "lack of concern of the convention committee toward the views of their attendees" (ignoring that making changes in the hotel room reservation system was a direct response to MW*C 13 member input), as well as "a complete disregard of fair business practices" (also not explained, but certainly untrue), which paradoxically results in "one of fandom's better conventions." Apparently, the idea of "fairness"which he wishes to impose on MW*C members is to return to a system which denies Attending, non-attending, Supporting, and new members an equal chance at getting a room in the host hotel. All of this would be merely pathetic, were it not for the fact that his diatribes are largely channeled to people who have no direct source of accurate MW*C information.
The personal attacks and misinformation continued to flow on GEnie despite several warnings. We were especially shocked to see that a GEnie sysop (system operator) not only did little to moderate, but took an active part in these defamations. The creation of a second topic devoted solely to the MW*C 15 hotel policy had little effect, and shortly thereafter both topics were shut down completely, pending review. Hopefully, the MW*C topic will return, GEnie's rules will finally be enforced and the offending parties will be blocked from posting or denied access entirely, so that those who wish to discuss MW*C matters in a civilized manner (whether they agree with us or not) may do so. Our advice: when you encounter negative rumors, consider the source (demand attribution!) and who benefits from the telling.
The Two Follow-Up Essays
Gordon Carleton and Lori Chapek-Carleton wrote two follow-up essays in the spring of 1995.
From the 1995 MediaWest*Con second progress report:
"Knows What E-Mail Lurks In The Hearts Of Fen? In PR 3/1 we noted that some individuals were using GEnie, a commercial on-line computer service, to disseminate misinformation concerning MediaWest*Con policies and to make personal attacks against MediaWest*Con staff. At that time, GEnie had shut down its two MediaWest*Con topics within its Science Fiction Round Table 3 (SFRT3).
Most of the response we received was supportive (thank you!). However, we also heard from a few people who apparently think "freedom of speech" should only apply to them (or, at least, not to us). However, facts (such as the content of specific policies or the relative size of hotels) are not matters of "opinion." We still reserve the right to defend MediaWest*Con and its staff from personal attacks, to correct misinformation and debunk false rumors, and to publish whatever information we judge to be relevant to MediaWest*Con and its membership.
Not surprisingly, we heard from Randy Landers and Orion Press; in four separate letters demanding a retraction, they failed to provide any foundation for making such a demand. We also gave Randy the opportunity to provide documentation supporting a number of his specific statements posted on GEnie and elsewhere; he failed to provide any such evidence.
Randy has apparently now fled from GEnie,but has continued to disseminate misinformation concerning MediaWest*Con, including misrepresenting the contents of PR3/1. However, MediaWest*Con is not the only target of Randy's rantings; he has also assailed the venerable Star Trek Welcommittee.
We were also flamed via e-mail by Mary Bloemker (also a GEnie subscriber), with a bizarre series of unsupported and self-contradictory claims and allegations. She did, however, reveal that the false statement she'd posted in the GEnie MediaWest*Con topic claiming that someone with no con function (staff, etc) was "promised" a room reservation for MW*C 15 during MW*C 14 referred to Shirley Maiewski (of [[Star Trek Welcommittee]]). In reality, Shirley Maiewski did not ask us to bypass the MW*C 15 hotel reservation request process on her behalf, nor did we bypass it for her.
Since PR 3/1, GEnie has reopened a single MediaWest*Con topic, after arbitrarily deleting a block of earlier postings, apparently without regard to the specific content of each of those individual messages. Those messages which were deleted include incriminating statements made by the SFRT3 chief sysop (system operator). Mary Bloemker has continued to knowingly post misinformation concerning MediaWest*Con, and she and others have continued to violate various GEnie rules and guidelines with apparent impunity. The chief sysop, who herself had previously violated the rules she was supposed to be enforcing, has made private statements which conflict with her public pronouncements regarding the enforcement of GEnie rules in relation to MediaWest*Con.
Our research has found that GEnie has allowed personal attacks against MediaWest*Con to stand from as far back as 1992, and they have not been limited to the MediaWest*Con topic; subjects supposedly forbidden in the MediaWest*Con topic have been allowed, if not encouraged, under other topic headings.
In short, we have seen little to indicate that GEnie pays more than lip service to its own rules of conduct, or is likely to in the immediate future.
From the 1995 MediaWest*Con third progress report:
In Progress Reports 1 and 2 we reported on the actions of a few individuals, who have for some time been using GEnie, a commercial on line computer service, to disseminate misinformation concerning MediaWest*Con policies and to make personal attacks against' MediaWest*Con staff. Unfortunately, once again, little has changed.
As we previously noted, we have seen little to indicate that GEnie pays more than lip service to its own rules of conduct, or is likely to in the immediate future. Since our original complaint eight months ago, GEnie's response has been, at best, inadequate; we did not even receive a written response from GEnie management until we involved legal counsel On the rare occasions that it seemed that some small progress was made, GEnie would then reverse themselves. GEnie representatives at various levels have misrepresented their rules, the enforcement of those rules, and the accessibility and content of postings; they have disclaimed responsibility for the actions of those in their employ in whom they invest the authority to enforce their rules; GEnie management even claimed that Mary Bloemker was no longer a subscriber while she was actively harassing us via her GEnie account! In short, they have acted in bad faith, despite our best efforts toward a simple resolution. We are now considering our other options, such as filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. As such,we see no reason that GEnie should be in any way promoted or included in MediaWest*Con programming.
Despite having received a full refund of her MW*C 15 membership, Mary Bloemker has continued to harass us by e-mail sent to our America Online address. Following AOL protocol, we notified her (and AOL and GEnie) that we would not be accepting any further communications from her; she has sent us over 40 pages of e-mail since that notification.
Mary has also posted notices on GEnie, in several SF/Convention folders on AOL, and in several InterNet newsgroups (a practice known as "spamming"), ostensibly seeking opinions regarding MediaWest*Con hotel policies (the practice of trying to stir up trouble by posting a seemingly innocuous message is known as "trolling"). Not surprisingly, e-mail exchanges which were forwarded to us indicate that anyone who responds with an opinion that doesn't suit her risks being flamed.
Mary is also circulating an "updated" e-mail address list; MediaWest*Con has not authorized the compilation of any such e-mail address list for distribution at MW*C 15 (or by any other means); no endorsement should be inferred by her failure to remove the names of any MW*C staff from any past lists.
Despite Randy Lander's public statements that Orion Press doesn't "need" MediaWest*Con, and their petulant promise that Orion Press wouldn't be represented at MediaWest*Con until we changed our policies to suit them, Randy has been advertising that someone "probably" will be authorized to represent Orion Press at MW*C 15; meanwhile, he has also continued to circulate misrepresentations regarding MediaWest*Con
Obviously, we could waste more time and ink refuting those who put the BS in BBS; however, we feel our time would be better spent making MediaWest*Con 15 what you have come to expect as the definitive gathering of SF/Media fandom. As Forrest Gump author Winston Groom wrote in USA Weekend: "My mamma Gump used to say that there is always a sourpuss in every crowd and, usually, it is just best to ignore them...you don't have to be rich or famous or even smart to be dignified and honest -- even in the face of a lot of indignities and dishonor."