The

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...

newsgroup

alt Alt or ALT may refer to: Abbreviations for words * Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account * Alternate character, in online gaming * Alternate route, type of highway designation * Alternating group, mathema ...

.religion.scientology (often abbreviated a.r.s or ARS) started in 1991 to discuss the controversial beliefs of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...

, as well as the activities of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

, which claims exclusive

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

rights thereto and is viewed by many as a dangerous

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

. The newsgroup has become the focal point of an aggressive battle known as

Scientology versus the Internet There are a number of disputes concerning the Church of Scientology's attempts to suppress material critical of Scientology on the Internet, utilizing various methods primarily lawsuits and legal threats, as well as front organizations. In la ...

, which has taken place both online and in the courts.

Creation of the newsgroup

On July 17, 1991, the alt.religion.scientology newsgroup was created by Scientology critic Scott Charles Goehring after a discussion with his then girlfriend and a third party. Goehring describes starting the newsgroup "because I felt Usenet needed a place to disseminate the truth about this half-assed religion" and in part as a joke. ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'' inaccurately reported that Goehring started the newsgroup to demonstrate the behaviour of Scientologists to his girlfriend. The original Usenet '' newgroup message'' used to create the newsgroup was formatted in a manner to disguise the actual identity of the poster. A bogus email address, "miscaviage@flag.sea.org" (a misspelling of "

David Miscavige David Miscavige (; born April 30, 1960) is the leader of the Church of Scientology and, according to the organization, "Captain of the Sea Org". His official title within the organization is Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Cent ...

", the current head of Scientology's Religious Technology Center), was inserted into the newsgroup creation message. Because of this, persons speaking in favor of Scientology frequently claim that "a forgery" was used to create the newsgroup. Scientology has used this argument in its requests to have the entire newsgroup removed from Usenet, but this argument has been nearly unanimously rejected by system administrators and ISPs alike.

Rmgroup controversy

The online "war" first came to the attention of Internet users in general when Scientology lawyer Helena Kobrin attempted to remove the entire newsgroup from Usenet. On January 11, 1995, an ''

rmgroup message Control messages are a special kind of Usenet post that are used to control news servers. They differ from ordinary posts by a Header_(computing), header field named Control. The body of the field contains control name and arguments. There are two ...

'' (a command designed to remove a newsgroup) was posted to Usenet containing the following statement: This message was largely ignored (and openly protested) by system administrators who carried the newsgroup. It also led to a declaration of war by

hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

group

Cult of the Dead Cow Cult of the Dead Cow, also known as cDc or cDc Communications, is a computer Hacker (term), hacker and Do it yourself, DIY mass media, media organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The group maintains a blog, weblog on its site, also ti ...

. Rather than being removed from Usenet, the newsgroup exploded in popularity. For a period during the first half of 1995, the newsgroup was one of the most popular and active on the entire Internet, with message traffic greater than the vast majority of newsgroups.

Rogue cancels and flooding

Articles posted to Usenet can be canceled by a

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

control message Control messages are a special kind of Usenet post that are used to control news servers. They differ from ordinary posts by a header field named Control. The body of the field contains control name and arguments. There are two historical alterna ...

(normally from the original sender). Starting in 1995, large numbers of rogue cancels were posted to the newsgroup by a

cancelbot A cancelbot is an automated or semi-automated process for sending out third-party cancel messages over Usenet, commonly as a stopgap measure to combat spam. History One of the earliest uses of a cancelbot was by microbiology professor Richard ...

dubbed "Cancelbunny", mainly against critical articles containing portions of the "Advanced Technology" documents. To counteract this, other programs were used to repost the canceled articles. In parallel with this, floods of articles containing excerpts of publicly available Church of Scientology material were spammed to the newsgroup. (In a nine-day period in May 1996, an estimated 20,000 messages were sent.)

Activity

In 2006 Alt.religion.scientology was one of the more popular newsgroups on Usenet, averaging three to four hundred messages per day. The total number of readers is unknown, but Google reports over 8,800 subscribers to the newsgroup through

Google Groups Google Groups is a service from Google that provides discussion groups for people sharing common interests. The Groups service also provides a gateway to Usenet newsgroups via a shared user interface. Google Groups became operational in February ...

. Critics of Scientology claim that Scientologists are forbidden from reading or accessing the newsgroup. As evidence, they point to the software package sometimes dubbed "

Scieno Sitter Scieno Sitter is content-control software that, when installed on a computer, blocks certain websites critical of Scientology from being viewed. The software was released by the Church of Scientology in 1998 for Church members using Windows 95. The ...

" by critics. This software package, described as an "

Internet filter An Internet filter is software that restricts or controls the content an Internet user is capable to access, especially when utilized to restrict material delivered over the Internet via the Web, Email, or other means. Content-control software det ...

", was part of a "Web starter kit" distributed by the Church. The stated purpose of the starter kit was to make it as easy as possible for Scientologists to create personal websites (hosted by the Church) promoting Scientology. The Church did not disclose the other purpose of the starter kit: the "Scieno Sitter" program blocks users from accessing the newsgroup ''alt.religion.scientology,'' as well as many Web sites containing information critical of Scientology, and references to the names of many vocal critics of the organization. If terms matching the software's list of forbidden words appear, the software may blank them from a web page, kick the user from the chatroom where the words appeared, or even shut down their browser altogether.Ortega, Tony (Sept. 9, 2001). "Sympathy for the Devil". ''New Times Los Angeles''.

Notes

References

* Article, ''The Net: Copyright Or 'Free Press by

Thomas Maier Thomas Maier is an author, journalist, and television producer. His book '' Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love'' is the basis for the drama ''Masters of Sex'' wh ...

, October 10, 1995. * Article,

External links

Church of Scientology Censors Net Access for Members alt.religion.scientology through groups.google.comARS FAQ

Scientology fought the Internet—and why it lost (Daily Dot)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alt.Religion.Scientology Usenet alt.* hierarchy Scientology and the Internet