I did this for a few reasons. One is that ever since the Tempest incident, which divided the regulars on alt.religion.wicca into two camps, someone named Shez has been spreading outrageously libelous rumors at the expense of those who opposed her camp's questionable actions at the time. For example, I've been accused of stalking a girl, who I never even asked for a date, even when she gave me her number. Now, if one wishes to effectively defend oneself against a campaign of defamation, two very good things to have are

1. evidence of a motive for the offending party to lie, ... and



2. evidence that the other party is not a credible witness.

So, first I produced copies of posts, with Deja.com urls in which Shez vouches for Loki's campaign, in a hostile tone, along with links to documents showing that Loki couldn't possibly be telling the truth, and neither could Shez, who claimed to be able to trace phone calls to anywhere on the planet. This speaks to credibility. Then, in "Loki tells us she'll trump up a charge", in the same manner, I show Loki (Shez' friend at the time) telling Raven that she's going to try to have her put in prison, as an act of revenge for making a post that angered Loki. As Shez was a party to this, and the victims of her later defamation campaigns opposed this, this gives us her motive to lie.

There were two other reasons to post, now.

1. As Ms. Blackbane so rightly notes, technology is constantly advancing. Further, while it took time, the various local phone companies that resulted from the AT & T breakup have been cooperating in an effort to make their systems work together, better.
   
   Today, I can point people to a page over at Bell Atlantic, and go "see, people, two years after Loki claimed to be tracing calls cross country, even the local provider for New York city reports that they have no such technology. Wouldn't you think they'd have it, by now?". I doubt that I'll be able to do this in 2000, leaving me with the far more difficult task, of being able to find a web link to document an old technical limitation. Where would I link to for that.
   
   So, I want as many people to witness this evidence as possible, while it's still available, so the truth will be known afterwards.
   
   

   (Note: A pleasant and helpful development which I did not forsee was the creation of the Internet Archive, which now makes it possible to document what was posted on some sites, on a given date, with some measure of reliability)

   
   
   click here for that documentation



2. It was history, and one can't understand the present, without understanding the past that lead up to it. Two factions were seeking the support of those present, and this was the event that triggered the split between the two. This was the first of a series of events the two sides were attacking each other over. So, if one was to decide which side to support, what could be more relevant than the history of what split them apart, and the sense of honor each side displayed?

Did I mention that Shez had been keeping hostilities alive, for almost two years, even when ignored? For example, the so-called "attack" on her by me, this spring that some will tell you about, consisted of nothing more than a challenge by me to Shez to offer some evidence in support of the stories that she had been telling at my expense, and a denial that I had done any of the things alleged. In other words, defense of my own reputation, as opposed to open and blatant libel.

What does common sense tell you about this situation? Surely, it is better to tell the truth, than to lie? Surely, it is a good thing to set the record straight, when it has been buried under a blanket of demonstrably malicious lies? Does integrity come with an expiration date?

Apparently, common sense wasn't speaking too loudly that afternoon. Many of the same people who saw nothing wrong with Shez spreading rumors for years afterwards, in response to a conflict in which there is no reasonable alternative to concluding that she was in the wrong, exploded en masse. Those who told the victims of libel to quit whining, often took the position that Shez was somehow victimized by the documentation - of the truth !

But these things, as obnoxious as they are, are specific complaints against specific groups, and our issue today is lunacy, not hypocrisy. So, let's return to our previous discussion.