Articles

Censorship in European FidoNet
by Wulf Krueger, 2:2437/209

These are the facts: Ludwig Catta (from now on referred to as LC), an online user of several mailboxes in region 2:30 (Switzerland) participated in a number of echomail areas. Due to several violations of the echo rules LC was disconnected from many of these echos. LC did not respect this but looked for and found new links and since he is an online user it was almost impossible to stop him - once disconnected he would simply log into another mailbox to continue.

Therefor the coordinators of R2:30 decided that *all* echomail written *by* LC and *all* echomail addressed *to* him was to be deleted without any notice. Only *after* this was discovered RC2:30 and REC2:30 decided to make this publicly known - two weeks after the deletion had begun.

Here is their "official" statement in full length (but slightly reformatted to be FidoNews-compliant):

==== CUT ====
CC: Ward Dossche, Christian Koelliker, Klaus Schaefer, Andreas Berge
CC: David Hauser, Michel Roch, Michael Huwiler, Ruedi Kneubuehler
CC: Christian Ruf, Pit Biernath
* Crossposted in ECHO.CH
* Crossposted in REGION30
* Crossposted in MODERATOR.GER

> English translation below the german text...

Betrifft: Ausschluss des Online-Users Ludwig Catta aus dem Fidonet Schweiz (nachfolgend als LC bezeichnet)

Liebe Region 30 Nodes,

Nachdem LC hier in der Schweiz mehrmals unangenehm aufgefallen ist, indem er in mehreren Echos die Schreibverbote der Moderatoren nicht beachtet hat und diese boeswillig durch Boxen-Wechsel umgangen hat, haben wir beschlossen, LC im Fidonet Schweiz als "unerwuenschte Person" zu bezeichnen.

Die Gruende fuer diesen Entschluss:

• Die gesamte Schweiz wurde wegen LC beinahe von der PHOTO.GER abgehangt
• LC ist aus Deutschland und schreibt in Schweizer-Boxen - warum???
• LC hat immer mehrere Boxen wo der seine Mails absetzt um etwelchen Sanktionen der Moderatoren zu entkommen
• LC hat die gleichen Probleme in vielen deutschen Mailboxen
• LC ist und bleibt ein Unruhestifter wie wir ihn hier in der Schweiz seit 10 Jahren nicht hatten, und auch nicht wollen

Die Konsequenz:

• Echomails von und an LC werden hier in der Schweiz nicht mehr transportiert
• Netmails bleiben selbstverstaendlich unangetastet

mit freundlichen Gruessen

RC30 Christian Koelliker
REC30 Peter Witschi

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

English translation:

Concerning: Exclusion of the online-user Ludwig Catta from Fidonet Switzerland (in the following abbreviated as LC)

Dear Region30 Nodes

After LC hs been disagreeable conspicuous cause he did not pay attention to the disallowance to write form the moderators of multiple echos and he malevolently went round all disconnections by changing the node, we decided to designate LC as "persona non grata" in Fidonet Switzerland (also known as region30).

The reasons for this resolution:

• Whole Switzerland has been nearly disconnected from PHOTO.GER because of LC
• LC lives in Germany and he writes in Swiss BBS-systems, why?
• LC is always present in multiple BBS-systems from where he writes to escape any sanctions from the moderators.
• LC has the same problems in a lot of German BBS-systems as well.
• LC is and stays a troublemaker like we did not have one since ten years in Switzerland, and we also not want to have.

The consequence:

• Echomail from an to LC will no longer transported here in Switzerland.
• Netmail keeps, of coarse, untouched.

With compliments

RC30 Christian Koelliker
REC30 Peter Witschi
==== CUT ====

These are the facts - but why exactly do I feel the urge to publish that? Simply because I am shocked at my *own* reaction.

I always believed that censorship is one the worst threats to our community and tried to fight against it. And now when a person is concerned that I don't like and that I consider to be no major loss I gave up my principles and I supported this "automated censorship". Knowing what the consequences might be I agreed with censorship as a possibility to stop LC. This was only my first and very emotional reaction without really thinking about it but I am ashamed of myself to see how easily I accepted censorship.

FidoNet has always been a melting pot of different believes, opinions and philosophies. Till now it has always been possible for everyone to speak out aloud what he or she thinks without having to fear personal consequences (provided that he or she did so with reasonable objectivity). If anyone violates our rules we have our policies which enable us to react to such misbehaviour. Censorship is definitely *not* the right way to deal with such problems if we want to remain a network of free speech, of personal freedom and rightfulness.

If we accept censorship as a legal means to exclude someone from FidoNet this will be only the first step towards an authoritarian FidoNet with misuse of power and arbitraryness as the new rules.

I was relieved to see that many my fellow sysops whole-heartedly *disagreed* with me when I was supporting automated censorship and I do strongly believe that most of us don't want such acts of arbitraryness in FidoNet.

Don't make the mistake I made when I accepted censorship because the effect seemed to be satisfying - next time it might be you or me whose mail will be deleted. I ask you all to speak out against censorship in FidoNet, against arbitraryness and against that nightmare of a "Brave New" FidoNet.