Charles Curley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > On Sat, Aug 09, 2003 at 04:31:09AM +1000, Tim Lambert wrote: > > While I was over at the Chronicle I came across a March 21 letter from > > Lott responding to a February article in the Chronicle. Lott writes: > > > > Given the space that the article devoted to my use of a pseudonym > > in Internet chat rooms, I should note that I stopped using my own > > name because discussions often turned personal and resulted in > > people calling me at my office with threatening or obnoxious > > remarks. In retrospect, either I should not have participated in > > chat rooms or I should have continued to do so under my own name. > > > > Unfortunately for Lott's story, Google has archives of the discussions > > he was in and they never turned personal--everybody was polite to > > Lott. > > Googling will not turn up private, off-list emails or telephone > conversations. Also, does google.com have a facility for searching > chat room traffic?
By "chat room" Lott is referring to Usenet, and, yes, Google Groups lets you search Usenet. Even if Lott is counting emails as part of the discussion, it still is not credible. Almost all responses are posted, and emails tend to be more polite, since there is no point in grandstanding. > > Indeed, in one of his postings Lott even complains about getting > > threatening phone calls, but not about phone calls from other Internet > > posters: > > > > "You ought to see what happens to my telephone calls when someone > > like a Charles Schumer or Josh Sugarmann or Sara Brady makes this > > charge. I get lots of threatening telephone calls and > > letters. These calls don't bother me, though they do greatly upset > > my wife." > > This quote (absent any context) addresses only situations where 1) > some famous anti-gunner 2) makes a certain, unspecified charge. It > does not address chat traffic at all unless one of the specifc > accusers makes the charge on chat room. If he was also getting phone calls from Usenetters, then he would have complained about it then as well. -- Tim
