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Path: visi.com!winternet.com!news
From: Steve Devore 
Newsgroups: winternet.general,mn.general
Subject: The new Big Brother policy of Winternet
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 21:27:26 +0000
Organization: Vector Internet Services
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I thought you would like to know what happened to me at Winternet.  On
Friday, July 19th, I sent out an email detailing some of the changes
that have happened at Winternet to all Winternet customers.  (If you are
interested in seeing the email, it is up at
http://www.visi.com/~steved/wnet.html ).  There is some disagreement on
whether this was against the AUP or not.  But that is irrelevant to what
happened.

The vast majority of people were glad I sent the email out, however one
person in particular was not, namely Carl Mathison, the business manager
of Winternet.  Even though I mailed it from my personal account, and did
not mention my employer anywhere in the email, Carl took it upon himself
to call my work, and after he couldn't get through to me asked to speak
to the president of the company.

When I asked him why he was bringing my employer into this, he
acknowledged that it was done with my personal account but said that if
one of his employees was a "loose cannon" he would want to know about
it.  So this is how he justified his "tattling."

Let me make clear that everything I said was true.  In fact I have told
Winternet on multiple occasions that they show me that anything I said
wasn't true, I would issue a public retraction.

Unfortunately for Mr. Mathison, now that the president found out the
facts, he is anxious to get off of Winternet.  He doesn't trust anyone
that would stoop to such things.  So thanks Carl, you made it much
easier for me to switch my employer's frame off of Winternet!

The end result is that if you say or do something that the guys at
Winternet do not like, be careful, because they may take steps to censor
or harass you or your employer.

Steve Devore
steved@visi.com