Could it be Jax?

MC?

Tadpole?

A guy from Philadelphia?


Puppets, sea shanties, Ozland, NZ - there's just too much evidence!


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydispl...storyid=168119

Offensive intruder poisons chat lines

12.01.2001
By MICHAEL FOREMAN
Local internet service providers may consider blocking an American from
taking part in online discussions following one of the worst cases of
"flaming" seen in this country.

A mysterious figure calling himself "Bertie the Bunyip" has upset local
Usenet newsgroups after a bizarre campaign that has included posting fake
photographs of a topless Queen Mother.

If someone burst into a cafe or pub and started yelling obscenities and
abusing everyone in sight, you might expect the manager to throw them out or
call the police.

But neither of these remedies is available to the newsgroup users, who are
desperate to rid themselves of what is known on the internet as a "troll."

Trolls get their kicks from baiting other people using online discussion
forums.

"Bertie the Bunyip" is believed to be a commercial pilot living in the
United States.

He claims to have been similarly hounding newsgroups in the United States
for three years, despite complaints to the FBI and a libel action against
him.

After local users unwisely responded to his taunts, the Bunyip's replies
soon spread to the nz.comp and nz.politics newsgroups.

New Zealand politicians - including some ministers - are believed to use the
politics group.

In the past few days, the American has paralysed the most popular of the
local forums, nz.general, which is read by up to 50,000 people.

Bunyip's antics have prompted some users to stop using the newsgroups.

Bunyip changes his identity characteristics every 30 or 40 posts, so it is
difficult to check him using e-mail or newsreader software blocked senders'
lists.

David Farrar, a newsgroup user and information technology adviser to
National Party leader Jenny Shipley, described the "flame" war as the worst
outbreak of its kind he had seen on New Zealand discussion groups.

Applying sanctions against Usenet users could be extremely difficult, said
Mr Farrar.

Bunyip has been using a Seattle-based newsgroup service called Altopia,
which has a liberal policy on what it will allow.

"One of the problems of newsgroups is that they are about as close to
anarchy as anything can get," he said.

"If you get a person going rogue, as this Bertie the Bunyip has, you would
normally complain to their internet service provider.

"Unless it is causing actual harm, they don't see it as their job to police
it."

Xtra systems support specialist Richard Stevenson said he could easily
filter the messages from Xtra's news server - one of several providing
Usenet feeds in New Zealand.

But he would not decide to do so himself.

Mr Stevenson said he had not yet had to remove individual posts but had
occasionally, at the request of the Department of Internal Affairs, blocked
newsgroups that were related to child pornography.

He was not concerned about Bunyip's rights to freedom of speech.

"He's got to get it into his skull that [news servers] are private
property."

Mr Farrar believed that if Bunyip persisted for more than a couple of weeks,
local internet service providers might agree to remove him from New Zealand
servers.

But it was more likely that Bunyip would disappear quite quickly if ignored.







"Flying Tadpole" wrote in message
...


Gilligan wrote:

http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/bunyip.htm

You will note, Mr Gilligan, that the bunyip description lays much
stress on "evil spirit", "bunyip's loud bellowing", "emerges at
night principally to prey on women and children". In contrast, a
Tadpole is neither mythical, nor so uncivilised. There is no
relationship whatsoever.

((And meanwhile, Gilligan singing "A Heart That's Golden" in
praise of Capt Neal has reached No 64 on the mp3.com
easy-listening chart for Oceania!))

--
Flying Tadpole

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