psychoceramics: An Incomplete History of the dismal record of Community Computer Networks in Toronto

[Karl Mamer <kamamer @ interlog.com>]

Kook Bob Allisat tells it like it isn't...

Newsgroups: tor.general,torfree.general,can.infohighway,ott.general,hamilton.general,kw.general,ont.general,can.general,soc.culture.usenet,ncf.general,earth.general,news.admin.net-abuse.misc
From: ab330 @ torfree.net (Bob Allisat)
Subject: An Incomplete History of the dismal record of Community Computer Networks in Toronto
Message-ID: <E8DxoF.AvB--@t--.net>
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 1997 19:19:27 GMT

                                *
 An Incomplete History          *
 of the dismal record of        *  by
 Community Computer Networks    *  
 in Toronto                     *  Bob Allisat
                                *
 8/4/97                         *
                                *
 For those of you who are new to the discussion surrounding community 
 networking in Toronto...

 Toronto Freenet started with 1.5 million dollars of Ontario government
 money and donations in kind of goods and services from the like of
 Rogers, SUN and Ryerson Polytechnic. The people behind TFN were also
 behind the now defunct CRS (Canada Remote System) a large BBS that went
 bankrupt after numerous buy-outs, bail-outs and bust-ups. TFN was
 designed and managed in a similar manner. 

 Years of mismanagement and fiscal spew later Toronto FreeNet's Board of
 Directors disintegrated as a result of many scandals. The final straw
 was the then TFN Board's attempt to smear me, Bob Allisat, as some sort
 of child pornographer for opposing access by minors to adult fiction in
 alt.sex.stories, a Usenet Newsgroup, then and now residing on TFN equip-
 ment. My account - now active again - was suspended and a really huge
 controversy erupted taking down TFN's already shakey credibility in the
 process. It became apparent that TFN's Board was simply seking to silence
 a critic in myself. Heinous behaviour.

 For the record Adult fictional stories *are* perfectly constitutional for
 ADULTS to access. And I resists to the end efforts by others to censor law
 abiding citizen's access to fiction and oppose all laws such as the
 American Communication Decency Act which attempt to oppress authors and
 readers alike. *However* I oppose the access of these materials by minors
 and children. And TFN continues to allow these citizens free access to
 these very adult materials.

 In response to Toronto Freenet's disasterous policy of censorship and
 persecution "Toronto Free Community Network" (T-FCN) was proposed as a free,
 uncensored ISP (Internet Services Provider). T-FCN began meeting in the
 summer of 1996 to serve community groups through-out Metro Toronto. 
Myself 
 and dozens of others were involved at the founding meetings. We figured
 that TFN was a failure and we would make an honest, free alternative for
 people of all opinions.

 Simultaneously almost all of the previous Toronto Freenet Board of directors
 resigned before the immanent TFN elections. The chaos and controversy 
combined
 to make the Bankrupcy of TFN loom large and no-one of the TFN Board 
wanted to
 be personally liable for the disaster. Even though they created it. 
Discussions
 at the T-FCN started on putting forward a group of candidates to reform TFN
 and, perhaps to integrate TFN and T-FCN.

 Very quickly, however, events changed the tone and focus of T-FCN. More and
 more people were  excluded and of the remaining few only Colin McGregor 
(Long
 standing TFN Board member), Dmytri Kleiner, and Sasha Braun (Kleiner's 
buddy)
 remained in any T-FCN decision making capacity. T-FCN became a private party
 for the take-over of TFN primarily by Kleiner and McGregor. And T-FCN would
 be their personal launch pads.

 Kleiner and McGregor were elected to TFN's Board while myself and others
 originally part of the reform group, were not. There were many forged 
articles
 to Usenet in the campaign and many offensive private E-Mail from various
 apparently phoney accounts. There was an organizaed smear campaign against
 one and probably more candidates. I recieved numerous puzzing and very rude
 E-Mails concerning messages I did not send, messages that were forged in
 my name.

 Even the fellow who designed the software used in the TFN vote - one Laslo
 Orto - was involved in the mess starting an IRC and E-Mail campaign that 
 I was a child pornographer... without providing proof and hinting strongly
 at private E-Mail sources... also probably damning and forged in my name.

 As the new TFN Board formed there was hope of change from the previous 
regime.
 My account, suspended by the last Board was reinstated though without 
apology.
 Moves towards reform began. All the right noises were made. But slowly the
 paralysis returned accompanied by events that are most disturbing.

 One Board member was forcibly removed for his assertions that a small 
TFN web
 server (not.torfree.net) was being utilized for illegal purposes by numerous
 persons. That was Mr. El Khodari. The events surrounding his expulsion from
 the TFN Board are most unusual and sudden and occured *during* one 
particularly
 chaotic and undocumented TFN Board Meeting.

 Improprieties continue to be probable among them:
>
>A     Toronto FreeNet
>---------------------
>   1. Phoney accounts
>   2. Election fraud
>   3. Election Dirty Tricks ("DeNabilization", Orto's Smear Allisat
>      Campaign, phoney articles from bogus accounts...)
>   4. Abuse and illegal contents on not.torfree.net server
>   5. Suspect ejection of El Khodari from TFN Board
>   6. Resignations of Carriere (core TFN Volunteer), Abrahamsen
>      (TFN Board member).
>
>
>B     "T-FCN" (Toronto Free Community Network)
>----------------------------------------------
>   1. Conspiracy to take over or absorb TFN assets.
>   2. Membership of three (3) (Kleiner, Braun, McGregor).
>   3. Exclusion of other founding members (Allisat, Buller,
>      Abrahamsen, Shorter, Sexton etc).
>   4. No regular meetings.
>   5. No minutes.
>   6. No financial records.
>   7. No elections.
>   8. No "T-FCN".

This, on top of a general inability to envision a Freenet after the clumsy
text based interface it is now saddled with, this will mean TFN wil 
inevitably
fold under the wieght of obsolesance, corruption and the resultant 
infighting.

- BA

Back to the drawing board people...

-- 
"All the best bands are affliated with Satan."

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