From: blaster@syzygy.DIALix.oz.au (Master Blaster) Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.uk,sci.physics,rec.arts.movies Subject: McElwaine FAQ Distribution: world Message-ID: <734090054snx@syzygy.DIALix.oz.au> Date: Tue, 06 Apr 93 09:54:14 GMT Organization: I never am Reply-To: blaster@syzygy.DIALix.oz.au Lines: 244 McElwaine Frequently Asked Questions. *** PLEASE *** Please Read and then place in your Kill File. Please do not post this to newsgroups without asking me first. Multiple posts of this will be as bad as McElwaine's postings. Please feel free to mail this to your friends and associates. ************** Hi - welcome to the McElwaine FAQ, Version 1.2 by Master Blaster (blaster@syzygy.dialix.oz.au). March/April 1993 SUMMARY ======= Information on who and what McElwaine is, McElwaine postings, frequented newsgroups, use of CAPITALISATION, cited references, what you should and shouldn't do in response, ftp sites. <0.0> who is Robert E. McElwaine? <1.0> how do I know it's a McElwaine post? <1.1> what is his method of distributing information? <1.2> when did the postings start? <1.3> what newsgroups have been targeted? <1.4> what topics have been covered? <1.5> what should I do after reading a McElwaine posting? <1.6> what references do the postings use? <1.7> is McElwaine an official representitive of his university? <1.8> how do I get in touch with McElwaine? <1.9> What is wrong with the postings? <2.0> If he is such a problem, why doesn't his university do something? <2.1> FTP sites. * * * <0.0> who is Robert E. McElwaine? Robert E. McElwaine from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire is an "Internet Legend". He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Eau Clair and spends a lot of his time posting articles to the network. He is not a server program or a group of people as some have suggested. His use of the Net. is only one channel for his information. He apparently posts it up around his campus and pushes it in many other ways. He apparently believes and feels very strongly about everything he posts. <1.0> how do I know it's a McElwaine post? McElwaine postings have a distinct flavour. To identify one you don't even need to look at the header. The following article attributes will help identify a McElwaine posting: i) A header mentioning how this article relates to the newsgroup OR how the author has been persecuted in past years for posting it. ii) CAPITALISED WORDS spread amongst the text for emphasis. iii) The following signature: UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED. Robert E. McElwaine iv) The use of $ to replace the letter S, as in BAR-CODE-$CANNER$ or Jew$. <1.1> what is his method of distributing information? McElwaine posts to many newsgroups. Mostly he posts to groups that have some sort of connection with the contents of the posting. Occasionally he posts an article to a group with a name which appears in the contents of his article; for example, an article on SDI (Star Wars defence) was posted to rec.arts.sf.starwars. His postings are all individual - almost never cross-posted. In this respect alone he is taking up a lot of network bandwidth. Usually he posts articles with a "header" targeted at the particular group the article is in. The header points out IMPORTANT information contained in the article of interest to readers of that newsgroup. <1.2> when did the postings start? McElwaine started posting at or before August 1991. Since then his postings have become more frequent. He now posts at least once a week to some groups. <1.3> what newsgroups have been targeted? Numerous groups have been the target of McElwaine postings: sci.space, sci.astro, alt.atheism, rec.arts.starwars, alt.religion.computers, sci.energy, alt.consciousness, alt.magick, alt.pagan, misc.misc, sci.space.shuttle, sci.physics, rec.arts.sf.tv, rec.arts.movies, sci.math, sci.optics, sci.physics.fusion, sci.research, sci.environment, soc.culture.british, alt.folklore.urban, talk.rumors, alt.bizarre, rec.arts.movies, alt.dreams, alt.out-of-body, rec.arts.startrek.*, rec.gardens, misc.kids, misc.fitness, rec.sports.olympics, rec.sport.misc, rec.running, rec.arts.drwho, rec.music.christian, rec.arts.tv.uk. <1.4> what topics have been covered? McElwaine covers many topics including religion, science, social issues, political issues, cultural issues and psuedo-science. The majority of people in the newsgroups disagree with the information given in the articles. <1.5> what should I do after reading a McElwaine posting? You have a number of options including posting a flame, mailing a flame, giving critical comment, or doing nothing. It is suggested that **ignoring** his posting is the best course of action. McElwaine appears to thrive on comments and flames about his articles because he then knows that people have read them. Initially, McElwaine replied to his mail and followups to his postings. He appears to have given up now. Very few people have ever had success with mailing McElwaine. One person mailed him and received a lot of his articles in reply. Abuse or reasoning now meets with a stoney silence. The amount of mail he receives is probably very high. Mail bombing of McElwaine's account is apparently quite frequent but has had little success so far. For this reason it is suggested that you do not participate in this activity. There is one case, to my knowledge, of McElwaine no longer posting to a group. It was due to the participants in the newsgroup ignoring the posting. <1.6> what references do the postings use? McElwaine uses several references: i) The Peter Beter Audio Letters. ii) The Wisconsin Report. iii) Published books and reports. iv) Other sources not cited. i) Dr Peter Beter's Audio Letters were made between June 21 1975 and November 3 1982. Overall there were 80 made. They contain various "predictions" and other sensationalist reports. Most are based on "conspiracy" theories from the early 1980's. They were classed as dubious back then and certainly have no place in the 90's. ii) The Wisconsin Report is a weekly legislative newspaper containing more of the same types of information that the Beter Tapes do. Most likely because Dr Beter wrote for the Wisconsin Report. iii) Published works include: "The Secret Life of Plants" - "The Structure of the Physical Universe" - Dewey Larson. iv) Other sources are probably used by McElwaine but no references are given. <1.7> is McElwaine an official representitive of his university? No, he not. It would appear that there is even a "standard disclaimer" that is posted if people ask about McElwaine. His ideas and comments are purely his own and not those of his department or university. The system administrator at McElwaine's machine refuses to reply to mail concerning McElwaine. (One theory is that the sysadmin IS McElwaine). See <2.0> <1.8> how do I get in touch with McElwaine? Send mail to mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu. The chances of a reply are small because of the amount of "mail" he receives. It is strongly suggested that you don't bother. <1.9> What is wrong with the postings? Although Mr McElwaine has every right to post articles to the network, regardless of their content, he is doing it in a continually obnoxious way. The content is not in question. It is the method of distribution that is. <2.0> If he is such a problem, why doesn't his university do something? Apparently McElwaine has taken legal action against individuals and his university in the past. It appears that the University is proceeding with caution on this issue. They are aware of the situation but do not wish to enter into a court battle they may well lose. <2.1> FTP Sites? The Beter Tapes are held on: uglymouse.css.itd.umich.edu A collection of McElwaine articles is stored on: world.std.com: /pub/alt.religion.kibology/mcelwaine Also see the newsgroup alt.fan.robert-mcelwaine * * * The above information was collected by the author of this FAQ from McElwaine postings, followups and mail I have received on McElwaine. All opinions expressed are entirely those of the author. The information is, as far as I know, correct at the time of printing. Thanks to all those readers who have responded with information. Any further information is gladly accepted. This information may be copied and freely distributed by email. Please do not post it. --