Thanks for writing Jerome.  Jackoffjohn was immediately removed from our membership list, banned from the yahoo group, and reported to aol.com where his original email address allegedly originated.  He was also reported to yahoo and his IP address noted.

 

There is nothing stopping individuals from joining our group and misusing the group email function.  Even you or I could send out the same kind of spam, as the group moderator has no way of knowing who is legit and who isn't, so even regulation isn't completely fool proof.  (Making people show IDs before allowing them to join would be prohibitive to our open membership policy and would probably turn more people away than if the occasional persistent spammer gets through.)

 

We already know that people from the Federation of Gay Games who do not want to see the Montreal Outgames succeed are "secretly" members of our yahoo group so that they can "keep tabs" on what we are doing.  Perhaps that is the price we pay for being open and upfront about all that we do.

 

It's kinda like terrorism in an open society such as America.  We do what we can to dissuade it and prevent it from happening, but if someone really wants to abuse the system, they can.  In the meantime, we just have to hope that the more enlightened side of humanity prevails.

 

Thanks for your concerns and suggestions though...and see you at our Promotions Party at The Cafe on October 22, 2005!  Register for the Outgames before then to get a $118 rebate on registration fees and a chance to win free airfare courtesy of Equipe SF and AirCanada!  Also, if you're going to Folsom Street this weekend, we'll be at the Montreal Booth!

 

Equipe SF Group Moderator

Jerome <thomere@...> wrote: