the Crime they styl'd 'Anonymity.'

[The Great Quail]

Doug writes,

>Fact is that you sound a lot more like slothrop666, with your venomous
>obscenity (and Terrance's, and Quail's, and a lot of others who have
>hidden, as you do, behind anonymous email accounts),

I assume you mean that I spout venomous obscenity, right? And not 
that I am being grouped in with anonymous email account users? Your 
wording offers some ambiguity. I hope you mean the former, which 
would clearly be just one of your exaggerations (and another instance 
of you reflexively using the words of your accusers back at them with 
no real support). As I have stated before, my real name is Allen 
Buell Ruch, and I am hardly hiding behind a pseudonym or an anonymous 
account. In fact, I am documented online as a real personality just 
as much as you are, Doug. If you are interested, I can privately post 
you several URLs to various bits of biographical information about 
me, and so on.

If I am mistaken in your intention, please accept my apology. But 
lately you have been placing my name in the penumbra of such 
accusations as posting under slothrop666, being a figment of Jbor's 
mind, and being an anti-Semite, so I just wanted to make sure.

Later, Doug writes,

>spouting virtually the same arguments offered by
>rj/rjackson/jbor/?, "Morris", Mackin, Quail, Terrance (and only God knows
>how many anonymous email accounts he has created), Malign, and Otto.  Looks
>funny to me, and you offer no evidence that they aren't your own alter egos
>or creations of the members of your dogpack -- no evidence that I've seen,
>at least.   But maybe they are real people who choose to post anonymously

Uh-huh. So you *do* question my reality, huh? Well, Scoop, why don't 
actually perform some of your functions as an "online journalist" and 
find out more about me, and the rest of the Dogpack? I know it's 
easier to sit back and fling accusations and insinuations, but maybe 
a little work would help correct your assumptions.

Oh, and you actually *do* owe Robert an apology, you know. Be a 
Mensch -- you might dislike the guy, but admit at least when you are 
wrong. You could even phrase it, "I am sorry, asshole." It's the 
thought that counts.

>It wasn't long
>ago that you and the rest of the dogpack were trying to prove that I was
>Charles Hollander, that I was Dave Monroe, that I was Terrance, and so on
>-- what happened to those ludicrous accusations?

I have never believed that, nor have I ever accused you. By creating 
a single label for all your vocal online opponents, you create a 
monolithic bloc which does not really exist, which allows you to make 
such assumptions which a bit of research would prove wrong.

>Slothrop666 sounds like you, but I can't prove it's you.  Slothrop666
>sounds like Terrance, too, but I can't prove that either; Quail can fling
>obscenity equal to slothrop666 but I can't prove they are the same;

Just to state the obvious, it's not all that difficult to sling 
obscenities and sound like Slothrop666! I mean, really. Any one of us 
could do it, Scoop. Me, you, Terrance -- I bet even that nice Mr. 
Hollander. It's not hard to curse and use phrases like "braying like 
an ass." Hell, I even picked up "Scoop."

And by the way, I may have cursed at you, but I am *not* obscene. You 
and Barbara have been much more obscene than I have been. In fact, I 
am one of the least obscene dogpack members, and I would like you to 
recognize that. I have a disdain for negative sexual metaphor, beyond 
of course a healthy "Fuck you, asshole," which I think has been 
sexually decontextualized by colloquial use. I would like either an 
explanation or an apology. Offlist would be ok.

Oh! A-and why not "Quailpack?" Oh, for a band of tiny gallinaceous 
birds, valiantly pecking away at Doug....

Jbor writes,

>As far as your "supporters" - Kurt-Werner, "jbframe", "toby levy", "richard
>fiero", "barbara100", tiarnan - what percentage of those would you classify
>as "anonymous emailers". It's easy to spot at least two, probably three, and
>perhaps even more of these as figments of your own imagination - aren't
>they? Hm, big one, er, "Olly", er ...

Although I agree that it's tempting at times to think Doug creates 
Doppelagangers, I have had numerous off-list conversations with 
Barbara. Whatever you may think of her bizarre adulation of Doug 
Millison, I am utterly convinced that she is a genuine person. If I 
am wrong, Doug is a master craftsman of character, and I will rush 
out and buy whatever novels Doug chooses to publish. I would also 
like to mention that Tiarnan and Kurt seem self-evidently real people 
to me. I have had less off-list conversation with the others. If I 
may take a second to offer you friendly advice, Jbor, the best way to 
defuse Millisonian paranoia is not to let it get to you as well.

Barbara,

>Otto? Quail? Paul? These are your buds? Can you do something about 
>them? Drive them home, put them to bed. For God's sake, get them off 
>the road!

Thanks, Barbara. It's nice to know you'd metaphorically like us off 
the List. Sorry for providing healthy disagreement to your views. 
Otto and Paul, too, seem like pretty nice people. I'd hate to see 
them pulled over by some List-cop and forced into slumber.

--Quail, Dogpack Member #34/B-668-Z

PS: Barbara thinks *I* am Pokler! But Doug has that reserved for 
David. C'mon, guys, I wanna be someone from GR too! Please come to a 
group decision. (Somehow I don't think I'm going to get Roger Mexico, 
the character I most sympathize with and understand....)