Enclosed, a `GIF file recall' warning from EFF & S. Steele. Ug. Blech. What the heck is EFF doing something like this? This strikes me as promoting hysteria and paranoia over image content and BBS operator liability. I hope Mr. T.C. May will have something eloquent to say about how silly, useless, and damaging this is. Didn't anyone talk to M. Godwin about this?! Is EFF the new CERT? Are we going to have new periodic EFF Pornographic GIF warnings? S. Steele, I think we deserve better. This gets a definite Cypherpunk Razzberry award. (And that will probably be the *least* of the criticism.) Whose idea was this? This reminds me. There is a whole new class of urban legends that are starting. Technology does not mean the eradication of urban legends, it only seems to mean they are propagated faster. Did anyone hear the rumor (now totally debunked) that California police were warning motorists not to blink their lights, because it was a signal to gangs to shoot in an `initation ceremony'? This flashed across the nation in a few days due to well-meaning, but totally indiscriminating, public who transmitted it via email and fax machines. Didn't anyone stop to just say `uh, waitaminit!' They think *we* (cypherpunks) are paranoid, and easily subscribe to conspiracy theories. Hah! The public at large is frighteningly gullible, even *without* the media. In fact, as bad as the media is, it actually has a dampening force to this kind of sheer hysteria. `extraordinary public delusions and the madnesses of crowds'. The trick is to try to get networks to allow urban myths to meet the dampening force faster. Imagine if early in the spread someone authoritative comes on and says `there is no substance to this, and we should know'. ------- Forwarded Message Date: Sun, 3 Oct 1993 12:02:02 -0400 From: farber@central.cis.upenn.edu (David Farber) Subject: Warning re some gif files (from EFF News) ************************************************************ ***VERY IMPORTANT*** Critical Files to Remove from Your BBS ************************************************************ EFF has learned that the following graphic image files have been the subject of a recent federal indictment alleging receipt and possession of child pornography and transportation of obscene materials through interstate commerce. ***EFF STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SYSOPS TO REMOVE THESE FILES FROM THEIR ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO AVOID LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS.*** Please distribute this message widely and quickly. Alleged child pornography files: PPO4@.GIF FAMO3.GIF CHERRYA.GIF CHERRYB.GIF CHERRYC.GIF WC221501.GIF LITSIS.GIF MBON006.JPG MBON007.JPG DS-X-219.GIF INOCNT.JPG KID013.GIF Alleged adult obscenity files: ORGY6.ZIP (A DL FILE) WC1C2332.GIF BAMS-039.JPG ________________________________________ Shari Steele Director of Legal Services Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G Street, NW Suite 950 East Washington, DC 20001 202/347-5400 (voice), 202/393-5509 (fax) ssteele@eff.org ------- End of Forwarded Message