THE AOL PAGAN DEFENSE MANUALStand Up for Your Rights as an AOL PaganThis web page has been created for the Pagan population of America Online. It includes several successful strategies to help AOL Pagans deal with everything from hostile non-Pagans disrupting Chat Rooms, to unwanted Instant Messages -- there's even a sample letter here for you to adapt for your needs. AOL has developed a set of rules that are in place to make sure that ALL participants of AOL are treated with respect, and Pagans should avail themselves of these rules. Some of the more common problems, along with their solutions, can be found here. Problems and Solutions
Chat Room Disruption
THE GOOD NEWS: Anybody who comes into the Pagan Chat area and berates your religious belief is in violation of the Online Conduct rules of AOL. THE BAD NEWS: If you retort with some smart-alecky comment, you are in violation of those same rules. SO DON'T. Backtalk NEVER works. NEVER. I know it's the Pagan Chat room, I know you have come to that area specifically to visit with other Pagans, and I know it's very satisfying to answer back, especially to anybody who threatens you with eternal punishment for not espousing their beliefs. But there are other ways to react to a hostile invasion. For example... Do you know your Terms of Service to begin with? Learn what is allowable behavior in chat and what isn't. Spend an evening familiarizing yourself with the rules. Print them out if you are able to, or at least save them as text files. Read the rules, and know your rights. They can be found at Keyword TOS. A favorite defense of mine is to invite the disruptor into a PRIVATE CHAT ROOM. This solution works in one of several ways -- the disruptor refuses, and leaves Pagan Chat to return to relative peace and quiet, or, even more exciting, the disruptor accepts your invitation to the private chat room, which ALSO returns the Pagan Chat room to peace and quiet. Since the Terms of Service DO NOT APPLY in a private chat room, it is assumed that you and the disruptor are free to say anything at all to each other. An admonition here, though -- there is something to consider when you go into a private room specifically to have words with a room disruptor. You don't really know who it is, and you could be setting yourself up for all sorts of wonderful things like letterbombs et al, so think carefully before resorting to this. Besides, if you are going to argue about religious differences, why bother? You won't change their mind, and they won't change yours. I speak from experience -- try every other avenue first. ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR CHAT: Open a Chat Log. Make a record of the disruptive chat, and file a report at Keyword TOS. Go to HOW TO LOG AND FILE A COMPLAINT Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS What Does MM/MP Mean?Often in the Pagan-related chat areas, you will see abbreviated words and phrases. The most frequently seen will be 'MM'. This simply means 'Merry Meet' or 'Hello'. Other shortcuts you may see are:
There are a lot more shortcuts and phrases to know, but those are the basics. If you want to know what any of the others mean, please go right into Pagan Chat and ask. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS The Goddess IgnoraThe Goddess Ignora, also called the IGNORE feature on AOL, will only work properly if everybody uses it. This feature can be very powerful if you use it correctly. Here's how to ignore a room disruptor.
That's all there is to it. If other people are still responding to the problem person, it will look extremely odd to see only one side of the discourse, and if you want COMPLETE peace and quiet, you may have no choice but to put the people who are responding on Ignore as well. But that doesn't happen very often. Alas, IGNORE isn't perfect. If the person leaves the room and re-enters, you have to press IGNORE again. And it does not work on stopping Instant Messages. But, it's still a powerful feature -- if you use it! Go to HOW TO LOG AND FILE A COMPLAINT Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS How to Get Rid Of Those Pop-Up AdsWhen you first log on for an AOL session, you will sometimes see a pop-up advertisement window listing a service or a product that AOL is being paid to promote to you. Obviously, AOL does not go out of their way to inform you of this, but in fact if you are tired of seeing these ads, you can make them stop appearing.
That should do it. One other annoying little thing that AOL has neglected to tell you is that you must re-request those particular marketing preferences for each screen name, every six months, or else they'll be reset to the default parameters, which means the Attack Of The Fifty Foot Pop-Ups will begin anew. Fight the good fight! Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Things You Should NEVER Do In ChatDue to popular request by Guides, Room Hosts, and many members of the general AOL Pagan Chat Room populace, this area has been created as a cross between a list of common sense ideas and a sounding board. If you have a suggestion to add, write to me, and if I think it's appropriate, I will post it here, and credit you for it. As you can plainly see, most of these things are just matters of simple courtesy.
The aforementioned items are the ones I personally believe are of some importance. I value your feedback and suggestions, so please add your thoughts to this area. Email me with additional suggestions.Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Stopping Instant MessagesMany times, even though a hostile non-Pagan leaves the Pagan Chat room or remains and does not participate in chat, there is still the problem of Instant Messages or IMs. Many Pagan Chat room participants receive unwarranted IMs which are attempts to bully or intimidate the recipient. These can be dealt with simply and immediately.
Now I know it's annoying to switch off, because this maneuver prevents EVERYBODY from sending you an IM -- friend and foe --, but if you keep them off for about five minutes, the problem person or persons will very likely give up and stop bothering you. You can still SEND Instant messages, but you cannot RECEIVE them when you have turned them off. If you are in Chat, simply announce that you have switched off. Your friends will understand. NEW IM FEATURE FOR WINDOWS USERS: Thanks to WolfOwlEye, who wrote to me, a mere Macintosh user, and said, "The new AOL features that have been downloaded to us , and now seems stable, and work under AOL95 at least, extend the IM options significantly. If a particular person is IMing you, and you wish to be blocked from them, here's what to do:
Now if the person tries to IM you, they will receive the message that you are 'not signed on', and even buddy chat bombs seem to have been dealt with on this new feature." There also seems to be another IM shortcut that's long-overdue. Supposing a user named 'SnertZoot' keeps bothering you. You can block his or her IMs alone -- and quickly -- using the following simple steps:
ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR IMs: Leave your Instant Messages ON, and open an Instant Message Log. Make a record of the IMs sent by the disruptive person, and file a report at Keyword TOS. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Tips and Tricks for Scheduled ChatsScheduled Chats are exactly what they sound like -- they are structured periods of time during which predetermined subjects are discussed. It is a cyber classroom. In the Pagan Chat room, Scheduled Chats are always held in the evening hours, and they are always hosted by one or more people with the prefix RBCF. During a Scheduled Chat, the RBCF hosts will encourage your input, especially if it has to do with the subject matter at hand, and the RBCF hosts will also attempt to maintain a sense of order so that attendees stand a reasonable chance of receiving some education. Their methodology is basic -- they goodnaturedly THWACK disorderly participants, and they dispense copious amounts of Topic Glitter. You'll get the hang of things once you begin going to Scheduled Chats. Here are a few tips to make your participation in Scheduled Chats more enjoyable:
Scheduled Chats are designed with everybody in mind; and are a valuable way to experience an exchange of information that is fun and useful. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS How to Log and File a ComplaintUnder your FILE section, you will see a LOGS option. If you open LOGS, you can choose from several -- System, Instant Message, and Chat. System tracks your movements through other areas of AOL. Instant Message Logs keep track of IMs, and Chat Logs keep a record of the activity in a Chat room. When you open one of the LOGS options, a file is created in the same folder with your America Online application. The default name of the file will be the date and type of the file. If you see any activity that is against the AOL rules, you can report the log at Keyword TOS. Follow the instructions there, and file the appropriate report. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS A Sample LetterOnce in a great while, there is the occasional room disruptor who appears otherwise bright and competent, with the single blind spot of coming into the Pagan Chat area and bullying people in the name of religion. When you come across this kind of person, it's not a bad idea to discreetly send them a piece of mail, calmly explaining why their strategy is not working. A sample letter appears here:
This letter was distributed previously with moderate success. Speaking on a personal level, I have had good results when I mail this letter to a Pagan Chat room disruptor, with one recipient even reappearing in Pagan Chat and publically apologizing to me in front of the other people who were present in the room. I cannot GUARANTEE your success if you base your correspondence on the previous letter, but it NEVER hurts to take the high road. WARNING: Despite the polite wording of the letter, you should be aware that there will be recipients of this letter who won't take kindly to it. Remember -- ANY sort or rebuttal or retaliatory contact is always a risk, especially with the extremely hostile types who probably won't read it anyway, no matter how well-meaning it is. So, if you feel you MUST say something, it's at your own risk. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS How to Disappear from the WRONG Buddy ListsAOL versions 3.0 and 4.0 have a new feature. The Buddy List. This enables you to keep track of your friends online, and when they log on, you can IM them. Unfortunately, sometimes people use the Buddy Lists for adverse purposes. They harass you when you log on, they IM you mercilessly, and they are generally a nuisance. This problem is remedied by going to Keyword BUDDY. There will be a menu of options for you to select. If the same person keeps bothering you from the moment you log on, you can block your name from that person's Buddy List. Other options include disappearing from everybody's list, or selecting the people whose list you want to be on. I personally appear on only about three or four Buddy Lists, because despite appearances, I value my online privacy. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS The FRONT PORCH and What It's ForThe FRONT PORCH area in the Religious forum is the only place that is set aside for interfaith discussion. What this means is that you DO NOT go to OTHER rooms in the religious forum and HARASS them. What this ALSO means is that you do your very best to stay calm when people come into the Pagan Chat room and start being disruptive. There are all sorts of other methods listed in this page for dealing with problem people -- and arguing with them isn't even on the short list. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Parental Controls Can Be Your Friend!The Parental Controls of AOL allow you to prevent any incoming mail from reaching your account. It can be fine tuned to exclude or include select addresses. If you find yourself being mailbombed by somebody, put them on your blocked email list, at Keyword PARENTAL CONTROLS. This feature is a lot stronger than it looks. Remember, MAIL CONTROLS and PARENTAL CONTROLS can only be set using a primary screenname. I know it's a royal pain to switch back and forth between account names, but think of it as an investment to ensure your privacy and pleasure and to achieve an overall improvement of your time online. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Dealing with GodspammersOccasionally a religious organization sponsors a mass mailing in an attempt to reach you with their philosophical point of view. Most of these mailings are benign, but if you are offended by anything you receive, you can take steps to rid yourself of unwanted 'godspam'. When you receive a 'cyber tract' from within AOL, there are two things you can do to try and prevent this from occuring again.
When you receive a 'cyber tract' from someplace OTHER than AOL, (from the outside) there are two things you can do to try and prevent this from occuring again.
Additionally, there is almost always an email address to which you can report abuses back to the system of origin. The address will look something like 'abuse@whoeversentit.com' (with the name of the system to the right of the '@'). You may want to add that address to your carbon copy when you forward the letter to TOSSPAM. Once you start doing this -- scrupulously forwarding religious and other spam to the proper authorities and using your Parental Controls feature to the fullest advantage -- you should be off of the sender's sucker lists in about ten days, or whenever they finally get tired of hearing from you. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS How to Find Other AOL Pagans in Your AreaAmerica Online has a very comprehensive Member Directory, available to AOL members only. If you are curious as to whether there are other Pagans near you, go to Keyword MEMBER DIRECTORY, and follow the easy instructions. You might be surprised at how many other people are in or near your area. Additionally, if you have filled out your membership profile, and you've included your real location in there somewhere, other Pagans will be able to get in touch with you as well. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Help for Non-AOL PagansIf you are a non-AOL Pagan who has received a problem communication from a member of AOL, (such as obscene or hateful or harassing email) write a letter to TOSSPAM@aol.com and include a copy of the problem letter along with a request to do something about the problem. Members of AOL are specifically prohibited from using AOL to transmit anything that is hateful, obscene or harassing. All AOL email addresses previously mentioned herein can be accessed by non-AOLers by simply adding the '@aol.com' suffix. If you feel that a hostile communication from an AOL member deserves special attention, go to the site for the Federal Communications Commission and read about your rights as an online services consumer. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS The Spellbegging IssueEver since the movie THE CRAFT was released -- and even before then, though not nearly as frequently -- there's been a tendency for people to stop by the Pagan Chat room and ask for spells. These people are apparently under the impression that spells can be collected like bubblegum cards. Pagans know this ain't so. Spells are creative visualizations that are almost too individualized to be given away without forethought. I will occasionally recommend a spell here or there, but only if it is somebody I know and trust. Spellbegging is a no-no in Pagan Chat. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Final ThoughtsI cannot stress enough how important it is for you NOT to be a VICTIM. You are proving NOTHING by rolling over and taking whatever anybody has to give you. Paganism thrives on accountability, self-assurance, and on intelligence. If anybody tries to make you feel bad for your belief -- and I mean ANYBODY, including other Pagans -- stand up for yourself. Learn the basic principles that exist in religious documents other than the ones you use. Study the rules on America Online because after all, if you are on AOL, you have agreed to abide by those rules, and use them to your advantage. Everybody else on AOL must follow them, too. Above all, stay in charge of your life online. Make the system work for YOU. Return to PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS Awards and Citations | 
Thanks to JASCS for the idea for the sign. |