Our good buddy Al seems to have had a bad week, and as he often does, on Friday evening took to the Net to work out his frustrations. It's some consolation to imagine how awful Saturday morning must be. But nevertheless, I need to correct a number of blatantly false statements regarding this BBS.

Al to James:
Go over to the "other BBS"..... With the Current
"leadership" over there, you are now considered a
"researcher" whose views are "highly
respected"...

It's a false statement that I "own" this BBS. Al's fevered imaginings about what I think about anomalism are false. It's false to link the two to portray this BBS as a hotbed of anomalism-sympathizers.

The regulars should already be aware of the truth. This is Justin's BBS. I own the domain name HabitableZone.com and run it from my server. The graphics on the BBS are currently housed on my server, and as soon as I get the new BBS software ready, the BBS itself will be hosted on my server. No matter what may change in the underlying technical infrastructure, it will always remain Justin's BBS.

I recognize that my role hosting other peoples' Web sites is very similar to that of a landlord. What goes on inside is not my business unless it affects the safety or welfare of other tenants sharing the same "building", or violates the law in a way that could drag me into trouble. It also means that if people diss me on the BBS, I still don't have the right to intervene. That's the nature of free speech, as uncomfortable as it can be. I don't intend to be the butt of self-referential humor, and do something ironically stupid like pull the plug if somebody calls me a "Nazi".

This is Justin's BBS, and it's unfair to him to deny him credit for what he's doing. It's unfair to undermine the reputation of his BBS by associating it with my controversial views on the subject of anomalism. He's not responsible for my views, nor for Al's fantasies about what I believe.

I'd be very pleased if people would reaffirm their support for Justin and for his work here. It can't be fun watching Al try to wipe out everything he's done and transfer it all to me, for better or worse. If you have a conscience, post.

--Robert