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Suppressive Person · Fair Game Operations Snow White & Freakout The Internet · Psychiatry Legal cases · Free Zone · Patter drill The Fishman Affidavit · Operation Clambake South Park · Scientology as a business Lisa McPherson · Lawrence Wollersheim Keith Henson This box: view • talk • edit

Sporgery is the disruptive act of posting a flood of articles to a Usenet newsgroup, with the article headers falsified so that they appear to have been posted by others. The word is a portmanteau of spam and forgery, coined by German software engineer and well known critic of Scientology Tilman Hausherr. Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction[1][2] and science fiction [3] author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1536x1152, 199 KB) A blue e-meter, a ritual device used by the Church of Scientology. ... This is an incomplete bibliography of Scientology and Scientology-related books produced within the Church of Scientology and its related organizations. ... This is an incomplete filmography of Scientology and Scientology-related films, videos, and audiovisual materials produced within the Church of Scientology and its related organizations. ... Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the relationship between mind and body that were developed by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. ... In Dianetics and Scientology, an engram is defined as an unconscious, painful memory. ... In Dianetics and Scientology, Clear is defined as a state in which a person is free of unwanted influences of past memories, unwanted emotions, and mental and physical pain not existing in present time. ... This article examines the beliefs and practices of Scientology as taught by the Church of Scientology. ... In Scientology, the concept of thetan is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. ... In Church of Scientology doctrine, the subjects of supernatural or superhuman powers and abilities are ones that recur often. ... In Scientology, space opera is a coined usage of the pre-existing term related to science fiction and was used by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to describe extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in past lives. ... In Scientology doctrine, Xenu (also Xemu) was the alien dictator of the Galactic Confederacy who, 75 million years ago, brought billions of aliens to Earth in DC-8-like spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. ... Reincarnation, literally to be made flesh again, as a doctrine or mystical belief, holds the notion that some essential part of a living being (or in some variations, only human beings) can survive death in some form, with its integrity partly or wholly retained, to be reborn in a new... In Church of Scientology doctrine, there have been a number of controversial medical claims made, usually centered around their auditing process, which uses a device called an E-meter to analyze and treat a persons so-called Reactive mind and Body Thetans. These claims range from the 1950 publication... In the Church of Scientology, It has long been considered essential that the word of founder L. Ron Hubbard is incontrovertible, and that his works, or Tech, must be preserved unaltered. ... This article examines the beliefs and practices of Scientology as taught by the Church of Scientology. ... There are many holidays, commemorations and observances in the Church of Scientology, including but not limited to: January 25: Criminon Day This commemorates the 1970 founding of Criminon, a program which seeks to rehabilitate prisoners by disseminating free copies of Scientology-related materials such as The Way to Happiness. ... Scientology weddings, as conducted within the Church of Scientology, are described in their book The Background, Ministry, Ceremonies & Sermons of the Scientology Religion. ... Silent birth, sometimes known as quiet birth, refers to a birthing procedure advised by L. Ron Hubbard and advocated by Scientologists in which the baby is delivered into an environment where no pain or anguish is verbally expressed by the mother while experiencing labour pains or the birth itself and... Study tech, or study technology, is a method of study, devised and spelled out by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Disconnection is a practice in Scientology, in which a Scientologist severs all ties between themselves and friends, colleagues, or family members who criticize Scientology practices. ... In Scientology, a rundown is a procedure set out as a series of steps to produce a particular end result, or phenomena. ... The Scientology Justice system is a means for a Scientology organization to take action against a member whose conduct or actions are viewed as highly desctructive or offensive by an executive within the organization. ... An E-Meter is a battery-powered electronic instrument manufactured by the Church of Scientologys Gold Base. ... In Scientology, the Assist is described as a process which is done to alleviate a present time discomfort. [1] Despite the use of assists to treat pain and injuries, the Scientology Handbook (1994 edition) states: An assist in no way intrudes upon the role of medicine. ... In the Scientology religion, MEST is an acronym for Matter, Energy, Space and Time, considered by Scientologists to be the four component parts of the physical universe. ... ARC is a fundamental concept in Scientology doctrine. ... In Scientology, the tone scale or emotional tone scale is a characterization of human behavior and bodily appearance. ... In Dianetics and Scientology, the reactive mind is a concept created by L. Ron Hubbard, referring to a hypothetical portion of the human mind which Hubbard blamed for most mental and physical ailments. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... Mary Sue Hubbard (born Mary Sue Whipp) (17 June 1931–25 November 2002 [1]) was the third wife of science fiction writer and Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and often regarded as the first lady of Scientology. ... Heber Jentzsch is a former actor and president of Church of Scientology International since 1982. ... David Miscavige (April 30, 1960 - ) is Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center (RTC), a corporation that controls the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology, and controls the copyrighted teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. ... Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and film producer. ... John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, singer, entertainer and airplane pilot. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Volunteer Minister program is a worldwide effort founded by the Church of Scientology International. ... Recruitment and endorsements by Scientologist celebrities have always been very important to the Church of Scientology. ... The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR; also sometimes known as the Citizens Committee on Human Rights) is an advocacy group established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Thomas Szasz. ... The Association for Better Living and Education (A.B.L.E.) is a secular branch of the Church of Scientology. ... Founded in 1983, the Concerned Businessmens Association of America (CBAA) is an element of the Scientology movement directed at promoting moral education and enhanced well-being through the use of Hubbards The Way to Happiness booklet in their Set A Good Example (SAGE) program, which holds childrens... World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) is an organization that educates and assists businesses in the use of Scientology management techniques. ... Narconon is not associated with Narcotics Anonymous, which is sometimes abbreviated Narcanon. Scientologys Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. ... Downtown Medical is a controversial Scientology clinic on 139 Fulton Street in New York City, founded in 2003 with the purpose of treating people for toxins inhaled from the smoke of the 9/11 attacks. ... Criminon is a secular non proft 501 C3 working with government departments and inmates to reduce recidivism and restore self respect to the inmate. ... The Way to Happiness Foundation International is a Scientology-related non-profit corporation founded in 1984. ... This is a list of Scientology organizations operated by the Church of Scientology (CoS), including Church offices, missions, Celebrity Centres and publicized Scientology and Dianetics groups. ... The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... It has been suggested that Rehabilitation Project Force be merged into this article or section. ... The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF, is a system of work camps[1] set up by the Church of Scientology Sea Organization, intended to rehabilitate members who have not lived up to the Church expectations or have violated certain policies. ... Celebrity Centres are Church of Scientology centers that are open to the public but serve mostly artists and celebrities and other professionals, leaders and promising new-comers in the fields of the arts, sports, management and government, and for those are the people who are sculpting the present into the... The Church of Scientology (CST) maintains a large base on the outskirts of Trementina, New Mexico. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Office of Special Affairs (OSA) is a department of the Church of Scientology responsible for directing legal affairs, publicizing the Churchs social betterment works, and oversee[ing its] social reform programs. Observers outside the Church have characterized the department as an intelligence agency, comparing it variously to the... The Gold Base is a 500 acre parcel and the headquarters of Golden Era Productions, the media division of the Church of Scientology, located at 19625 Highway 79, Gilman Hot Springs, California 92583, near Hemet. ... The International Association of Scientologists (IAS) was formed in October 1984 by a group of selected Scientologists, who assembled at Saint Hill Manor in East Grinstead, Sussex, England. ... The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is a non-profit corporation established in 1982 by the Church of Scientology to control and oversee the uses of all of the trademarks, symbols and texts of Scientology and Dianetics, including the copyrighted works of the religions founder, L. Ron Hubbard. ... This article examines controversial issues involving Scientology and its affiliated organizations. ... In Scientology, a formally condemned and shunned heretic or wrongdoer is labelled a Suppressive Person, often abbreviated SP. L. Ron Hubbard coined the term to refer to enemies of the Church of Scientology, whose suppressive acts are said to impede the progress of Scientology. ... Fair Game is a status assigned to those whom the Church of Scientology has officially declared to be Suppressive Persons or Suppressive Persons are those whose actions are deemed to suppress or damage Scientology or a Scientologist. ... Operation Snow-White was the name given internally by the Church of Scientology to a program which included the largest incident of private domestic espionage in the history of the United States. ... Operation PC Freakout was the name given by the Church of Scientology to a covert plan undertaken by the Church in 1976, with the goal of harassing Paulette Cooper, author of a book critical of Scientology titled The Scandal of Scientology. The plan came to light when the FBI seized... Scientology versus the Internet is a colloquial term for a long-running online dispute between the Church of Scientology and a number of the Churchs online critics. ... Scientology is publicly, and often vehemently, opposed to psychiatry and psychology and offers itself as an alternative to psychiatry, which Scientologists believe to be a barbaric and corrupt profession. ... The Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of court disputes throughout the world. ... The Free Zone comprises a variety of groups and individuals who practice Scientology beliefs and techniques free from the control of the official Church of Scientology (CoS). ... Patter drills are a drilling method used in courses in the Church of Scientology which were added to many Church courses in mid-1995, by David Miscavige. ... The Fishman Affidavit is a set of court documents submitted by ex-Scientologist Steven Fishman in 1994 containing criticisms of the Church of Scientology and, controversially, substantial portions of the Operating Thetan course materials. ... Operation Clambake Operation Clambake (xenu. ... Trapped in the Closet is episode 912 (#137) of the Comedy Central series South Park. ... Scientology pays members commissions on new recruits they bring in, so Scientology members routinely try to sell Scientology to others. ... Lisa McPherson (born Lisa Skonetski, February 10, 1959–December 5, 1995) was a Scientologist who died while in the care of the Church of Scientology (CoS). ... Lawrence A. Wollersheim is an ex-Scientologist. ... Howard Keith Henson (b. ... Usenet (USEr NETwork) is a global, distributed Internet discussion system that evolved from a general purpose UUCP network of the same name. ... A newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive. ... Tilman Hausherr is a german citizen living in Berlin, Germany. ...

Sporgery resembles crapflooding, which is also intended to disrupt a forum. However, sporgery is not merely disruptive but also deceptive or libellous -- it involves falsifying objectionable posts so they appear to come from newsgroup regulars. The purpose is not merely to jam the forum, but also to blacken the reputations of its regular users by falsely signing their names to offensive posts. Crapflooding is the practice of disrupting online media such as discussion websites or Usenet newsgroups with nonsensical, inane, and/or repetitive postings (flooding with crap) in order to make it difficult for other users to read other postings. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

Origins in alt.religion.scientology

The word sporgery was coined in the newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, ^[1] an Internet newsgroup where people discuss the controversial belief system of Scientology. One of the various actions of the "war" between Scientology and the Internet involved various individuals who had posted more than one million forged newsgroup articles to the newsgroup, using the message headers (valid names and e-mail addresses) of articles written by Scientology critics and other legitimate posters, and appending to those headers the bodies of other articles harvested from racist newsgroups. The result was to flood the newsgroup with over one million forged articles that made the other posters appear to be hateful "racist bigots." (Critics accused Scientology of planning and conducting the spam flood, but the organization denied this.) The newsgroup alt. ... Scientology is a system of beliefs and practices created by American pulp fiction[1][2] and science fiction [3] author L. Ron Hubbard in 1952 as a self-help philosophy. ... Scientology versus the Internet is the colloquial term for a long-running online dispute between the Church of Scientology and a number of the Churchs online critics. ... Manifestations Slavery · Racial profiling · Lynching Hate speech · Hate crime · Gay bashing Genocide · Holocaust · Pogrom Ethnocide · Ethnic cleansing · Race war Religious persecution Movements Discriminatory Aryanism · Neo-Nazism · Hate groups White/Black/Latino supremacy Radical Islam · Fundamentalism · Kahanism Anti-discriminatory Abolitionism · Civil rights · Gay rights Womens/Universal suffrage Childrens rights...

The apparent intent of this attack was to render the newsgroup useless for discussion and criticism of Scientology. Another purpose may have been to lower the reputation of the posters so that people would not take their criticisms of Scientology seriously.

At the peak of this attack, the attackers had a total of six computers posting sporgeries into the newsgroup, dumping into USENET an average of 170 megabytes in 44,075 articles every month. From October of 1998 to September of 1999, a total of 1,462,390,911 sporgery bytes were detected: that figure does not include the sporgery which was canceled (deleted from USENET) before it could propagate. Just before the sporgery attack ended, the sporgery resulted in more than 90% of the newsgroup's traffic.

To accomplish the sporgery attack, the spammers used several methods to acquire Internet access. Open NNTP servers were used when available, to such an extent that a great many had to be closed by their owners. When open NNTP servers eventually became scarce, open proxies were used. These proxies allowed Scientology partisans to use someone else's computer hardware to sporge. Due to default security policies in many proxy server products at the time (late 1990s) being lax, many such proxies were available for abuse. Since that time, open proxies have become the most popular resource for other spammers to abuse, eclipsing open relays and other insecure hosts. The Network News Transfer Protocol or NNTP is an Internet application protocol used primarily for reading and posting Usenet articles, as well as transferring news among news servers. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A KMail folder full of spam emails collected over a few days. ...

The third method used to acquire newsgroup posting access, and the method that was used the most, was to use volunteers to go out and purchase Internet dialup access from an Internet Service Provider using a false name and address, and using cash or a money order. These persons were given a large amount of cash and air fare to fly to a city specifically to acquire Internet access for later use in sporging. One such volunteer, Tory Bezazian, later left Scientology and confessed to performing this task, giving the names of the Scientology staff members who were allegedly in charge of the sporgery project. An Internet service provider (abbr. ... Tory Christman (former married name Tory Bezazian; online name Magoo) born 1947, is a former member of the Church of Scientology who left the organization in 2000, after being a member for about three decades. ...

The sporgery attack against a.r.s. ended a few months after the name and address of one of the perpetrators was acquired by one of the victims, at which time the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation got involved. No indictments were made, nor were there any arrests. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Other sporgery attacks

Since the emergence of this technique of disrupting a newsgroup, a few other groups have been targeted this way. One, news.admin.net-abuse.email, is used for discussion of spamming and other email abuse problems. A person or persons using the pseudonym "Hipcrime" have attacked this and other groups with sporgeries, usually nonsense or Dissociated Press text posted under random names of legitimate posters. [2] Sporgery is also common in warez newsgroups. news. ... A KMail folder full of spam emails collected over a few days. ... Graffiti associated with HipCrime and the HipCrime NewsAgent HipCrime[1] refers both to the screenname of a Usenet vandal and software distributed by, and presumably written by, this individual. ... Dissociated Press Play on ‘Associated Press’; perhaps inspired by a reference in the 1950 Bugs Bunny cartoon Whats Up, Doc? An algorithm for transforming any text into potentially humorous garbage even more efficiently than by passing it through a marketroid. ... Warez refers primarily to copyrighted material traded in violation of copyright law. ...

See also

• Newsgroup spam
• Spamming

Newsgroup spam is a type of spamming where the targets are Usenet newsgroups. ... A KMail folder full of spam emails collected over a few days. ...

References

1. ^ Usenet, January 18, 1999, by Tilman Hausherr [1]

• The Attack Against ALT.RELIGION.SCIENTOLOGY Via Forged Article Flood (David M. Rice)
• Setting Up the Secret Accounts (Sporgery) (Tory Bezazian)