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Randy Cassingham's BlogHistorical Details and Author's Notes from This is True®
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Rants Archives
Don't Say I Didn't Tell You So
I had spoken about spam here and there in True, but in this issue I published the first installment of what would become my Spam Primer -- a warning that unsolicited e-mail advertising was now officially a serious problem on the net.
I Finally Nail a Copyright Infringer
One of the most irritating things about publishing online is people who think that if it's online, it's free -- and they can copy it. Wrong! Copyright infringement is stealing.
This week, a reader on True's free distribution is getting a check from me. Why? He was reading a well-known national magazine with a circulation in the millions, and saw a bunch of stories. Bizarre but true stories. "These are reminiscent of TRUE" he said in a note attached to the magazine, which he mailed me.
Speaking of People Doing Dumb Things
I absolutely cannot believe how fast the "sircam" virus is spreading. Why is that dumb? Let's put it this way: people still run MS LookOut! (er... I guess it's called "Outlook", isn't it?) as their mail program despite that it again and again and again proves to be too week to avoid trojan horses like sircam (and "I love you" and "Snow White" And... AND...!! How many more until people dump it?!)
Paper-Based Spam
I'm getting sooooo sick of in-the-mail solicitations from credit card companies! But they're starting to make me angry, and I hope you'll join me in getting revenge. The major USA issuers subscribe to a service by one of the credit reporting agencies that will supposedly cut down on the mailings (toll-free: 888-567-8688). I called and registered with them, but I didn't notice any slow-down in the junk. But it's the new attitude they have that makes me angry.
No, The Readers Haven't Learned
I was floored this week by a note from Ken in New Jersey: "I find the publication (and your comments) MAGNIFICENT; can't say better than that. Your stuff is very thought provoking, your logic consistent (and, in my opinion, 'right on'), your writing impeccable, and your humor is a delightful extravaganza. I read every issue more than once, and set aside time just for that reading. It is a great relaxation and recreation to explore, think, shake my head in disbelief, laugh, sometimes pause to re-read the closing comments, and just simply enjoy. I also enjoy the controversies you occasionally provoke; what fun!!!"
Incredibly nice, but I got a lot more anger after last week's issue than praise due to this story:
Hit Squad on Spammers?
I've been clamoring for action on the spam front since 1996. I've even dedicated a web site to a primer on what spam is, how spammers get your address, and other topics (which recently got some minor updates).
Bats, Iron Bars, and Bricks
Several readers wrote to complain about a story in last week's issue:
Sadly, This Isn't a Lawyer Joke
I expect to get a few complaints from lawyer readers about the lead story this week -- a lot of my readers are lawyers. (I also have a relatively high number of cops and preachers in my distribution. Apparently those three professions particularly like this kind of reading.) My guess is that most of my lawyer readers are pretty decent people and doing a good job fighting for true justice, and they also find the sort of comments their colleague made to be reprehensible.
Peace Sign
In the 3 December 2006 issue I led with this story:
Peace On Earth
Lisa Jensen hung a Christmas wreath on the outside wall of her home in Pagosa Springs, Colo. The pine boughs were arranged into a peace sign because she "wanted to put a message of peace out there," Jensen said. But Bob Kearns, the president of her homeowner's association, ordered her to remove the wreath on the grounds that "signs, billboards or advertising structures of any kind" are banned, and subject to a $25-per-day fine. The HOA's entire architectural control committee resigned in protest, and Jensen refused to remove the wreath. "The peace sign has a lot of negativity associated with it," Kearns claimed. "It's also an anti-Christ sign. That's how it started," he said, calling the peace sign "Satanic". After a local -- and national -- outcry, Kearns backed off. He apologized and said the wreath could stay. (Durango Herald) ...Chalking up another win for that darned peace-loving Satan.
There was, of course, reader reaction, virtually all of it readers finding it hard to believe there are such nutballs out there. But....
Define "Political Correctness"
A story this week is notable not just because of my offered "definition" of "Political Correctness", but for some interesting commentary it brought. First, the story:
War on Drugs
I fully expect to be called "anti-police" for the lead story this week. One doesn't have to be "anti" anything to decry stupidity, or even to call to task organizations you fully support when they do something wrong.
Here's the story, from True's 17 December 2006 issue:
Another Day, Another Cry-Baby
Quite a few Premium subscribers actually stay on the free distribution specifically to see the advertising. That's cool: the advertisers pay for this free distribution, so it's nice that people actually look at the ads! But now and then people whine about the ads. That's dumb: without them, they wouldn't be getting the newsletter at all, would they?!
Zero Tolerance: The Backlash Has Begun
Here we go again: more Zero Tolerance stories. This week (7 January 2007 issue) is, I think, the first time ever that the entire issue consists of ZT stories, starting with this one:
Airline Insecurity
I'm in Southern California, flying in today to speak at a conference next week. May as well spend the weekend with friends, so I popped in early. Since I live in a small town far from a big city, it always takes two flights to get anywhere: one on a puddle jumper to get to Denver, then on from there. Those little regional "commuter" turbo-props are loud, and I brought along my noise-canceling headphones to deal with it.
Guns in America: Why?
Anytime I run a "gun story" I get a lot of comment from both hugely polarized Americans, who want to rant for or against guns, and foreign readers, who don't understand the American "obsession" with arms. I'm going to take a stab at helping foreign readers understand it a bit better. But first, the "gun story" that prompted this essay, from True's 15 February 2009 issue:
TANSTAAFL, Baby
Very often readers ask me for advice about starting an online business -- when I started in 1994, there wasn't anyone to ask, and I've learned a lot in the nearly 15 years since. Obviously one can learn some things by watching what I do, but there are others who are in the business of teaching such things, and that's faster (and more generic). The problem is, a lot of those in the business are fly-by-night know-nothings who will gladly take a lot of money from you, and may or may not deliver actual value for your investment.
The War on Kids
There will probably be two responses to the first story in this week's issue: 1) I was too hard on the public library/librarian, and 2) I wasn't hard enough on her. To be sure, my tagline was judging her based on the standards of the American Library Association.
But first the story, from True's 10 May 2009 issue:
The Future of Newspapers
When I started True back in 1994, there weren't too many people online -- especially compared to now. Once I quit my Day Job to pursue online publishing full time, I was constantly looking for peers -- people to talk with that would understand what it was I was doing. It was hard going at first, but I eventually found several communities of people using e-mail discussion lists to communicate. I joined several, and was able to find a number of interesting people to help keep me stimulated and learning new things.
