UFO UpDates Mailing List
From: campbell@ufomind.com (Glenn Campbell, Las Vegas)
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 00:21:13 -0800
Fwd Date: Mon, 01 Sep 1997 12:09:42 -0400
Subject: Ufomind Policy on Use of Pseudonyms
On Aug. 28, on the UFO Updates Mailing List, Linda Cortile Writes:
>From: HONEYBE100@aol.com
>Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 21:57:32 -0400 (EDT)
>To: updates@globalserve.net
>Subject: Re: Question for Linda Cortile
>>Linda, I'd like to point out that the UFO Updates Archive (UFO Mind)
>>site profiles you on their investigator page. Your page is listed as
>>"Linda -------------." So naturally people are going to use your real
>>name. Ethics has nothing to do with it.
>Fancy meeting you here! <G> Thanks for alerting me as to the UFO
>Updates (UFO Mind) site. I was unaware of their using my real name.
>That's irresponsible on their part, as it would be for anyone else to
>use my real identity. No...it isn't natural for people to go against
>anyone's wishes, unless they're natural born butt-heads. Ethics has
>EVERYTHING to do with it because the use of a pseudonym says
>a lot. When I'm ready to use my real name, I will.
Perhaps I should clarify the Ufomind policy on the use of "real"
names versus pseudonyms.
First, though, I must point out that the UFO UpDates Archive and
the Ufomind People section are separate entities. Ufomind happens
to host the archive but has no control over its content, and
vice versa. Errol controls the mailing list, while I control the
People section and the rest of the server. The decision to create
a "Linda -------------" page is mine alone. Right now, I don't
recall where "-------------" came from (and I am not too familiar
with the -------------/Cortile story, but here is my general
policy...
The Ufomind People section lists people by their last name. I want
to create a single stable address for each person, and pseudonyms
confuse things. If Mr. Smith is also known as Mr. Jones, should it
be...
www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/s/smith/ or
www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/j/jones/ ?
My rule is that I use a person's real name whenever it is a matter
of "public record" -- e.g., when Mr. Jones has been identified as Mr.
Smith in a published news story, in reliable documents on the web or
in any other public forum.
I do not try to "expose" a person's identity if it is not already
public knowledge, and I do not usually conduct an investigation to
determine a person's real name; I simply perform a web search and
search a few public references and see if the real name turns up.
I recognize that some sources may require anonymity, because their
involvement in the UFO field may cause professional, personal or legal
problems. This protection ends when you become a "public figure" in
the UFO movement. If you just want to tell your story to a researcher
and be done with it, and you use a pseudonym, then there is no reason
that your real name should be published if you don't want it to be.
If, however, you choose to appear on talk shows or do the lecture
circuit, then you have stepped into public figure status. You also
cross the line when you seek any personal or financial gain from your
story.
There is some judgement involved on my part. If someone is making money
from their story or there is any evidence of fraud, then I will more
actively seek their real name. If someone is a quiet individual who
tells his story and then goes back to private life, then I may choose
not to print their real name even if I know it myself.
I faced my own dilemma with "Jarod 2" an acquaintance of mine who
claims to have worked for a secret government UFO project and whose
story I wrote about in the Desert Rat. I used a pseudonym for him not
to protect him from the government but from the UFO nutcases, who were
already camping out in front of his house (like "Ambassador Merlyn
Merlin II" aka David Solomon, an especially annoying "alien" who was
camping in his car in front of Jarod's home). Whenever someone tells
a good UFO story, they are often subjected to unsolicited visitors and
phone calls -- an annoying stream of UFO buffs who come to "ask
questions" but end up doing most of the talking themselves.
In one of his many anti-Campbell tirades, Lazar supporter Gene Huff
posted "Jarod 2 is Bill Uhouse" repeatedly on the newsgroups as a way
of needling me. I chose to ignore this for a while, even though it was
now on the net, because I felt that Uhouse had done nothing on his own
to justify public figure status. I think I would have done the same
with anyone else's private source, because the Huff message was purely
vengeful and was not intended to serve any journalistic or research
purpose.
However, Uhouse has also spoken at some UFO conferences and sells
UFO-related merchandise (playing cards & T-shirts). This removes the
"right of anonymity," so I have had to add a page on him under his own
name.
Sometimes, I will add a page for someone under their alias and only
later find out what their real name is. In this case, it is a
judgement call whether I should keep the original URL or rename it.
The important factor here is that I want to maintain a stable URL.
This database does not seek anyone's permission before creating a page
on them, and it is in no way "authorized" by each person. We will
create a page on any "public figure" in the UFO movement, and both
supporters and opponents can post links to this page. Note that I
supply only a minimum amount of information at the top of each page,
and the person's "Role" should be a phrase that everyone agrees one.
I publish city of residence when I have it, but I do not publish
street addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. I try to walk a
middle line between providing enough information and intruding
unnecessarily into a person's privacy. For example, not printing a
person's mailing and email addresses will not deter a serious researcher
from finding them, but it will discourage junk mailers.
Pseudonyms do not aid the free exchange of information, because they
allow a person to hide their past deceptions. Given the lack
of physical evidence in this field, to evaluate any UFO claim you must
evaluate the person who is making it, and pseudonyms hinder that
process.
Here are a few other pseudonyms I have published without permission:
Valdemar Valerian and O.H. Krill are John Grace at
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/g/grace/
(He protested to me by phone and said I should not print his
"birth name," but since his business derives from selling UFO
documents at high prices -- which some contend are fraudulant
-- and his military credentials are disputed, I chose to publish
his identity anyway.)
Dr. Armen Victorian is Henry Azadehdel at
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/a/azadehdel/
Religious group leader "Rael" is Claude Vorilhon
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/v/vorilhon/
A host of aliases belong to D.L. Van Staveren
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/v/vanstaveren/
(He also protested by phone.)
Micheal Wolf is Micheal Wolf Kruvant at:
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/w/wolf/
Guy Kirkwood & Noall Bryce Cornwell are Mel Noel at:
http://www.ufomind.com/ufo/people/n/noel/
(His military credentials are disputed.)
A pseudonym doesn't always indicate deception, but it raises some
flags. One wants to find out why it is being used.
I encourage people to let me know about any other aliases for UFO or
paranormal figures.... if the alias is "on the record" or the person
is seeking personal gain from his claims.
Glenn
[Note: I do not read this list regularly, so any responses should be
cc'ed to me.]
Index: Ufomind Techniques Mailing List
Index: Bill Uhouse
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