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Ann O'Nymous

Headcounts are not fashionable anymore

My recent thread about August headcounts was sent to the dome[1], as was another one made by a third party[2] in an attempt to maintain the count “upstairs” (the new name given by the domers to the mainstream part of Enturb). Other threads have been closed or even made inaccessible[3].

In the first two or three months, headcounts were well received by a vast majority of the anonymous. As I was involved in the collection of data very early[4], I can tell that nobody had anything negative to say about it[5]. But things began to change. As the numbers were going down each month, people were less and less happy to see the figures. Some began to mention reasons why headcounts are not a good thing:

·         They are inaccurate. This is true, but if only accurate figures were used IRL, many activities should be stopped immediately. Most of the threads mention that they are estimates.

·         They do not reflect the impact of the protests. This is true, at least to a certain extend. In one hand, large figures have a bigger impact on the media, for instance. On the other hand, a smaller group can achieve more in terms of contact with the general public. But many posts argued that one person was enough to do the trick and IMHO, they are pushing too far.

·         Monthly protests are not the main activity of Enturb anymore. This is quite true, as the raids were multiplied and less visible actions – like legal and online awareness interventions – developed. But I am not sure that many users – at least the non-domers – are aware of this shift.

It came to the point that a fraction of users entered in some form of reality denial. The most frequent form was to mention the few locations were figures were up and to forget the global picture. When confronted, these people often required upfront solutions to the problem as a way to stop the discussion.

In June, I did not take part in the data collection, but somebody did[6]. Later this month, I raised my concern about the excuses provided to explain why the numbers were going down. The thread was domed[7]. Just after that, a thread was created in the dome to declare headcounts taboo[8]. The irony is that the author of this thread finally changed its mind and feels now concerned about the declining figures.

In July, another user took care of it[9]. The general mood, at least in this thread, was positive again.These days, we are back to taboo mode. The main argument mentioned to censor this issue is that it helps OSA, the intelligence branch of scientology[10]. Some users begin to ask for permanent ban for those who dare to create threads on this topic…A synthesis of the headcounts can been found elsewhere[11].


Major shift in the cult victim status

As a consequence of the recent drama on Enturb, the notion of victim of the cult was revisited and questioned extensively.

At the beginning, there was some sort of consensus about the fact that members were victims of a manipulative system and should not be targeted personally. Ex-members were very welcome and some of them told their story and received a lot of moral support. The ladies at ExScientologyKids.org were almost heroes and their site often seen as a consequence of the Anonymous movement.

The recent events put a different light on a couple of ex-members and the whole category became suspicious. They could not be trusted anymore and their story not be taken at face value. Furthermore, they became collectively the potential authors of wrongdoing while in the cult. People began to expect them to apologize for what they might have done and to contact the authorities to confess it.

In short, cult victims became very quickly potential cult criminals.Time will tell if this type of generalization was useful or not. It is public knowledge that some of the most visible ex-members were high-ranking members in scientology. For instance, Robert Vaughn Young was an international spokesman[1] and Larry Brennan was in charge of the new structure design after David Miscavige took over the power[2]. There are other cases.

As high ranking officers, they might have been prosecuted – and to the best of my knowledge they were not – but as whistleblowers they were and are a vital source of information about what happens at the top of scientology.Putting these people in the corner might lead them and newer ex-members to be more reluctant to tell their story and the anti-scientology movement – Anonymous included – to be deprived of information that could be useful.

It remains to be seen if the same will happen about the present members. Up to now, they were largely left alone, with the exception of OSA people, handlers sent out to bullbait the protestors and private eyes. Those are identified and exposed for security purposes.

If the shift seen with the ex-members is extended to the present ones, this could lead to a form of radicalization on both sides. The “last dungeon” syndrome within the cult would be reinforced – if this is possible – and “blowing” (leaving scientology) even more difficult.



Gaging order for “trolling” in the dome?

EDIT I finally decided to sign, as the new date for the rules was yesterday. Maybe it was general. Time will tell... Whatever happens, I will keep it as a souvenir of paranoia... or not...

 At least, it is what I think I am accused of since I saw a screen with the following message when I tried to post yesterday in the evening: “Ann O'Nymous, You must accept the Forum Rules below to be able to use some forum functions.” [1]

To be clear, I will not sign this and here are the reasons why. First, I am tired of these banning – debanning things. Second, I have been posting on Entrub for months now and I know the rules. When we had to sign to access the dome, I accepted as it was collective and useful; this is personnal, to the best of my knowledge. Third, this measure is mainly valid for the mainstream part of Enturb, but yesterday I only posted in the dome. Fourthly, I would like to know what the problem is and signing this will not give me an answer. IMHO, I did nothing wrong and I am going to prove it.I posted a total of 13 posts in three threads. I will cite what I said in its full extend. Usually, I was quoting in my post somebody who will be mentioned after the post number. I will leave the quote if necessary to the understanding.

In « Re: Tory Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaws. Yet Again », I said : « Maybe, just maybe, it is for the same reason MPB did not called the police on the 12th? » (Post 155[2], AnonMomAnon2), « Some ado about non-entities over here? » (Post 171[3], Skeptic1337), « Maybe, just maybe, Tory did not want to involve third parties and tried to solve it differently (not referring to TG)? » (Post 175[4], realitybites), « Not concerned here. maybe others... » (Post 183[5], megaphonebitch), « If you refer to the recent one, the situation changed slightly, if I am correct. », « Not concerned here. Maybe others... » and « I will continue to look at it and let you know if I come to different conclusions. » (Post 189[6], Skeptic1337), « I tend to agree. », « You are right, but I don't see what this adds to the understanding? », « What would the cops have been able to do? You are infering that Tory knew MPB's identity. Is that correct? », « Did I say something different? » and « For the record, I made the "threat" in mainstream to publish some of AMA2's posts in the TD. Haven't thought about it before, but it might be this that get me banned for 5 months. » (Post 202[7], AnonMomAnon2), « I do not have the whole chronology in mind (my mistake) and you may be right. » (Post 206[8], Skeptic1337).

So, from my side, nothing but polite remarks, questions and answers (the same cannot be said of many of the answers I received). One person acknowledged that, at least on one point (thank you) : « You might have a point there. The amount of shit stirring and why the dome is now a fucking vehicle for individual vandettas is fucking odd. I concede this. » (Post 185, by Skeptic1337[9]).

In « The LAST SELLECK Thread »[10], I wrote « Is it me or this thread was closed at about the same time as its mirror in the mainstream? IMHO, it would be fair to close it too. » (Post 137[11]), « Quote: Originally Posted by Daywatch. Dome is freefire zone. only CP and personal info get things closed.LURK MOAR NEWFAG. As a general statement, it is true. But weren't this thread and the "evidence" one closed? » (Post 142[12]), « Just stating what I think to be true or right. Prove me wrong. », « We already had this before, and you fell asleep. Remember? » and « This time I will not grace you with answers. » (Post 147[13], megaphonebitch), « Please read what the quote refers to before answering. It might help you look less stupid. », (Post 154[14], Ten Tigers).

In « Re: Highly Intellectual Debate on the Ethics of Mental Health », I wrote « Isn't it a rather nice way to lead the pack ? Choose a losse subject and a funny picture and let the others think about what you might think. Then surf on it. Having said that, do as you please... » (Post 42[15], Skeptic1337).

Now, if somebody can tell me what triggered the measure taken by the staff, I would be more than happy to listen to it.

[6] http://forums.enturbulation.org/38-thunderdome/tory-baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaws-yet-again-23813/10/#post467807. Remark about a Tory’s video. Remark about hero worshiping. Remark about educating oneself.

[10] The name was changed from « The last Tory thread », as shown in the links below. It is the mirror of the thread in mainstream, opened beforehand to prepare its OP.

[13] http://forums.enturbulation.org/38-thunderdome/last-magoo-thread-23991/8/#post467736. Megaphobitch refers to my first visit to the dome and « threatens » me to do it again.