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Microserv
Customer Extort Update
Sam Aurelius Milam III Last month, I printed an article1 about the coercive junk e-mail filter that had been introduced by Microserv2. In that article, I also commented on the attitude of Kevin Hemsley, a customer support representative at Microserv. Some of you might have feared that I was exaggerating my description of his attitude. You can be assured that I didn't overstate the case. I sent Microserv a courtesy copy of the article and, in response to my exercise of my freedoms of speech and of the press in the article, Kevin Hemsley unilaterally and without notice canceled my account at Microserv, even though the account was paid in full for the next three months. Thus, his own behavior convincingly demonstrates his vengeful and spiteful nature. You might wonder what he accomplished. He certainly didn't disable Pharos. It was up and running on another server within hours of the spiteful cancellation of my account at Microserv. He didn't "un-print" the Frontiersman article. It was mailed without mishap to the subscribers and is now posted on Pharos for all the world to see. I can think of three things that Kevin Hemsley did accomplish. First, as I've already mentioned, he convincingly demonstrated his vengeful and spiteful nature. The second thing that he accomplished was to motivate me to write another article, this one. If he had behaved like a mature adult, then I wouldn't have had any reason to do so. The last thing that he accomplished was to lose a customer for Microserv. That seems to me like a good example of "cutting off your nose to spite your face". There's another interesting aspect of the situation. When I first complained about the coercive nature of the filter, I demanded that it be turned off. Kevin refused to even consider the notion, insisting that I had to either use the filter or cancel my account. After I had printed the article last month, I learned that another Microserv customer had complained about the filter and had it turned off. I asked why they did it for her but not for me. I was informed that, after my conversation with Kevin Hemsley, they had developed a procedure for turning off the filter. That suggests that my objection was valid. Why else would they have developed a procedure to do what I had demanded? Here's the stupid part. About two weeks prior to the publication of my article, I informed them that I was preparing the article. They were already developing the procedure at that time, but they didn't even bother to tell me. If they had done so, it would have removed my reason for writing the article. The whole issue would have been satisfactorily resolved. Instead, they refused to inform me that they were solving the problem about which I was complaining and, instead, allowed me go ahead with my article. Threats to liberty come from all directions. Government is a primary source of such threats. However, corporations also destroy liberty. Microserv imposed its coercive junk e-mail filter upon me without my consent and then tried to punish me when I refused to be submissive and, instead, exercised my freedoms of speech and of the press. I hope to be alive long after Microserv is a fading memory. When it's gone, then I'll celebrate its demise as one small victory for liberty on this continent.
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Acknowledgments My thanks to the following: Sir James the Bold, SantaClara Bob, Lady Jan the Voluptuous, Sir Donald the Elusive, and Karl, of Windsor, Connecticut. — editor
— Political Historian
Dear Political Historian Mildred bought me some shirts made of the stuff, but it don't seem all that revolutionary. Alcohol Warning Labels
Frontiersman Cancellations — If you don't want to keep receiving this newsletter, print REFUSED, RETURN TO SENDER above your name and address, cross out your name and address, and return the newsletter. When I receive it, I'll terminate your subscription. You may also cancel by letter, e-mail, carrier pigeon, or any other method that gets the message to me. Back Issues — Back issues or extra copies of this newsletter are available upon request. Reprint Policy — Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this newsletter in its entirety or to reproduce material from it, provided that the reproduction is accurate and that proper credit is given. Please note that I do not have the authority to give permission to reprint material that I have reprinted from other sources. For that permission, you must go to the original source. I would appreciate receiving a courtesy copy of any document or publication in which you reprint my material. Submissions — I solicit letters, articles, and cartoons for the newsletter, but I don't pay for them. Short items are more likely to be printed. I suggest that letters and articles be shorter than 500 words, but that's flexible depending on space available and the content of the piece. I give credit for all items printed unless the author specifies otherwise. Payment — This newsletter isn’t for sale. If you care to make a voluntary contribution, you may do so. The continued existence of the newsletter will depend, in part, on such contributions. I prefer cash, U.S. postage stamps, prepaid telephone cards, and so forth. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use Pharos_Website@frontiernet.net. I don’t accept anything that requires me to provide ID to receive it. In case anybody is curious, I also accept gold, silver, platinum, etc. — Sam Aurelius Milam III, editor
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