Fwd: The Phelps Switcheroo Saga Goes On... And On

[milloy <milloy@voir.ca>]

[: hacktivism :]


For background on the Phelps redirect, check Wired News or Salon, for 
starters...


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Date:        08/25  3:29 PM
Received:    08/25  3:48 PM
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godhatesfags.com Back w/Phelps
NewsPlanet Staff
Tuesday, August 24, 1999 / 08:22 PM

SUMMARY: The online switcheroo that turned hate into love was only
temporary, but some lesbigay-conscious netsurfers hailed it as the
Stonewall of 1999.

The transformation of anti-gay campaigner Fred Phelps' clan's
notorious godhatesfags.com into GodLovesFags.com lasted about 72
hours. Kris Haight, GodLovesFags.com Web master, was mysteriously
gifted with ownership of godhatesfags.com on the InterNIC registry on
August 18 and used the opportunity to redirect its traffic to his own
site. But on the evening of August 20, he relinquished
godhatesfags.com to its rightful owner Benjamin Phelps. Haight says
that Destek Networking Group, the uplink provider for
GodLovesFags.com's Internet Service Provider (ISP) had been threatened
with a lawsuit if he didn't. Haight said, "If we had tried to hold
out, an entire ISP and all of their clients would have lost their
connection to the Internet, and our site would have been shut down as
well."

It's also a good thing that Haight was already in the process of
transitioning out of his job as a systems administrator at the New
Hampshire ISP Sugar-River.net, because its owner told CNN that he
would have had to be terminated to demonstrate that the ISP was not
involved in the domain-grab. (Haight's boss also confirmed that he
didn't think Haight had the chops to have pulled off the hack of the
InterNIC registry himself.)

During the three days when seeking hate meant being redirected to
love, GodLovesFags.com scored more than 72,000 visits -- compared to
about 7,500 in the preceding 5-1/2 months -- and received more than
1,100 supportive e-mails (and 44 "non-supportive" ones). Haight and
his long-distance (they've never met in person) GodLovesFags.com
colleague Rich Mackey said that many of their e-mails said the
switcheroo was "the most significant step forward for gay men and
lesbians on the Internet" and "a Stonewall for the '90's," but they're
more modest. "I don't know about that," said Haight. "We just took an
opportunity that presented itself. It was our chance to spread a
little love amongst all the hate that's out there."

"We didn't set out to be activists," said Mackey. "But sometimes you
just have to take the hand God deals you."

Shirley Roper-Phelps told CNN that the domain-grab "demonstrated to
the world that fags are what we say they are. These experiences
confirm what the scripture says about them. They are lawless. Nothing
is sacred with them."

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_________________________________________
M-J Milloy
News Editor,
HOUR Magazine
Montreal, PQ

514.848.0777 (voice)
514.848.9004 (fax)

www.afterhour.com


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