On the internet, no one knows if you're a dog.

But some people care if you are Jewish. And anti-semitism is alive and well,
in places you'd hardly expect to find it.

I play chess on various online services. There is ICS, the internet chess
club. There is also a free internet chess server, called FICS. FICS has
always been a nice place to visit, play a few games. The administration
prides itself on keeping a friendly atmosphere, free of the real world
strife that all of us face. IT even advertises itself as a family friendly
place. And so, the last place you'd expect to find anti-semitism tolerated
is FICS. You'd be wrong.

A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized after
the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a not so
sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew." I figured that this must have just
passed by some tired administrator, and so I messaged the online admin, and
asked him to do something about it. He refused, and said I should email an
admin who deals with abuse. I did, and began a surrealistic email
conversation, in which he insisted that there was nothing FICS was going to
do about it, because it could mean anything, and the user had not placed any
antisemitic comments in his user profile. When I asked what other reasonable
meaning that user name could have, he suggested that I ask the user myself.

I asked him to confirm that this was the official position of FICS, and I
emailed others within FICS, and have not received any response. All I can
assume is that anti-semitism there is ok, as long as it is not so baltant
that it becomes obvions to a child under 3.

On Mar 5, 8:33 pm, "Israel Silverman"
wrote:


A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized after
the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a not so
sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew."


Hey, some people are just sharper than others
with these things. Me, I found it, shall we say
very helpful that you pointed out the translation.

Look at this one: killjoy; now, if a spelling-
challenged idiot like certain posters here in
rgc were to attempt this, it /could/ come out
as killjot, or killhoy, or something like that. But
I cannot think of anything offhand that would
explain the "killzjoo" spelling, apart from your
reasonable explanation.

I still recall a fellow from waaaay back when,
who had a handle (or moniker) of "tooeasy";
when I very easily defeated him, I tried to
make a joke but he apparently took offense
for the next thing I know, I am getting dashed
against the rocks by his Fritz or Chessmaster
program. This of course, was against their
policy, yet nobody did anything about it; I say
he asked for it by selecting such a name, and
by playing to match it.

Other problems with admins on these Web
sites frequently arise. I knew one fellow who
volunteered to serve as an admin in order to
get a free membership. He told me that they
pretty much did whatever they pleased, toying
with people in various ways -- even during
play. On one site, the admins bragged they
could reliably detect computer use, yet they
had never caught any of the players I knew,
and whom I watched do this countless times.

In sum, the above story is not surprising. But
I would not leap to the conclusion that the
admins are all "anti-semitic"; the fact is, they
are not so very bright as you might expect. I
bet I could go there right now and beat up on
one using Fritz... .


-- help bot

Israel Silverman wrote:
On the internet, no one knows if you're a dog.

But some people care if you are Jewish. And anti-semitism is alive and well,
in places you'd hardly expect to find it.

I play chess on various online services. There is ICS, the internet chess
club. There is also a free internet chess server, called FICS. FICS has
always been a nice place to visit, play a few games. The administration
prides itself on keeping a friendly atmosphere, free of the real world
strife that all of us face. IT even advertises itself as a family friendly
place. And so, the last place you'd expect to find anti-semitism tolerated
is FICS. You'd be wrong.

A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized after
the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a not so
sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew." I figured that this must have just
passed by some tired administrator, and so I messaged the online admin, and
asked him to do something about it. He refused, and said I should email an
admin who deals with abuse. I did, and began a surrealistic email
conversation, in which he insisted that there was nothing FICS was going to
do about it, because it could mean anything, and the user had not placed any
antisemitic comments in his user profile. When I asked what other reasonable
meaning that user name could have, he suggested that I ask the user myself.

I asked him to confirm that this was the official position of FICS, and I
emailed others within FICS, and have not received any response. All I can
assume is that anti-semitism there is ok, as long as it is not so baltant
that it becomes obvions to a child under 3.

Israel,

I understand how this was upsetting, but I have seen slang usage of
"joo" = "you" frequently among some folks...
--

Cordially,
Rev. J.D. Walker, MsD, U.C.

I am not saying tht all the admins there are anti-semitic. I'm sure that's
not so. However, if the powers-that-be choose not to prohibit such a handle,
well, that begins to speak for itself.

"help bot" wrote in message
...
On Mar 5, 8:33 pm, "Israel Silverman"
wrote:


A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized
after
the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a not
so
sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew."


Hey, some people are just sharper than others
with these things. Me, I found it, shall we say
very helpful that you pointed out the translation.

Look at this one: killjoy; now, if a spelling-
challenged idiot like certain posters here in
rgc were to attempt this, it /could/ come out
as killjot, or killhoy, or something like that. But
I cannot think of anything offhand that would
explain the "killzjoo" spelling, apart from your
reasonable explanation.

I still recall a fellow from waaaay back when,
who had a handle (or moniker) of "tooeasy";
when I very easily defeated him, I tried to
make a joke but he apparently took offense
for the next thing I know, I am getting dashed
against the rocks by his Fritz or Chessmaster
program. This of course, was against their
policy, yet nobody did anything about it; I say
he asked for it by selecting such a name, and
by playing to match it.

Other problems with admins on these Web
sites frequently arise. I knew one fellow who
volunteered to serve as an admin in order to
get a free membership. He told me that they
pretty much did whatever they pleased, toying
with people in various ways -- even during
play. On one site, the admins bragged they
could reliably detect computer use, yet they
had never caught any of the players I knew,
and whom I watched do this countless times.

In sum, the above story is not surprising. But
I would not leap to the conclusion that the
admins are all "anti-semitic"; the fact is, they
are not so very bright as you might expect. I
bet I could go there right now and beat up on
one using Fritz... .


-- help bot

"Israel Silverman" wrote in message
...
On the internet, no one knows if you're a dog.

But some people care if you are Jewish. And anti-semitism is alive and
well, in places you'd hardly expect to find it.

PROVE TO ME THAT JEWS ARE SEMITES, HEEB!
Otherwise shut your ****ing trap!

"J.D. Walker" wrote in message
...
Israel Silverman wrote:
On the internet, no one knows if you're a dog.

But some people care if you are Jewish. And anti-semitism is alive and
well, in places you'd hardly expect to find it.

I play chess on various online services. There is ICS, the internet chess
club. There is also a free internet chess server, called FICS. FICS has
always been a nice place to visit, play a few games. The administration
prides itself on keeping a friendly atmosphere, free of the real world
strife that all of us face. IT even advertises itself as a family
friendly place. And so, the last place you'd expect to find anti-semitism
tolerated is FICS. You'd be wrong.

A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized
after the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a
not so sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew." I figured that this must have
just passed by some tired administrator, and so I messaged the online
admin, and asked him to do something about it. He refused, and said I
should email an admin who deals with abuse. I did, and began a
surrealistic email conversation, in which he insisted that there was
nothing FICS was going to do about it, because it could mean anything,
and the user had not placed any antisemitic comments in his user profile.
When I asked what other reasonable meaning that user name could have, he
suggested that I ask the user myself.

I asked him to confirm that this was the official position of FICS, and I
emailed others within FICS, and have not received any response. All I can
assume is that anti-semitism there is ok, as long as it is not so baltant
that it becomes obvions to a child under 3.

Israel,

I understand how this was upsetting, but I have seen slang usage of "joo"
= "you" frequently among some folks...

You are correct! I had not thought of that. However, the handle would then
mean "Kill the you?" I don't think so. I still think that "Killzjoo" is what
it sure sounds like - Kill the Jew.

On Mar 5, 10:34*pm, "Israel Silverman"
wrote:
I am not saying tht all the admins there are anti-semitic. I'm sure that's
not so. However, if the powers-that-be choose not to prohibit such a handle,
well, that begins to speak for itself.

"help bot" wrote in message

...



On Mar 5, 8:33 pm, "Israel Silverman"
wrote:

A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly realized
after
the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo." Obviously, this is a not
so
sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew."

*Hey, some people are just sharper than others
with these things. *Me, I found it, shall we say
very helpful that you pointed out the translation.

*Look at this one: killjoy; now, if a spelling-
challenged idiot like certain posters here in
rgc were to attempt this, it /could/ come out
as killjot, or killhoy, or something like that. *But
I cannot think of anything offhand that would
explain the "killzjoo" spelling, apart from your
reasonable explanation.

*I still recall a fellow from waaaay back when,
who had a handle (or moniker) of "tooeasy";
when I very easily defeated him, I tried to
make a joke but he apparently took offense
for the next thing I know, I am getting dashed
against the rocks by his Fritz or Chessmaster
program. *This of course, was against their
policy, yet nobody did anything about it; I say
he asked for it by selecting such a name, and
by playing to match it.

*Other problems with admins on these Web
sites frequently arise. *I knew one fellow who
volunteered to serve as an admin in order to
get a free membership. *He told me that they
pretty much did whatever they pleased, toying
with people in various ways -- even during
play. *On one site, the admins bragged they
could reliably detect computer use, yet they
had never caught any of the players I knew,
and whom I watched do this countless times.

*In sum, the above story is not surprising. *But
I would not leap to the conclusion that the
admins are all "anti-semitic"; the fact is, they
are not so very bright as you might expect. *I
bet I could go there right now and beat up on
one using Fritz... .

*-- help bot- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Perhaps I am just old and tired. I read the intent of the nick
exactly as you do, Israel. But my sense is that someone who plays
games with such a moniker is most likely a confused and mischievous
teenager. You can try to police that kind of misbehavior if you want;
surely I can sympathize with your sensitivity. But it seems to me a
dissipation of energy. It is not necessary to bully and intimidate
and scold every vestige of anti-Semitism. Much of it goes away
naturally, over time, as people gain wisdom though hard experience.
It isn't a perfect world and the Internet, a medium which is allergic
to accountability, is more unperfect than the norm.

On Mar 5, 7:39 pm, "ElParedon" wrote:
[hateful junk]

I have reported coward EIParedon's post as abusive.

Wlod

Israel Silverman wrote:
A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly
realized after the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo."
Obviously, this is a not so sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew."

That seems the most likely, though it could be "kills you".

I figured that this must have just passed by some tired
administrator

As I recall, FICS usernames aren't passed by administrators. You can
use whatever you want but the admins reserve the right to delete
accounts with offensive names. This name has never been "approved",
as such, by FICS; just not rejected.


Dave.

--
David Richerby Generic Chair (TM): it's like a chair
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ but it's just like all the others!

Israel Silverman wrote:
"J.D. Walker" wrote:
Israel Silverman wrote:
A day ago, I played a game with a fellow who, I astonishingly
realized after the game began, had a user name of "killzjoo."
Obviously, this is a not so sneaky way of saying "Kill the Jew."

I understand how this was upsetting, but I have seen slang usage of
"joo" = "you" frequently among some folks...

You are correct! I had not thought of that. However, the handle
would then mean "Kill the you?"

Not "kill zee you" but "killz you"="kills you".


Dave.

--
David Richerby Dangerous Chicken (TM): it's like a
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ farm animal but it could explode at
any minute!