After over a year in IRC, it finally happened....we got nabbed by
IRCops.

The crime:  A left over topic header from the evening before, put
up by Brian Kolacy (Mephisto) saying: 
"Jesus is in my heart and owes me three months back rent."

The Players:
Judith Bandsma, aka Chinacat
Lynda Bustilloz, aka cattybtch
classy: an anothernet IRCop.

Evil heathens that we obviously are, we were discussing kids,
husbands and video games....

*** classy has joined #holysmoke

<classy> hello

<Chinacat> sounds like fun

<Chinacat> hi classy

<cattybtch> hi classy

<classy> can you please change the last part of your topic

<cattybtch> yea, what i saw of it was fun...but don't recall what
it was.

<Chinacat> nope

<classy> I have been getting complaints on it

<Chinacat> our channel, not obscene...too bad

<cattybtch> classy..what sort?

<cattybtch> -> Ops on #holysmoke: i think this is an op cop.

<classy> people find it offensive

<cattybtch> classy...i take it you represent anothernet?

<classy> yes I am an IRCop here

<cattybtch> *nod* I understand offensive...but is it,really?

<Chinacat> anothernet doesn't support the first amendment

<cattybtch> its not crude...
<cattybtch> its not libellous..
<cattybtch> it isn't reverent, to be sure, but is it offensive,
            more than a political comment on clinton would be?
<cattybtch> or a joke about a witch would be?

<classy> I just asked nicely if you would please change it 

<cattybtch> actually such comments should inspire them to come
            discuss it which is more the idea.

<cattybtch> ok...would a comment that indicates, say, hell for
            nonbelievers also be considered offensive to other
            views?

<classy> the word h*ll would not be allowed in the topic

<classy> just please change it ....
<classy> bye

*** classy has left #holysmoke

<cattybtch> :) interesting...its in the bible...

*** cattybtch changes topic to 
"Jesus left my heart and never paid the back rent."


Just a couple of comments by me:
Pegging on the word HELL instead of understanding the meaning
behind what I was asking was really annoying, especially since 
the topic receiving the complaint contained no words that might 
be considered crude.

Also, I strongly suspect that the person registering the complain
was classy, herself. We have not had any follow up contact about
this incident. We immediately checked with anothernet's policy, 
and it does not break any existing rules.  They do allow themselves
the option of interpreting them and adding contingencies, but
pursuing this would result in long reaching effects that would
cause dissatisfaction in MANY of the channels, including Christian
ones.

But just in case, Judith has been checking at random intervals
other topics allowed in anothernet, and has a long and healthy 
list of things that *could* be offensive to *somebody*, as well 
as many that are direct violations of their stated policy.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like anothernet.  I don't think this is
going to go anywhere.  But like it or not, I'm not going to conduct
myself more rigidly than their rules call for, for the sake of
someone's possible offense.  As one of the ops in Holysmoke I *do*
try to make sure our topics stay within the rules we have agreed 
to when we joined there...no more, no less.