Kate McMillan Is Caught Altering The Comments Section of the Shotgun To Make It Appear As If People Agree With Her

My First Query About An Altered Post:

From: Meaghan Champion-Williams
To: Kevin Steel
Cc: info@westernstandard.ca
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 2:03 AM
Subject: Re: Comments re: Moments ago on The Shotgun.

Hi Kevin,
I noted that the last time one of my posts was changed, I got a nice note from you - explaining the moderation - as well as a note saying you would not edit the content of somebodys post. That's why I am sure that what happened with my posts yesterday was not done by you and why I found it particularly disturbing. I had no problem with your editing of my calling Svend a "fruit". Fair enough... I've been careful with my colorful metaphors since then. And when you did - you notified me that it had occurred. That's why this posts "moderation" struck me as bizarre.
I've just emailed Ezra the following. Can you figure out how this happened?

-------------------------
Ezra
I was in the middle of a discussion
http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2004/05/zayed_.html#c12 60127
Thats the link the thread in question.

Somebody hacked into my post - re-wrote it, and attributed it to me - and then after I questioned it - attributed EVEN the editing of it to me. This is pretty dishonest, as well as juvenile. All well and good if you want to ask me to refrain from posting - OR even if you ask me to leave. I will do so in a heartbeat - No problemo. No questions asked. I'll go elsewhere. BUT - the action of re-writing (whomever it was that did it) what I said - and then falsely attributing words I did not say - as well as attributing the editing of the post to me is perverse and extremely dishonest. It's Orwellian. What's up with dat? Who did it? I can't believe you would.
The last time one of my posts was edited I got an email from Kevin about it. There was no email this time. This is just downright CREEPY Ezra. Can you see what's going on? Thanks luv
Meaghan



Kevin Steel Responds:

From: "Kevin Steel"
To:
Subject: Re: Comments re: Moments ago on The Shotgun.
Date sent: Thu, 20 May 2004 23:20:34 -0600

Meaghan;

I don't know what happened. I didn't edit it.
If you could, please send through to me the content of your original comment and the one that was altered. I'm just heading off to bed, but I'll forward this to our webmaster and try to find out what gives in the morning.
K evin Steel

From: Meaghan Champion-Williams
To: Kevin Steel
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 2:46 AM
Subject: Re: Comments re: Moments ago on The Shotgun.

Kevin,
I wrote the comments over 24 hours ago... But basically it was a re-iteration of my disdain for
her dodge on the 'Zayed and people like him don't need to come to Canada to pursue their freedoms" in response to my comments about how I personally would welcome Mr.Zayed
to Canada's multi-cultural landscape - especially if he is persecuted for daring to criticize Islam.
I believe the beginning of the text of my article was "I read the black parts of what you write Kate, not the white". And I think I ended by commenting that when she was prepared to
discuss things without resorting to snippy insults, bromides and rumsfeldian talking-points - I would be very pleased. I don't have the full text of what I wrote - but that's the jist of it. It's quite a lot different from the spoofed "apology" and acquiescence. Hope that helps.
Thanks for looking into it Kevin.
Best Regards
Meaghan


From: "Kevin Steel"
To:
Subject: Re: Comments re: Moments ago on The Shotgun.
Date sent: Fri, 21 May 2004 10:00:53 -0600
Copies to: "Ezra Levant"

Meaghan;
We've looked into the situation and our Webmaster sent us the following comments based on what he's found so far: I doubt the master password has been hacked, else I'm sure much more damage would have been done (unless there's more evidence for that, I would rule it out). Also, the chance of the code being hacked is very, very remote. All the comments attributed to her were posted from her computer. Note that people can fake who writes a comment - just use someone else's name and email address. However, it's very difficult to fake their IP address (their computer's unique Internet connection number). All her comments to that post were made from 68.59.135.117 The second paragraph should cause you some concern and just to be on the safe side I would recommend that you update your anti-virus/trojan software and do a thorough scan of your computer if you haven't already done so. And then perhaps scan it with spyware of some kind. A good example of the latter is Spybot; if you don't already have, here it is: http://www.safer-networking.org/ Thanks for letting us know about this. You can bet we're keeping an eye out for any further evidence of these incidents, will adjust our security accordingly, and continue to maintain a complete record.
Kevin Steel

The Comment Alteration Occurs AGAIN as we are in the middle of trying to Figure Out What Is Happening...

From: Meaghan Champion-Williams
To: kevin Steel
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 1:56 PM
Subject: screen capture

Here is a screen capture I just made of the Western Standard Blog
as I viewed it a few minutes ago on the Zayed thread.
Is this what you are seeing to?


From: "Kevin Steel"
To:
Subject: Re: screen capture
Date sent: Fri, 21 May 2004 11:04:43 -0600

That's what I'm seeing.

KS

From: Meaghan Champion-Williams
To: Kevin Steel
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 2:27 PM
Subject: Re: screen capture

Hi Kevin,

My husband is on the phone with Comcast - our Service provider and I wonder if it would be possible to get a log of all the activity that they say is being posted from our computer? They would like to compare it with their logs to determine what's happening and if the security breach is at their end. Thanks

Meaghan


From: "Kevin Steel"
To:
Subject: Re: screen capture
Date sent: Fri, 21 May 2004 13:16:20 -0600

Meaghan;

I'm sorry but I had to delete your comment because I had just stated in a comment below that I would be ending the thread. The content appeared to be something you can address in an email to the people you refer to .
Kevin Steel

Kevin has discovered at this point that Kate McMillan is the culprit. He decides that what she has done is just fine, and that there is no problem with her running around essentially spoofing people's comments.

From: Meaghan Champion-Williams
To: kevin Steel
Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 4:53 PM
Subject: Fair Enough

Kevin,

The article you have just had to remove - No problem there....I was in the middle of a phonecall when posting and responding - and so some time had elapsed between my starting a post - and sending it. Consequently - I had not refreshed and didn't see your request to not post further...

I appreciate your attempt to be fair and reasoned in resolving this matter. On the other hand - I am amazed that what happened is going to stand as is.

When you edited my comments - you notified me - informed me of the policy and it was very clear to me that such change had been made. There was no cause for concern or alarm, and I appreciated getting feedback on the constraints you hope Shotgunners exercise when posting.

What Kate did was entirely different. She wiped out entire posts - AND she absolutley changed the content to alter what I had said - and it appeared as if I had said something that I did not say.

That is just perverse. What I said - the content - had ABSOLUTLEY nothing to do with what she attributed to me. It wasn't a case of removing a nasty word - or snipping something distasteful out.... It was dishonest - in content and methodology.

Can I suggest - that for future bloggers sake, that you put a disclaimer of sorts up - in a very visible part of the Blog - so that people are aware that actions like that can and may be taken at the discretion of the "invited" blogger mods.

I've emailed this situation around to a bunch of bloggers that I know to ask if this is a standard practice - this editing of content.... Not a single one of them had seen such a thing before and certainly not as it was done by Kate.

Perhaps I just hearken back to the old days of Usenet - where spoofing like that was considered to be net-abuse and was actually considered grounds for termination of ISP services if you could prove somebody had done it.

The reason is thus... allowing the altering of people's posts - missattributing what they say - for whatever reason - does not bode well for the free-exchange of information.

Part of the Beauty of the Internet Discussion is that when you having a discussion with somebody - there is witnessed log of events and who said what to whom. You can pull up records of old discussions to verify people's credibility - or check their arguments
out further. Things can't dissapear "down the memory hole" - Believe me - I don't have any problem with what happened under the grounds of "Censorship" or anything like that.... I know who owns the Blog - and I respect that 100%. I understand what Censorship is - and why this action is not that.

However - I do have to caution you, that if what Kate did is deemed "acceptable" - and is sanctioned by the owners.. then I am having a hard time coming up with a reason to keep contributing.

I've written for the National Post, the Vancouver Province, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Cowichan Valley Citizen and a few others. I've also had extensive media experience with CKNW, CBC, TalkTV and various local news. I spent 6 years working with Media.
With this event - and it's result - I have to say, out of the dozens of journalists I have worked with, and editors... I have NEVER had any problem with being falsely misrepresented - except by the National Post, and now here.

I basically lost all hope of continuing to impact Aboriginal Policy in any way - after the National Post did to me, what Kate just did - IN their National Editorial - no less... I'm telling you, as somebody who has worked as a journalist.. its fucking scary when you wake up one day - and something you said is not just misquoted... not just a little altered or spinned... not just reported in a biased way... BUT outright fabricated.

I can not convey to you how horrified I was when that occurred... and how I distinctly got flashbacks to it - from what Kate just did. I had a complete collapse last summer resultingly - from what occurred - and because I was sued by my Band Government for writing about the corruption on our reserves in the local newspaper - the Cowichan Valley Citizen.Essentially - CanWests lawyers defending me - cut a deal with my band - so that so long as I don't write anymore - they won't pursue their lawsuit against the Band. This was after Canwest assured me that they would fight the thing tooth and nail to protect "freedom of speech".

I'm sorry, perhaps others would not have reacted so badly to events such as occurred on the Shot-Gun in the last few days. I'm perhaps still in shock and recovering from being nationally misrepresented by what I used to think of as Canada's BEST newspaper.

Meaghan

From: "Kevin Steel"
To:
Subject: Re: Fair Enough
Date sent: Fri, 21 May 2004 14:42:59 -0600

Meaghan;

I agree with your point about putting up the advisory. I will be Calgary all next month in the office working on the website and the blog and dealing with issues like this. It may not happen overnight.

As for letting the thread stand "as is" I only want to leave it up as I said so people who had tuned in earlier can see what went on; and of course this includes your comments noting the misattribution. I may take it all down after I draft and send out some more guidelines to our Authors about how they should and should not treat contrary opinions. But then, I feel fairly certain that Kate--and others--will get the message from simply reading my post. To be fair to her, she hasn't done this before and I can only assume it happened here because the exchange was getting very heated and both were getting kinda personal.

Sorry to hear about your trouble with the Post. Now that you are safely tucked in the US, have you started your own Web site to hurl missive missiles across the border?

Kevin Steel

(NB and Caveat Lector for Readers of SDA and The Shotgun - There still is still at this time NO Notice or Disclaimer at the Shotgun Website that Moderators like Kate can and may completetely alter and attribute even falsely statements to anybody who participates) - This is despite the fact that Kevin agreed that something like that should be put up as an advisory warning.