Warning: Page Contains Profanity. May Not Be Suitable For Everyone

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From: Sluggo
Subject: Stopping Robert Lavelle
Date: 23 Nov 1999

I too have been harassed by Robert Lavelle's constant ravings,
but thanks to Microsofts mail program "outlook Express" I no longer
have to contend with his crap. Outlook Express has a special feature
in the tools section called "Message Rules" for e-mail. Just set
up a rule for all incoming messages that have Robert Lavelle's name
in the body and then have them sent to the deleted items bin. It works.

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From: EL
Subject: This man sucks
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999

Man, I never thought I would see anything when I threw this
asshole's name into a search engine, but now I find that I am
not alone! There are others who have been plagued by this moron.
Keep up the fight, and I hope after the first of the year, I will
never receive an email from this bastard again.

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From: "A man from Sweden"
Subject: Sue Lavalle!
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999

Hello!

I got your addresses from the web. An acquaintance of mine told me about
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~gcaselton/spam/lavelle.html and there I found
a link to https://www.angelfire.com/wy/stoplavelle/

Since I am very annoyed by this sucker's letters I asked around if there is
anything that can be done against this guy. If he lives in the US,
shouldn't it be possible to have him arrested for harrassment or something?
I live in Sweden, so I don't know too much about your juridical system
(apart from what you see on TV, e.g. LA Law).

If someone would start a campaign for suing Robert Lavalle, I would be one
of the most eager donors. What do you think? Is there any chance that:

A) We could have him arrested by the police?
B) Sue him in a civilian court?

If I'm rightly informed (from the OJ trial) it is possible to win in a
civil case even if the prosecuted was not convicted by the law.

I'd like to hear from you again,

thank you!

SINcerely,
"A man from Sweden"

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From: "AP"
Subject: Ideas for your website
Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999

Ms. Scott,

I, too, have been receiving these e-mails since my recent switch to a
new university and they have been distressing me just as much as they
have been you. I have read through your site and a number of others and
have read through many of the links that you all provide.
First, I would like to commend you for your efforts. Not many of us
have the time, much less the incredible stamina that it takes to keep a
retaliation so thorough and up-to-date.

I would like to add some comments, if I may. I noticed on your website
that you have posted many readers' responses, and that all of these
responses were positive ones. (Of course, this may be because you have
received only positive responses.) Just to keep you on track, I'd like
to offer some critiques of your approach, and I hope that I can do so in
a way that is constructive. I hope that you can use this to your
benefit and that you don't think that because I offer such critiques
that I support Mr. Lavelle in ANY WAY.

First, I think that your approach is very emotive and that you base many
of your arguments on the fact that Mr. Lavelle makes many people
"angry." Making people angry is not against the law, and so being, I
think that your argument would be strengthened if you focused on more
substantive issues. Focusing on the state and/or federal laws that Mr.
Lavelle is violating is one way to do this.

Remember, he is also violating federal laws covering mail fraud. He
uses false information to set up Post Office boxes which he uses to set
up internet accounts. His law breaking extends beyond the internet into
an area where there are already well established and well precedented
laws. This may be the best way to see Mr. Lavelle prosecuted because
current laws regarding the internet and e-mail are very much in a state
of "birth" (if you will allow my biological metaphor).

Another way to better your position would be to offer a refutation of
Mr. Lavelle's arguments that is solidly grounded in formal logic and
refutation techniques. Stephen Toulmin is well known for his work in
this area, and text/articles by Mr. Toulmin may be of interest to you.
Currently, you offer many counterpoints that say little more than that
you disagree with Mr. Lavelle and that you think he is plain wrong.

Also, I don't really understand the point of your survey. I think that
our opinions of the content of his e-mail is irrelevant. Maybe it would
be more useful to survey people on what they think is the best course of
action regarding bringing Mr. Lavelle to justice. You could offer a
number of choices such as "I think Mr. Lavelle should be fined", "I
think he should be jailed for 10 years", or "I think he should be
punished to the maximum extent of federal (or state) law". I would even
offer a choice that Mr. Lavelle be sentenced to the death penalty-- of
course that's not possible under current laws, but hey, you'll get some
laughs, and it will also be a way to gauge the number of individuals who
are very angered and are made hostile by these mailings.

In your search for a better argument you may also want to remember that
his ideas may be different, but that does not make them wrong.
Remember, the big problem with his e-mail is NOT that we disagree with
what he is saying, but that he is sending his message illegally. Think
about it this way: if you replied to Mr. Lavelle after the first message
you received and kindly requested that he ceased e-mailing you, and he
complied, would you still have launched such a large campaign to stop
him? (My guess is that, no, you would not have, and that's the point I
am trying to make).

Of course, Ms. Scott, there is the chance that you will be angered by my
mere mention that you could use improve your efforts. If that is the
case, please accept my apology. (If we meet in the future in a
courtroom to convict this weasel, know that I will gladly shake your
hand for your incredible efforts.) Of all the sites I have seen
regarding Mr. Lavelle, I truly think that yours is the most promising
and the most well informed. Offering such questions to your readers
will greatly improve the level of discourse that occurs around your
site. Only such discourse can provide an atmosphere where people
question themselves, question current social and behavioral norms, and
begin to develop the sufficiently grounded and intelligent solutions
that we need to stop Mr. Lavelle.

Please feel free to contact me if you like, but I ask that you not post
my full name or e-mail address to your site. You seem to have a good
handle on what is acceptable e-mail use, so I trust you.

Thanks so much for your time.

AP

Comments:  I am certainly not offended by this critique, though, as I pointed out in my reply to this individual, I think some of it may have arisen from a misunderstanding of the purpose of this site.  For instance, I do not consider the Stop Robert Lavelle Page a "retaliation", but a tool to stop the spam.  This is the email which convinced me to post a refutation of Lavelle's theory, as well as a few other changes to make the purpose of this site clear.

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From: SA
Subject: Robert Lavelle
Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999

I'm sick of this abuse. I find the content abusive and hate that I don't have the chance to hit back.
Someone please stop this guy.

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From: E
Subject: You're my hero.
Date: Sat, 04 Dec 1999

Thank you for this page. I thought I was losing my mind trying to track this freak down. I'd actually taken to contacting ever
webmaster this guy uses and demanded immediate action. (On an interesting side note, it's been a remarkable way to test the customer
service mechanisms of various ISPs. Some have been remarkably responsive, others, utter failures.) It embarrasses me to admit how
much this Lavelle crap has annoyed me, but I can't log on without a new message, sometimes two a day! Of course he should be heard,
but enough is enough!

This website is a dream come true. Well done!

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From: "Michael"
Subject: Thanks
Date: Mon, 06 Dec 1999

Thanks so much for putting up this website.

I'm part of the University of Chicago contingent who've been getting
mail from Robert LaVelle. Being something of a dedicated wise-guy I
mailed back something snappy initially, and then, after the third or
fourth emailing I sent him a detailed (if polite) rant. Since then I've
been pretty much just routinely reporting him to ISP postmasters and
ignoring him. But then I got his latest missive (from cybermax.net) and
it occurred to me that I hadn't heard any complaints about him for a
while from my chums. And then I started wondering if this loony was
only sending his creep-mail to me. And then I started thinking about
the psycho-social structures of millenarian thought (I'm a geek, I admit
it), and I got a little too spooked from someone who's old enough to
know better. But then I did my web-search and found your site. Good to
be among friends.

So thanks again.

-"Michael"

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name: GF
Subject: Letter to Robert Lavelle
Date: Sat, 01 January, 2000

WELL, IT DID NOT HAPPEN. Your prophecy is flawed and you
are a false prophet. You had better dig deep in The Bible and
quit chasing numerology.

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