THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
March 5, 2011
Special Interviews Direct from the International UFO Congress
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing to help fill the gap if you can to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at Welcome to The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, March 6, 2011: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host Christopher O’Brien, and their roster of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present cutting-edge interviews direct from the 2011 International UFO Congress in Fountain Hills/Scottsdale, Arizona. The lineup begins with Richard M. Dolan, who discusses the new book he co-authored with Bryce Zabel, “A.D. After Disclosure,” continues with UFO abduction researcher Kathleen Marden, and concludes with prolific paranormal author and investigator Rosemary Ellen Guiley.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Richard M. Dolan's Site: Keyhole Publishing Co., Featuring the Work of Richard M. Dolan
Kathleen Marden's Site: KathleenMardenUFO
Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Site: Rosemary Ellen Guiley | Paranormal Research | Ghosts & Hauntings - Visionary Living
Coming March 13: Gene and Chris introduce John B. Alexander, Ph.D, author of “UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities.” He’ll discuss his ongoing research, and what the government knows and doesn’t know about the subject.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Dr. Alexander's Site: John B. Alexander - Home
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Having Adult Conversations
By Gene Steinberg
In last week’s issue, I discussed some of the eccentric characters that appear from time to time in the UFO and paranormal fields. For the most part, they are relatively friendly, usually harmless, even if their viewpoints or approaches seem out of the ordinary. Since we are dealing with a field that’s out of the ordinary, I suppose that is to be expected.
But there are some people whose behavior is far and above the merely eccentric. They have little better to do than to waste time trashing the people with whom they do not agree. But it’s not just trashing one’s viewpoints. Such behavior will, at times, involve name-calling and other bouts of verbal histrionics.
For the most part, I have tried to avoid the frequent irrational debates that erupt in the paranormal field. Unfortunately, some of it spills over to our forums, and I have a staff of eager moderators who will remove the offending posts. Vigorous debate is one thing, but when it crosses over into the realm of severe personal attacks, that’s way out of line. We try to put a stop before things get out of hand.
However, that doesn’t keep some people from telling outright lies about what we do and how we do it. There are unfortunately misguided folks, for example, who spread filth online that The Paracast Community Forums arbitrarily excludes members, or deletes critical posts. Unfortunately, once a rumor has started, it can take on a life of its own in this crazy online world.
The real facts are these: Sometimes discussions get out of hand, and we will rein them in. Our forums have a clear Terms of Service designed to protect us in case someone accidentally or deliberately defames another person. And if such things occur, a member may have their posting rights suspended for a time, sort of a cooling off period. If such outrageous behavior doesn’t stop, the member will be banned from the forums, or their ability to post will be permanently disabled.
Another reason we’ll block a member is if we see evidence of outright deception. In a recent incident, for example, someone who had been the subject of a large number of messages joined our forums under an assumed name to support their own position. I have to wonder if we haven’t reverted to grade school when such antics occur.
More recently, I discovered an online columnist misrepresenting my viewpoints about certain UFO abduction cases in a discussion list. Now maybe I should just let these things ride, since they aren’t productive, but I posted a few messages correcting the record, not for the sake of the attacker, but for the benefit of the rest of the readers who deserved to know the truth about where I stand.
After a while, the discussion lists moderator grew tired of the endless discussions, and closed that thread. That should have been the end of it, until the original offender started polluting my email box with short messages containing incendiary drivel. No, I won’t quote them here, because that person doesn’t deserve the publicity.
So I requested that the sender stop writing me, which is my right. But the offender persisted. Now when you continue to send unsolicited email to someone, that’s the classic definition of spam. So I forwarded the most recent message, along with the Internet headers that identify the source of the mail, to the offender’s ISP.
That was the end of it, at least for me, until I heard that this particular person actually suffered a brief suspension of service because of my complaints. No doubt the Terms of Service of the ISP in question were violated, since sending spam can cause you to lose your account.
The final straw: The offender put up an incendiary post accusing me of illegally and aggressively trying to take down their Web sites. As you can see, the issue, first and foremost, was about offensive email. I complained just once, which is hardly illegal or aggressive. Unfortunately, there are some people who won’t let facts get in the way.
I am pleased, however, that we have a huge worldwide audience of loyal listeners – and the figure is growing every month – who come to The Paracast and to our forums to learn what’s really going on in the world of the strange and unknown. They won’t let the crazies out there stop them, nor will we.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
March 5, 2011
Special Interviews Direct from the International UFO Congress
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing to help fill the gap if you can to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at Welcome to The Official Paracast Store to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, March 6, 2011: The Paracast is a paranormal radio show that takes you on a journey to a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions. The Paracast seeks to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join long-time paranormal researcher Gene Steinberg, co-host Christopher O’Brien, and their roster of special guest experts and experiencers, as they explore the realms of the known and unknown. Listen each week to the great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present cutting-edge interviews direct from the 2011 International UFO Congress in Fountain Hills/Scottsdale, Arizona. The lineup begins with Richard M. Dolan, who discusses the new book he co-authored with Bryce Zabel, “A.D. After Disclosure,” continues with UFO abduction researcher Kathleen Marden, and concludes with prolific paranormal author and investigator Rosemary Ellen Guiley.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Richard M. Dolan's Site: Keyhole Publishing Co., Featuring the Work of Richard M. Dolan
Kathleen Marden's Site: KathleenMardenUFO
Rosemary Ellen Guiley's Site: Rosemary Ellen Guiley | Paranormal Research | Ghosts & Hauntings - Visionary Living
Coming March 13: Gene and Chris introduce John B. Alexander, Ph.D, author of “UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities.” He’ll discuss his ongoing research, and what the government knows and doesn’t know about the subject.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Dr. Alexander's Site: John B. Alexander - Home
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Having Adult Conversations
By Gene Steinberg
In last week’s issue, I discussed some of the eccentric characters that appear from time to time in the UFO and paranormal fields. For the most part, they are relatively friendly, usually harmless, even if their viewpoints or approaches seem out of the ordinary. Since we are dealing with a field that’s out of the ordinary, I suppose that is to be expected.
But there are some people whose behavior is far and above the merely eccentric. They have little better to do than to waste time trashing the people with whom they do not agree. But it’s not just trashing one’s viewpoints. Such behavior will, at times, involve name-calling and other bouts of verbal histrionics.
For the most part, I have tried to avoid the frequent irrational debates that erupt in the paranormal field. Unfortunately, some of it spills over to our forums, and I have a staff of eager moderators who will remove the offending posts. Vigorous debate is one thing, but when it crosses over into the realm of severe personal attacks, that’s way out of line. We try to put a stop before things get out of hand.
However, that doesn’t keep some people from telling outright lies about what we do and how we do it. There are unfortunately misguided folks, for example, who spread filth online that The Paracast Community Forums arbitrarily excludes members, or deletes critical posts. Unfortunately, once a rumor has started, it can take on a life of its own in this crazy online world.
The real facts are these: Sometimes discussions get out of hand, and we will rein them in. Our forums have a clear Terms of Service designed to protect us in case someone accidentally or deliberately defames another person. And if such things occur, a member may have their posting rights suspended for a time, sort of a cooling off period. If such outrageous behavior doesn’t stop, the member will be banned from the forums, or their ability to post will be permanently disabled.
Another reason we’ll block a member is if we see evidence of outright deception. In a recent incident, for example, someone who had been the subject of a large number of messages joined our forums under an assumed name to support their own position. I have to wonder if we haven’t reverted to grade school when such antics occur.
More recently, I discovered an online columnist misrepresenting my viewpoints about certain UFO abduction cases in a discussion list. Now maybe I should just let these things ride, since they aren’t productive, but I posted a few messages correcting the record, not for the sake of the attacker, but for the benefit of the rest of the readers who deserved to know the truth about where I stand.
After a while, the discussion lists moderator grew tired of the endless discussions, and closed that thread. That should have been the end of it, until the original offender started polluting my email box with short messages containing incendiary drivel. No, I won’t quote them here, because that person doesn’t deserve the publicity.
So I requested that the sender stop writing me, which is my right. But the offender persisted. Now when you continue to send unsolicited email to someone, that’s the classic definition of spam. So I forwarded the most recent message, along with the Internet headers that identify the source of the mail, to the offender’s ISP.
That was the end of it, at least for me, until I heard that this particular person actually suffered a brief suspension of service because of my complaints. No doubt the Terms of Service of the ISP in question were violated, since sending spam can cause you to lose your account.
The final straw: The offender put up an incendiary post accusing me of illegally and aggressively trying to take down their Web sites. As you can see, the issue, first and foremost, was about offensive email. I complained just once, which is hardly illegal or aggressive. Unfortunately, there are some people who won’t let facts get in the way.
I am pleased, however, that we have a huge worldwide audience of loyal listeners – and the figure is growing every month – who come to The Paracast and to our forums to learn what’s really going on in the world of the strange and unknown. They won’t let the crazies out there stop them, nor will we.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!