James <james1…@delphi.com> writes:
> changed from rabid believer to profound skeptic

               [ Obligatory PC comment:      ]
               [       Rabies is a disease.  ]
               [       People are not rabid. ]
               [       People have rabies.   ]

People do not change from strong believers to skeptics. They flip from strong
believers to strong disbelievers. The difference is great and nearly
irreconcilable. A skeptic is one who examines both beliefs and disbeliefs
carefully before embracing them.

>  Let us let the FDA decide, I am willing to.

I am glad you now say so. But I count at least seven messages in the mailing
list between 8-13 June in which you used the terms "fleeced", "con", "scam",
"lied", or "suckered" without qualification in describing the events. You
made these statements on a public mailing list, not in private email. Your
statement here is the first indication I’ve seen that you’ve changed your
mind. I’d be far more convinced that you mean the above statement if I saw an
explicit repudiation of your earlier claims.

All of these claims were particularly odd in light of the fact that not a
single person either

  1) claims to have lost money, or
  2) claims to have any money at risk, or
  3) claims to have been asked for money.

The entire set of allegations has been based on speculation about the
believed perpetrater’s personality and a powerful belief in a highly
inflated value of a potential mailing list.

> It was I who proposed a mailing list scam!  These are, sadly,
> *extremely* common in the networks and bring thousands of dollars to
> those who build up a list of names as large as Mr Snitkof has by
> now.

Would you care to cite a reference? This reeks of urban legend to me. Mailing
lists typically sell for 3-5 cents per name. Very well targeted lists of very
well-heeled potential customers may sell for a dollar a name or more. This
would be a well targeted list but not of people ready to toss about large
chunks of change at the drop of a hat, thus a medium-value list.

And if the information gathered were in fact used for a mailing list, who has
lost? Not anyone on the list. The list would only have significant value if
used for exactly the kind of information that those who gave their addresses
expressed an interest in — new bG meter technology. Much larger lists for
less focussed groups could be obtained at less cost. Such a mailing list
would be as much a service to the recipients as to the mailers. I’d be happy
to put my name on such a list (and get off a couple of dozen of the true junk
lists I’m on).

> Proof-in-the-pudding must come from Mr Snitkof himself, and just
> hasn’t been there.

And proof of the scam that you have claimed must come from you. You have made
claims of fleece, con, scam and sucker. You have not repudiated your claims,
and yet you have found no one who has lost anything. The burden is on you.

> Why would Mr Snitkof go to all this trouble and then not ask for money?

I find it a sad day when someone is accused of a scam because they fail to
ask for money!

–
Edward Reid    e…@titipu.resun.com (normal)
PO Box 378     Edward_R…@acm.org (forwarding)
Greensboro FL  re…@freenet.fsu.edu (seldom checked)