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TOTSE

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Favicon for TOTSE Temple of the Screaming Electron
File:TOTSE.pngTOTSE's frontpage.
Type of siteInternet forum
OwnerJeff Hunter
Created byJeff Hunter
Revenuegraphical advertisements
URLhttp://www.totse.com/
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired to post but not to view postings

TOTSE ("tawt-see," Template:IPA2, commonly mispronounced as "tote-see," Template:IPA2 and "totes," Template:IPA2) is a San Francisco Bay Area website and former BBS dedicated to storing text files on a variety of subjects and viewpoints, many of which are unusual or controversial. The name is an acronym for "Temple of the Screaming Electron". TOTSE has been criticized for making available numerous text files which describe illegal or otherwise harmful acts, but TOTSE's FAQ claims that the site is about spreading viewpoints that visitors to the site may disagree with, so that they can learn about alternative viewpoints.

History

TOTSE was started by Jeff Hunter (a founding member of NIRVANAnet) in 1989 as a dial-up BBS originally named "& the Temple of the Screaming Electron". The original &TOTSE specialized in small text files. (Hunter had an old 8088 PC XT clone with limited hard drive space; small text files were the only data he could store in reasonable quantity.)

TOTSE became available on the Internet in 1997, and the dial-up BBS system was discontinued in the spring of 1998.

Media attention

TOTSE has been featured in the media, usually for members committing crimes or for its controversial text files. The site also appears on a 2006 Australian anti-terrorrism poster and a television advertisement.

Recent attention is due to the "hacking" of an electronic car park sign in Crawley, England, designed to display the number of spaces left for each car park. The top two displays were replaced with profanity while the lower display read "totse".

A number of TOTSE members placed prank telephone calls to Live Prayer with Bill Keller starting on November 21, 2006. When another TOTSE member ("BigFishy"), appalled by their actions, reported them to Keller via email, he threatened legal action against TOTSE, specifically stating that the prank calls amounted to "conspiracy to obstruct commerce", despite the non-commercial nature of his broadcast. The situation was later resolved when a TOTSE moderator ("Warweed") contacted Keller and apologized.

Community

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The community of TOTSE is an Internet forum and IRC channel. Some users of the community refer to themselves as "Totseans". Members engage in discussion about a wide variety of topics including religion, politics, humanities, weapons, explosives, drugs, illegal activities, technology, music, the environment, mechanics, food, sex, and do it yourself projects. TOTSE is affectionately referred to by the users as &T, &TOTSE, and "The Temple". Although Hunter has an account he rarely posts on the TOTSE forums as himself. It may appear to some that the site promotes criminal activity (this impression is heavily influenced by negative media attention). TOTSE does not endorse any form of criminal activity. TOTSE's main goal is to promote freedom of speech and information; the TOTSE text file archive illustrates this. Despite this, many members of the community do ostensibly promote criminal activities.

The forum software was running a highly modified version of UBB 5.47a, which has been heavily criticized by several readers due to its age. Hunter purchased a copy of vBulletin, with the eventual upgrade occurring on April 4, 2007.

References

  1. ^ TOTSE FAQ - Mythos
  2. Australian Government (2005-08-30). "HELP PROTECT AUSTRALIA FROM TERRORISM" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |description= ignored (help)
  3. Help Protect Australia From Text Files
  4. Acford, Louise (27 October 2006). "Rude awakening for dawn drivers". The Argus. Retrieved 2006-10-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. Payne, Stewart (28 October 2006). "Rude road signs tell drivers where to go". Telegraph. Retrieved 2006-10-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. Live Prayer show archives: November 28th 2006
  7. Jeff Hunter's profile
  8. https://www.totse.com/en/_faq/totse_faq.html#wtf
  9. Replacement for UBB announcement

External links

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