Subject: The Publius FAQ (Irregular Posting) From: sprowell@cs.utk.edu (Stacy Prowell) Date: 1996/05/07 Newsgroups: alt.atheism Here's the text Publius FAQ. The text and hypertext version numbers are diverging, but I am trying to keep the content the same. Corrections, updates, etc. are welcome, since I have been busy lately. $Id: PubliusFAQ,v 2.2 1996/02/12 16:23:38 sprowell Exp $ Frequently-Asked Questions about Publius The following document attempts to answer some of the more frequently-asked questions about the Usenet poster who commonly identifies himself as "Publius," posting from the account publius@gate.net. Please contact me (Stacy Prowell, sprowell@cs.utk.edu) with any corrections or updates. I will try to maintain this FAQ and post it regularly to some of the groups Publius frequents. * Note to version 2.0: I have been way out of circulation for a while, so I expect this document needs a lot of updating! This document is augmented by the "Big Golden Book of Atheism," which is a more palatable collection of Publius' beliefs. A copy of the BGB can be obtained from http://www.cs.utk.edu/~sprowell/Publius/BigGoldenBook WHERE CAN I GET DOCUMENTS MENTIONED IN THIS FAQ? Any documents which are said to be "on the web site" can be found under http://www.cs.utk.edu/~sprowell/Publius. If you *can't* find one of the mentioned documents there, please let me know. I am working on a hypertext version of this FAQ, and will announce when I get it done. If you do not have web access, please email me for these documents (sprowell@cs.utk.edu). These files are no longer on the FTP site! WHERE CAN I GET THIS FAQ? It is being posted semi-regularly to the following newsgroups, where Publius is known to be a regular. alt.atheism alt.atheism.satire alt.fan.publius talk.philosophy.humanism The latest copy can always be obtained by writing to the maintainer-- me! (sprowell@cs.utk.edu)--or from... http://www.cs.utk.edu/~sprowell/Publius/INDEX.html (on the web) ...which also has some other Publius stuff. Changes: $Log: PubliusFAQ,v $ #Revision 2.2 1996/02/12 16:23:38 sprowell #Added new newsgroup to the Publius sitings list. # #Revision 2.1 1996/01/11 15:59:54 sprowell #Publius has posted a new response to the Stumper Question, which #has been included in the FAQ. # #Revision 2.0 1995/12/14 20:28:16 sprowell #New version. # Questions [New/Changed questions since last version are marked with an asterisk. New/Changed questions from last two versions are marked with a plus.] 1. Who/What is Publius? 2. Why does he call himself Publius? 3. Why won't Publius respond to me? 4. I saw a post signed "PUBLIUS" on the newsgroup X. Is that *the* Publius? 5. I have seen Publius called X. Why X? *6. Where does Publius post? 7. How long has Publius been on Usenet? 8. What is Publius trying to do? 9. What does Publius believe? 10. What is the Game of the Gods? 11. Is atheism really a religion? 12. What is the "genetic defect" atheists have? 13. What is the "stumper question?" +14. What is Publius' latest response to the "stumper question?" 15. What's this about Egyptians? 16. What's this about Communism? 17. What's this about the Christian "race?" 18. Someone said Publius thinks he is on a mission from God. Is this true? 19. Someone said Publius thinks the Egyptians worshipped the Jewish god. Is this true? 20. What are the most common theories to explain Publius? 21. What is the Publius dictionary? 22. What is AUTOPUBLIUS? 23. What is Red Iguana Dawn/Red Iguana Noon/Red Iguana Sunset? Where can I get a copy? 24. Who is Ferret Boy? 25. Who is Knowledgius Objectivus? 26. Can we stop Publius from posting to our newsgroup? Answers 1. Who/What is Publius? Publius is the name used by a Usenet poster who usually posts from publius@gate.net. He usually posts religious, social, or political commentary. 2. Why does he call himself Publius? Publius was the pseudonym used by James Madison when he made his contribution to the Federalist Papers. Publius seems to believe he is imitating Madison--a sort of Madison for the modern age. He also believes that calling himself Publius has a "dynamic effect." Precisely what constitutes this effect is not known. Publius has said: Boy!- Am I glad I chose the ID of PUBLIUS. As any well educated American knows, that is the pseudonym of James Madison - when he submitted his contribution to the 'Federalist Papers'. I first posted under my actual name and my postings included my Fax number. When I realized the dynamite effect of my ID I put it entirely in the Spotlight. It should be noted that both Hamilton and Jay, who also contributed to the Federalist Papers, signed their names PUBLIUS as well. 3. Why won't Publius respond to me? Publius does often respond! So if you try enough times, you might get a reply from him. You might also feel free to email him directly. Here's what Publius has to say on this subject. A puzzling accusation persists: That I attack "people" and am not polite because I won't "debate". The fact is, I never attacked any individual and although I communicated with some posters by E-Mail I have said there is nothing to debate as long as my premise is not accepted. Sorry about that. On the other hand, I as an individual, am under constant personal attack by Hard Line Atheists who now find themselves diverted from their normal pastime of defaming the Three Principal Religions, their base of operations in shambles. In other words, Publius' basic premise (that atheism is a religion which postulates a god whose nature is the composite of the laws of physics and chemistry) is not open to debate. However, it is this premise which is what most people want to debate, since it is--in general--incorrect. If you want to discuss this, be warned that Publius may ignore you. 4. I saw a post signed "PUBLIUS" on the newsgroup X. Is that *the* Publius? There are other people out there posting as "Publius." One has been sighted on alt.fan.pink-floyd. The Pink Floyd poster has become fairly famous (infamous?). Posts to alt.atheism.satire may be genuine Publius posts, or may be spoofs of Publius. The Federalist Papers are sometimes posted to alt.politics.usa.republican, and some of those will be signed PUBLIUS. Publius usually signs his posts with "PUBLIUS" in all caps. He also tends to use Conspicuous Capitalization and sudden, 'unexpected' quotation marks. Publius also mispells some wrds often he forgets punctuation at the end of a sentence. To find out for sure, ask him about atheists. If he says something to the effect that atheism is a religion, atheists have a genetic defect, or starts quoting Egyptians/Corinthians/Genesis, you can probably conclude that it is *the* Publius. Alternately, you can just check the "from" line for publius@gate.net. 5. I have seen Publius called X. Why X? 1.) Stan, Stanley, or Stanley Nizenski. Many think this is Publius' real name. 2.) Pooby, Chuckletrousers, Red Iguana, Young Master Nastypants. These are common nicknames for Publius on some newsgroups. 3.) P*bl**s. This is used to circumvent killfiles with "Publius" in them. 6. Where does Publius post? Publius is known to post on the following newsgroups. alt.atheism alt.atheism.satire alt.fan.publius alt.fan.splifford alt.history.what-if alt.politics.british alt.politics.economics alt.politics.usa.constitution alt.politics.usa.misc alt.politics.usa.republican sci.math sci.physics soc.motss soc.culture.african.american soc.culture.jewish talk.origins talk.philosophy.humanism Publius is constantly expanding his range, so the following list is probably already incomplete. 7. How long has Publius been on Usenet? According to Publius, he first logged in about 10 January 1994, and posted his first message about 18 January 1994. Here is what is believed to be the first post Publius ever made to Usenet. Note the "From:" line. Special thanks to David Yavenditti for providing me with a copy. Article: 19106 of alt.atheism Path: husc.harvard.edu!husc-news.harvard.edu!das- news.harvard.edu!cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu! europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!news.ans.net! inca.gate.net!not-fo--mail Newsgroups: alt.atheism Subject: Atheism is a Religion. Message-ID: <2hh7dd$j3i@inca.gate.net From: publius@inca.gate.net (Stanley Nizenski) Date: 18 Jan 1994 12:48:29 -0500 NNTP-Posting-Host: inca.gate.net X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Lines: 30 X-Status: Status: OR Atheism is a Religion that postulates a "God" whose nature is the composite of the workings of the Laws of the Physical Universe - the Laws of Physics and Chemistry. Essentially,its Dogma asserts that "Life" began as the result of a primordial chemical accident - a kind of by-product of the random interaction of matter and energy. This Religion is now the State Religion of the USA - and most of the Western Nations. It is the only Religion permitted to be taught in our public schools. Our children are thus lead to believe that they are members of just another order of the Animal Kingdom. That when they die they die like dogs. So, logically, our children conclude they may as well live like dogs. The fall-out from all this is evident everywhere. PUBLIUS publius@gate.net Fax: 1-305-525-8800 8. What is Publius trying to do? Unknown. Perhaps Publius would care to comment on this? Some conjectures are the following. 1.) Advance the Game of the Gods Hypothesis. 2.) Collect support for eliminating multi-party democracy. 3.) Advance his view of "race." With respect to the newsgroup alt.atheism, Publius says he is just trying to annoy people to get even with them for "defaming the three principal religions." 9. What does Publius believe? Publius believes many things, but I have tried to summarize some of his better-known beliefs here. You should also consult the "Big Golden Book of Atheism." Write me (sprowell@cs.utk.edu) for a copy. 1.) Atheism is a religion, and must take its place among the major religions of the world. Publius says on this subject: Religions, that is Concepts of the Ultimate Reality take on various forms. Atheism certainly qualifies in that regard since it is based on an unshakable Concept of the Ultimate Reality. Thus, Atheism is indeed a Religion and must take its rightful place among the Leading Religions of the World. 2.) Atheism, Darwinism, and evolution are all the same thing, logically equivalent to abiogenesis. 3.) Atheists must logically deny free will. Publius writes: Atheists must argue that there is no "God" and no "Free Will". By God they mean an Anthropomorphic God that they imagine to have been created in the image of Man but on a grand scale - and still just as dumb as Man. - That is an easy God to use as a punching bag and the Atheist never tire of that exercise. As to Free Will, how can there be a Free Will if everything is explainable according to the Laws of Physics and Chemistry? 4.) America was once a Christian nation, and Christianity was the state religion of the United States. This has been changed by the Supreme Court, and now Atheism is the state religion of the United States. Christianity must be restored to its rightful place as the state religion of the United States. Publius writes: When Atheism - (the Religion of the Intellect) - overthrew Christianity - (the Religion of the Soul) - it destroyed its Ethic and Social Discipline and replaced it with the product of a Nihilistic Doctrine that, in one generation, has turned the United States from a Nation that used to be derided for its "Puritanism" into the World Capital of Crime, Pornography, Drugs, Sexual Perversion, Economic Debauchery, and-on-and-on. So, the Trend Curve indicates we had better turn our attention to the problem of Survival. What to do boggles the mind, but obviously we must reverse the the process and restore - in some form - the Christian Religion to its rightful place as the State Religion of the United States. 5.) Multi-party democracy is destroying the United States, since it must ultimately result in a dictatorship. Publius cites Washington's farewell address for warnings about this. Publius writes: "Multi-Party Democracy" is a made-to-order format for controlling and manipulating the Masses. The terms 'Democracy' and 'Party' do not occur even once in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution. The Founding Fathers, during the Constitutional Convention, adopted this Resolution::"The election of the President must be insulated from the heat and ferment of a Popular Election." - They then constructed an "Electoral" process that was designed to prevent American Republic from suffering the same Fate as the Roman Republic. What went wrong is a matter for later discussion. But here is what George Washington said in his Farewell Address about the fatal tendence [sic] - already developing:"Let me now... warn you...against the baneful effects of the spirit of Party. The Alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to Party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism." "But this leads to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual." That is about as clear as you can make it: 6.) Atheists have a genetic defect which prevents them from understanding Publius' arguments. This theory is further supported by Publius' interpretation of Genesis six (see below). Publius cites the following passage in support of this theory. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. - 1 Corinthians 2:14 7.) Genesis one is scientific. Publius often places the word _scientific_ in quotation marks, so it is not clear whether he means the standard usage of the word. 8.) Genesis six represents the inception of the genetic defect which today is the cause of atheism. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, / That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. - Genesis 6:1-2 9.) Races are properly categorized by "ethos." There is a Jewish race, a Christian race, and a Muslim race. Please see the question "What's this about the Christian `race?'" in this FAQ. 10.) Francisco Franco was in a large part responsible for the Allied victory in World War II. He should be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and the Lenin Peace Prize posthumously. Publius writes: FRANCISCO FRANCO - IN MEMORIAM The custodian of the 'Publius FAQ' wants from me the real scoop about why I said Francisco Franco of Spain was the only person who was ever qualified to receive both the Nobel and the Lenin Peace Prizes - (and it is not late to award the Nobel Prize posthumously - the Lenin Prize now being ancient history.) I first posted it as an exercise on and this is a condensed version: If the Spanish Civil War never occured or if the Loyalists (Marxists) had been victorious over the Nationalists (Fascists), when the Germans opened their offensive in the West, conquering France in a matter of days, they would not have even slowed down at the Spanish border and with the help of the 'Fifth Column' would have arrived at Gibraltar in a matter of hours. They would have then secured the entrance to the Mediter- ranean and converted it to their private lake with Rommel's invasion of Africa a sure success. Suez in German hands and the Soviets outflanked, the war in the East would probably not occur. And as to England? Take your choice on how that would play out. But of course, that is not how it worked out in real life: On the eve of the War Franco, citing the terribly [sic] destruction and social dislocation resulting from the Civil War, proposed to the Germans that they not involve Spain in their War in the West. The Germans agreed and kept their word though - as it turned out - it meant losing the War. Franco, by this act, contributed more to the victory of the Allies than any other individual and it was ungrateful of the victors that they did not award him those Peace Prizes. 11.) Anti-communists must insist on abolishing the graduated income tax. Publius writes: Anyone who claims to be an "Anti-Communist" and in the same breath does not declare that the Graduated Income Tax must be abolished - not just adjusted or fixed but abolished - has either not read the Communist Manifesto or having read it, did not get the thrust of Point Two of the Manifesto or is an ignoramus or phony. 12.) Too many other things to mention them all. 10. What is the Game of the Gods? Publius claims to have circulated an essay titled "The Game of the Gods" to the theology departments of most major universities. Publius has emailed me his "Game of the Gods" posts. Since they are saved versions of posts made publicly to Usenet, I am willing to provide copies (they can be obtained from the web site given at the start of this FAQ). The Game of the Gods posts are too long to include here. However, what is below is a fairly good summary by Publius himself. Publius writes: However, consider this: What if there is going on here on Earth a "Game of the Gods"? (The title of an essay I circulated among most University Depts of Theology a couple of years ago) Not a silly hypothesis since the Book of Job is based on one such "Game". Let us assume that what the Egyptians believed (see the opening paragraphs of Genesis Six) is true. That just before the sudden burst on the scene of the Grand Cultures, the "Sons of God" took on Human Form, and without disturbing the integrity of the System, had "Children with the Daughters of Men" (don't laugh yet) thus creating a New Order of Life called the "Children of God" part-Man, part-God, with the capabilities to mount a succession of Grand Cultures and endowed with a God-like 'Free Will" to make for an interesting "Game" of which the Sons of God may not even know the outcome. If this is what really happened then a condition of the Game would have to be the total absence of a visible influence of God or the Sons of God - except for the innate awareness of the existence of the Spiritual Homeland of the Children of God. Any influence, other than that contained in the DNA would be like giving someone a puzzle and its solution, side by side - some "Game"! The "Free Will" (of the Children of God but -alas - not Homo Sapiens in general) is then to determine the Fate of all Life on Earth. If you want to know how the "Game" is supposed to turn out' see Chapter Twenty of the Book of Revelation. And the projected End is not to my liking - a supposed disaster guaranteed by the discovery of "The Fire of God". I insist on my "Free Will" and I say what we have is not a Prophecy of the Inevitable but a Projection of the Contingent. Although the Prophecy is right on track, I won't give up. That accounts for my postings. You Atheists figure real big in the Prophecy so before you laugh check this out. Oh - before I forget, Genesis One, part of Genesis Six and most of the Book of Job were written by an Egyptian Moses. Genesis Two and the rest were written by a Mesopotamian Mose [sic]. (See Sigmund Freud:"Moses-Monotheism".) 11. Is atheism really a religion? No. See the FAQ for alt.atheism. Since I consider myself to be an atheist, I have included one of my own posts on this question. Stacy Prowell (sprowell@cs.utk.edu) writes: Atheism in general is not the belief that god does not exist. I consider myself an atheist but I will readily acknowledge that I don't know whether or not god exists. In general atheism is just the lack of belief in god. Since there is no credible evidence that god exists, I choose not to believe. For the same reason I don't believe there are elves who make shoes. Does this mean there aren't elves who make shoes? No. Many people confuse this with agnosticism. In the general case of each, they are practically indistinguishable. However, the two diverge in their epistemological treatment of the question. Atheism is the rejection of the epistemology of religion-- faith. For this reason, it rejects belief in god. Agnosticism typically states that the question of god's existence or lack thereof cannot be answered. I am not so pessimistic. Perhaps the question can be answered. Again, I do not know. So in the general case atheism is not a religion at all. In specific instances people may become very "religious" about their atheism. But specific instances do not hold for the general case, and from what I have observed on alt.atheism the only usage of the word which subsumes all people calling themselves atheists is "lack belief in god." 12. What is the "genetic defect" atheists have? From Genesis 6:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 2:14, Publius concludes that all atheists have a genetic defect--he also calls it a genetic shortcoming--which prevents them from discerning the spiritual. This, explains Publius, is why atheists are not convinced by Publius' arguments. 13. What is the "stumper question?" Publius claims the spiritual has primacy over the physical. Publius also claims that the physical--a genetic defect--prevents atheists from accessing the spiritual realm. The latter indicates that the physical has primacy over the spiritual. This is a contradiction. Publius has repeatedly been asked to explain this. Here is the most recent statement of the stumper question, as posted by Stacy Prowell (sprowell@cs.utk.edu). The Stumper Question Publius, you state that life has primacy over matter. You continue by saying that life existed prior to matter. Since life existed prior to matter, its qualities are independent of matter. Either it is inherently capable of "spiritual discernment" or it is not. Assume life is inherently capable of spiritual discernment. You state that a genetic defect--a manifestation of matter--can alter this property of life. This indicates that matter has primacy over life--structures in matter define and/or limit the properties of life. This contradicts your claim that life has primacy over matter. Assume life is inherently incapable of spiritual discernment. You state that a genetic defect--a manifestation of matter--can alter this property of life. This indicates that matter has primacy over life--structures in matter define and/or limit the properties of life. This contradicts your claim that life has primacy over matter. Your genetic defect hypothesis contradicts your claim that life has primacy over matter. Your philosophy is internally inconsistent. 14. What is Publius' latest response to the "stumper question?" Publius' latest response, posted 18 December 1994, follows. My "Life has Primacy over Matter" hypothesis does not fail on any of the grounds you advance. I said a "genetic defect" accounts for the inability of 'homo sapiens' to discern thast which is - as St. Paul said - "spiritually discerned". Homo Sapiens is a product of the Sixth Day of Creation and from his perspective, having an intellect capable of "subduing the earth", he is genetically complete. I used that term as a figure of speech to show the difference between homo sapiens and the "Children of God" the product of the Eighth Day of Creation. (See my "Game of the Gods" postings.) The "defect" is not derogatory. It is just an absence of the quality that allows us to "discern" the Spiritual side of existence - something that is not accessible to the senses we share with homo sapiens. You can bet there will be more about all this later. PUBLIUS at 15. What's this about Egyptians? Publius believes that the Egyptians were expert in paleontology, and possessed a great deal of information about spiritual matters. He often cites the Egyptians, though he has yet to provide a specific source--which he has been asked to do. 16. What's this about Communism? Publius considers the communists "soul-mates" of all atheists. He further insists that all atheists are liberals. This is incorrect. Publius apparently concludes this by assuming that atheism is a religion, and has a uniform dogma and set of beliefs common to all atheists. Since Marx was an atheist, all atheists must be like minded. This is absurd--for instance, compare Marx's _Das_Kapital_ with Ayn Rand's _Capitalism_. Further, Publius has posted a "condensed" version of the Communist Manifesto. This can be found at the web site given at the start of this FAQ. 17. What's this about the Christian "race?" Publius writes: This business of identifying 'Race' according to the color of the skin is nonsense. Race in the significant sense is based on 'Ethos'. What is the racial difference between Hutus, Tutsis, Zulus, etc. They all have black skins but the racial difference is enough to kill over. I am a member of the 'Christian Race' Not 'Christian Religion' but 'Christian Race'. I happen to have a white skin but so do a lot of other people who are not even remotely members of my Race. By 'Christian Race' I mean a community of people and nations that formed about one-thousand years in Europe under a confederation called the 'Holy Roman Empire'. Its Religion was 'Western Christianity'. A specific form of Christianity that is peculiar to this Race, and is felt only by this Race. Its 'Ethos' is reflected in what has become known as the 'Western Culture' and it takes its place in the history of the 'Grand Cultures': Egyptian, Chinese, Classical, Arabian, etc. Its Spiritual Drive is reflected in the Gothic Cathedral, Perspective Painting, Contrapuntal Music, and the 'Force Idea' of Physics. This Culture has entered a period of decline as a Late Civilization with very few of the 'Patrician Order' left to represent its Prime Symbol of "Infinite Extension in Time and Space". Anyway - see how complicated this matter of 'Race". is? Don't worry too much about my 'Race' the World is about to return to a history-less mode. Then you'll wish I'd come back. But History is a one-way street. Sorry about that. 18. Someone said Publius thinks he is on a mission from God. Is this true? Yes. Regarding his first login, Publius wrote: The easiest thing to do now was to look overthe [sic] Usenet Groups and I started with 'alt' and there was 'alt.atheism' so I pressed the right buttons and there it was! At that time I think there were only about one-third the postings there are now but you can imagine my surprise - my shock - just reading the Headings. And when I began reading the contents I became furious at this low-class polution [sic] of Internet. Talk about "casting pearls before swine" I said to myself. Then I began to pray:"Dear Father, help me figure out how to break it off in those nogoodniks!" and the answer came right via the original Internet - the Holy Spirit it called among those who have the access code: "You've read the Book of Job and you know all about the Faustian Myth. You've run into the same problem Job and Faust had. You stumbled into one of the Action Points of Satan, the God of the Physican [sic] Universe. You know - he's always conning my Children into selling their Souls for some Earthly Ego Trip. Come on! You know how to handle this!" And that is how I was inspired to write the posting: "Atheism is a Religion . . ." The rest is History. A continuingly developing History, I hasten to add. 19. Someone said Publius thinks the Egyptians worshipped the Jewish god. Is this true? No. Well, maybe. Publius wrote: Oh - before I forget, Genesis One, part of Genesis Six and most of the Book of Job were written by an Egyptian Moses. Genesis Two and the rest were written by a Mesopotamian Mose. (See Sigmund Freud:"Moses-Monotheism".) So, some conclude, Publius undoubtedly thinks that at least one Egyptian worshipped the Jewish god. This may be the case. However, Publius apparently does not think the Egyptians in general ever worshipped the Jewish god. Publius has this to say on the subject. After you read my 'Game' you will see that I didn't say that the Egyptians worshiped a Jewish God. 20. What are the most common theories to explain Publius? Publius sometimes refers to a collection of anonymous supporters he claims to have. He even posted for a while as "Publius, et. al." The following explanations have been advanced: Publius is trolling. That is, Publius is posting things he really doesn't believe just to stir up trouble and see who will "flame" him. However, the sheer length of time Publius has been posting would discount this theory. Publius has a thought disorder. Publius is an idiot. Publius is intellectually dishonest. These are the most common theories, and have the greatest number of vocal adherents. Publius is a Fascist. This is an entertaining theory proposed by Andrew Lias (anrwlias@netcom.com). It is not intended seriously, but simply as an example of the sort of faulty logic many feel Publius employs. A copy of this thesis can be obtained from the web site given at the start of this FAQ. Publius is playing Devil's Advocate. Publius himself claims to be serious about his "mission." Therefore this theory seems unlikely. The AUTOPUBLIUS explanation. Periodically a post will appear taking credit for creating Publius and a more advanced program they call AutoPublius. The post is from the "autopublius group," which claims to have developed AutoPublius as an AI project. They refer to Publius as a "buggy, old version of autopublius which accidentally got loose." 21. What is the Publius dictionary? The Publius Dictionary is an attempt to redefine English as Publius uses it. According to Steve Keppel-Jones (the author), the dictionary is a serious attempt to understand Publius' postings. Publius has endorsed it. The most recent version can be obtained either by writing to Steve Keppel-Jones (stevekj@bnr.ca) or from the web site given at the start of this FAQ. 22. What is AUTOPUBLIUS? You should request the AUTOPUBLIUS FAQ from Mike Cummings (cummings@u.washington.edu) or obtain it from the web site given at the start of this FAQ. Here's an excerpt from the AUTOPUBLIUS FAQ. AUTOPUBLIUS is a cyberfundamentalist, here to serve alt.atheism's idiocy needs. It is intended as a fill-in while the best of the real bozos are on hiatus, and also gives a.a regulars practice defending themselves against the attacks of said idiots. 23. What is Red Iguana Dawn/Red Iguana Noon/Red Iguana Sunset? Where can I get a copy? Stacy Prowell wrote a series called Red Iguana Dawn, in which he took Publius' posts and transformed them into a dialogue with several other characters. The series can be obtained by requesting it from Stacy (sprowell@cs.utk.edu) of from the web site at the start of this FAQ. Hans Dykstra wrote the single post Red Iguana Interlude, which links Red Iguana Dawn and Red Iguana Noon together. It can be obtained by writing to Stacy Prowell (sprowell@cs.utk.edu), Arturo Magidin (magidin@math.berkeley.edu), possibly from Hans (hdykstra@twain.ucs.umass.edu), or from the web site at the start of this FAQ. The Red Iguana series was so popular that Arturo Magidin agreed to write a sequel. It can be obtained from Arturo (magidin@math.berkeley.edu), or from the web site at the start of this FAQ. Stacy Prowell has stalled work on finishing Red Iguana Sunset until he finishes another chapter of his dissertation. When he returns to is, it will be posted to alt.atheism.satire. 24. Who is Ferret Boy? Ferret Boy is Publius' sidekick in the Red Iguana series (see the answer to question 23). 25. Who is Knowledgius Objectivus? Knowledgius is the Vile and Contemptible Atheist God, and the Arch-Enemy of Publius in the Red Iguana series (see the answer to question 23).. 26. Can we stop Publius from posting to our newsgroup? Probably not. Publius isn't even able to stop himself from posting to alt.atheism. He has claimed he is trying to stay away from the group, but the volume of his posts has not decreased. On another group he claimed he posted to alt.atheism to punish atheists for "defaming the three principal religions." ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many people have contributed to this document. If you don't see your name, sorry! Let me know if I have forgotten you! The following people contributed information and/or corrections to this FAQ. The names (except Publius') are in alphabetical order. Publius Scott Brown Keith "Justified And Ancient" Cochran John D. Evans Steve Keppel-Jones Chris Krolczyk Arturo Magidin Tim McCarthy Doug Sewell Matthew P Wiener David Yavenditti -- -- Stacy J. Prowell http://www.cs.utk.edu/~sprowell "It's not denial. I'm just very selective about what I accept as reality." - Bill Watterson's Calvin (end of original message) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can view this message and the related discussion by following this link: http://www.dejanews.com/=zzz_maf/dnquery.xp?search=thread&svcclass=dnserver&recnum=%3cSPROWELL.96May7145226@rocky.cs.utk.edu%3e%231/10 We hope to see you soon at Deja News, the discussion network. http://www.dejanews.com/=zzz_maf/