FC: VMyths enters realms of legend -- a farewell

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Mon Jul 07 2003 - 20:54:01 PDT

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    [Government funding of the press? Hmm. That always leads to fair, 
    objective, entirely neutral reporting that is properly skeptical of 
    government efforts in the security realm! I'm sure that Congress would 
    never, ever threaten to yank the funding of a site that is critical of 
    government security efforts! :) --Declan]
    
    ---
    
    From: "Nathan Cochrane" <ncochraneat_private>
    To: "Declan McCullagh \(E-mail\)" <declanat_private>
    Subject: VMyths enters realms of legend
    Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2003 12:55:33 +1000
    
    Hi Declan
    
    The virus hoax busting site, VMyths, is to close.
    
    VMyths was the single source of independent information about virus hoaxes,
    and a reporter's best friend when it came to evaluating "falling sky" claims
    from antivirus vendors. Paradoxically, it is this ethical streak that
    ultimately killed VMyths, founder Rob Rosenberger unwilling to accept
    financial support from vendors.
    
    In today's announcement to registered readers of the site, VMyths editor
    George Smith writes that Rosenberger is due for an extended deployment in
    the Persian Gulf with the US Air Force, which will take much of his time.
    But it was a fall in advertising revenue that delivered the killer blow,
    making VMyths' continued publication impossible:
    
    "VMYTHS has proven as valuable to scholars and policy-makers as it has to
    the put-upon corporate worker looking for a way to convince his peers to
    stop mass-mailings of the JDBGMGR.EXE and 'It takes gut to say Jesus' virus
    hoaxes," Smith says.
    
    "Whether cited by a RAND Organization research fellow or Consumer Reports
    magazine, VMYTHS' reputation as the primary source for virus hoax
    information was well deserved. Indeed, a Google research returns an
    astounding 10,200 hits, an ocean of reference spread over everything from
    small mailing lists to general interest magazines sold in supermarkets to
    the nation's major daily newspapers.It is always sad to see these resources
    disappear. But the nature of the Web is such that if information is needed,
    it will be filled."
    
    What I find remarkable is with the billions of dollars the US and other
    Western governments are pumping into mostly pointless projects that will do
    little to defend the cyber infrastructure, they couldn't find a few thousand
    dollars to keep this service going. Rosenberger is a US military employee
    who, Smith says, will instead write classified histories of units of
    interest for the USAF. But couldn't he be better employed keeping this
    project running?
    
    MORE:
    http://bilskirnir.blogspot.com/2003_07_01_bilskirnir_archive.html#105763237260460054
    
    -
    Nathan Cochrane
    Deputy IT Editor
    :Next:
    The Age and Sydney Morning Herald
    http://www.next.theage.com.au
    
    
    
    
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