To: All Msg #43, Jan-10-93 02:01PM Subject: The Cryptozoology Information Network (Bigfoot

From:    Thomas Hill                            
To:      All                                    Msg #43, Jan-10-93 02:01PM
Subject: The Cryptozoology Information Network (Bigfoot, etc.)

Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
From: ai065@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Thomas Hill)
Message-ID: <1iq6brINN77i@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic


(NOTE TO OUR COMPUTER-USING MEMBERS: Please delete the first group
charter which had been provided to you. The request that you try to
type in and send us information still stands, of course. Look for
the first issue of our newsletter at any time in the very near future.
I'm typing it into the computer as we speak. There will also be a
newsletter which deals only with cryptozoology in general. Any members
who receive more than one copy should notify me, because this would be
due to a dual listing of your UseNet ID.)
 
 
 
     Dear fellow researcher,
                 investigator,
                 or student of cryptozoology,
 
     By way of the very fact that you are reading this letter, you
have made it known in some fashion, public or private, that you have
an avid interest in the subject of cryptozoology. More specifically,
you probably have a deep interest in the potentially unknown animal
called "Bigfoot" or "Sasquatch". It is for this very reason that I
write you this letter- in a bold attempt to bring new life and restore
noble goals to this field of research. Please read the charter found
in this letter, which details more precisely the reason why this needs
to be done, providing the framework for a new group that can transcend
the current state of dissension, intimidation, and stagnation that
currently permeates the Bigfoot field. In short, it is time we take
the profit, power, and politics out of the research arena. Only then,
in an atmosphere of good intent and no hidden motives, can we have
true hope in solving this mystery. PLEASE note that we are basing our
statements on various related aspects that are more in the cerebral,
and are NOT making statements in relation to any specific group or
individuals. There are MANY fine groups and individuals in this field,
and all involved have brought good to this field in one way or another.
 
   If your interest in cryptozoology was spawned by a personal sighting,
please request a sighting form from us and we will mail one to you.
If you are part of a group or organization that would be interested in
forming a working relationship with our group, please send us a
letter detailing your group and it's activities. If you are an
investigator who would like to be in our data bases so you can be
notified of any potential future sightings in your research area,
please send us a history of your activity in this field thus far.
 
   We currently are looking for donations in the way of material related
to the field of cryptozoology. If you have sighting reports, books,
videos, or any other similar information that may be of value to the
group library, or would like to submit your own material for publication
or review in our newsletter, please mail it to us. Finally, we are
in dire need of addresses of other researchers, investigators, or
people with a general interest in cryptozoology.
 
   Thank you for your time, we look forward to future contact with
you, and feel free to call or write us for whatever reason.
 
                                            Thomas E. Hill
                                            The Cryptozoology
                                            Information Network
                                            16124 Richard Dr.
                                            Brook Park, OH 44142
                                            216-362-6529
 
 
                   THE CRYPTOZOOLOGY INFORMATION NETWORK
                   -------------------------------------
                         DIRECTOR: THOMAS E. HILL
                   (C)OPYRIGHT 1992 THOMAS E. HILL, CIN
 
     PURPOSE: Some of you may be wondering why there is a need to form
yet another organized group of people in order to carry out research in
the area of Bigfoot, or even the broader field of cryptozoology. There
are many reasons for this, and I will try to make some of them as clear
as possible at this point in time. First, many groups related to this
subject have strict, non-spoken "laws" and "guidelines", largely driven
by less than respectable desires, that are not conducive to our main
cause- that being to aid in the final solution of this mystery, as well
as other mysteries that may await our investigation. More specifically,
these groups in general tend to hoard information, warn witnesses not
to talk to other investigators, and basically try to sit on and control
as much data on this subject as possible. This can be done in the name
of striving for media attention, sole rights to material for books they
can make a buck in writing, and even just for the share pleasure that
their perceived power as "king bigfoot hunter" gives them. These actions
are typical of investigators who have let this mystery consume and
control their lives, rather than having a firm handle on their original
good intentions in this area of research. Nobody should be blamed for
this. It is one of the many potential pitfalls that this subject harbors,
and it can be fairly easy for anybody with pure initial goals to lose
their perspective when submersed in this subculture.
 
   That being said, we have decided to form a new group with the
intention to not lose sight of the noble goal that others seem to have
lost. We will provide free and totally open information concerning this
subject as we procure it by our own efforts, while charging NO FEE for
this information, membership, or any other function this group routinely
offers. In other words, our membership is FREE, our newsletter is FREE,
and all other routine aspects of our group will contain no hidden
motives to make some form of profit. There may be a small charge to
cover the cost of shipping and producing such material, but it will not
be inflated so as to incure a large profit to make it worth doing for
personal gain.
 
   The sole and main purpose of this group is to make an honest effort
in solving this mystery. In order to do this, we must be as open and
free with the results of our investigations as possible. Indeed, it is
our belief that the desire to control information and isolate others is
the main reason why this animal has not yet been found, and the mystery
solved. Therefore, you can take comfort in the fact that we will present
a complete and open service in proving the public, other researchers
and investigators with information as we obtain it on our own. The only
exception to this rule being witnesses who request total anonymity,
information provided by other investigators who request that we not
share it with others, or material that we are currently performing a
controlled investigation on. This latter form of material will be
provided to others as soon as our research in it's case is complete, and
this kind of material is the exception rather than the rule in our
efforts.
 
   To say that we wish to solve this mystery does not mean that we
believe this animal exists. After all, if we knew that this animal
existed then there would be no mystery to solve. Rather, in order to
use a pure scientific approach, we make no premature judgements on the
reality or myth of this animal. You can only grow and learn with an open
mind, and this is the very root of scientific investigation. To scoff at
the idea that such a creature exists without giving it a throrough
investigation is being vein, not scientifically sound. But by the same
token, crying out that this animal does exist without providing hard
evidence is also not the solution. Rather, we must make an honest effort
to solve this mystery and then hope that our efforts pay off. In the
process, we will not: unduly seek media attention, try to incur profits
from our routine activities, make an attempt to control information and
isolate "competition", or operate our group in any ego-serving fashion.
Again, the noble cause MUST be held close to our hearts in order to offer
true hope in solving this fascinating mystery.
 
   STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF FUNCTION: The structure of our group has many
aspects to it, and I will try to outline those in an orderly fashion. Our
group was spawned by a computer, of all things. Thomas Hill, the director
of CIN, has vast interest and experience to match in computers, and
thus this is the conerstone to our group. Please note that, although we
use computers to organize and operate our group in the most orderly and
effective manner, by NO MEANS do members have to own, use, or know
anything about computers. Computers are mainly used to support our
infastructure, and play almost no role in the normal group activities,
meetings, field work, etc. We currently use a computer system to do
everything from solicitation of sightings by way of a worldwide computer
network, to maintaining a data base of sightings, investigators,
researchers, and various other things related to this field. These
computer-related aspects are as follows:
 
   Several worldwide computer networks and computers inkey sighting
areas are used to slicit witnesses to come forward with sightings.
While this method is limited to people who own or use computer systems,
this effort does reach millions of people all over the world and is,
believe it or not, more effective by numbers than using a newspaper
article. While it may be hard for a non-computer user to believe, there
are millions upon millions of people who use these systems everyday.
Requests for sightings are posted in a wide variety of special interest
areas. Everything from: hunting, camping, fishing, hiking, backpacking,
guns, park systems, outdoors, and bird watching, to even more less
related interests, like: paintball, boomeranging, and off-road driving.
 
   These efforts, though still in their early stages, have already
yielded several sighting reports, and this method should produce a
wealth of new reports in the future. These reports can range from areas
as close as Columbus, to places as far away as China.
 
   Another function of our computer system is to maintain a data base of
investigators in every nation, state, and even county. We can then
instantly provide these new sighting reports to the right investigators,
as well as refer curious witnesses to local investigators who can help
them. As you can see, this holds much potential in furthering the cause
by way of freeing up information and providing quick action, if needed.
In addition, our computer data bases are open to those researchers and
investigators who need specific information. This could be anything as
broad as a complete verbatim of sightings in a particular state, to
something as specific as a list of animal colors described by witnesses
in a precise county. As you might have realized by now, this computer
network could be the very tool needed to bring this animal into the 21st
century.
 
   We also use the computer networks to further our membership. Currently,
we have close to 300 members nationwide, and these members provide us
with an important eye in the watch for news and other related data on
this subject. Any information our members spot is relayed to us through
the network, and this information is then recorded and processed in
proper fashion. Additionally, the networks are used to send out our
newsletter in computer form, providing fast, free, instant information
to our computer-using members, as well as the computer-using public at
large. Think of the possibilities of being able to provide constant, free,
informative news to millions of people on this subject. No longer do
investigators have to seek the media's help in order to spread word of
their work.
 
   The final major computer-related aspect to our group is the formation
of a 24-hour computer bulletin board system (BBS). This BBS will be used
as a portal for other computer-using members to gain direct access to our
data bases, write and read electronic mail to other members, and report
and read about new sightings. This will also provide a permanent library
of articles related to cryptozoology which have been submitted to our
group in paper or computer form.
 
   Computers are also used to produce our mailed newsletter for members,
write letters, produce videos, and further research in the study of
possible trends in data concerning this animal. Non-computer users should
not feel in the minority here. In fact, the majority of investigators and
other people involved in this field do not use computers. We simple use
computers to further make our efforts more effective and responsive, but
ALL activities and data flowing out of our group will be provided in the
conventional paper format as well.
 
   Our group will currently provide a free membership, free newsletter,
and free invitations to help in our field investigations. In the future,
we may have a book out containing a compilation of sightings, articles
on various related topics from key investigators, as well as guidelines
on how to go about your own investigations. We also will be providing a
free 1-800 number in the near future to solicit reports, a 24-hour hot
line connected to it, as well as advertisements in key area newspapers
to draw in more sightings. We also plan to acquire land in prime sighting
locations, currently here in Ohio and PA, and will also try to encourage
members who live in prime sighting areas to privide temporary use of
their property for base camps.
 
   We are more than willing to work in conjunction with other research
groups who request it, and will provide them with as much help in their
investigations as time and money permits. We can only hope that other
groups do not perceive use as some form of "threat" or "competition", and
offer them a friendly gesture of scientific cooperation for future
purposes. We will also avoid the political posturing that some groups and
individuals currently take part in in this field, and only hope that
they will return us the same favor in kind. These political games do
nothing to further the cause, and are more or less the result of selfish
motives. PLEASE keep this in mind if our group fails or hesitates to
respond to any verbal garbage produced by such people. Once again, please
note that we are talking in the general, and are NOT making specific
statements regarding any specific groups or individuals. There are many
find researchers and investigators in this field who are only making an
honest effort to find some answers.
 
   If you would like to be a member of our network, please fill out
the following form and mail it to our address (or electronic mailbox).
Thank you for your expressed interest in our group, and I hope we can
all share in the mystery, the adventure, and perhaps the final
discovery...
 
                                          Thomas E. Hill
                                          The Cryptozoology
                                          Information Network
                                          16124 Richard Dr.
                                          Brook Park, OH 44142
                                          216-362-6529
 
                 THE CRYPTOZOOLOGY INFORMATION NETWORK
                 -------------------------------------
 
                       APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
 
------------PLEASE PRINT OUT YOUR ANSWERS ON THE LINES BELOW----------
 
USENET ID #:
NAME:
PHONE #:
ADDRESS:
AGE:
SEX:
DEGREES AND/OR
SPECIAL EDUCATION:
INTERESTS:
 
DO YOU WISH TO BE: _JUST A MEMBER _A GROUP SPEAKER _A GROUP INVESTIGATOR
 
 
HOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT ?:
 
 
PLEASE LIST ANY SIMILAR GROUPS YOU ARE A MEMBER OF:
 
 
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN CRYPTOZOOLOGY, AND WHAT KIND OF
ACTIVITY HAVE YOU HAD IN THIS FIELD THUS FAR?:
 
 
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A STRANGE ANIMAL SIGHTING, OR ANY OTHER STRANGE
PHENOMENA EXPERIENCE?
 
 
PLEASE LIST ANY SERVICES YOU WOULD BE WILLING TO PROVIDE, EQUIPEMTN YOU
MAY ALLOW US TO USE, OR PROPERTY YOU MAY ALLOW US TO DO FIELD RESEARCH ON:
 
 
   By signing this agreement, I fully understand that the group and/or
it's members can not be held responsible for any wrong or hurtful
information they might accidentally provide, or for any other physical,
financial, or psychological damage which may result from this information.
I fully understand that the group and/or it's members can not be held
responsible for any accidental injury, financial damage, or psycholigical
problems which may result from meetings or field investigations. I also
fully understand that the group and/or it's members can not be held
responsible for my actions, both in and out of any activity related to
the group. Finally, I fully understand that my membership and/or any
service that this group provides may be terminated for any reason that
the group may consider to be abusive, unconducive to our purpose, or not
falling within the norm of civil behavior.
 
SIGNED:                                    DATE: