The Ross Institute message board has now passed 50,000 posts.

Not bad considering the ongoing threats of lawsuits, a failed lawsuit filed by Landmark Education and the seemingly endless DDOS attacks for over a year perpetrated by Searcy, Arkansas resident and crank Bruce Raisley ( see [www.culteducation.com] ) through his former "botnet" of "zombie computers," principally located in Eastern Europe.

With help from dedicated attorneys such as Peter Skolnik and Michael Norwick at Lowenstein Sandler, Douglas Brooks, Robert Rivas, Thomas Gleason, and both Harvard University's Berkman Center and Public Citizen of Washington DC as helpful resources, the Ross Institute has survived every legal challenge posed by a list of would-be Internet censors, which attempted to dictate its content.

And with the help of Croatian Internet security experts, a dedicated system administrator and ISP in Sweden, the good work of the FBI and US District Attorney in Newark NJ, this message board survived and stopped Mr. Raisley's onslaught of DDOS attacks.

Though "trolls" have come and go and no doubt will continue to be an ongoing nuisance, earnest participants here have shown again and again a willingness to endure them and move on in an effort to benefit others.

It's been a great six years and counting since this board was launched.

Thanks everyone for sharing to make this board a meaningful resource for research, so that others can benefit from your knowledge and experience.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2008 01:48AM by rrmoderator.

Well done RR. Thank you for providing a tremendous resource.

Dear Rick,

Cult Education Forum is the most useful, diverse, and accessible forum available. Thanks for providing this safe haven for former members and their families while withstanding lawsuits and hackers.

We know through personal experience with you as a successful co-defendant (lawsuit from Gentle Wind Project) that you have great courage and persistence when attacked by cult lawsuits, and we're forever grateful for that.

Jim and Judy

I hope it continues for generations to come. This board has been doing a real public service world wide.
Thanks RR!

This is a real public service. I had a fellow student who was assigned a report on TM in one of her college classes. I sent her here right away and she was amazed at what she read.

To me, that's the perfect example of the type of education this website offers.

Thanks Rick for all the hard work.

Dear Ross,

I too would like to express my gratitude for the service you run here...I think for many who have been unfortunate enough to have suffered falling into a manipulative situation, the very opportunity to be able to discuss the experiences that they have had, is therapeutic in itself......the forum also has an important function in providing "inside accounts" to others who are considering becoming involved in dubious organizations....views which would otherwise be very difficult to access....given the enormous number of individuals affected by cults in America and the wider world today...your activities must be a God-send for many!

I am grateful to you for providing this board and allowing me to take part in the discussions. I have had a lot to say over the years and this forum has been critical in my process of divulging the information I have about the Baal Teshuva movement and its impact on my life.

I couldn't have gotten through my experience without this board. The information gleaned from the home page and from other posters led me on an eye-opening study of cults, cult-like groups and individuals, and all the stuff associated with them. This site is an invaluable resource for those recovering and for those who want to learn.

It appears that someone named Bruce Raisley mentioned above is in the news.

[www.culteducation.com]
Pennsylvania computer programmer accused of attempting to bring down websites that ridiculed him
New Jersey Star-Ledger/June 30, 2009
By Joe Ryan
Newark - A computer programmer was charged in federal court today with trying to cripple nine websites, including RollingStone.com, that posted articles about him being duped into meeting a fictitious woman he met online.
Bruce Raisley, 47, of Monaca, Pa., surrendered to FBI agents in Newark...[...]


(reference)
[forum.culteducation.com]
Help needed to stop DDoS attack

happy anniversary