by the whole "Conlans shame" thread, as I cannot but help feel partly
responsible.

As many of you will know, the long running and wholly inexplicable hatred my
cat felt for Conlan often led it to post slanderous assaults on her
character in this group. Some, like "Conlan in doping scandal", were quite
funny. Others, like the "it's about that time" crossposts to
rec.sport.soccer, were just plain nasty.

Why Vicky never complained to me about this I'll never know, but one day the
cat had the folly to call Mikey something very unpleasant beginning with C
and he had the courage and the principles to inform me, even though he knew
that the finding out my cat's a complete bastard would break my heart.

Of course, I _always_ said that newsgroup football would come first, and
that even if it didn't then Mikey at least would. So I did what I had to do.
I kicked out the cat. It wasn't easy, he made that little cute kitty face
and mewed, and I almost changed my mind, but I stayed strong.

Tbh, I thought that would be the last I ever heard from the cat. But no. It
appears he has managed, somehow, to set up his own e-mail account, and is
back in this newsgroup posting the same nasty, vindictive, anti-conlan
hate-posts, and this time he even has the cheek to post in his own name.

Vicky, I'm so sorry. I never thought Scotty would turn out like this.
He used to be such a sweet kitten.

Joe