Editing Alt.religion.scientology (section)

==Activity==
In 2006, alt.religion.scientology was one of the more popular newsgroups on Usenet, averaging three to four hundred messages per day.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} The total number of readers is unknown, but Google reports over 8,800 subscribers to the newsgroup through [[Google Groups]].{{citation needed|date=November 2012}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!browse|title=Google Groups|website=groups.google.com}}</ref>

Critics of Scientology claim that Scientologists are forbidden from reading or accessing the newsgroup. As evidence, they point to the software package sometimes dubbed "[[Scieno Sitter]]" by critics. This software package, described as an "[[Internet filter]]", was part of a "Web starter kit" distributed by the Church. The stated purpose of the starter kit was to make it as easy as possible for Scientologists to create personal websites (hosted by the Church) promoting Scientology. The Church did not disclose the other purpose of the starter kit: the "Scieno Sitter" program blocks users from accessing the newsgroup ''alt.religion.scientology,'' as well as many Web sites containing information critical of Scientology, and references to the names of many vocal critics of the organization. If terms matching the software's list of forbidden words appear, the software may blank them from a web page, kick the user from the chatroom where the words appeared, or even shut down their browser altogether.<ref name="Web of their own">{{cite news |first=Janelle |last=Brown |url=https://www.salon.com/1998/07/15/feature_299/ |title=A Web of their own |work=Salon |date=15 July 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015191610/https://www.salon.com/1998/07/15/feature_299/ |archive-date=October 15, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{r|sympathy}}