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Oklahoma man asks Reg to turn off the internet

Make these Linux meanies stop!

Letters Jerry Taylor, the now famous city manager of Tuttle, Oklahoma, who last week threatened to call the FBI to stop Linux maker CentOS from helping him configure a web server has presented The Register with a massive request. Taylor wants us to shut down the internet.

For those of you who are not up to speed with this popular story, here's a brief recap.

Taylor went to Tuttle city's web site, hoping to make some changes. Upon arriving at the site, he discovered the boilerplate Apache web server configuration page and mistook this for a possible hack attempt on Tuttle. Instead of contacting a server administrator about the problem, Taylor initiated a tirade with a CentOS support staffer in which he repeatedly threatened to have the FBI investigate the Linux maker for attacking Tuttle's municipal web site.

Eventually, CentOS showed Taylor that it had nothing to do with the web site other than providing the operating system software for the web server. The fury of Tuttle's e-mails made plenty of you laugh as our story was picked up by Slashdot, Digg and others.

It would seem that we made too many of you laugh.

Taylor - who once proclaimed to the CentOS staff, "I have no fear of the media, in fact I welcome this publicity" - has asked us to put a halt to the publicity.

Taylor declined to respond to this reporter's request for comment but did write to a member of El Reg's marketing team.

I do not follow instructions that show up when a website that I am not familiar with appears on my computer and I do not think anyone with experience would do so either. Once the Centos site appeared on four computers at one site I contacted our web service provider. The web service provider did not know what could cause the problem and had never heard of "CentOS". I then contacted the internet provider's local office and was told that they did nothing to cause the problem. I checked the building's server and found nothing relating to CentOS on the server. I was then left with only the web page email address to contact. I asked for the strange website to be removed because it blocked my City web site and I could not post public information. I only got help after threatening to contact the FBI.

Now I am being flooded with emails from CentOS users that after knowing the answer say the problem was simple. I think this is unjustified and would like for this to stop. Your website should provide useful information and be a credit to the IT world. I do not believe it should be used to incite the users. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

So stop, now. Please.

It should be noted that Taylor failed to thank many of you for improving Tuttle's web site.

About 100 of you noticed the spelling error in Taylor's bio page where he wrote, "I am please [sic] to serve the citizens of the City of Tuttle." That line now reads "I am pleased to serve the citizens of the City of Tuttle." The site, however, continues to misspell Heisman - or Hiesman according to Tuttle - despite being the home of Heisman Trophy winning football star Jason White. Plenty of you noticed this mistake, and we guess Taylor will fix the problem soon.

The fact that Taylor cannot handle the abuse of Linux fan boys may be surprising given that he has faced off against a tiger in tong-to-fence combat - a story captured by The Tuttle Times - note the granddad's pride and joy sweater. (In an unrelated item, you can find a Tuttle police officer preparing for a party here.)

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