back to article Will the defendant please rise? Utah State Bar hunts for sender of topless email

The Utah State Bar in America is investigating how a picture of a topless woman appeared in an email sent to all its members earlier this week. There was little to alert lawyers about what they were about to see when the email, titled "2018 Spring Convention Walk-Ins Welcome! Learn How!", popped up in inboxes. Those who did …

  1. Colabroad

    "to the breast of their knowledge"

    Bravo sirs, bravo!

    1. Korev Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

      A cup of tea for them!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

        "A cup of tea for them!"

        Milk?

      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

        "A cup of tea for them!"

        sorry, but they can't have tea. But maybe Postum...

        [I don't know what I'd do without coffee, tea, jolt, ...]

        1. Mark 85

          Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

          "A cup of tea for them!"

          sorry, but they can't have tea. But maybe Postum...

          [I don't know what I'd do without coffee, tea, jolt, ...]

          The Mormans I know of will drink tea or coffee as long as it's decaf.

      3. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

        A cup of tea for them!

        Make that two. D-size.

      4. Lloyd

        Re: "to the breast of their knowledge"

        PG Tits?

  2. Chris G

    I am sure

    El Reg will also keep abreast of the situation.

  3. John Arthur

    Pictures or it didn't happen!

    See title

    1. onefang

      Re: Full pictures or it didn't happen!

      FTFY The article did contain a partial copy of the photo.

  4. FozzyBear
    Pirate

    Oh no a pair of breasts. Really? How friggin priggish are these people ?

    You know what , don't answer that.

    1. veti Silver badge

      It's a bar association, not a college frat. There's such a thing as professionalism.

      There's also such a thing as young female lawyers, who've been dealing with years of borderline demeaning and harassment from senior partners, and I've no doubt the bar association wants to be seen as a place where they don't have to put up with that kind of bullshit.

      If I want to see tits on my computer, I'll do my own search thankyousomuch. I don't want you or anyone else emailing them to me. Particularly not disguised as a message from a professional association.

      1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

        What would you do about it?

        A) Delete it and move on.

        B) Make a big fuss to give trolls an incentive to do it every week.

      2. Allan George Dyer

        @veti - "It's a bar association, not a college frat"

        Yes, so they were correct in their first response, to say it was "inappropriate" and investigate. There is nothing "offensive" about breasts, and "horrified" is an extreme reaction so priggish seems a fair description of the association.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "If I want to see tits on my computer, I'll do my own search thankyousomuch. I don't want you or anyone else emailing them to me. Particularly not disguised as a message from a professional association."

        As a member of the British Computer Society can I please just say that I really don't mind if they send me an email showing a pair of tits.

        They're only breasts, people, 50% of the world has them, we shouldn't be getting that shocked. Let's move on.....

        1. Rich 11
          Joke

          As a member of the British Computer Society can I please just say that I really don't mind if they send me an email showing a pair of tits.

          Jobs and Wozniak?

          *ducks*

          1. sabroni Silver badge
            Meh

            surprise!

            A bunch of men not offended by the objectification of women.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: surprise!

              Surprise! a feminist trying to make something out of nothing.

              No I am not "offended" nor should anyone be. Is it illegal or immoral for a man to find a female body attractive? We forget sometimes that we are animals, programmed to pro-create. I'm not going to apologise for my hard-wired instincts. Nor are they going to go away. I treat women with absolute care and respect, but like the majority of blokes I'm not going to get upset if I see a pair of tits.

              I also find the feminist stance sometimes a little hypocritical when you see women drooling over pictures of men with six packs, doing body shots in clubs, etc but then complaining about objectification of women in the next breath....

              1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

                Re: surprise!

                " also find the feminist stance sometimes a little hypocritical when you see women drooling over pictures of men with six packs, doing body shots in clubs, etc but then complaining about objectification of women in the next breath...."

                Do you really ? because its hardly objectification to the same level , and its probably not the same "feminists" you saw previously.

                And whats a body shot?

                1. LucreLout

                  Re: surprise!

                  Do you really ? because its hardly objectification to the same level , and its probably not the same "feminists" you saw previously.

                  And whats a body shot?

                  Am I the only poster thinking you should have determines the answer to that question BEFORE deciding its not objectification to the same level?

                  I happen to agree that it isn't, but that's because I know what a body shot is.

                  1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
                    Paris Hilton

                    Re: surprise!

                    No , you're not the only poster , that did in fact cross my mind just after I wrote it.

                    I decided a "body shot " must be in the same ballpark as "drooling over pictures of men with six packs"

                    and therefore low level objectification, not Weinstein territory.

                    Can you let me know what a body shot is now? I'm not sure its something i should google at work :)

                    1. Anonymous Coward
                      Anonymous Coward

                      Re: surprise!

                      @Can you let me know what a body shot is now? I'm not sure its something i should google at work :)

                      Tequila shots usually, with a wedge of lime and salt.

                      Normal process, is someone else holds the lime wedge in their mouth, facing out, and has salt somewhere on their body, such as stomach or neck, (or places of a more intimate nature). If using the neck, the person could be standing, but lying down is the normal process.

                      You then lick the salt off their body, down the shot, and then with your mouth, take the lime from their mouth.

                      Ah happy days, that are now far too far behind me :-/

                      1. LucreLout

                        Re: surprise!

                        Normal process, is someone else holds the lime wedge in their mouth, facing out, and has salt somewhere on their body, such as stomach or neck, (or places of a more intimate nature). If using the neck, the person could be standing, but lying down is the normal process.

                        You then lick the salt off their body, down the shot, and then with your mouth, take the lime from their mouth.

                        In Sweden the shot is often poured onto a body part of some type which it then runs off into the mouth of the drinker.

              2. Jeremy Puddleduck

                Re: surprise!

                Then bring on the dick pics and see how you like it.

              3. wayward4now
                Paris Hilton

                Re: surprise!

                " I'm not going to apologise for my hard-wired instincts. Nor are they going to go away."

                Oh yes they will!!! And it will be a sorry day, I assure you.

        2. Stephen Wilkinson

          Sadly I'm no longer a Member of the British Computer Society, I'm now a Member of the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT :(

          1. Anonymous IV
            Headmaster

            @Stephen Wilkinson

            > Sadly I'm no longer a Member of the British Computer Society, I'm now a Member of the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT :(

            And not a member of the considerably more prestigious Worshipful Company of Information Technologists? Perhaps you don't qualify for their membership, which "is open to IT leaders and practitioners, entrepreneurs, technologists in diverse fields, academics and those working in other areas with a strong IT or digital or technology connection such as management, finance, accountancy, law, health, HR, marketing and other disciplines!

        3. Olafthemighty

          Pretty sure more than 50% of the population have breasts!

          1. Omgwtfbbqtime

            Are you suggesting equal rights for moobs?

            A picture of saggy moobs would have been horrifying.

          2. This post has been deleted by its author

          3. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge

            This will give the detail...

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_sex_ratio

            1. katrinab Silver badge

              Re: This will give the detail...

              Which is not particularly relevant. Men do have breasts, they just tend to be a lot smaller, but by age 50, 70% of men have some visible breast growth, and around 1% of people who get breast cancer are men.

        4. jwb

          100% of humanity has them, don't you watch Archer, specifically season 2?

        5. Nolveys

          They're only breasts, people, 50% of the world has them...

          The article is from the US where at least 75% of the population has them.

        6. Version 1.0 Silver badge

          In the US it's more like 75% of the world if you watch those fat frat boys wallering on the beach.

      4. LucreLout
        Joke

        It's a bar association, not a college frat.

        It's the bar association, so most of their experience is dealing with c*nts.

    2. Sean o' bhaile na gleann

      Storm in D-cup?

  5. Boo Radley

    Apoplexy

    Then I guess they'd get apoplectic over a dick pic? Or would they all be secretly downloading it?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Apoplexy

      Or would they all be secretly downloading it?

      Probably the latter. 15 years or so ago was a Utah case against a DVD/VHS rental which offered porn amidst other things so some idiot neighbor tried to close it down for outraging common decency.

      The shop lawyer (himself a devout Mormon) pulled stats for pay-per-view porn on cable and satellite networks and they showed Utah to be the highest consumer per capita in the USA. So the case flopped.

      1. Rich 11

        Re: Apoplexy

        So the case flopped.

        They just couldn't keep it up.

  6. Scoular

    Terribly American

    Terrified of tits.

    Enjoy a good machine gun game or movie as family entertainment.

    Funny lot.

    1. ITS Retired

      Re: Terribly American

      Many people here in the US of A and elsewhere have a real problem with anything reminding them that we humans are animals too. They often use the children as the excuse to deny this, instead of the proof we are.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Terribly American

        I assure you that millions of Americans would be happy to see the email in question, though it's hardly anything we haven't seen before. Tits AND guns, now *that's* America.

        We used to think you English were the prude ones. Less than 20 years ago, and I have anecdotes to back this up. Ah, perhaps they're a bit too personal for the internet.

        1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

          Re: "We used to think you English were the prude ones"

          I think you need to watch this.

    2. Chemical Bob
      Trollface

      Re: Terribly American

      Once the coverup is complete, they will change their name to the Utah State Bra association...

    3. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Terribly American

      the problem isn't fear of tits, but rather, the implication that showing tits have: (alleged) bad male behavior. Too many men have been castrated by radical feminism and are afraid to be themselves.

      As for me: left paren, dot, Y, dot, right paren

      Think about it: It's fun to follow the women's movement while watching from behind. And when normal male behavior is classified as "toxic masculinity", you KNOW there's gonna be a BACKLASH!

      But, apparently, they're not amused by the prank over at the Utah bar association. Getting all self-righteous over it is actually what the prankster would WANT to happen. So it was a successful prank.

      1. onefang
        Joke

        Re: Terribly American

        "It's fun to follow the women's movement while watching from behind."

        It's even more fun to watch women moving from in front, easier to see their tits.

        1. bombastic bob Silver badge
          Trollface

          Re: Terribly American

          "It's even more fun to watch women moving from in front, easier to see their tits."

          Yeah, I guess I'm an ass-man... And like I always like to say around time when the breast cancer charities are asking for money to cure breast cancer: A boob is a terrible thing to waste! So yeah, definitely cure THAT!

      2. Rich 11

        Re: Terribly American

        Too many men have been castrated by radical feminism

        Bob, you really are an utter twat.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Where's the NSFW link?

    1. kain preacher

      This is Utah to the most you are going to get a one piece bathing suit.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I happen to live in Utah, and I'd like to point out that there's a popular local beer called "Polygamy Porter." Also, the Church has no real issues these days with showing skin, at least no more than the rest of the country, which has become quite hedonistic in many places.

      2. Uncle Slacky Silver badge

        Or "magic underwear" as it's also known there.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          The magic underwear is never shown, at least not in public. I still don't know what it looks like...

  8. ecarlseen

    New El Reg bacronym?

    TITSOUT instead of TITSUP?

    1. Velv
      Headmaster

      Re: New El Reg bacronym?

      Only if you expand the backronym...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: New El Reg bacronym?

        Total Inability To Service Our Users' Titillation?

    2. Omgwtfbbqtime

      Re: New El Reg bacronym?

      Nope, TITSUP works quite nicely.

      Total Inability To Supress Unsuitable Picture.

  9. JassMan
    Thumb Up

    I see what Kieran did there

    ... they were greeted by a pair of perky private parts.

    It didn't take long for members to react.

    I am sure they are now all members of a fine upstanding community.

  10. Anonymous South African Coward Bronze badge

    Has the BOFH found new employment? Sounds like something only a BOFH will do!

    - packet sniffer on network, intercepts email, insert titillating pic, release email (now suitably modified) and wait for the fun.

    1. Alan Brown Silver badge

      "Sounds like something only a BOFH will do!"

      For most mailing lists, this kind of injection is so trivial that a BOFH wouldn't bother. I'm not going to explain how to spoof but it's how Krazy Kevin did a lot of his mailing list attacks back in the 1990s.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        "I'm not going to explain how to spoof but it's how Krazy Kevin did a lot of his mailing list attacks back in the 1990s."

        I will explain one thing:

        No passwords needed. No special hacking techniques. Just an ordinary mail client and you can do it from anywhere, not needing to "break in" to any particular server.

        There is NO concept of security in email systems. There _may_ be security protocols in place for accessing any given server but the entire setup is wide open to abuse at its core. Everything we've attempted in the last 25 years to deal with this has been a kludge sitting on top of the fundamental problem. All you need to know to breach access into almost every mailing list on the planet is the right way to type your name.

  11. Duffaboy
    Joke

    Calling

    Private Browsing

    1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      Re: Calling

      Private Browsing

      He's busy with Corporal Punishment and Major Scandal. General Uproar will be along in a moment.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    'reached out'

    Every time I read that, I think of Michelangelo's 'the creation of Adam', it's the only way that phrase can make any sense.

  13. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    Well

    That raised a titter

    1. Oengus
      Coat

      Re: Well

      It was the State Bar so they found a way to get their members to Bar up...

      Mines the one with the brown paper bag in the pocket.

  14. Johnny Canuck

    Hope they didn't get their special ""Mormon Underwear" in a knot.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      "Hope they didn't get their special ""Mormon Underwear" in a knot."

      Naw, the 'garments' make sex OK again. Hence, evangelism by procreation.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Is having sex with a Mormon fucking stupid?

  15. J. Cook Silver badge

    Well, if they linked to an external image hosted on a server outside their control, it's entirely possible that the image stored on the server was... altered to be more entertaining than what was there.

    Back when hosting companies charged for bandwidth usage, I was rather irked that some foole was hotlinking to images on my server rather excessively. So, I replaced it with a suitably different image and moved the original to a new file name. (While it wasn't risque or X rated, it was a picture of a colon. because 'maturity, I've heard of it.' )

    1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

      I'd be interested to know the context , or accompanying test to the pic.

    2. Toastan Buttar

      Hotlinking to image files

      Google "The Man Who Goatse'd Myspace" for how to deal with people nicking your bandwidth.

      Be warned, though. Some of the linked articles might actually show you the replacement image in question, so definitely NSFW.

    3. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      it was a picture of a colon.

      And I hope you then changed it to a picture of a semi-colon. Or even a pling.

    4. tiggity Silver badge

      What sort of colon? The punctuation mark or the body part?

    5. pɹɐʍoɔ snoɯʎuouɐ

      ahhhh sweet justice

      I remember it well...

      just read thriugh the blog posts again for lols...

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Doing their bit for world women's day....

    I am sure they will be seeing some new subscribers in next weeks mailing list too!

  17. Truckle The Uncivil

    "Offensive Image"

    That it is considered offensive is interesting in a way. I am an equalitarian rather than a feminist but it seems to me that is picture of a woman's chest is considered offensive then that is just outright sexist, and indeed suggests a patriarchy (something I normally do not believe in). Whether they should appear in a professional publication (without purpose) is a seperate matter.

    "Inappropriate" might be a valid term but "offensive"? That should seldom, if ever, be the case.

  18. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge

    There's an idea

    Visit Monument Valley, Utah for vacation this year.

  19. chivo243 Silver badge
    Meh

    ooh Boobies

    How titillating...

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "We are horrified,"

    Which is surprising considering they have a Beaver Mountain.

    1. Mark 85
      Coat

      No problem with "Beaver Mountain" Now there might be with Beaver Valley.... Oh.. ok... got my coat. I can take a hint.

      1. Alistair
        Windows

        @Mark 85

        I'll expect see you in my neck of the woods, since you can go skiing here

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Obviously President Trump

    Should provide some moral guidance for the Nation.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Obviously President Trump

      "Obviously President Trump

      Should provide some moral guidance for the Nation."

      well, he should know lots about weathering Storms without people taking p*ss ....

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: Obviously President Trump

        Would like to grope the breasts featured

      2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: Obviously President Trump

        Will be able to get to the boob of it

      3. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

        Re: Obviously President Trump

        Will be tittering tweeting all about it

  22. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    What a boob-oo

    That email must have been prepared for the members of the Breast Augmentation Professional Society

    1. paulll

      Re: What a boob-oo

      These guys?

      https://www.baaps.org.uk/

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    -Oh no a pair of breasts. Really? How friggin priggish are these people ?

    - There is nothing "offensive" about breasts, and "horrified" is an extreme reaction

    -I really don't mind if they send me an email showing a pair of tits.

    -They're only breasts, people, 50% of the world has them

    -but like the majority of blokes I'm not going to get upset if I see a pair of tits.

    Y'all be fine with a reputable professional body sending you dic pics then i guess?

    1. Jonathon Green

      “Y'all be fine with a reputable professional body sending you dic pics then i guess?”

      Actually no, but then I wouldn’t be OK with a female crotch shot either...

      My take on the whole “what’s all the fuss about breasts?” sub-conversation is that breasts are not genitalia and that the extent to which society sexualises them (to the point that women breast feeding children in public is considered A Thing when there’s nothing remotely titillating about it) really is ridiculous and makes us all collectively look a bit bloody silly.

      1. Alistair
        Windows

        @ Jonathon Green:

        "that the extent to which society sexualises them"

        This is one of the primary issues in a large portion of the western world.

        However, that said, society is where it is, and the mix of a professional bar association sending the image in an email blast, the overall moralism of society, and the ethical and possibly legal implications, not to mention that social media campaigns have incredible range of affect, I rather expect that the 'horrified' adjective is used in the context of horrified by what is about to land on our asses, rather than horrified that we sent a picture of a pair of breasts.

        Somehow, I see someone being sacrificed on the alter of social media in fairly short order.

  24. Herby

    The real question(s)...

    How long did it take to discover the problem?

    Which begs another question:

    What took them so long?

    Inquiring minds need to know!

  25. hi_robb

    I'll bet..

    That the only complaints were from those who seen the picture and got a bit of Mormon glory..

  26. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Utah: #1 user of phub (per phub). Also a prime example of why theocracy isn't viable.

    The best way to promote anything is to forbid it.

  27. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    'Allo' Allo

    So the painting of The Fallen Madonna with the big boobies by van Klomp is in Utah?

  28. RobThBay

    Only in america

    So boobs are bad and guns are good. What country.

  29. Brian Allan 1

    I do hope they keep abreast of the matter...

  30. Cynicalmark
    Facepalm

    Oh dear...

    100% of the population has breasts. Just look down - you have nipples. Essentially men have breast tissue as well as women.

    I love seeing Tits in my garden. They feed on nuts and sing every morning. The picture had breasts of a fuller nature on display and should not be sent on a mailing list due to the possibility of a minor seeing such a mail and asking awkward questions or causing offence.

    The filth merchants and misogynistic muppets love provoking a response so really chaps and ladies, do stop biting the bait.

    1. onefang

      Re: Oh dear...

      "100% of the population has breasts. Just look down - you have nipples. Essentially men have breast tissue as well as women.

      ... The picture had breasts of a fuller nature on display and should not be sent on a mailing list due to the possibility of a minor seeing such a mail and asking awkward questions or causing offence."

      Coz it's a proven scientific fact that some time between the time they stopped breast-feeding, and the age they become a legal adult in their country (age differs in different countries coz reasons) minors have bad reactions to seeing naked womens breasts. Bad reactions they don't have to seemingly identical mens breasts. It's science I tells ya! Here's the proof ... er wait a minute ... I'm sure I had it around here somewhere ... damn, must be magic then. Magic. It works, bitches! Though only if it's sufficiently advanced magic.

      NURSE! Think I need my dried frog pills. No, not the sciency ones, the magicy ones.

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