The newsgroup alt.religion.scientology was created in 1991 by Scott Goehring, partly as a joke, partly for the purpose of informing the public about Scientology. Debate over the pros and cons of Scientology waxed and waned on the newsgroup through the first three years of its existence, and flame wars were common, as they were on most other newsgroups.
The online battle is generally seen to have begun with the arrival of Dennis Erlich to alt.religion.scientology in late July, 1994. A former high-ranking official in the organization who had been personally affiliated with L. Ron Hubbard, Erlich's presence on the newsgroup caused a number of regular participants there to sit up and take notice.
Read more about this topic: Scientology Versus The Internet