Plug "Lee Noga" into Google.com and you get a hit for the word "inimitable" - swear to Bob. Add "wildly varied interests" and "loudmouth" to the mix, and a colorful portrait starts to appear, one that pictures a controversy-rouser, a whistle-blower, and a fisherm... angler.
That's right, an angler.
You can board-ban her (Netpond, Oprano), you can criticize her, you can grouse loud and long, but there is no censoring Noga. She's most recently had a "gossip" column running at Adult Buzz (www.adultbuzz.com), but she's been associated with companies and corporations from every arm of the adult industry.
Her bio reads "US Navy [1975-1984] - Two Honorable Discharges, Navy Corpsman, Naval Instructor. 70 percent disabled veteran.
"1985-1993 - MicroComputer database programmer.
"1992-1999 - CD-ROM Publisher, founded Lions Den, Lions Den International, published BustyBabes CD series.
"Present - Independent marketing contractor, doing work for CECash; and technology development to scrub sponsors, search engines and link lists of unethical Webmasters. Founded OnTheRopes.com, Webmaster resource (closed in 2002); opened LeeNoga.com June 2003, Webmaster chat board."
Noga's also developing a working relationship with ASACP, is a volunteer policeperson, and in January 2003 entered "the secular Franciscan community, autonomous and Catholic." Noga's on track to take her first set of vows in October "as a postulant. Will be vested in three years and will take the name 'Sister Rebecca Eileen' (good one).
"Our ministry," Noga says, "is putting voice technology in the hands of all denominations on the Internet so they can do God's work online." Noga's not naming her order for their protection, but assures that "Yes, they know what I do in the adult world, and I have 100 percent support by Servant Mother and my community order."
Since Noga's a clearinghouse for board busy-ness, it seemed possible that she might be able to provide a kind of "Top 10" scandals list for 2003 thus far. Noga has a different perspective: "I have no idea about scandals.... I call them justice served," she laughs.
The "force to contend with" came into ownership of the BustyBabes content in 1988, when she opened a triple-X BBS. "[BustyBabes] was the topic of conversation at a party. My name caught the ear of an investor who wanted to publish porn on this new medium known as CD-ROM in 1991. In 1992, we released world-wide the fourth-ever-made XXX CD-ROM, Ecstasy, the first adult CD-ROM with color inserts in the jewel case. In 1993, we released the famous BustyBabes image CD, and the series was born once we made L.A. connections for content.
"I sold the content company Zmaster in 1999 and retired from content."
Noga doesn't identify individuals within the adult Internet industry as anything but business people, and she acts - and expects - accordingly. "No heroes, no role models. I have performance expectations of everyone who is in this business. I hold everyone accountable, and if they pass muster with me they are upstanding and worthy [of doing] business."
She explains, "I have been in the online adult industry since the beginning, and we did not take ourselves too 'serious' during the formation when we tried to lay infrastructure. We worked as a team, and many of those innovators are still here today."
There are guidelines to success in adult Internet, according to Noga, and they're simple: attitude, commitment, networking, education, and ethics. They inform her hopes for the industry as it continues to grow: "I want the industry to correct problems incurred dating back to the gold rush days, when it exploded and built out with very few standards. I would like to see [this] continue, purging the industry of the people who do not believe in compliance or ethics.
"I would like to see the amount of free porn decrease, and I believe this will happen as our market corrects, and Webmasters leave the business.
"It takes a business mind to succeed, not a party mindset. The biggest obstacles in our way continue to be e-processing solutions, glut of free porn, and cost-of-acquisition for a surfer to a pay site." If Noga could make everybody in this industry follow one rule, it would be, "Take responsibility and monitor your affiliates and those Websites you do business with, to lower the liability industry-wide."
Noga has no fear of "getting behind an issue, at whatever cost to me personally, or my career. I have been known to 'speak my mind' and I have crashed seminars and put panel speakers on the spot for a little one-on-one (Andy Edmonds at CyberNet Expo)."
Some even refer to Noga as the industry "gatekeeper": "I don't really have any political lines drawn to keep me in check, which makes me a wild card out there. A breach of ethics will get a rise out of me every time, and I will go out and hold the party accountable.
"I have a passion for innovation and problem-solving. When you hear of this virtual police dog, 'Sniffy,' in our industry, think of me. Many know me from various chatboards, and I cannot pass up a good debate or argument. But by the same token, I do not talk about privileged information or violate the trust industry leaders have in me.
"Truly, I have one of the most unique roles in this industry. When you bring controversy, you can be considered as a 'troublemaker'; but the issues I get behind are hand-picked. If there is trouble, it is not by my hand; it was from the [decision of the party and] I held [them] accountable for their actions."
Noga's plans for the future include striving for "high-tech solutions" to industry problems. "We have been in development for eight months on technology [that will] push back at those making money unethically. The sponsors need a way to police their affiliates, monitor affiliate content and presentation, and know where their banners are being marketed. There is nothing in place that can police and deep-scrub sponsor affiliate programs, link lists, search engines, etc. 'Sniffy' is that solution."
Noga's been meeting with Sex.com's Gary Kremen, among others, to garner support for "Sniffy," the online police dog. Her hopes for "Sniffy" include being "the number-one worst nightmare for those not making good decisions with unethical content on their Websites.
"We are also looking to identify those that exploit poor [judgment] in meta tags, alt tags and text words.... Our industry built some big business engines, but somewhere down the line nobody built a way to look under the hood and do maintenance. The average Webmaster has over 100-plus sites each, and up until now there was no 24/7 monitoring system available. Many sponsor programs have incorrect affiliate Website URLs and do not know where the traffic is coming from. No sponsor wants to be held accountable for getting any percent of their traffic from [CP] sites or harvesting practices.
"I came on the scene in 1995, trying to be a cost-effective solution for Webmasters utilizing legitimate content. I rallied behind protection-of-copyright to educate Webmasters to do the right thing. I spoke against self-appointed industry leaders who campaigned to be our voice in Washington [Edmonds again]. I believe in free speech and the protection of our rights. I believe our industry should take responsibility and start addressing the known issues in our business. I believe in the fair treatment of the women who contribute to our industry."
Noga says, "I never asked to be a 'gatekeeper,' but somebody has to do it."
