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89 KiB
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1835 lines
89 KiB
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# #
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# BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News #
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# #
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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COPYRIGHT 1993 ISSN 1055-4548
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Volume 6, Issue 11 Issue #64 December 1993
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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-----------------
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article title author
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Disclaimer/Statement of Policy.............................Staff
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*Party Announcement!*................................Mark Maisel
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From The Editor.................................Scott Hollifield
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Submission Guidelines...........................................
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Letters to BTN.......................................BTN Readers
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First Annual BTN Art Contest...............................Rules
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Editorial..........................................Dean Costello
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The Last Hegemony, Part 3.....................Christopher Mohney
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"Dear Jan"...........................................Jeff Vaughn
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Games Children Play..................................Damion Furi
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Life on the Lines..............................Bernie Starchaser
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Cafe Spotlight: G.G.'s In The Park....................David Moss
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Local Music in December.............................Judy Ranelli
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Notes From The Trenches............................Dean Costello
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BTN ProFile: Bernie Starchaser........................The Bishop
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Special Interest Groups (SIGs).........................Eric Hunt
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Known BBS Numbers...................................James Minton
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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################################################################
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DISCLAIMER
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AND STATEMENT OF POLICY
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FOR BTN
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################################################################
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We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
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information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for damage
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due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability, if any for BTN, its
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*editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
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etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
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even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
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of such damages occurring.
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With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
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policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
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monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
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publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any time
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but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear in a
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particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise harm a
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person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the content of
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the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their work and it
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is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles from BTN
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with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a reprint, in
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which case he will specify in the content of his article. Otherwise,
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please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as the
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source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
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article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
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please forward a copy of your publication to:
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Mark Maisel
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Publisher, BTN
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606 Twin Branch Terrace
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Birmingham, AL 35216
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(205) 823-3956
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We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
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you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
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all of this and not get too serious about it.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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################################################################
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FREEBIE!!!
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GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT! Systems That Offer Free BTN
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################################################################
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The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is
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with no charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
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ADAnet One Alter-Ego Bone Yard
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Bus System The Castle Channel 8250
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C.A.B. The Comfy Chair! Crunchy Frog
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DC Info Exchange Final Frontier The Guardian
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Hardware Hotline Homewood's Hell Hole Joker's Castle
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Leaping's Lounge Lemon Grove Lion's Den
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Martyrdom Again?! The MATRIX Milliways BBS
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The Outer Limits Owl's Nest Playground
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Safe Harbor Southern Stallion Starbase 12
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Thy Master's Dungeon Weekends BBS
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(This list includes some systems which are not local to Birmingham and
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therefore not included on our BBS Numbers list.)
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If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
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me know via The Matrix or Crunchy Frog so that I can post your board as
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a free BTN distributor. Thanks.
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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################################################################
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NEWSFLASH!
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NEWSFLASH!
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NEWSFLASH!
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################################################################
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ANNOUNCING BY POPULAR DEMAND!!
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THE ***RETURN***
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OF THE
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---===***>>> BTN PARTY <<<***===---
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!!!!!!!
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Date: Saturday, Dec. 4, 1993
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Time: 6:00 p.m.
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Place: Home of Mark and Kathy Maisel
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606 Twin Branch Terrace, Vestavia
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What: BTN Party
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If you need further directions, please call (205)-823-3956. If you
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reach the answering service, do leave a message. Your call will be
|
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returned, provided you leave a valid phone number in the message.
|
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We will probably have some snack foods on hand and soft drinks. If you
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have a preference as to food, then be sure to bring it. If you are of
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legal age, you will be expected to bring your own alcoholic beverage,
|
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should you desire them. If you are not, then don't bring any as you will
|
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be asked to leave. Do not bring any illegal substances or items or you
|
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will also be asked to leave. The Vestavia Police are not known to be as
|
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forgiving as have been the Birmingham Police.
|
|||
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This party has a very special purpose. It has come to my attention that
|
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many of you would like to write for BTN. The staff and I will be on
|
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hand to help you with the complicated procedures surrouding the
|
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submission and publication of your articles, reviews, and editorial
|
|||
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commentaries. We know that you've always wanted a chance and now you
|
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will have it.
|
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A primitive map follows.
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MM, Pub
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The easiest route is to get on Columbiana Road via either US HWY 31 or I-65N
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exit to Vestavia/Hoover. Proceed up Columbiana to Tyler Road. Take Tyler
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Road to Twin Branch Drive. Take the left fork to Twin Branch Terrace. Our
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House is the next to last on the right side of the street. The "X"'s mark
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the location. The asterisks refer to traffic lights. The first is at the
|
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I-65N exit and goes directly onto Columbiana. The second is Columbiana<6E> <20>
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and Tyler. The third is Hackberry/Southland and Tyler. <20> US <20>
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<20> HWY<57>
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This map is not drawn to scale! <20> 31 <20>
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<20> <20>Columbiana <20> <20>
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Hackberry<72><79> \ \ <20><>Road <20> <20>
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Lane <20><> \ I-65 \ <20><> <20> <20>
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<20><> \ \ <20><> <20> <20>
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__________Tyler Road____________________*3_______\_________\*2 <20> <20>
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<20> <20> <20> <20> \ <20>\ <20> <20>
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<20>Twin Branch <20>Donna <20>Paden <20><> \ <20><> \ <20> <20>
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<20>Drive <20>Drive <20>Drive <20><>Southland \ <20><> \ <20> <20>
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<20> <20> <20> <20><>Drive \ <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>\ *1 <20>
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<20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ \ \ <20>
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<20> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>\<5C><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ \
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<20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> \ <20> <20> \
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<20><> <20>Twin Branch \<5C>\ <20>
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD> 606<30>Terrace <20> \<5C>
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<EFBFBD> XX<58><--- <20> <20>
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<EFBFBD>_____<EFBFBD>__________________Swiss Lane_____ <20> <20>
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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################################################################
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FROM
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THE EDITOR Scott Hollifield
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################################################################
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You know, I've never gone in for that "summer equals birth, winter
|
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equals death" stuff.
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It makes for some pretty poetry, but it's not really accurate unless
|
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you're a plant. Our own calendar may end with the onset of winter, but
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it begins with it too. If things die at the approach of night and
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winter, then why are winter nights my favorite? I'm certainly no fan of
|
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death... quite the contrary. Seeing things in winter is like putting on
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a new pair of glasses. It's feeling cold when our senses are the
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sharpest. And the biggest birthday celebration of the largest religion
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in America takes place in December, a holiday which I am always pleased
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to celebrate for my own reasons.
|
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It's with that mood in mind that I am also pleased to present a
|
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slightly reborn BTN.
|
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|
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You've probably already noticed the cosmetic changes, but there are
|
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other changes beneath the surface which are busy at work, like Santa's
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elves.
|
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We're expanding our staff to provide a wider base of interest.
|
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We've re-thought out a lot of things that make BTN tick, and in the
|
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months ahead, you can be sure that we'll be tinkering with them a bit.
|
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Plus, we're reinforcing our commitment to make sure there's a BTN in
|
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every stocking; in compiling our Known BBS Numbers, we're making the
|
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list and checking it twice, so to speak.
|
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In short, better service, more substance.
|
|||
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|
|||
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By example, this month you'll see a brand-new set of submission
|
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guidelines in case you're interested in writing for BTN but don't know
|
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how. It's easy, it's free, it's sexy.
|
|||
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|
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We're also finally kicking off our First Annual BTN Art Contest,
|
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whispered about for months now, and I hope we see some responses to
|
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that.
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That's it! This is short because we're impatient to get things
|
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moving. Happy non-death-time, and I hope to see you at the party!
|
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
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################################################################
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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
|
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|
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################################################################
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I. ARTICLE LENGTH
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Right now, there's no strict enforcement of a length restriction,
|
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but if your submission is somewhat short, I may request that you make it
|
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longer. Anyone can sit down and type out a screen's worth of stuff. I
|
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have yet to encounter an article that was too *long*, so don't worry
|
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about that.
|
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|
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II. SUBJECT MATTER
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Again, there's no hard-and-fast rules about subject matter. I'm
|
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interested in seeing material on a wide variety of topics. That
|
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includes BBSs, politics, music, books, or better yet, something that
|
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doesn't neatly fall into any one category. Next to that, my favorite
|
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articles are the ones that have something to do with BBSing, since that
|
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is supposedly what we're sort of about. Technical reviews are also
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good. I tend to kind of frown on fiction, but I'm willing to take a
|
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look at anything you've got. If it's interesting enough, your chances
|
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are good.
|
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Politics is fine, but try not to rant--and make whatever you have to
|
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say original. I can go out and find ten Rush Limbaughs if I want.
|
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Also refrain from "This Is What Happened To Me Today" slice-of-life
|
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|
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articles unless it's leading somewhere good.
|
|||
|
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Reviews should be both informative and opinionated. Don't be too
|
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|
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objective, but still tell us about what you're reviewing.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
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|
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III. FILE FORMAT
|
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|
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Plain and simple ASCII is preferred, but we can convert WordPerfect
|
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files if need be.
|
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|
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IV. STYLE GUIDELINES
|
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|
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1. Use a right margin of 72 columns.
|
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2. Indent paragraphs at the fifth column.
|
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3. Put two spaces after each sentence.
|
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4. Skip a line after each paragraph.
|
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5. Refrain from using BBS-specific devices like "<grin>" and ":-)".
|
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6. Be sure to give your article a title.
|
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7. Try to use correct grammar, spelling and capitalization! My staff
|
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proofread as best as we can, but a well-typed article makes our job
|
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easier.
|
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8. The dash is correctly typed as two hyphens, like "--". Use it to
|
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set apart phrases and clauses--as with this sentence.
|
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9. To emphasize a word, place a pair of asterisks around it, like
|
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|
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*this*. This takes the place of italics (except for titles; see
|
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12).
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10. If you have to emphasize a group of words, use capitals, AS IN THIS
|
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|
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EXAMPLE. I generally don't like the way that looks, so use it
|
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|
|
sparingly, if at all.
|
|||
|
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11. If you're unsure whether to spell out a number or not, leave it in
|
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|
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numeral form.
|
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|
|
12. Titles of books, films, plays, albums and works of art are
|
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surrounded by underlines, like: U2's _The Joshua Tree_. This takes
|
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the place of italics in this regard; I call it "title-cizing".
|
|||
|
|
On the other hand, television shows, songs, poems, article titles
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and short stories are surrounded by quotation marks.
|
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|
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|
V. HOW DO I SUBMIT AN ARTICLE?
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
The easiest way is to upload it as a private file on one of two
|
|||
|
|
systems: The Matrix and the Crunchy Frog. (Their phone numbers are
|
|||
|
|
listed at the end of this feature.) To upload a file privately, begin
|
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your file description with a slash ("/"). Then leave me (SCOTT
|
|||
|
|
HOLLIFIELD) a private message telling me what the file name is, so that
|
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I can have the sysop make it available for me.
|
|||
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|
Another way is to leave me the article as a private message, or a
|
|||
|
|
series of private messages.
|
|||
|
|
If you become a regular contributor to BTN, you can get access to
|
|||
|
|
the private BTNWA conference, which is for BTN writers. There we
|
|||
|
|
discuss articles, policy, ideas, etc. The BTNWA conference also
|
|||
|
|
contains a private file directory which I can access more easily than a
|
|||
|
|
private file outside BTNWA.
|
|||
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|
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That's it!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Get to work!
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
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################################################################
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|
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LETTERS TO
|
|||
|
|
THE EDITOR From BTN Readers
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
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|
|
From: DAVID LARUSSA
|
|||
|
|
BBS: The Matrix
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
Dear BTN,
|
|||
|
|
I am slowly becoming a regular reader of your newsletter. I would
|
|||
|
|
like to say how much I have enjoyed it, and admire the dedication of the
|
|||
|
|
guys behind it. This newsletter is an important part of the BBS
|
|||
|
|
community, or should I say BBS culture. It gives this virtual world
|
|||
|
|
some badly needed solidity.
|
|||
|
|
Here are some suggestions for articles:
|
|||
|
|
I like the interviews with people. How about interviewing the sysops
|
|||
|
|
of some boards. I know you guys have probably heard each other's
|
|||
|
|
stories, but I would like to hear them too.
|
|||
|
|
Please! No more political commentary. It's boring and in no way
|
|||
|
|
could it be labeled as telecommunication news. The world needs no more
|
|||
|
|
Rush Limbaugh clones.
|
|||
|
|
How about some articles on hardware and software? The possibilities
|
|||
|
|
here are endless.
|
|||
|
|
Experiences people have had are also enjoyable to read.
|
|||
|
|
What is it like being young, old, female, or handicapped? I am sure
|
|||
|
|
these people have a unique perspective to share. I would like to hear
|
|||
|
|
it.
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
FROM: Rocky Rawlins
|
|||
|
|
BBS: The Matrix
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
[NOTE: Rocky is the sysop of The Matrix. This letter was written in
|
|||
|
|
response to issue #62's "The Last Hegemony (Part 2)" by Christopher
|
|||
|
|
Mohney.]
|
|||
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|
|||
|
|
Chris, while I know your article was tongue-in-cheek, I felt I
|
|||
|
|
should reply to it to over this particular issue. This issue is one
|
|||
|
|
that I had always felt rather strongly about.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
First, let me clear up one point that many people already know but a
|
|||
|
|
good number of new folks may not. The MATRIX (like most BBS's) has run
|
|||
|
|
at a net operating loss every year since its inception. Last year our
|
|||
|
|
corporate tax return showed a $7000 net operating loss. Despite the
|
|||
|
|
well-known myth that all sysops make lots of money by running a BBS, the
|
|||
|
|
average salary for Birmingham sysops is about -$.50/hour. Our recent
|
|||
|
|
rather controversial rate increase was done in an attempt to provide
|
|||
|
|
funding for the many new and expensive services that people want.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Now to my primary concern. The entire issue of censorship,
|
|||
|
|
community standards, adult contents of messages and files is or should
|
|||
|
|
be of concern to every single individual who operates or uses a BBS,
|
|||
|
|
online system, or any other type of electronic communications.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The principles of privacy and freedom of speech are firmly rooted
|
|||
|
|
in the constitution of the United States, and have been upheld from the
|
|||
|
|
lowest courts all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States.
|
|||
|
|
These protections are extended to telephone conversations, postal mail,
|
|||
|
|
and just about every form of communications. The Electronic Communi-
|
|||
|
|
cations Act of 1992 seems to extend these same protections to *all*
|
|||
|
|
electronic communications. *However*, many states feel free to
|
|||
|
|
interpret the definition of "electronic communications" in different
|
|||
|
|
ways. Even the federal government seems to have problems deciding
|
|||
|
|
exactly what they are.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The incident with Steve Jackson Games where the Secret Service
|
|||
|
|
seized the BBS and computer network at a games publisher is a good case
|
|||
|
|
in point. The BBS was seized because of alleged criminal activity by
|
|||
|
|
one of its users. A warrant was issued to seize it to capture the
|
|||
|
|
evidence, and the Secret Service in a dawn raid did exactly that,
|
|||
|
|
seizing the entire computer network at the company including all of
|
|||
|
|
their publishing projects. What ultimately came out in court during
|
|||
|
|
Steve Jackson's lawsuit against the Secret Service was that the Secret
|
|||
|
|
Service did *not* have warrants to seize the electronic communications
|
|||
|
|
of the hundreds of *outher* users on the system, which they not only
|
|||
|
|
seized by physically removing the system, but spent weeks looking
|
|||
|
|
through for possible criminal activity in violation of search and
|
|||
|
|
seizure laws. They were also prohibited by federal law from seizing
|
|||
|
|
"works in progress" from a publisher. That is one of the oldest
|
|||
|
|
principles of law in the United States. But because the Secret Service
|
|||
|
|
decided not to view electronic media as "real" works, they simply
|
|||
|
|
ignored one of the oldest principles of United States law protecting
|
|||
|
|
freedom of the press. When these facts were brought out in court
|
|||
|
|
during the trial, the judge lost his temper and actually yelled at the
|
|||
|
|
Secret Service defense attorneys in outrage at their actions. And these
|
|||
|
|
are some of the people tasked with enforcing federal law. (By the way,
|
|||
|
|
the Secret Service lost the case and paid damages not only to Steve
|
|||
|
|
Jackson Games but to the individuals whose messages were seized.)
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
In the state of Alabama, we have the *only* attorney general in the
|
|||
|
|
United States who has attempted to (and succeeded) in banning satellite
|
|||
|
|
broadcasts of which he did not approve. This is unprecedented in the
|
|||
|
|
history of this country to my knowledge, and to me, it says that this
|
|||
|
|
man puts his personal political ambitions and prejudices ahead of
|
|||
|
|
technological advancement in this state. Whatever you may think of the
|
|||
|
|
Playboy Channel, when you abrogate *your* right to make choices to
|
|||
|
|
someone like Jimmy Evans, you have willingly given up your right to
|
|||
|
|
free speech.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The issue of freedom of speech in the electronic world is still a
|
|||
|
|
new one and many people as well as many of the courts have not made up
|
|||
|
|
their mind about the issues involved. Does an electronic message enjoy
|
|||
|
|
the same legal status as a postal letter? Is it *still* a protected
|
|||
|
|
communication if it is public? Is it still protected *after* you have
|
|||
|
|
read it and it is sitting here on your drive? If you embed a file in
|
|||
|
|
your message, is the file protected like the words you type? If you
|
|||
|
|
send an illegal message who is responsible for it? You, us, anyone who
|
|||
|
|
reads it, every system it passes through? If you send a message that is
|
|||
|
|
legal in *our* state but is illegal in Georgia, who broke the law? You,
|
|||
|
|
us, the systems it passed through, the system holding the message at
|
|||
|
|
destination?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
These are just a few of the issues that have yet to be resolved
|
|||
|
|
with some definitive ruling.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If someone decides that *we* are responsible for the content of
|
|||
|
|
messages that pass through our system, then that means that we
|
|||
|
|
personally would have to read and approve every message you leave. Do
|
|||
|
|
you really want us reading and passing judgement on your personal and
|
|||
|
|
business messages like Prodigy does? Who in their right mind would use
|
|||
|
|
electronic communications for business or really personal communications
|
|||
|
|
knowing that someone else was censoring their messages? Would you use
|
|||
|
|
the telephone if you knew that an operator was always monitoring your
|
|||
|
|
conversations or the mail if you knew every letter would be opened and
|
|||
|
|
read before delivery?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The local TV stations make a big deal out of dirty pictures and
|
|||
|
|
sexual matters but the issue doesn't change. When was the last time the
|
|||
|
|
phone company was attacked because people use it for obscene phone
|
|||
|
|
calls? In an obscene phone call, an individual is misusing a technology
|
|||
|
|
but does that lead to a condemnation of the technology and telephone
|
|||
|
|
operators? Does obscene material sent through the mail result in an
|
|||
|
|
attack on postal employees and the postal system? Of course not. The
|
|||
|
|
idea is ludicrous. Yet similar misuse of BBS technology leads to an open
|
|||
|
|
global condemnation of BBS and the people who operate them.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
We have been trying for a year to get some kind of definitive
|
|||
|
|
ruling from the Alabama attorney general or the district attorney on
|
|||
|
|
some of these issues and have met a complete stone wall.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The ironic thing (and what bothers me about your article) is that
|
|||
|
|
it is not *our* problem. It is *your* problem, Chris, yours and
|
|||
|
|
everyone else who uses a BBS.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*You'll* be the loser Chris. *You* will no longer be able to
|
|||
|
|
communicate privately electronically. *You* will have your articles
|
|||
|
|
subject to seizure and prior restraint because electronic publishing is
|
|||
|
|
not "real" publishing. *You're* the one who will suddenly be limited to
|
|||
|
|
using Compuserve with its sky-high prices and department of lawyers to
|
|||
|
|
defend themselves from people like Jimmy Evans. And if Jimmy Evans
|
|||
|
|
should act against them and win in court as he did against a satellite
|
|||
|
|
company, then Compuserve would simply cut off service to Alabama. No
|
|||
|
|
skin off their nose.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Chris, I don't think you realize or fully understand the issues at
|
|||
|
|
stake here. Georgia, in response to similar TV stories there, passed
|
|||
|
|
state laws that make it a felony to discuss, distribute, or even mention
|
|||
|
|
the issue of sexual matters on *any* type off electronic communications.
|
|||
|
|
Any message that you send to a BBS in Georgia that refers to sexual
|
|||
|
|
matters is now a felony. If you respond on The MATRIX to a message from
|
|||
|
|
someone in Georgia asking where they can find Adult discussion
|
|||
|
|
conferences Chris, *you* have committed a Felony under Georgia state law
|
|||
|
|
and could conceiveably be arrested and prosecuted if you entered the
|
|||
|
|
state of Georgia, or even extradited from Alabama to Georgia to face
|
|||
|
|
trial there. Farfetched you say? The laws provide the mechanisms; and
|
|||
|
|
remember who the Attorney General of Alabama is?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I'm not particularly worried about the existance of The MATRIX in
|
|||
|
|
the long run. If the courts (or Jimmy Evans) decides that *we* are
|
|||
|
|
responsible for the content of *every* message that appears on or passes
|
|||
|
|
through The MATRIX, then we'll simply close the system down (as would
|
|||
|
|
most BBS operators), refund any outstanding subscriptions, and I'll
|
|||
|
|
spend all my sudden free time and spare cash building a wood shop in the
|
|||
|
|
basement, and I'll do my private communications by legally protected
|
|||
|
|
telephone or postal mail.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Frankly Chris I've become rather discouraged over the response in
|
|||
|
|
the BBS user community to this issue. Of over four thousand users on
|
|||
|
|
The MATRIX, and who knows how many more users on other BBS's, about one
|
|||
|
|
hundred showed up to protest at Channel 13. Is the community really
|
|||
|
|
that unconcerned with the issue? Is it just that people don't give a
|
|||
|
|
damn and are willing to let someone like Jimmy Evans and Channel 13 make
|
|||
|
|
their decisions for them? Sometimes it appears so.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Once upon a time I worked for causes. I picketed, I protested, I
|
|||
|
|
*fought* for what I believed in. Maybe that's old fashioned and is out
|
|||
|
|
of style. Maybe this generation doesn't believe in "principles"
|
|||
|
|
anymore. I'm getting older now, and have a family that takes up much of
|
|||
|
|
my time. I have a wife that I want to spend time with, kids that I want
|
|||
|
|
know better before they move away. There are a lot of books I have
|
|||
|
|
always wanted to read that I *intend* to read before I die, a lot of
|
|||
|
|
things I haven't had time for that I intend to do.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I can raise issues, but I can't lead battles for them anymore. I'm
|
|||
|
|
too old, worn out, and tired to be a knight in shining armor. These
|
|||
|
|
days, wounds hurt more and take longer to heal. Worse is that no one
|
|||
|
|
seems to care whether the battle is fought at all, much less who wins
|
|||
|
|
it. That is the saddest thing of all.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Articles like yours that jokingly or seriously make these issues
|
|||
|
|
out to be somthing that I and other BBS operators are concerned with at
|
|||
|
|
the expense of users make me wonder whether to even bother. If *you're*
|
|||
|
|
not concerned about the issue, why should I be? It's not *my* fight,
|
|||
|
|
Chris. It's *yours*. If you don't care to fight it, I'm certainly not
|
|||
|
|
going to force you. We've seriously considered here whether to just
|
|||
|
|
delete any controversial material, since no one seems to much care about
|
|||
|
|
the issue, and I can't see being a sacrificial lamb over an issue that
|
|||
|
|
is of no importance to anyone.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Rocky
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
FIRST ANNUAL
|
|||
|
|
BTN ART
|
|||
|
|
CONTEST Rules by Mark Maisel
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is with great pleasure that I announce the First Annual BTN Art
|
|||
|
|
Contest. It purpose is twofold. First, it provides an outlet for the
|
|||
|
|
visually creative. Second, it provides a good advertisement for BTN.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
We have come to realize that not everyone is familiar with BTN and
|
|||
|
|
that some publicity may be due. To that end, an art contest in two
|
|||
|
|
formats will be held. The common theme of the entries is to be BTN, its
|
|||
|
|
promotion, etc. Art in standard ANSI and the new RIP graphics format
|
|||
|
|
will be accepted.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Winners in the ANSI format and RIP format will be selected by a
|
|||
|
|
panel of judges. The winning ads will be displayed in the news or other
|
|||
|
|
prominent place on cooperating bbs' about town.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Rules (such as they are)
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1. The contest is open to anyone who can use an ANSI or RIP editor to
|
|||
|
|
create original graphic art.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
2. Obscene or offensive graphics and text will be disallowed.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
3. The discretion of the judges shall be final.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
4. The winning submissions will become the property of BTN.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
5. The contest will run from December 1, 1993 through January 14, 1994.
|
|||
|
|
This is to allow both sufficient time for submissions and for BTN to
|
|||
|
|
publish the winning submissions in the February 1994 issue.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
6. For ANSI submissions, all viewable characters in the IBM character
|
|||
|
|
set are allowed as is use of color. Submissions must be in 80 x 25
|
|||
|
|
character text mode and not exceed 24 lines in length. This is to
|
|||
|
|
insure that the submissions may be viewed in a single screen.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
7. For RIP submissions, color graphics compatible with the RIP format
|
|||
|
|
are accepted provided that they do not exceed a single screen when
|
|||
|
|
displayed.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
8. All artwork must be original and created by the person submitting
|
|||
|
|
it. Cooperative efforts are allowed but all parties involved must
|
|||
|
|
be named.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I wish you all the best of luck! Be creative and get those
|
|||
|
|
submissions rolling in soon. Have us drowning in them!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
[Ed.: Please send your submissions as a private upload, mentioning the
|
|||
|
|
contest in the file description, to The Matrix or Crunchy Frog; or
|
|||
|
|
send it as a private message to MARK MAISEL on either of those boards.]
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
EDITORIAL:
|
|||
|
|
BTN, Take... Three? Dean Costello
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Every so often I think about why I write. I mean, sometimes I get
|
|||
|
|
feelings in my soul that say if I don't write, I will simply explode on
|
|||
|
|
the spot, or at least throw a blood clot and lose control over such
|
|||
|
|
bodily functions as drool containment.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
But why do I write? Excitement, probably. You know: the magic, the
|
|||
|
|
joy, the machismo, the chicks, the leather, but mostly the excitement.
|
|||
|
|
I will be wandering through yet another airline terminal somewhere, and
|
|||
|
|
I will notice Something Neat, begin to smile, and proceed to mentally
|
|||
|
|
lash together a good article. Sometimes it will be the surly
|
|||
|
|
individuals at the metal detectors. (I have wondered if the continuous
|
|||
|
|
exposure to x-rays rots the medulla oblongata, since every one of those
|
|||
|
|
little devils, be it Tri-City Airport in Tennessee, or Pensacola
|
|||
|
|
Airport, or New Haven Airport, has the precise same expression; a mix of
|
|||
|
|
frustration with one's lot in life, disdain for those that pass through
|
|||
|
|
their portals, and the maniacal joy of being able to pick any one person
|
|||
|
|
out of the crowd for pointless harassment; these emotions are all
|
|||
|
|
controlled by the medulla oblongata, you know.) Sometimes it will be
|
|||
|
|
that the rubber bands on the handrests of the escalators move a little
|
|||
|
|
bit more slowly than the stairs. Sometimes it will be amazement on how
|
|||
|
|
much food in airport costs.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The thing is, whenever I come up with one of these observations, I
|
|||
|
|
am forced to tell someone. The problem occurs when I don't have anyone
|
|||
|
|
or anything handy to tell it to, and the Somethings Neat start to back
|
|||
|
|
up. As a result, when I haven't spoken to an individual in a while, I
|
|||
|
|
usually conduct a 15-minute monologue to get up-to-date.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Events like this happened tonight. I was watching "60 Minutes", and
|
|||
|
|
they were interviewing Dave Berry. I'm personally not a big fan, since
|
|||
|
|
the magic of humor like "The Ten Father Commandments" is somewhat lost
|
|||
|
|
on me. ("1. I am not a sitcom Dad. I am not stupid, and I always
|
|||
|
|
remember to turn the gas stove off when the pilot light goes out. 2. If
|
|||
|
|
my offspring is male, I will live vicariously through you. 3. If my
|
|||
|
|
offspring is female, I will live vicariously through you. 4. If you
|
|||
|
|
are pretty good at Little League when you are ten, I will buy you a car
|
|||
|
|
when you are sixteen (see Commandments 2 and 3)", etc.)
|
|||
|
|
Anyway, a couple of things that were said got me to thinking about
|
|||
|
|
why I write, and I have narrowed it down to two things:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1. The excitement, chicks, leather, etc. as described above.
|
|||
|
|
2. Icky things.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Icky things run the gamut from thinking about how the country is
|
|||
|
|
spinning to the right so hard I've had a sore neck from political
|
|||
|
|
whiplash, to thinking about my dead grandfather and how my brother has
|
|||
|
|
turned in to a schmoe over the last couple of years.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I somewhat disregarded the second reason for writing for many years,
|
|||
|
|
since it struck me as a silly and simplistic reason for writing. (Mark
|
|||
|
|
Maisel once told me that the best writing I do is when I am disturbed or
|
|||
|
|
upset. Unfortunately, that kind of writing is very emotionally taxing,
|
|||
|
|
as well as sometimes, umm, "erratic" in quality.) But as I view the
|
|||
|
|
reasons for writing tonight, and the last bunch of articles I've
|
|||
|
|
written, he may have a point.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The thing is is that my life has been pretty much "normal" as of
|
|||
|
|
late. When I say normal, I mean uneventful for the most part; no major
|
|||
|
|
emotional traumas to speak of, a couple of reconciliations, one or two
|
|||
|
|
separations; more or less maintaining an even strain. But over the last
|
|||
|
|
couple of months, things seem to have gone downhill in a big, big hurry,
|
|||
|
|
relatively speaking, thus generating a faint need to write, but the
|
|||
|
|
impetus to write in this particular forum has been lacking.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
To be frank, I didn't really want to be associated with BTN. For
|
|||
|
|
whatever reason, when Scott Hollifield took over BTN about a year or so
|
|||
|
|
ago, the perceived quality of the publication has gone to hell in a
|
|||
|
|
fairly large handbasket. The people that were writing for BTN during
|
|||
|
|
this time were by-and-large poor writers (I was debating using the word
|
|||
|
|
"hack" to describe many writers, but the word "hacks" implies a basic
|
|||
|
|
competence), with only the faintest grasp of the basic concepts of
|
|||
|
|
grammar and/or lacking the fundamental ability to get information across
|
|||
|
|
to people. I feel that I write better than most people. I now write
|
|||
|
|
(technically) for a living. I simply didn't want to be tarred with the
|
|||
|
|
brand "BTN" while it consisted of a "staff" of crappy writers, an
|
|||
|
|
editorial group which gives new definition to hands-off management, but
|
|||
|
|
with a more-or-less widespread distribution.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Scott is in the process of instituting long-delayed changes which I
|
|||
|
|
think will be for the better. We shall see how it turns out. However,
|
|||
|
|
just prioritizing BTN higher than a mail packet from interminable "Star
|
|||
|
|
Trek" conferences which key on Important Questions of Our Time, such as
|
|||
|
|
why Data uses contractions when he's not supposed to, will probably go a
|
|||
|
|
long way to making BTN a better periodical.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Or so I thought. In conversation with Scott in the not so distant
|
|||
|
|
past, he implied that the changes I have been hoping for may be a bit
|
|||
|
|
far-reaching at this time. He apparently is keying on such things as
|
|||
|
|
aesthetics as opposed to content at the moment. There are plans to even
|
|||
|
|
improve content over time, by generating a writer's guide, attracting a
|
|||
|
|
"new breed" of writer, as well as soliciting new topics, and more
|
|||
|
|
emphasis on the actual editing process, including getting a proofreader
|
|||
|
|
to look over each issue before it hits the streets and making a
|
|||
|
|
concerted effort to improve the quality of writing that is commonly
|
|||
|
|
available. [Ed.: Just for that, I'm not going to make that sentence any
|
|||
|
|
more readable.]
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Well, hope does spring eternal, and maybe, with a little luck, and
|
|||
|
|
perhaps some leadership for a change, we may see writers that are capable
|
|||
|
|
of using such advanced concepts as the indirect object. We shall see
|
|||
|
|
how Scott makes out with his changes. So, for the meantime, it looks
|
|||
|
|
like I am writing here again.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Res ipsa loquitor.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
THE LAST HEGEMONY:
|
|||
|
|
AN INFORMATION AGE COSMOLOGY
|
|||
|
|
Part 3: The Ant Farm Christopher Mohney
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The author has disappeared;
|
|||
|
|
God and man died a common death.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
- Michel Foucault
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Probably the most influential force of the last five to ten years
|
|||
|
|
of the Information Age (and that influence shows no signs of
|
|||
|
|
diminishing) is that collection of data exchange networks known as the
|
|||
|
|
Internet. For the purposes of this article, I designate the Internet as
|
|||
|
|
that collection of systems which are essentially free, including but not
|
|||
|
|
limited to academic and government networks and excluding info-
|
|||
|
|
conglomerates like Compuserve and Prodigy. It is somewhat difficult to
|
|||
|
|
nail the Internet down, as (quite rightly) it is more often thought of
|
|||
|
|
as a road than a destination.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Still, what's the big deal? What's so different about Internet that
|
|||
|
|
makes it any different than a big-dog version of the nets and systems
|
|||
|
|
discussed earlier in this essay? The answer: not much. Internet is
|
|||
|
|
much more interesting in its effects on still other, ancillary
|
|||
|
|
Information Age phenomena than as a force in itself. Certainly it
|
|||
|
|
carries great meaning, as it has the best chance of eventually evolving
|
|||
|
|
into a worldwide "centralized" information network. Its lack of clear
|
|||
|
|
boundaries, its polymorphous nature and absorptive tendencies are its
|
|||
|
|
strengths. The appearance of some kind of Internet would seem
|
|||
|
|
inevitable, given the geometrically increasing demand for telelectronic
|
|||
|
|
access.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
However, there is a difference. Previously, the systems and system
|
|||
|
|
operators discussed were concerned with information as currency.
|
|||
|
|
Someone clearly benefiting from access could be found at any particular
|
|||
|
|
point where information was stored. But the Internet is not a
|
|||
|
|
repository; it is a network linking repositories together. Who is the
|
|||
|
|
system operator of Internet? Most everyone is, of course. The
|
|||
|
|
governance of Internet is the work of a vast bureaucracy so diaphanous
|
|||
|
|
and convoluted that any kind of centralized power structure is
|
|||
|
|
unthinkable. Each node or collection of nodes is almost a kingdom in
|
|||
|
|
itself, with complete sovereignty and freedom to secede. They are free
|
|||
|
|
to refuse passage to and in most cases alter any information that passes
|
|||
|
|
through their domain. This feudal structure is repeated in an atomic
|
|||
|
|
fashion; a holistic analysis of the Internet will show the feudal model
|
|||
|
|
repeating on almost every level until the sheer, overwhelming, global
|
|||
|
|
number of voices belonging to competing sovereign nodes dissolves into
|
|||
|
|
one colossal blast of binary static. Viewed in this light, the Internet
|
|||
|
|
is a mindless bureaucracy that exists only to perpetuate itself.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Of course, could it be any other way? Once again, humanity is
|
|||
|
|
confronted with technological advances that have far outstripped our
|
|||
|
|
ability to erect new ethnological constructs to contain them. In a
|
|||
|
|
sense, the Internet is becoming the ideal Machiavellian state, endlessly
|
|||
|
|
perpetuating itself mindlessly; yet, a headless State never has to fear
|
|||
|
|
being decapitated, and as its mass is for all purposes indestructible by
|
|||
|
|
virtue of its sheer size, the headless telelectronic State becomes
|
|||
|
|
functionally immortal.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This leads to a questioning of the Internet similar to the question
|
|||
|
|
posed in Part 1. One could write dozens of volumes of what the Internet
|
|||
|
|
*is*, but the question we are asking here is what does the Internet
|
|||
|
|
*mean*? What effect has it had, besides the obvious and well-belabored
|
|||
|
|
benefits of increased access and near-limitless information storage and
|
|||
|
|
retrieval?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Much like the effect of the BBS on the atomic level, the Internet
|
|||
|
|
means that we have to re-examine certain premises that are basic to how
|
|||
|
|
we function as a society. Technology is forcing us to admit, tardily,
|
|||
|
|
that concepts we take for granted as static can be little more than
|
|||
|
|
artificial templates that are poorly suited for much further use. Many
|
|||
|
|
people who might fit the models presented in Part 2 are only too happy
|
|||
|
|
to make use of the Internet, since they may see it as a tool valuable to
|
|||
|
|
whatever ends they pursue. But make no mistake-- nowhere is the idea
|
|||
|
|
of the "user" more ironic than on the Internet. Unbeknownst to most of
|
|||
|
|
the telelectronic feudal lords who "use" it, the Internet by its very
|
|||
|
|
self-perpetuating nature is actually "using" them, and if the Internet
|
|||
|
|
continues its logical evolution it can do no less than completely
|
|||
|
|
annihilate the feudal niches that have become so comfortable for so
|
|||
|
|
many. What keeps a feudal system going is the enforceable idea of
|
|||
|
|
property, and this is no different in the feudal telelectronic
|
|||
|
|
community. As long as information can be gauged and quantified as
|
|||
|
|
property, telelectronic feudalism can survive. It would be foolish to
|
|||
|
|
ignore, however, that the laxity of the regulation of information as
|
|||
|
|
property is almost directly proportional to the growth and perpetuation
|
|||
|
|
of information networks; this should be readily apparent, as the two
|
|||
|
|
factors are related so intimately now that it is difficult to determine
|
|||
|
|
which is actually causing the other. Regardless, as long as one
|
|||
|
|
increases, so will the other. The reasonable end of this double growth
|
|||
|
|
is complete freedom of information coupled with an omnipresent Internet,
|
|||
|
|
either of which leads to the dissolution of the feudal model and the
|
|||
|
|
dislocation of those at home within it.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Society is very nervous about this. Property is the physical
|
|||
|
|
manifestation of capital, which is the basis of our global capitalist
|
|||
|
|
system. Should information become, in an almost Marxist move,
|
|||
|
|
universally distributed (a possibility much more likely than universal
|
|||
|
|
capital) all those who have benefited from the former arrangement will
|
|||
|
|
have their socio-economic rug pulled out from under them. As the idea
|
|||
|
|
of property evaporates, so does the idea of the owner, even the idea of
|
|||
|
|
the author. Consider the complex social construct of the "owner" and
|
|||
|
|
the seemingly endless trouble we have when we try to import this idea
|
|||
|
|
into the Information Age, imprinting ownership or authorship on an
|
|||
|
|
abstraction that by its very nature battles against such an imprinting.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The significance of these possibilities cannot be overstated.
|
|||
|
|
Pandering to economics and philosophies that do not work, retreating
|
|||
|
|
into safe havens for fear of the sure trouble that change brings will
|
|||
|
|
only cause that change to be all the more painful. Even in the most
|
|||
|
|
technologically advanced and well-educated countries on the planet, the
|
|||
|
|
main run of the population has only a fearful and shamanistic
|
|||
|
|
relationship to the technology that is shaping their lives and will
|
|||
|
|
determine the futures of their children. If we expect to reap any
|
|||
|
|
ultimate benefit from this sociological free-play we must be ready to
|
|||
|
|
adapt and adapt quickly, or else suffer the consequences of our stubborn
|
|||
|
|
backward glances.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
"DEAR JAN"
|
|||
|
|
A Glimpse at
|
|||
|
|
The Matrix's "Chat Goddess" Jeff Vaughn
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
In June 1993, a new face appeared on The Matrix by the name of
|
|||
|
|
Jan Murphree. Jan's husband Chris brought home some computers from
|
|||
|
|
his job on occasion, and Jan decided to start tinkering with them. The
|
|||
|
|
computers were the begining of a BBS addict's usual rolling thunder, and
|
|||
|
|
the modem set things into full-blown locomotion. Jan had no earthly
|
|||
|
|
idea that it would become somewhat of a homebound career in less than
|
|||
|
|
four months time.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
On the 15th of June, Jan logged in under her husband's account and
|
|||
|
|
went "where she had never been before". It wasn't the final frontier,
|
|||
|
|
but it definately qualified as undiscovered country. On the first few
|
|||
|
|
logons, Jan discovered "chat", and probably had no idea this would be
|
|||
|
|
her ticket to being a "SysGoddess" (or demi-SysGoddess in the terms of
|
|||
|
|
those divine ones). In less than a week, she was completely hooked
|
|||
|
|
(indeed, this is an understatment). Jan was calling, chatting, and
|
|||
|
|
writing e-mail like a typical BBS addict. Jan wasn't an online games
|
|||
|
|
devotee like many addicts usually are, but she practically lived in The
|
|||
|
|
Matrix's chat lines.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Around the middle of August, Jan finally broke down and bought a
|
|||
|
|
"ginormous" (my word, not a misspelling) hunk of time on The Matrix.
|
|||
|
|
Jan broke the old check book and bought 250 hours (yes, before the rates
|
|||
|
|
increased), probably another all-time record in The Matrix's history
|
|||
|
|
book. Chatting was in her blood now, and there just wasn't enough time
|
|||
|
|
in her husband's account to feed the chat addiction. I'm sure Chris was
|
|||
|
|
definately relieved to hear about that. Thanks to Jan's charisma and
|
|||
|
|
plain all-around fun attitude (no need for any butt-kissing, we're buds
|
|||
|
|
already), she made a ton of friends in a very short time, Rocky Rawlins
|
|||
|
|
and Tom Egan being among the large group. The group is still steadily
|
|||
|
|
growing.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It seems that Jan made a lasting impression on our two local
|
|||
|
|
SysGods because Tom suggested that she become a sysop a few months
|
|||
|
|
later. "Dear Jan's" chat line (channel 7) was implemented on October
|
|||
|
|
1 of this year. Being a person who frequently chats with Jan, I can
|
|||
|
|
say it was a definately a hit. Sometimes I had to wait in line to get a
|
|||
|
|
word in edgewise. I finally decided to sit on another channel and talk
|
|||
|
|
with my usual group of individuals while swapping private messages with
|
|||
|
|
Jan until the crowd died down. It was a long wait, sometimes it was 2
|
|||
|
|
a.m. before Jan dropped in.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
On October 15th of this year, Jan became a full-fledged sysop. She
|
|||
|
|
was decreed the "Chat Sysop", but a sysop nonetheless, and in record
|
|||
|
|
time for any sysop on The Matrix. Jan also got a few extras on the job.
|
|||
|
|
Her initial job was to oversee the chat lines and invoke her divine
|
|||
|
|
wisdom when and wherever required. (She's gonna get me for that.)
|
|||
|
|
Along the way, Jan picked up a few more responsibilities. She became
|
|||
|
|
Matrix's official "welcome wagon", and the voice validator for the new
|
|||
|
|
users. There was something in there about a woman being better for the
|
|||
|
|
job and I decided not to question it since she was doing such an
|
|||
|
|
incredible job. Jan's batting average on the Matrix definately spoke
|
|||
|
|
for itself as far as qualifications went.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Two days later, Jan struck again. Even though her work load was
|
|||
|
|
enourmous with all the back-logged call verification, a lightbulb
|
|||
|
|
popped on in her head, and she came up with another idea, the BBS
|
|||
|
|
Addicts conference (#17). Even with the small group the conference
|
|||
|
|
started out with, the messages began flowing in. Some ideas for the
|
|||
|
|
conference are still up in the air, and Jan's always looking for new
|
|||
|
|
addicts. The general idea behind the conference was for a group of
|
|||
|
|
people who loved the modem to get together and just chew the fat (or
|
|||
|
|
whatever BBS addicts chew on).
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As we all know, curiosity sometimes gets the better of us, so Jan
|
|||
|
|
decided to work up an annual event for all the BBS addicts where they
|
|||
|
|
can all get together and meet. Right now, it's being held every six
|
|||
|
|
months, but I have the feeling that this might become an even more
|
|||
|
|
frequent event than even Jan knows. Only time will tell. The first one
|
|||
|
|
is being held at Ryan's on the 14th of November, but depending on when
|
|||
|
|
this issue of BTN gets out, the expression might be "was held on the
|
|||
|
|
14th of November". Jan and I generally work these things out and it
|
|||
|
|
will be rotated to different areas (just to be fair) for the BBS
|
|||
|
|
addicts who are "way out".
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
GAMES
|
|||
|
|
CHILDREN
|
|||
|
|
PLAY Damion Furi
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I was sitting there minding my own business, smoking a cigarette
|
|||
|
|
after dinner, watching CNN Headline News. The world, CNN assures me,
|
|||
|
|
is falling apart on schedule, President Clinton leading the way.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The kids were outside playing, and Virginia and I were discussing
|
|||
|
|
Bob Dole and the possibility that Congress will pass an amendment to
|
|||
|
|
require the President to get congressional approval before making any
|
|||
|
|
military moves. We agreed with each other that any such amendment would
|
|||
|
|
de-ball whatever power remains to the Executive office.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
And, as usual, the kids were popping in, making noise, getting
|
|||
|
|
chewed out for it and hastily leaving again. The news was of no
|
|||
|
|
interest to them.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
At one point, however, Brenda came in complaining about grass in her
|
|||
|
|
hair. Virginia asked her what she had been doing.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Playing 'Drive-By,'" Brenda replied, with 11-year-old glee.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Virginia and I just glanced at each other, and I could see Virginia
|
|||
|
|
repress a shudder.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"What is that?" Virginia asked carefully, her voice carefully devoid
|
|||
|
|
of any particular emphasis.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Well, you know what a drive-by is, Mom," Brenda said, grinning.
|
|||
|
|
"Somebody in a car drives by and shoots somebody. We were, um, doing
|
|||
|
|
cartwheels and, um, rolling in the grass and practicing our, um, death
|
|||
|
|
scenes."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Poor kid.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
LIFE ON THE LINES
|
|||
|
|
Bernie Starchaser
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Greetings to all! Yes, I have decided to revive Life On The Lines,
|
|||
|
|
a look at BBSing today from the point of view of an old hand who
|
|||
|
|
remembers what it was like when 300 BPS was not just a good idea, it was
|
|||
|
|
the *law*!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As I have thought about what I might discuss in this revival, a
|
|||
|
|
nagging little item has been bouncing around my head, so I decided to
|
|||
|
|
just go with it. Here goes...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
BBS ETIQUETTE, OR THE LACK THEREOF
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
All right, I think it's safe to assume that most people who have
|
|||
|
|
sense enough to buy a computer, install a modem, get their COMM software
|
|||
|
|
configured, find a BBS number, get logged on and read and post messages
|
|||
|
|
would have to be fairly intelligent. That established, why oh why do I
|
|||
|
|
keep seeing a complete lack of social graces in the conferences? I'm
|
|||
|
|
not talking about the little wisecracks you see with an emoticon by
|
|||
|
|
them, those are obviously tongue-in-cheek. I'm talking about people
|
|||
|
|
simply spouting off at the keyboard with no consideration for the rights
|
|||
|
|
or feelings of whomever may read their drivel. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Look folks, I'll be the first to admit that the guilty parties do
|
|||
|
|
not by any means represent a majority, or even a small minority, of BBS
|
|||
|
|
users as a whole. Indeed, they probably aren't more than the bottom one
|
|||
|
|
percent of the bottom one percent, but they still stick out like a sore
|
|||
|
|
thumb and do nothing *whatsoever* to enhance the image of BBS's or
|
|||
|
|
BBS'ers in the eyes of the common people. People *do* tend to remember
|
|||
|
|
the worst parts of an experience longer than any other aspect. What
|
|||
|
|
sort of image are we sending out?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The sort of thing I'm talking about usually takes the form of some
|
|||
|
|
individual who is convinced of their own intellectual/moral/political
|
|||
|
|
superiority, who belittles and degrades those who do not agree with him
|
|||
|
|
or her unmercifully, without bothering to back up their own positions
|
|||
|
|
with logic or reason. Ladies and gentlemen, intelligent people do not
|
|||
|
|
need to resort to name-calling to make their points, just in case you
|
|||
|
|
hadn't heard. Also, it may not have occurred to you that your own
|
|||
|
|
positions would carry a *lot* more weight if you backed them up with
|
|||
|
|
logic, rather than simply demeaning those who don't see it your way.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I don't believe you'd talk that way in a face-to-face meeting. As
|
|||
|
|
I said, most of us are obviously intelligent beings. We recognize and
|
|||
|
|
observe certain rules of social behavior when we gather. So what's a
|
|||
|
|
BBS besides the biggest gathering place in town? Why can't those same
|
|||
|
|
rules apply to the boards?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I know I'm carrying on a bit, but I'm really incensed about this,
|
|||
|
|
and maybe a little disappointed. And I want to reiterate that I am not
|
|||
|
|
broadcasting this to the general BBS populace. The guilty parties know
|
|||
|
|
who they are, as do most of us. I'm not going to name names or
|
|||
|
|
conferences. I merely want to put out a general call to all: please
|
|||
|
|
exercise the same sort of decorum on a BBS as you would when you were a
|
|||
|
|
guest in home. And for those who cannot find it in themselves to do
|
|||
|
|
this simple thing, all the rest of us should just ignore these boorish
|
|||
|
|
malcontents and enjoy ourselves in spite of them.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I've said enough.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
CAFE SPOTLIGHT:
|
|||
|
|
G.G.'s In The Park David Moss
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
G.G.'s In The Park
|
|||
|
|
3625 8th Ave. So.
|
|||
|
|
254-3506 -- 254-9052
|
|||
|
|
Seafood, Steak & Lobster
|
|||
|
|
Your Host: Frank Brocato
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
G.G.'s has got to be one of my all time favorite places to eat.
|
|||
|
|
You can count on the food being very good, and the service is the same.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
For a period of time, G.G.'s was owned and operated by someone other
|
|||
|
|
than the original owners. Now back in the hands of the original owners,
|
|||
|
|
the food, portions, and service are back to where they used to be.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
One of the first things you'll see when entering GG's is a tank of
|
|||
|
|
live Maine lobsters. It is these lobsters that GG's has become famous
|
|||
|
|
for. While other restaurants attempt to reduce overhead by offering
|
|||
|
|
Florida lobsters, GG's continues a long tradition of offering the
|
|||
|
|
freshest live Maine lobster. Make no mistake, there is a difference.
|
|||
|
|
The Maine lobster, having spent its life in the cold waters off New
|
|||
|
|
England, has a much better taste than Florida lobsters do. There is a
|
|||
|
|
vast difference in price too. The menu at GG's has "Market" in the
|
|||
|
|
price column for the lobster, so be sure and ask the price before you
|
|||
|
|
order.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The appetizers on the menu are the best selection you'll find
|
|||
|
|
anywhere, from escargot to fried apple wedges with cinnamon and ice
|
|||
|
|
cream. Although not on the appetizers menu, I selected a cup of seafood
|
|||
|
|
gumbo ($2.95). The gumbo is good, but not as good as what I've had in
|
|||
|
|
the past.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
For the main course I chose fried, large gulf shrimp ($12.95).
|
|||
|
|
These are undoubtedly the best shrimp I have tried anywhere. They
|
|||
|
|
are jumbo select shrimp, which means simply that they are so large
|
|||
|
|
that they have to be split down the middle and then battered and fried.
|
|||
|
|
The shrimp dinner can also be ordered broiled.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
All seafood dinners come served with French onion soup, farm fresh
|
|||
|
|
combination salad, baked potato, and fresh homemade yeast rolls. These
|
|||
|
|
rolls rank as the best anywhere. And the French onion soup? I guess
|
|||
|
|
you have to be a fan of onion soup, which I'm not, so I won't offer an
|
|||
|
|
opinion on it. I will say that since it does come with the meal, I did
|
|||
|
|
sample it.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
For beverages, GG's offers all the soft drinks you'd find elsewhere.
|
|||
|
|
You can also order your favorite cocktail from your waiter/waitress.
|
|||
|
|
GG's has one of the finest wine lists available in this city. This is
|
|||
|
|
no joke. I have seen wine lists from several restaurants in this city,
|
|||
|
|
and none compare to GG's. From $5.95 for a half carafe, to $160.00 a
|
|||
|
|
bottle, you'll not find a finer wine list anywhere.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If you arrive at a crowded time, you may wish to relax in the bar.
|
|||
|
|
You can order your favorite beverage, or merely watch the current
|
|||
|
|
sporting event on television while waiting for a table. It may be a
|
|||
|
|
good idea to call for reservations if you plan to dine on a weekend
|
|||
|
|
where there is a game at Legion Field. GG's usually fills up rather
|
|||
|
|
quickly after a game.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Don't forget your dessert (if you still have room). Known for their
|
|||
|
|
homemade Black Bottom Pie, made with real whipped cream, GG's serves a
|
|||
|
|
mouth watering list of desserts. The pies are all $2.95 a slice. So
|
|||
|
|
take some time to indulge yourself in a very good piece of pie.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
With all of the items on the menu, GG's may be considered a little
|
|||
|
|
pricy. GG's may not be for the every-night diner. But it is certainly
|
|||
|
|
a restaurant for that special occasion. If you need a restaurant for an
|
|||
|
|
important business meeting, a very special date, or one that will simply
|
|||
|
|
offer you a wide array of good food, then GG's will fit the occasion.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
LOCAL MUSIC
|
|||
|
|
IN DECEMBER Judy Ranelli
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Wednesday December 1
|
|||
|
|
X at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Well, they cancelled. I just wanted to include that fact. And,
|
|||
|
|
since I suspect it would have been an embarassing show, I'm kinda
|
|||
|
|
relieved. After Nirvana/Breeders tonight, I'm sure I would have just
|
|||
|
|
rolled over there and blown alot of money, because I have great love and
|
|||
|
|
respect for older X material, but there's no way I'd get much more for
|
|||
|
|
my money than to touch Exene's hem and wish Billy Zoom were around.
|
|||
|
|
John Doe's no slacker either, neither D.J. Bonebrake, but I think
|
|||
|
|
Exene's solo work is better than X's current slush.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Friday December 3
|
|||
|
|
24TH CENTURY QUAKERS at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Reminds me of the old days trying to sound different and complex,
|
|||
|
|
yet somehow supple and yielding. Not exactly with these guys; they are
|
|||
|
|
rough, and sometimes beautiful, and the longer they stick around, the
|
|||
|
|
better they'll gel. Auditory ride in the industrial clothes dryers at
|
|||
|
|
the diaper service.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Sunday December 5
|
|||
|
|
DADDIES at Smokey Joe Cafe
|
|||
|
|
My oldest brother's band playing Paul Revere and the Raiders, the
|
|||
|
|
Animals, etc... and a bit of blatant nepotism from me but, hell, if you
|
|||
|
|
like this kind of music you should know it's available. Besides,
|
|||
|
|
everything else playing on this night is flaccid and familiar.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Tuesday December 7
|
|||
|
|
Battle of the Bands at Zydeco
|
|||
|
|
Well, Mr Bubble made it, cool, but so did the Autumn Lords, yawn,
|
|||
|
|
but you get seven bands for your entertainment dollar, and you can watch
|
|||
|
|
their friends and relatives vote.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Wednesday December 8
|
|||
|
|
GARGOYLES/WHITE COLLAR CONSERVATIVES at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Gargolyes are weird Boykin family reunion tunes and WCC are
|
|||
|
|
hardcorish young future leaders with a kickass drummer on a little
|
|||
|
|
Gretch kit, if I remember correctly.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Thursday December 9
|
|||
|
|
Battle of the Bands at Louie Louie
|
|||
|
|
What is this? The Ticks battle not, we're too cool for that, but
|
|||
|
|
I'm not too cool to avoid seeing what's up, especially since I don't
|
|||
|
|
know what bands are in the competition. Imagine feeling like "The Best
|
|||
|
|
Band in Birmingham" award meant something.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Friday December 10
|
|||
|
|
CACTUS PIE/SHAME IDOLS/MOTHER'S DAY OUT at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Shake those pounds away and smell the atmosphere of a Shame Idols
|
|||
|
|
show with two gambles (don't know how they sound) to sweeten the pot.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Saturday December 11
|
|||
|
|
Lots of stuff:
|
|||
|
|
TOPPER PRICE weaving his way through legendary
|
|||
|
|
lusty ad executives with a shot of whiskey and a harmonica down at the
|
|||
|
|
22nd St Jazz Cafe, doubtlessly damaging the foundations of the tiny club
|
|||
|
|
with the sound and the smoke...
|
|||
|
|
Then over to The Nick for another three
|
|||
|
|
band thing (becoming the norm? I hope not) of unknown music (never heard
|
|||
|
|
SEA OF RAINS/VIOLENT SKY/MARILYN'S NEIGHBORS)...
|
|||
|
|
Or drunk driving to Tuscaloosa for frat nightmare DASH RIP ROCK, or
|
|||
|
|
go to the movies and fall asleep instead.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Sunday December 12
|
|||
|
|
JAMES HALL BAND at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Not my exact cup of tea but if you want to see other leather jackets
|
|||
|
|
like yours and mine and get a loud heavy show, go on down there, man.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Monday December 13
|
|||
|
|
Toys for Tots Benefit at Louie Louie
|
|||
|
|
THE TICKS may put their names in the hat, from which players are
|
|||
|
|
drawn randomly to play ad lib covers for charity. I'm working till
|
|||
|
|
midnight, but we are trying to see if I can come down afterward and play
|
|||
|
|
"Rock and Roll Sewer" or some such song or two. I think one should
|
|||
|
|
bring a toy donation to enter, but there may be a cover as well.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Wednesday December 15
|
|||
|
|
SPACE CAMP at Oasis
|
|||
|
|
I still think this is one of the cooler bands to hear because the
|
|||
|
|
songs are so good. Oasis is a nice cubby hole to hear them in; they
|
|||
|
|
have an outside deck area if it's not too cold, and the players can hear
|
|||
|
|
your requests without your bellowing them.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Friday December 17
|
|||
|
|
FIVE EIGHT/AUTUMN LORDS at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Five Eight is fun to dance to especially if you're grumpy, which I
|
|||
|
|
always am, and I think you should know that the Autumn Lords, with Chris
|
|||
|
|
the Lush King (my friend), have made the embarassing error of taking
|
|||
|
|
stage names. I don't know all of them, but the bassist actually calls
|
|||
|
|
himself Bobby Dilautid and poor Chris, well, that's something like "DJ
|
|||
|
|
StarShaker" to you bub.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Saturday December 18
|
|||
|
|
PAUL WESTERBURG in Atlanta (don't know club name)
|
|||
|
|
He's my man, if he can't do it, no one can! Probably a great show,
|
|||
|
|
though I may remain in town for a friend's party, and no, you can't come
|
|||
|
|
but you can go see SHALLOW at the Nick; they're darnright nice, and even
|
|||
|
|
if I liked their earlier incarnation, Volume, better, I can get a nice
|
|||
|
|
head buzz from that guitar blitz static.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Buy Christmas gifts for the next few days, then:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Wednesday December 22
|
|||
|
|
SHAME IDOLS/CACTUS PIE at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
What's left of my hearing, I try to donate to good shows, so I'll
|
|||
|
|
give a little slice of high end to this night.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Friday December 24
|
|||
|
|
BIG DIXIE at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
I heckled them, so they call me some unpleasant names, but they're
|
|||
|
|
just fine and dandy nonetheless. Even if they cover "Sugar Shack", they
|
|||
|
|
also cover "Sukiyaki".
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Saturday December 25
|
|||
|
|
I'll be at the Nick playing and having a Christmas party thing
|
|||
|
|
going. Other options include recovering from salmonella in your
|
|||
|
|
Grandma's cooking or watching those Macy's Thanksgiving Parade tapes.
|
|||
|
|
Merry Christmas, by the way.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Sunday December 26
|
|||
|
|
PRIMITONS at The Nick
|
|||
|
|
Ah, those were the days! I fully recommend tryng to catch these
|
|||
|
|
songs, some of which I miss, from the pre-drag-show Mots-Roden-is-a-
|
|||
|
|
songwriter era. I just hope they practice and this isn't a throw-
|
|||
|
|
together, because the songs are so good they deserve it.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
That's it; you're just going to have to make these decisions for
|
|||
|
|
yourself for the rest of December. I'm taking a Christmas vacation from
|
|||
|
|
this responsibility.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A few comments, though. Seeing reunions of old bands become more
|
|||
|
|
frequent, or in the case of the Ho-Ho Men, become permanent, is not a
|
|||
|
|
good thing. Why? Becuase after just noticing that even the deadhead
|
|||
|
|
$1.07 Band is doing a reunion, I think it's time these guys did new
|
|||
|
|
things. Newer, better, different. Primitons once is a Christmas
|
|||
|
|
present. Back to 1988 is a standstill. I'm waiting, and watching for
|
|||
|
|
the eventual outcome of this trend. One things for damn sure: ain't
|
|||
|
|
gonna be no VBS comeback tour!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Shonen Knife is performing on the 3rd in New Orleans with Nirvana,
|
|||
|
|
and I almost opted to go, but I just might have gotten stuck there a
|
|||
|
|
whole weekend with no way to attend the BTN party, and that would have
|
|||
|
|
made Mark too happy. I am getting a shirt out of it, if my friends
|
|||
|
|
decide to be a bit more reliable.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Louie Louie is under new management. I heard murmurs that it's
|
|||
|
|
connected to the Ivory Tusk, and hopefully it will continue to book live
|
|||
|
|
entertainment. The Rocking Horse got busted for male strippers without
|
|||
|
|
a licence... And I'm putting a new Seymour Duncan in the SG.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Happy Holidays!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
NOTES FROM
|
|||
|
|
THE TRENCHES:
|
|||
|
|
What the Hell is Going On? Dean Costello
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I came home from work this evening, which is not all that unusual.
|
|||
|
|
I am vaguely tired and vaguely hungry and vaguely bored, trying to
|
|||
|
|
determine what to do for the rest of the night (the lack of real
|
|||
|
|
emotions has been vaguely disturbing me over the last couple of months,
|
|||
|
|
but that's not for this forum). Choices are probably the same as the
|
|||
|
|
last couple of years : read a magazine or journal while dinner is
|
|||
|
|
cooking, maybe play a computer game or two while watching "Roseanne",
|
|||
|
|
watch some more television until approximately 9 or 9:30, undress, hang
|
|||
|
|
up pants and tie from work, take a shower while listening to a comedy
|
|||
|
|
tape (tonight looks like Bill Cosby), read a bit, then go to sleep at or
|
|||
|
|
around 11:00. The joy of adult life.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Tonight commemorates my ninth straight spaghetti dinner. Tonight
|
|||
|
|
also commemorates that fact that I have crossed the $33,000 mark (gross)
|
|||
|
|
for the year. Note the dichotomy between those two statements. I know
|
|||
|
|
I have.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Let us examine this ugly circumstance, shall we? On a bi-weekly
|
|||
|
|
basis, I net approximately $880 (more or less). Six percent of my pre-
|
|||
|
|
tax wage goes immediately into a 401K plan. Something like $30/
|
|||
|
|
paycheck is used to pay for my dental plan. $20/paycheck is automat-
|
|||
|
|
ically deposited into a savings account I have with the credit union
|
|||
|
|
(there is about $400 in the account, paying about four percent). The
|
|||
|
|
end result is about $850 per paycheck.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Let us assume that I am going to gross about $40,000 this year when
|
|||
|
|
all is said and done. (I think that will be pretty close.) That means
|
|||
|
|
that after taxes, et al (as discussed above) are removed, I will net
|
|||
|
|
about $25,000.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Ahhh," you say, "that's a lot of money. What the hell do you spend
|
|||
|
|
it all on?" Good question. Let's take a look.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Item Cost/year
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1-Apartment 9600
|
|||
|
|
2-Student Loans 4800
|
|||
|
|
3-Credit Card 2400
|
|||
|
|
4-Telephone 2400
|
|||
|
|
5-Car Stuff 1800
|
|||
|
|
6-Car Insurance 800
|
|||
|
|
7-Cable 600
|
|||
|
|
8-Electric 500
|
|||
|
|
-----
|
|||
|
|
Total 22900
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Comments:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1-Yes, my apartment is a bit pricey. This is the cost of living in
|
|||
|
|
the Nation's Capital.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
2-I have to pay at least $400/month for my student loans. God
|
|||
|
|
bless Reagan for cutting student grants. People ask me why I
|
|||
|
|
cannot contribute to the economy by buying a big thing like a car.
|
|||
|
|
I wonder why...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
3-For my foolishness of working for an oil refinery, I was given a
|
|||
|
|
Mastercard with a $16,000 credit limit. For my sins, I was
|
|||
|
|
accepted to graduate school. For my silliness, I burned through a
|
|||
|
|
lot of credit. I am paying about $200/month to retire that debt.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
4-My phone bill is not outrageous, about $200/month. It depends on
|
|||
|
|
whether I am on the road or at home. When I am on the road, I
|
|||
|
|
have to use the phone card, when I'm at home, I dial direct.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
5-I think I am being conservative on the car stuff. I am assuming about
|
|||
|
|
$60/month for gasoline, the occasional tune-up and oil change, as well
|
|||
|
|
as one or two major repairs/year (say, $250 or more).
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
6-What can I say? When I had a Ford Probe as a rental car, I got busted
|
|||
|
|
for speeding three times in two weeks. Alas...
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
7-Cable is about $50/month. This includes the basic service of 122
|
|||
|
|
channels, as well as two channels of Cinemax (the double Cinemax doesn't
|
|||
|
|
cost any more than a single Cinemax).
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
8-I simply don't use much electricity. During the summer months, I burn
|
|||
|
|
a lot of fossil fuels since I like the apartment at about 65 degrees at
|
|||
|
|
night ($75). During the winter, I don't fool with heat at all, so its
|
|||
|
|
pretty cheap ($20).
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Okay, that leaves approximately $2000 to spend how I will. What to
|
|||
|
|
buy, what to buy. Well, just to be cool, maybe I'll eat. Let's assume
|
|||
|
|
that I spend a total of $50/week total for food (lunch and dinner).
|
|||
|
|
That implies a total of $2500-ish for food. Now, since I only have
|
|||
|
|
$2000, that can't be right, and it isn't. I am out in the field for
|
|||
|
|
approximately three to five months of the year. That means that my food
|
|||
|
|
cost can be cut approximately in half, which means that my true food
|
|||
|
|
cost is about $1250. Lovely. That leaves me a total of $750.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
$750. Hmmm. With $750 I go on two vacations per year, I have to
|
|||
|
|
buy presents and such for relatives, go to movies, drink, get magazine
|
|||
|
|
subscriptions, have fun, travel around here for no good reason, buy
|
|||
|
|
software, buy hardware--hell, buy anything.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Tricky business, this.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
From what I can tell, the circumstance that I describe is not all
|
|||
|
|
that uncommon. A lot of people of my age bracket describe very
|
|||
|
|
similar circumstances. There are about five people at the office who
|
|||
|
|
are approximately in my same demographic. One friend is paying
|
|||
|
|
off a two bedroom condo mortgage of $109,000. Another person
|
|||
|
|
built a house with her husband, who works as a land-raper turning
|
|||
|
|
mountainsides into golf course/condo complexes (to be fair, this
|
|||
|
|
is an economic outlyer). A third person is splitting a townhouse
|
|||
|
|
with three other people that, surprisingly enough, do the exact
|
|||
|
|
same thing that he does. I live in an apartment by myself.
|
|||
|
|
Somewhere between 50 and 75% of us are living from one paycheck to
|
|||
|
|
the next. Two of the five of us have to return to parents every
|
|||
|
|
so often, on bent knee, to make ends meet.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I was talking with supply-side economist Cecilia Masson whom I asked
|
|||
|
|
about this strange circumstance of the poverty-striken upper-middle
|
|||
|
|
class. "Well, there are probably a couple of reasons. The one that
|
|||
|
|
best comes to mind is that during the early '80s, Ronald Reagan cut
|
|||
|
|
college grants to students. The students were then forced or cajoled
|
|||
|
|
to take student loans which were not conceived as being a real debt to
|
|||
|
|
the student at the time. Now, look at the interest rates on the 'great
|
|||
|
|
deals' that were being handed out to the students." (My student loan
|
|||
|
|
rates are five, nine and twelve percent.) "You can get a car loan with
|
|||
|
|
a lower interest rate these days." Between that, and a soft employment
|
|||
|
|
picture, the circumstance seems somewhat biased against the Best and the
|
|||
|
|
Brightest.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I'm sure that there are other reasons for my plight. If I didn't
|
|||
|
|
live in D.C., I imagine that the cost of living would be somewhat lower.
|
|||
|
|
I assume that I could always get a better job, maybe in a different
|
|||
|
|
region, which I am trying to do right now. I don't think that my
|
|||
|
|
spending is outrageous, but I could reasonably cut back my telephone to
|
|||
|
|
$100/month, which would free up about a thousand or so, which would in
|
|||
|
|
turn be plowed directly into reducing my personal student debt. I
|
|||
|
|
think, though, that the basic problem is that I came out of school into
|
|||
|
|
a very bad economic situation, and now I am paying the price. Its not
|
|||
|
|
as if I live an extravagant lifestyle. If I did, I can live with this
|
|||
|
|
high-income poverty. But like I said, I have a nice apartment; not
|
|||
|
|
wonderful, just nice. I have fairly good stereo equipment, but I bought
|
|||
|
|
that two years ago. I don't "party", I don't drink, I don't buy silly
|
|||
|
|
things. I would go almost so far as to say that it is a spartan
|
|||
|
|
existence here. When I go on vacation I don't get carried away; I buy
|
|||
|
|
some items for friends of mine to make up for a debt from grad school.
|
|||
|
|
But it isn't as if I have an apartment full of dopey shit that I bought
|
|||
|
|
because I thought it was "cute".
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
So, right now I am sitting here typing this screed out on a seven-
|
|||
|
|
year-old computer, watching cable on a 19" television, slowly digesting
|
|||
|
|
yet another spaghetti dinner. Hell, it ain't even real spaghetti. It
|
|||
|
|
is a bag-o-spag ($2.50/5-pound bag), using a sauce with 1/3 stick of
|
|||
|
|
butter and 1/3 can of sauce), knowing full well that I am not being paid
|
|||
|
|
until next Friday and things aren't going to be getting much better in
|
|||
|
|
the near future since I have already spent my next paycheck paying off
|
|||
|
|
these student loans, and I can't help but think that something is
|
|||
|
|
fundamentally wrong.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
BTN PROFILE
|
|||
|
|
This Month: Bernie Starchaser The Bishop
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The ProFile is a light-hearted attempt at allowing the BBS community
|
|||
|
|
to get to know the selected user or sysop better. The harassees...er...
|
|||
|
|
candidates for the ProFile are selected purely by random (or maybe not--
|
|||
|
|
read up on "chaos"). If anyone has any suggestions for questions to be
|
|||
|
|
included in the ProFile, or for users to be harassed by the ProFile, then
|
|||
|
|
feel free to E-Mail them to me (THE BISHOP on the Crunchy Frog, or AARON
|
|||
|
|
DEES on most other boards in town).
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
ProFile: Bernie Starchaser
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
Age: 27
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
Birthplace: Birmingham, AL
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
Occupation: Sales
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
My hobbies include:
|
|||
|
|
Computing (BIG SURPRISE), Model Railroading, writing, collecting
|
|||
|
|
CD's, others too personal to mention
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
Years telecomputing: 11
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
Sysop, past/present/future of:
|
|||
|
|
ORION (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, *and* 7, you'd think I would've gotten the
|
|||
|
|
hint!)
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
System(s)/Conference(s) frequented:
|
|||
|
|
Matrix, 8250, Alter Ego mains, Frog Main, Argument, BTNWA
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
My oddest habit is:
|
|||
|
|
That would have to be a tossup between singing while driving and
|
|||
|
|
pretending my car is equipped with assorted weaponry whenever other
|
|||
|
|
drivers do mind-bogglingly stupid things (well, that *is* odd,
|
|||
|
|
isn't it?)
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is:
|
|||
|
|
I have several: 1. becoming obscenely rich, 2. Being a nationally
|
|||
|
|
known BBS personality, 3. getting my wife to use BBS systems,
|
|||
|
|
4. teaching my parakeet to pick good stocks/horses/dogs/football
|
|||
|
|
teams/etc.
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
The accomplishment of which I am most proud is:
|
|||
|
|
Having the good sense to stop trying to run a BBS on a Commodore
|
|||
|
|
64!!! Also actually meeting Mark Maisel in person <G>
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
My favorite performers are:
|
|||
|
|
Music: RUSH; Movies: Christopher Walken, Christopher Lambert,
|
|||
|
|
Christopher Lee, Christopher Lloyd (see a pattern here?) and Sean
|
|||
|
|
Connery (GOTCHA!); TV: Leonard Nimoy, Jeremy Brett, Tom Baker,
|
|||
|
|
Peter Davidson, Sylvester McCoy (The Dr. Who connection), Patrick
|
|||
|
|
Stewart, Mark Lenard, others too numerous to list (or too
|
|||
|
|
boring).
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
The last good movie I saw was:
|
|||
|
|
Oddly enough, _Aladdin_! Yes, add Robin Williams to the above list.
|
|||
|
|
Also, of course, _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_, which
|
|||
|
|
means I guess you'd better add David Warner to the list above, too.
|
|||
|
|
Getting a little out of hand, isn't it? Well, you *did* ask!!
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
The last good book I read was:
|
|||
|
|
The last really good book I read was _Prime Directive_, which, not
|
|||
|
|
surprisingly, was a Star Trek novel.
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part
|
|||
|
|
played by:
|
|||
|
|
Christopher Lambert, Christopher Walken, or Robin Williams
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
My pet peeves are:
|
|||
|
|
People who mispel words and PEOPLE WHO TYPE IN ALL CAPS!
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
When nobody's looking, I like to:
|
|||
|
|
Throw things at them and yell "Reflex Check!" at the last moment.
|
|||
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
SPECIAL INTEREST
|
|||
|
|
GROUPS (SIG's)
|
|||
|
|
[COMPUTER RELATED] compiled by Eric Hunt
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
BIPUG Alabama UniForum
|
|||
|
|
Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group Homewood Public Library
|
|||
|
|
UAB Nutrition Science Blg 1st Tuesday
|
|||
|
|
RM 535/541 Shawn Cleary 870-6130
|
|||
|
|
1st Sunday (delayed one week
|
|||
|
|
if meeting is a holiday)
|
|||
|
|
Marty Schulman 967-5883
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Birmingham Apple Core
|
|||
|
|
Informal breakfast meeting every Saturday, 9am - 11am
|
|||
|
|
@ Kopper Kettle, lower level Brookwood Village Mall
|
|||
|
|
Formal meeting held second Saturday of each month, location
|
|||
|
|
variable (to be announced at breakfast meetings and in the
|
|||
|
|
user group's newsletter "The PEEL".)
|
|||
|
|
President: Sam Johnston - 322-5379
|
|||
|
|
Vice-Prez: Marie Prater - 822-8135
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The SIG listing is being re-verified. If you know of an active
|
|||
|
|
Computer Related user's group, please let me know.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I can be reached via Internet email at
|
|||
|
|
eric.hunt@the-matrix.com or drop me a note directly on The
|
|||
|
|
MATRIX.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
KNOWN BBS NUMBERS
|
|||
|
|
FOR THE
|
|||
|
|
BIRMINGHAM AREA
|
|||
|
|
################################################################
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Sysops, PLEASE check your listing to make sure everything is
|
|||
|
|
correct, especially the networks. Corrections should be mailed on
|
|||
|
|
the Matrix to either James Minton or Scott Hollifield, or in a Sysop
|
|||
|
|
Comment on Outer Limits.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ADAnet One (Nodes 1-3) 250-0013 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, fi, ad]
|
|||
|
|
ADAnet One (Node 4) 254-6050 2400-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, fi, ad]
|
|||
|
|
Alcatraz BBS 608-0880 300-9600 VBBS 6.0
|
|||
|
|
[he, vi]
|
|||
|
|
Alter-Ego BBS 925-5099 1200-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn]
|
|||
|
|
Baudville (Nodes 1-7) 995-0013 300-2400 Major BBS 6.12
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Bus System 987-5419 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 2400-14400 USR HST WWIV 4.12
|
|||
|
|
[ez, th, al]
|
|||
|
|
Castle, The 841-7618 300-2400 Image 1.2
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Channel 8250 (Node 1) 744-8546 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, un]
|
|||
|
|
Channel 8250 (Node 2) 744-5166 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, un]
|
|||
|
|
Cherry Tree 681-1710 1200-14400 TriBBS 4.01
|
|||
|
|
[wm, ca]
|
|||
|
|
Christian Apologetic 808-0763 1200-14400 V.32bis Wildcat! 3.55
|
|||
|
|
[ez, wi, bc, ru]
|
|||
|
|
Crocodile Country BBS 477-6283 1200-16800 USR DS Searchlight 3.5 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[sl]
|
|||
|
|
Crunchy Frog (Node 1) 823-3957 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, lu, ll]
|
|||
|
|
Crunchy Frog (Node 2) 823-3958 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, lu, ll]
|
|||
|
|
Crystal Village 856-3749 1200-2400 VBBS 6.10
|
|||
|
|
[cr, cs, al, ho, co, fn, vi]
|
|||
|
|
Den, The 933-8744 300-9600 USR HST ProLogon/ProDoor
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, il]
|
|||
|
|
Digital Publishing 854-1660 300-9600 V.32 Wildcat! 3.01
|
|||
|
|
[pl]
|
|||
|
|
Electro-BBS 491-8402 300-14400 V.32/42 Maximus 2.01
|
|||
|
|
[fi]
|
|||
|
|
Family Smorgas-Board 744-0943 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, fi, mj, bc, fa, ic, cf, cd, np, ag, ve, ad]
|
|||
|
|
Final Frontier 838-5634 300-14400 VBBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[al, he, re, fn]
|
|||
|
|
Genesis Online(Nodes 1-6) 620-4150 300-14400 V.32bis Major BBS 6.11
|
|||
|
|
[mr]
|
|||
|
|
Guardian, The (Node 1) 425-1951 1200-14400 V.42bis VBBS 6.11
|
|||
|
|
[vi]
|
|||
|
|
Guardian, The (Node 2) 425-1956 1200-14400 V.42bis VBBS 6.11
|
|||
|
|
[vi]
|
|||
|
|
Hardeman's BBS 640-6436 1200-14400 Wildcat! 3.51
|
|||
|
|
[wi, di, bc]
|
|||
|
|
Homewood's Hell Hole 987-7823 2400-14440 V.32bis VBBS 6.10
|
|||
|
|
[he, bi]
|
|||
|
|
Joker's Castle 664-5589 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, un]
|
|||
|
|
KickAxis BBS 733-0253 1200-14400 USR DS VBBS 6.0
|
|||
|
|
[he]
|
|||
|
|
Leaping's Lounge 856-2521 1200-14400 GTPower 17.06
|
|||
|
|
[gt, ez, mn, cc, wm, sc, ab]
|
|||
|
|
Lions Den 969-5733 300-14400 USR DS Wildcat! 3.90
|
|||
|
|
[wi, fi]
|
|||
|
|
Lumby's Palace 520-0041 300-14400 VBBS 6.0
|
|||
|
|
[he]
|
|||
|
|
Magic City 664-9883 300-14400 USR DS Wildcat! 3.55
|
|||
|
|
[cc, di, wm, wi]
|
|||
|
|
Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300-14400 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn]
|
|||
|
|
MATRIX, The (Nodes 1-14) 323-2016 300-2400 PCBoard 15.0 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, th, il, in, al, sh, sc, gl, ic, ri, fr]
|
|||
|
|
MATRIX, The (Nodes 20-23) 323-6016 9600-14400 USR DS PCBoard 15.0 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, th, il, in, al, sh, sc, gl, ic, ri, fr]
|
|||
|
|
MATRIX, The (Node 25-26) 458-3449 9600-14400 V.32bis PCBoard 15.0 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, th, il, in, al, sh, sc, gl, ic, ri, fr]
|
|||
|
|
MetaBoard 854-4814 300-14400 USR DS Opus CBCS 1.73
|
|||
|
|
[fi, ad]
|
|||
|
|
MetroMac BBS (Node 1) 323-6306 1200-14400 V.32bis TeleFinder 3.1
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
MetroMac BBS (Node 2) 252-0582 1200-14400 V.32bis TeleFinder 3.1
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Milliways BBS (Node 1) 956-3177 1200-2400 Major BBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Milliways BBS(Nodes 2-6)956-2731 1200-2400 Major BBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Missing Link 853-1257 300-16800 USR DS C-Net Amiga 2.63
|
|||
|
|
[cl, cn]
|
|||
|
|
Neon Moon 477-5894 300-14400 TriBBS 4.0
|
|||
|
|
[dx]
|
|||
|
|
Outer Limits (Node 1) 426-5611 1200-16800 ZyXEL Wildcat! 3.90 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[fi, do, ec, er, pn]
|
|||
|
|
Outer Limits (Node 2) 425-5871 1200-16800 ZyXEL Wildcat! 3.90 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[fi, do, ec, er, pn]
|
|||
|
|
Outer Limits (Node 3) 426-2939 1200-16800 ZyXEL Wildcat! 3.90 *RIP*
|
|||
|
|
[fi, do, ec, er, pn]
|
|||
|
|
Party Line 856-1336 300-14000 V.32bis TriBBS 4.0
|
|||
|
|
[cc, wm, di]
|
|||
|
|
Penny Arcade 699-4625 300-2400 Running Force! 3.75
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Playground 681-5070 1200-14000 V.32 TriBBS 5.0
|
|||
|
|
[wm, di, al, ez]
|
|||
|
|
Posys BBS 854-5131 300-9600 V.32 PCBoard
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Programmer's Shack 988-4695 1200-9600 HST DS Renegade
|
|||
|
|
[ae, di, ws, fi, it]
|
|||
|
|
Quiet Zone 833-2066 300-2400 ExpressNet
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Safe Harbor (Node 1) 665-4332 300-2400 GTPower 17.06
|
|||
|
|
[gt, ez, mn, il]
|
|||
|
|
Safe Harbor (Node 2) 665-4355 300-14400 USR DS GTPower 17.06
|
|||
|
|
[gt, ez, mn, il]
|
|||
|
|
Sam's Domain 956-2757 1200-14400 VBBS 6.0
|
|||
|
|
[da, he]
|
|||
|
|
Safety BBS 581-2866 300-2400 RBBS-PC 17.4
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Southern Stallion 322-3816 300-16800 ZyXEL PCBoard 15.0
|
|||
|
|
[an, ez, lu, pr, th]
|
|||
|
|
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-2400 V.32/42b PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
ST BBS 836-9311 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
|
|||
|
|
[ez]
|
|||
|
|
StarBase 12 647-7184 300-2400 TriBBS 4.0
|
|||
|
|
[ez, mn, cc]
|
|||
|
|
The Light 979-0368 300-14400 V.32bis PCBoard 15.0
|
|||
|
|
[ch, nl]
|
|||
|
|
Thy Master's Dungeon 940-2116 300-57600 V.32/42b PCBoard 14.5
|
|||
|
|
[fr]
|
|||
|
|
Torch Song 328-1517 300-9600 V.32 Wildcat 3.6
|
|||
|
|
[pr, se, st, do]
|
|||
|
|
Travelog BBS 491-3898 300-2400 TriBBS
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
Weekends BBS 841-8583 2400-16800 USR DS Wildcat! 3.9
|
|||
|
|
[ca]
|
|||
|
|
Willie's DYM (Node 1) 664-9902 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
|||
|
|
[or]
|
|||
|
|
Willie's DYM (Node 2) 664-9903 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
|||
|
|
[or]
|
|||
|
|
Willie's DYM (Node 3) 664-9895 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
|||
|
|
[or]
|
|||
|
|
Willie's DYM (Node 4) 664-9896 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
|||
|
|
[or]
|
|||
|
|
Ziggy Unix BBS 991-5696 300-1200 UNaXess
|
|||
|
|
[none]
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
*RIP* = BBS Software is RIP Graphics capable. You must be using a RIP
|
|||
|
|
compatible term software to view them. RIPTerm or QmodemPro v1.50 are
|
|||
|
|
the only two I know of that support it at this time. RIPTerm is shareware
|
|||
|
|
and can be downloaded from most BBS's. QmodemPro is a commercial product.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The two-letter abbreviations you see on the line below the names of
|
|||
|
|
many of the bbs' in the list signify that they are members of one or
|
|||
|
|
more networks that exchange or echo mail to each other in some organized
|
|||
|
|
fashion.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ad = ADAnet, an international network dedicated to the handicapped
|
|||
|
|
ae = ANet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
ag = AgapeNet, a national Christian network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
al = AlaNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
an = AnnexNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
at = AdultNet, a national network, adult-oriented
|
|||
|
|
bc = BCBNet, a local network, religion-oriented
|
|||
|
|
bh = BhamTalk, a local network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
bi = BitchNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
ca = CafeNet, a local network, restaurant/dining, recipes, etc.
|
|||
|
|
cc = Coast2Coast, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
cd = CDN, a national Christian network for file distribution
|
|||
|
|
cf = CFN, a national Christian network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
ch = ChristNet, a national Christian network
|
|||
|
|
cl = CLink, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
cn = CNet, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
co = ComicNet, a local net for comic book readers
|
|||
|
|
cr = CrystalNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
cs = ChaosNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
cy = Cybernet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
da = DateNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
de = DevNet, an international network for programmers and developers
|
|||
|
|
di = Dixie Net, a regional network, multi-topic geared toward the south
|
|||
|
|
eastern United States
|
|||
|
|
do = DoorNet, a national network for the distribution of BBS doors
|
|||
|
|
ec = EchoNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
er = ErosNet, an international network, adult oriented, files & messages
|
|||
|
|
ez = EzNet, a local IBM compatible network
|
|||
|
|
fa = FamilyNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
fi = FidoNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
fn = FrontierNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
fr = FredNet, a regional network, political discussion
|
|||
|
|
ga = GameNet, a local network, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
gl = GlobalLink, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
gt = GTNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
he = HellNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
ho = HobbyNet, a local network for hobbyists
|
|||
|
|
ic = ICDM, an international Christian network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
ie = Intelec, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
il = ILink, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
in = InterNet, an international network, linking businesses,
|
|||
|
|
universities, and bbs', multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
it = ITCNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
ll = LlamaNet, a national network, freeform correspondence
|
|||
|
|
lo = LocalNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
lu = LuciferNet, an international network, adult oriented
|
|||
|
|
ma = MAXnet, a local network, connecting WWIV and VBBS systems
|
|||
|
|
mj = MJCN, an international network for Messianic Jews
|
|||
|
|
mn = Metronet, an international network which echoes RIME, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
mr = MajorNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
nl = NewLife, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
np = NPN, a national network for new parents
|
|||
|
|
or = OraNet, a national E-mail network
|
|||
|
|
pl = PlanoNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
pn = PoliceNet, an international network, law-enforcement only
|
|||
|
|
pr = PrideNet, a local homosexually oriented network
|
|||
|
|
rf = RF Net, a national network for ham radio users and hobbyists
|
|||
|
|
ri = RIME, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
rb = RoboLink, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
re = RealityNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
rp = RPGnet, a local network for role-playing games
|
|||
|
|
rs = RoseNet, a national network, technically oriented
|
|||
|
|
ru = RushNet, a national network for Rush Limbaugh fans
|
|||
|
|
sc = Science Factor Net, a national network, science and technology
|
|||
|
|
oriented
|
|||
|
|
se = SEC, a regional network, homosexually oriented geared toward the
|
|||
|
|
southeastern United States
|
|||
|
|
sh = Shades N Shadows Net, a national network for role-playing games
|
|||
|
|
sl = SearchlightNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
sm = SmartNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
sn = ShadowNet, a national network for role-playing games
|
|||
|
|
st = StudsNet, a national network, homosexually oriented
|
|||
|
|
te = TECHnet, a local network, hardware and utility oriented
|
|||
|
|
th = ThrobNet, an international network, adult oriented
|
|||
|
|
un = U'NI-Net, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
ve = VETLink, a national network for military veterans
|
|||
|
|
vi = VirtualNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
wi = WildNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
wm = World Message Exchange, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
ws = WishNet, uncertain at press time
|
|||
|
|
ww = WWIV-Net, an international network, multi-topic
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|