682 lines
31 KiB
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682 lines
31 KiB
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Computer underground Digest Sun Mar 29, 1995 Volume 7 : Issue 26
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ISSN 1004-042X
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Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET)
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Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
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Semi-retiring Shadow Archivist: Stanton McCandlish
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Intelligent Agent: David Smith
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Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
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Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
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Ian Dickinson
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Monster Editor: Loch Nesshrdlu
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CONTENTS, #7.26 (Sun, Mar 29, 1995)
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File 1--Correction on CuD URL - http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
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File 2--ACLU Release on USSC Justices and Computer Privacy
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File 3--Nationwide Electronic Open Meeting - Call for Public Access Sites
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File 4--Final Version of Public Access Site Announcement
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File 5--Censorship at University of Memphis
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File 6--Sacred Cows in Cyberspace
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File 7--Italian BBS returned!
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File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 19 Mar, 1995)
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CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
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THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Sun, 2 Apr 1995 10:11:45 CDT
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From: CuD Moderators <cud@sun.soci.niu.edu>
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Subject: File 1--Correction on CuD URL - http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
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The CuD web URL was inadvertantly misprinted in the last issue.
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The CORRECT URL to access back issues of CuD and other cyber-related
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resources is:
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http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
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Thanks to those who pointed out the error. Thanks also to those
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who made suggestions for things to add.
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Also, the next issue of CuD will likely not be for a week or so,
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because of a sociology conference this week.
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------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 23 Mar 1995 22:22:31 -0600
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From: jthomas@SUN.SOCI.NIU.EDU(Jim Thomas)
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Subject: File 2--ACLU Release on USSC Justices and Computer Privacy
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ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU * ACLU
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NEWS RELEASE * NEWS RELEASE * NEWS RELEASE * NEWS RELEASE
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Supreme Court Justices Express Concern About Computer Privacy;
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Opinions Suggest Mounting Interest on Nation's Highest Court
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For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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March 1, 1994
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A majority of the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling in a criminal
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evidence case, today suggested that they had serious concerns about the
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potential invasion to individual privacy raised by the nation's increasing
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reliance on computer technology.
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In a series of opinions in a case from Arizona about whether evidence
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seized by the police because of a computer error could be used during
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trial, the justices raised questions about the impact of computers,
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particularly on law enforcement.
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"Although we believe the Court ruled incorrectly in deciding that the
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evidence could be used during trial, I think the majority opinion is quite
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narrow," said Steven Shapiro, ACLU Legal Director. "The more lasting
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significance of the case," he added, "may be that a majority of the Court
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seems quite troubled by the risk that computer technology poses to
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personal privacy.
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"In particular," Shapiro said, "a majority of the Court was clearly
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unwilling to create a new and broad exception to the Exclusionary Rule
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whenever government officials violate the Fourth Amendment based on a
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computer error."
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In his majority opinion for the Court, Chief Justice Rehnquist reversed a
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decision of the Arizona Supreme Court, which had ruled that the evidence
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could not be used because it had been seized during what turned out to be
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an arrest based on a mistaken warrant. Justices O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy,
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Souter, Thomas and Breyer joined the Chief Justice's decision.
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But Justice O'Connor wrote a concurring opinion, which was joined by
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Justices Souter and Breyer, that discussed the growth of technology and
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its impact on law enforcement.
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"In recent years, we have witnessed the advent of powerful, computer-based
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recordkeeping systems that facilitate arrests in ways that have never
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before been possible," O'Connor said. "The police, of course, are entitled
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to enjoy the substantial advantages this technology confers. They may not,
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however, rely on it blindly. With the benefits of more efficient law
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enforcement mechanisms comes the burden of corresponding constitutional
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responsibilities.
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And in another brief concurring opinion, Justice Souter, who was joined by
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Justice Breyer, wrote that" our very concept of deterrence by exclusion of
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evidence should extend to the government as a whole, not merely the
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police, on the ground that there would otherwise be no reasonable
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expectation of keeping the number of resulting false arrests within an
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acceptable minimum limit."
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Justice Ginsburg, in a dissenting opinion joined by Justice Stevens, wrote
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that "widespread reliance on computers to store and convey information
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generates, along with manifold benefits, new possibilities of error, due
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to both computer malfunctions and operator mistakes."
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"Most germane to this case, computerization greatly amplifies an error's
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effect, and correspondingly intensifies the need for prompt correction;
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for inaccurate data can infect not only one agency, but the many agencies
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that share access to the database," she wrote.
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In a particularly "conspicuous example," Justice Ginsburg said that the
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computerized databases of the FBI's National Crime Information Center
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(NCIC) contain over 23 million records, identifying, among other things,
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persons and vehicles sought by law enforcement agencies nationwide.
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"Thus," she wrote, "any mistake entered into the NCIC spreads nationwide
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in an instant."
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###
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=============================================================
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ACLU Free Reading Room | A publications and information resource of the
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gopher://aclu.org:6601 | American Civil Liberties Union National Office
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ftp://ftp.pipeline.com /aclu
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mailto:infoaclu@aclu.org | "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty"
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------------------------------
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Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 13:19:32 -0500 (EST)
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From: "Lewis W. Olenick" <lewo@LASER.NET>
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Subject: File 3--Nationwide Elec Open Meeting - Call for Public Access Sites
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From the EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
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Please repost as appropriate.
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Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 11:35:00 -0400 (EDT)
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From: "Lewis W. Oleinick" <OLEINICK_L@a1.eop.gov>
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Subject: File 4--Final Version of Public Access Site Announcement
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PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS IN THE INFORMATION AGE
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NATIONAL ELECTRONIC OPEN MEETING
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May 1-14, 1995
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CALL FOR PUBLIC ACCESS SITES
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BACKGROUND:
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In recognition of the growing importance of information
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technology as a means for communication and participation in
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democratic government, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
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the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
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(NTIA), the National Technical Information Service's (NTIS)
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FedWorld, and the National Performance Review (NPR) will be
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sponsoring an electronic open meeting entitled "People and Their
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Governments in the Information Age," from Monday, May 1 to
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Sunday, May 14, 1995. The US Government Printing Office (GPO)
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will assist by providing telephone registration for Public Access
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Sites and preconference information.
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The meeting will seek to garner public opinion on the use of
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information technology by Federal, State, Tribal and local
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governments. The electronic open meeting will encourage public
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discussion about the respective roles of the Federal government,
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State, Tribal, and local governments, industry, the public
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interest and library communities, academia, and the general
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citizenry in creating an electronic government.
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One of the fundamental tenets of the Clinton Administration is
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that government information is a public asset and valuable
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national resource. This open meeting is an extension of earlier
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efforts, such as the Government Information Locator Service
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(GILS) initiative, to establish a framework for governments'
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roles and activities in the information age. In early April, OMB
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will publish a "Notice of Inquiry" in the Federal Register
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setting forth the five topics mentioned below, referencing key
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reports and other documents, and seeking comment.
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Along with the traditional method of mailing in responses to a
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"Notice of Inquiry," the open meeting will be conducted through
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our nation's electronic networks including: the World Wide Web,
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newsgroups, e-mail listservs (mailing lists), commercial on-line
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providers, Public Access Sites, and dial-up bulletin board
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connections.
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HOW THE CONFERENCE WILL BE CONDUCTED:
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FedWorld will create five e-mail discussion groups. The five
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discussion groups will also be accessible through five
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corresponding Internet newsgroups, the World Wide Web, and
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dial-up bulletin board connection. Each discussion group will be
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devoted to a specific topic relating to "People and their
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Governments in the Information Age." Each topic will be hosted
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by one or more experts, who will provide an introductory
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statement to initiate the discussion and who will also take part
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in the discussion.
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Attendees will participate in the conference by replying to the
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hosts' introductory statements, posting statements or comments,
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and by replying to the statements and comments of other
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attendees. We are seeking the broadest possible level of
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participation emphasizing input from a wide spectrum of
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Americans. The open meeting will focus on five topics:
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Services -- from emergency help and health care to business
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licenses.
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Benefits -- from social security and food stamps to small
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business grants.
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Information -- from declassified secrets and travel aids to
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satellite weather maps.
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Participatory Democracy -- ensuring everyone's chance to be
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heard in a democracy.
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Technology -- how the technical portion of electronic
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government will work.
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NEED FOR PUBLIC ACCESS SITES:
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A primary goal of the meeting is to enable as many Americans as
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possible to participate in the dialogue. This includes people
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who do not have a computer with a modem, or access to the
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Internet. In order to ensure participation by the "unconnected,"
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public and private organizations are needed to volunteer as
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"Public Access Sites."
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The following criteria will apply to institutions interested in
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serving as a Public Access Site:
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* Willingness and ability to make computer facilities
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available, free-of-charge, to the general public on a full-
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or part-time basis throughout the two-week meeting, and to
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provide logistical and technical support to the public.
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* Ability to access Internet e-mail, newsgroups, or
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the World Wide Web. Public Access Sites should not use
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Telnet to access the FedWorld bulletin board. Because the
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number of access ports at FedWorld is finite, FedWorld
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prefers to reserve dial-in and Telnet capacity for
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individuals who seek to use the FedWorld BBS as their
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primary means of participating.
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* Willingness and ability to publicize your
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institution's participation as a Public Access Site to the
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local media and community, and answer local public and press
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questions about participation.
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* Willingness to be listed in a national directory
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of Public Access Sites that will be made available to the
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public and press, before and during the meeting.
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If your institution would like to serve as a Public Access Site,
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please do one of the following:
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Point your World Wide Web browser to:
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http://meeting.fedworld.gov
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Or, send a blank e-mail message to:
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pas-info@meeting.fedworld.gov
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In response to your e-mail, you will receive an automated
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response detailing how to register as a Public Access Site. If
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you do not presently have e-mail, newsgroup, or World Wide Web
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capability but plan on having such capability by the time of the
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meeting, you may register as a Public Access Site or receive
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general end user information by calling the GPO Access User
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Support Team at (202) 512-1530.
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If you would like more information about the content and format
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of the meeting, please send a blank e-mail message to
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info@meeting.fedworld.gov. You will receive an automated
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response providing additional detail for the electronic open
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meeting.
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Thank you for your interest in making this meeting more
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accessible to the public!
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------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 11:07:35 -0500 (CDT)
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From: UDRHOOPER@MSUVX1.MEMPHIS.EDU
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Subject: File 5--Censorship at University of Memphis
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>Quick background for non-UMEM people (this is being posted several places):
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>
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> David Hooper posted an article to umem.personals, a local University of
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> Memphis newsgroup, and the post was considered "obscene". His VAX access
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> was cut off, and only recently reinstated until some firm decision is
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> reached by Judicial Affairs.
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>
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>I talked to Dean Kathryn Story today on the phone, and we discussed the
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>situation. Since I seem to have the only copies of the articles leading
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>up to Hooper's allegedly "obscene" post, I'll be giving her a print out
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>of those tomorrow, to show that the article should not have been taken
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>at face value out of the context of the discussion. What follows in this
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>post is a mixture of what we discussed, as well as some thoughts I've
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>had since the conversation.
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>
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>----
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>
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>Apparently the motivation behind David Hooper's case was a thing called
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>"Title IX", which requires the school to provide an environment free of
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>sexual or racial hostility. I don't know whether it's a city, county, state
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>or federal regulation, and I don't care, so don't bother looking it up for
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>me. I agree with the spirit of the reg, just as I agree with the spirit of
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>many controversial campus policies. The problems arise in the implementation
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>and over-eager enforcement of such policies with broad, sweeping measures
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>that tread viciously on the right to free expression.
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>
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>I think I can safely assume at this point that the faculty or staff members
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>who complained about the post either (a) found it to be offensive and worthy
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>of censure because it was a form of "harrassment", or (b) were afraid that
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>some other faculty, student or staff member would interpret the post as
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>"harrassment". Let me now offer my opinion that the people who complained
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>were the same type of sniveling fools who endorse hate-speech codes. If
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>you felt harrassed by that post, then you'd better crawl into a deep
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>cave and never show your face in modern civilization ever again. Life
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>is offensive. Accept it, get over it, and do something productive with
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>your life, for chrissakes. Only a clueless newbie jackass takes a post
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>at face value. I mean, hell, didn't you read any of the other posts, or
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>did you just look for the ones by that smart-mouth kid who managed to
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>push some tv station employees into a whining fit? As Mike Godwin,
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>Chief Counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, states in the
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>recent Time Magazine in an article on the Exon amendment, "This is
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>grounded in a vast ignorance of Internet communications." Newbies
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>on USENET quickly learn to keep their goddamn mouths shut until they've
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>listened and learned a bit. The complaining faculty and staff at this
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>school could benefit from the same lesson.
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>
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>Harrassment by computer is a problem, and it does exist in some forms on
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>campus. It seems that some complaints have found their way to Judicial
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>Affairs concerning harrassing behavior in the computer labs, such as
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>PHONE messages or emails to some female students. There have also been
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>complaints about users viewing or printing out pornographic material in
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>the labs.
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>
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>Now, there's not much gray area in direct person-to-person aggravation.
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>Harrassment by email or PHONE or SEND (when we still had SEND) is stupid
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>and can easily be punished. *HOWEVER*, viewing a Playboy .gif does not
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>under any circumstances constitute harrassment by itself. This is not
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>a Penthouse calendar that the user is putting up in the lab as a
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>permanent decoration, this is material that he or she is viewing on his or
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>her monitor for a short duration. If you don't like it, and don't want to
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>see it, then KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR OWN FUCKING SCREEN. That's as simple
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>as I can express that. Whatever the person next to you is doing is none
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>of your fucking business.
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>
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>Such material is not obscene. How do you think Bob Guccione stays in
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>business? It's not educational, but neither is Solitaire, DOOM, MUD's,
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>MOO's, MUSH's, IRC, or email from your pal in Michigan.
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>
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>Words like "fuck", "pussy", "dick", and some others that have been seen
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>on umem groups do not constitute harrassment. Take a stroll through the
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>library, and read some of the more contemporary fiction. Expletives
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>appear in many different works. Whaddaya wanna do, burn books, ya Nazi?
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>Here's a simple equation: Offensive != (does not equal) Harrassing.
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>The USENET groups should be treated like a mutant form of library with
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>a quick turnover.
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>
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>To quote a letter in the CMU censorship WWW site:
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>
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> 'Complying with an order to pull controversial books would violate Article II
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> of the code of ethics of the American Library Association (see
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> _Intellectual Freedom Manual_, 3d ed., Chicago: American Library Association,
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> 1989), which states: ``Librarians must resist all efforts by groups or
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> individuals to censor library material.'' Why should material stored on our
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> campus computer system be treated any differently?'
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>
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>To sum up...
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>
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>My advice to the university administration:
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>
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>1. Trust the students more. Issue warnings and investigate the situation
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> BEFORE access is cut, not after.
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>
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>2. Err on the side of leniency. "Obscene" may have a legal definition, but
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> it still includes a lot of room for interpretation. Remember, Memphians,
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> once upon a time, Elvis' pelvic gyrations were considered obscene by
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> the tv networks. Senator Exon is already the laughingstock of the
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> 'Net, and he'll be a mainstream laughingstock within a decade.
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>
|
||
|
>3. Learn the difference between "offensive" and "obscene".
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>4. Lighten up and worry about important things. No one is going to
|
||
|
> successfully sue the school over a stupid post. Even the draconian
|
||
|
> and asinine Exon amendment no longer targets network carriers.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>5. Get rid of that stupid section of the conduct code. What the hell is
|
||
|
> wrong with a prurient interest in sex, anyway? Sex IS art, when
|
||
|
> performed with enthusiasm and abandon. The sexophobic attitude in
|
||
|
> this part of the country is laughable, hypocritical, and it makes me
|
||
|
> want to smack some people upside the head with a rolled-up Hustler.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>My advice to fellow students:
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>1. Err on the side of caution. Try not to go adding gigabytes to your
|
||
|
> binary Hustler collection in a busy lab during working hours.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>2. If you have doubts about your post, add a disclaimer to the beginning
|
||
|
> of it. Make it funny and ridicule people who might have problems with
|
||
|
> your article.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>3. Pay some goddamn attention to situations like this and make your voice
|
||
|
> heard. When Carnegie Mellon removed 50 sex-related newsgroups from
|
||
|
> CMU's news server, they staged protests and rallies, and formed new
|
||
|
> student groups. This is your freedom that's being jeopardized,
|
||
|
> regardless of whether or not you agree with the post in question.
|
||
|
> You may be a Bible-thumper and want to censor "obscene" posts, but
|
||
|
> what if someone tried to interfere with your right to discuss the
|
||
|
> Bible online? Don't laugh, religious persecution has a long and
|
||
|
> distinguished history on this planet.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>4. Don't harrass people, especially in the computer labs. You know who
|
||
|
> you are, and you know what I'm talking about. Just fucking quit it.
|
||
|
> If she wouldn't give you the time of day before, she certainly won't
|
||
|
> want to talk to you when you're sending her suggestive messages while
|
||
|
> she's trying to compile a FORTRAN program. Quit being such a geek.
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>Incidentally, Hooper's post and the preceding posts are available at
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~simon/censor.html
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>To be continued...
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>(posted to umem.talk, umem.general, soc.college, soc.college.grad,
|
||
|
> alt.censorship, comp.org.eff.talk, alt.comp.acad-freedom.talk,
|
||
|
> memphis.general, tn.talk)
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>(forwarded to kstory, dbaker, and a few others)
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>--
|
||
|
>Mark Dallara : I'm going to check myself out of this
|
||
|
>Graduate Student : bourgeois motel, push myself away from the
|
||
|
>Biomedical Engineering : dinner table, and say 'NO MORE JELLO FOR
|
||
|
>University of Memphis : ME, MA!!!!'
|
||
|
>* Florida '93, Memphis '95 * : - "Peggy Sue Got Married"
|
||
|
>http://www.mecca.org/BME/STUDENTS/mdallara.html
|
||
|
>--
|
||
|
>--
|
||
|
>Mark Dallara : I'm going to check myself out of this
|
||
|
>Graduate Student : bourgeois motel, push myself away from the
|
||
|
>Biomedical Engineering : dinner table, and say 'NO MORE JELLO FOR
|
||
|
>University of Memphis : ME, MA!!!!'
|
||
|
>* Florida '93, Memphis '95 * : - "Peggy Sue Got Married"
|
||
|
>http://www.mecca.org/BME/STUDENTS/mdallara.html
|
||
|
>--
|
||
|
--
|
||
|
udrhooper@cc.memphis.edu
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 1995 20:47:22 -0700
|
||
|
From: "L.Detweiler" <ldetweil@CSN.ORG>
|
||
|
Subject: File 6--Sacred Cows in Cyberspace
|
||
|
|
||
|
Editor:
|
||
|
|
||
|
In CuD #7.22, George C. Smith <70743.1711@compuserve.com> gives
|
||
|
a mini-review of C.Stoll's technological reactionism in the new book
|
||
|
"Silicon Snake Oil".
|
||
|
|
||
|
>Lasch closed his last book, "The Revolt of the
|
||
|
>Elites" with a biting assessment of the current mania with technology:
|
||
|
>
|
||
|
>"Those wonderful machines that science has enabled us to construct
|
||
|
>have not eliminated drudgery, as . . . other false prophets so
|
||
|
>confidently predicted, but they have made it possible to imagine
|
||
|
>ourselves as masters of our fate. In an age that fancies itself as
|
||
|
>disillusioned, this is the one illusion - the illusion of mastery that
|
||
|
>remains as tenacious as ever."
|
||
|
|
||
|
Cyberspace is a visceral example of how the distinction between technology
|
||
|
and its creators seems to be blurring increasingly. Where does the
|
||
|
human end and the machine begin? What parts of our lives are "artificial
|
||
|
technology" and what parts are "pure human interaction" or whatever
|
||
|
the converse is, presuming it even exists? It seems that humanity's
|
||
|
very best technology is seamless and invisible and in fact basic
|
||
|
extensions of ourselves and our senses. The phone can be thought of as an
|
||
|
extension of the human vocal cord, the television an extension of
|
||
|
our vision and sight. And cyberspace can be regarded as perhaps the
|
||
|
premiere, remarkable convergence of all sense-extending technologies.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Da Vinci wrote that "man is a marvelously constructed machine."
|
||
|
Thoreau wondered whether it was the case that machines were the slaves of
|
||
|
man, or vice versa. The view that we are the masters seems to be a driving
|
||
|
force of 20th century reality and civilization. Cyberspace in many ways
|
||
|
represents the pinnacle of the religion of the deification of technology.
|
||
|
We are now witnessing the very first reactionary ripples against the
|
||
|
digital onslaught, the bold new bid for supremacy by the bits over
|
||
|
the atoms.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Stoll's book is only an opening volley in what will become
|
||
|
an intensely passionate debate over the next few years. What's so
|
||
|
great about this cyberspace, thing, anyway? Proponents will help
|
||
|
strengthen their arguments by emphasizing that the "Information
|
||
|
Highway" is not going to bring about Utopia in the human institutions
|
||
|
of business, government, education, and religion, but it holds great
|
||
|
promise in at least surpassing the shockingly mediocre systems we find
|
||
|
ourselves inheriting today.
|
||
|
|
||
|
>He also has doubtless
|
||
|
>alienated the cypherpunks movement by essentially stating that while
|
||
|
>their technical accomplishments are neat, the problem they're trying
|
||
|
>to solve - the preservation of information privacy through the employ
|
||
|
>of cumbersome, almost unusable anonymous remailers and cumbersome,
|
||
|
>almost unusable encryption technology - looms trivial in the global
|
||
|
>picture. In fact, "Silicon Snake Oil" gores so many sacred cows in
|
||
|
>cyberspace it's guaranteed the author will be regarded like a
|
||
|
>dysenteric hog loose in the streets of Mecca on some parts of the net.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Speaking of the "cypherpunks movement" and "goring sacred cows",
|
||
|
I'm pleased to announce the establishment of a WWW dedicated to
|
||
|
the mad ravings of a notorious Internet crackpot, L.Detweiler, who
|
||
|
in many ways can be considered one of the earlier cyberspatial
|
||
|
reactionaries and satirists.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Just what exactly *is* the cypherpunk philosophy? What is "cryptoanarchy"?
|
||
|
Can cyberspace be used for negative ends such as brainwashing or
|
||
|
ulterior political agendas? What will be the effects of cyberspace
|
||
|
on government? Do governments invariably evolve toward
|
||
|
corruption? What's the difference between anonymity, pseudonymity,
|
||
|
and identification? Is free speech related to anonymity? What are
|
||
|
the political and social implications of "digital cash" or a
|
||
|
cyberspatial mafia? Is there such a thing as "morality" or "trust"
|
||
|
in cyberspace? If so, what does it entail? How should the internet
|
||
|
community deal with persistent crackpots?
|
||
|
|
||
|
These and other excruciatingly provocative questions have been given
|
||
|
the inimitable Detweilerian treatment at
|
||
|
|
||
|
http://www.csn.org/~ldetweil
|
||
|
|
||
|
(Detweiler is currently working on a disproof of Turing's halting problem
|
||
|
as well as finding environmentally safe and clean ways of disposing
|
||
|
used digital bits.)
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 1995 02:15:41 +0200 (DFT)
|
||
|
From: Luc Pac <lpaccagn@RISC1.GELSO.UNITN.IT>
|
||
|
Subject: File 7--Italian BBS returned!
|
||
|
|
||
|
PRESS RELEASE 24/3/95
|
||
|
|
||
|
Almost a month after the police seizure of the BITS Against The Empire
|
||
|
BBS and raids on the homes of some members of the Clinamen
|
||
|
Self-Managed Social Centre of Rovereto (Trent, Italy), all the
|
||
|
material confiscated has finally been restored to its rightful owners.
|
||
|
|
||
|
After a check of its software and hardware, the BBS was immediately
|
||
|
put back on-line, resuming its linkages with the Cybernet, ECN and
|
||
|
Fidonet networks of which it is part. Its users once again have access
|
||
|
to the original document archive, and steps are currently underway to
|
||
|
update it thanks to back-up tapes which had been stored separately
|
||
|
from the BBS (in the cat's basket, to be precise). The tapes were also
|
||
|
to be duplicated onto a PC clone in the event that the authorities had
|
||
|
not returned the original BBS. This measure had been inspired less by
|
||
|
any bad faith on the part of the magistrates or police, and more by
|
||
|
their technical and social ignorance, which manifests itself every
|
||
|
time they come into contact with a logic different to their own:
|
||
|
freedom rather than control, creativity rather than conformity.
|
||
|
Already many sysops, in Italy as elsewhere, have had to pay the price
|
||
|
for what they had thought was simply a time-consuming hobby. Those
|
||
|
like ourselves who consider computer networking to be rather more
|
||
|
important than this should not be surprised by the recent experience
|
||
|
of BITS Against The Empire. The complete restitution of the material
|
||
|
seized suggests that nothing useful was found amongst it that might
|
||
|
confirm the charges laid out in the authorities' original warrants. In
|
||
|
any case, the three magistrates who ordered the raids have been unable
|
||
|
to find the time to meet with us over the past 23 days; similarly, the
|
||
|
carabinieri who actually returned the seized goods refused to answer
|
||
|
any questions concerning the enquiry or its future course. Good sense
|
||
|
suggests that the matter will close there, but at this point no one
|
||
|
can rule out the possibility that in the next few weeks or months the
|
||
|
official charge of subversion - along with any other charges that the
|
||
|
examination of the BBS may inspire in somebody's imagination - will
|
||
|
not resurface. So, a month after its forced closure, BITS Against The
|
||
|
Empire resumes its activities, happy to live in a democracy, but with
|
||
|
the back-up tapes still hidden away in the
|
||
|
cat's basket.
|
||
|
------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
BITs Against The Empire Labs CyberNet 65:1400/1 +39-464-435189
|
||
|
Underground Research & Documentation ECN 45:1917/2 +39-11-6507540
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 22:51:01 CDT
|
||
|
From: CuD Moderators <cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu>
|
||
|
Subject: File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 19 Mar, 1995)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
|
||
|
available at no cost electronically.
|
||
|
|
||
|
CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest
|
||
|
|
||
|
Or, to subscribe, send a one-line message: SUB CUDIGEST your name
|
||
|
Send it to LISTSERV@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU
|
||
|
The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-0303), fax (815-753-6302)
|
||
|
or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL
|
||
|
60115, USA.
|
||
|
|
||
|
To UNSUB, send a one-line message: UNSUB <your name>
|
||
|
Send it to LISTSERV@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU
|
||
|
(NOTE: The address you unsub must correspond to your From: line)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
|
||
|
news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
|
||
|
LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT
|
||
|
libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in
|
||
|
the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;"
|
||
|
On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG;
|
||
|
on RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 (and via Ripco on internet);
|
||
|
and on Rune Stone BBS (IIRGWHQ) (203) 832-8441.
|
||
|
CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from
|
||
|
1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome.
|
||
|
|
||
|
EUROPE: In BELGIUM: Virtual Access BBS: +32-69-844-019 (ringdown)
|
||
|
In ITALY: Bits against the Empire BBS: +39-464-435189
|
||
|
In LUXEMBOURG: ComNet BBS: +352-466893
|
||
|
|
||
|
UNITED STATES: etext.archive.umich.edu (192.131.22.8) in /pub/CuD/
|
||
|
ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/Publications/CuD/
|
||
|
aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud/
|
||
|
world.std.com in /src/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
|
||
|
uceng.uc.edu in /pub/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
|
||
|
wuarchive.wustl.edu in /doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
|
||
|
EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/cud/ (Finland)
|
||
|
ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud/ (United Kingdom)
|
||
|
|
||
|
JAPAN: ftp.glocom.ac.jp /mirror/ftp.eff.org/Publications/CuD
|
||
|
ftp://www.rcac.tdi.co.jp/pub/mirror/CuD
|
||
|
|
||
|
The most recent issues of CuD can be obtained from the
|
||
|
Cu Digest WWW site at:
|
||
|
URL: http://www.soci.niu.edu:80/~cudigest
|
||
|
|
||
|
COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
|
||
|
information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
|
||
|
diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long
|
||
|
as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and
|
||
|
they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that
|
||
|
non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise
|
||
|
specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles
|
||
|
relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are
|
||
|
preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts
|
||
|
unless absolutely necessary.
|
||
|
|
||
|
DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
|
||
|
the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all
|
||
|
responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not
|
||
|
violate copyright protections.
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
End of Computer Underground Digest #7.26
|
||
|
************************************
|
||
|
|