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E | ________________ | ____________ | _________ |I.
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L | \______ ______\ | / ________ \ | / _____ \ | C.
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E | | | | | / \_/ | | / \_/ | S.
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C | | | | | | | | < |
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T | | | | | | | \ \______ |
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R | | | | | | | \______ \ | #3
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O | | | | | | | \ \ |
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Z | | | | | | _ | _ > | |
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I | ______| |______ | | \________/ \ | / \_____/ | |
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N | \________________\ | \_____________/ | \__________/ |
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E | Information | Communication | Supply |
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Information Communication Supply 03/29/93 Vol.1:Issue.3
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Email To: ORG_ZINE@WSC.COLORADO.EDU
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E D I T O R S: Local Alias: Email: ICS Positions:
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Daniel Frederick -Doppelalias STU445666405 Corrections, Role Playing
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Russell Hutchison -BurnouT STU524636420 Subscriptions, Editor
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Benjamin Price -Beelzebub/B'bub STU406889075 Submissions, Final Opinion,
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Letters Section
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Luke Miller -Aminohead/DUB STU521532642 Subscriptions, Role Playing
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Donald Sanders -Zorro ORG_ZINE Critical Editor, Story
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Section Editor
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George Sibley -MACFAC FAC_SIBLEY Faculty Supervisor
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Matthew Thyer -O O T L O STU523086351 Chief Editor
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Deva Winblood -Metal Master ADP_DEVA Technical Director,WorldNet
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Tour Guide, Tales of The
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Unknown
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_____________________________________________________________________________
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/ \
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| ICS is an Electrozine distributed by students of Western State |
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| College in Gunnison, Colorado. We are here to gather information about |
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| topics that are important to us all as human beings. If you would like |
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| to send in a submission please type it into an ASCII format and mail it |
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| to us. We operate on the assumption that if you mail us something you |
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| want it to be published. We will do our best to make sure it is |
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| distributed and will always inform you when or if it is used. |
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| See the end of this issue for submission information. |
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\_____________________________________________________________________________/
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REDISTRIBUTION: If any part of this issue is copied or used elsewhere
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you must give credit to the author and indicate that the information
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came from ICS Electrozine ORG_ZINE@WSC.COLORADO.EDU.
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BACK ISSUES: Back issues can be FTPed from UGLYMOUSE.CSS.ITD.UMICH.EDU
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in the directory /pub/Zines/ICS. (check /pub/Politics/ICS also)
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DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent the
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views of the editors of ICS. contributors to ICS assume all
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responsibilities for ensuring that articles/submissions are not violating
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copyright laws and protections.
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|\__________________________________________________/|
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| \ / |
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| \ T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S / |
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| / \ |
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| /________________________________________________\ |
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|/ \|
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| Included in the table of contents you will see some|
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| generic symbols to help you in making your |
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| decisions on whether an article is something that |
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| may use ideas, and/or language that could be |
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| offensive to some. S = Sexual Content |
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| AL = Adult Language V = Violence O = Opinions |
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|____________________________________________________|
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I. FIRST OPINION - By Matthew Thyer. This concerns a look into Bulletin
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Board Systems and their antagonists. (O)
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II. A SUBTLE LITTLE WAR: WHO WILL MAKE THE PICTURES - By George Sibley.
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A look at the mediums used for various publications that shape our
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viewpoints.
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III. WORLDNET TOUR GUIDE: Using ARCHIE - By Deva Winblood. Instructions
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to guide people in using the ARCHIE programs. These programs help one
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search many sites very rapidly.
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IV. HOW TO FINGER AND CREATE A PLAN FOR YOUR VAX ACCOUNT - By Daniel
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Frederick. This article explains how to create a message for people
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on a VAX/VMS machine.
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V. SEVERAL POEMS - By Heather Elliott. On request Heather has submitted
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four more poems for this issue of ICS.
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VI. TALE OF THE UNKNOWN: SO TALL LADY IN WHITE - By Deva Winblood. Yet
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another strange tale of the unknown. All based on non-fiction.
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VII. THE MARTIANS ARE COMING - By Russell Hutchison. This is part one of
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a fictional story. The second part will appear in ICS issue #4.
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VIII. BACK THEN - By Fred Skanes. This is a fictional story of nachos and
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life.
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IX. STEVE JACKSON GAMES WINS AGAINST SECRET SERVICE - By Daniel Frederick.
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This article talks about the recent win by SJG against the secret service.
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X. TWO POEMS - By Gayle L. Allenback ** A N D ** ICS BLURBS!
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Gayle Allenback has submitted two poems for your reading enjoyment. Also
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ICS BLURBS #1 which consists of public service announcements and global
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interest advertisements.
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XI. LETTERS TO ICS - Edited by Benjamin Price.
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XII. FINAL OPINION - By Benjamin Price. More inspiring thoughts from
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B'bub. We'll see just who Matt Thyer's antagonist really is. (O)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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I ____________________________________________
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I \ F I R S T O P I N I O N /
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I > By Matthew Thyer <
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I /__________________________________________\
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It is amazing how one person can so quickly ruin a piece of
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quality work. A local BBS that I frequent is intended for constructive
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discussion of contemporary subject matter; however, one subscriber
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has taken it upon himself to undermine the purpose of this conference site.
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The current state of affairs has become reminicent of a crusade where
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nobody fights. Most of the regular contributors have vanished while
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only a few of the hardier type have remained to endure the constant
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tirade of meaningless junk that pours from the keyboard of our nameless
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molester.
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The paralyzing blow that this individual has released on those of us
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who remain turns us into incapable, reactive, cyber-morons.
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All attempts to remove this person's access to the BBS have failed
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since he has not really broken any rules. I find myself sliding up
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to the person sitting at the next work station asking, "Have you read
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my latest post about Him?" What once was a healthy intellectual past-time
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has become something of a competitive obsession. I sit in my apartment
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at night and mull over tactical advances I might issue the next
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day, but what I as well as my fellow patriots of the Public Forum
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have accomplished in the end is equal to the sum of our nameless
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assailant's contributions. We have become essentially as destructive
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to the ultimate goal of the BBS as our enemy.
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This phenomenon seems to occur on just about every BBS I can dig
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up, and I am convinced that some very rude person is following me around
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changing his address and alias every time someone has something meaningful
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to relay. My personal experience seems to be becoming a rule rather than
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a solitary occurrence. "Why?" I ask myself while raising my hands to the
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cyber-sky in a quasi-sarcastic manner, hoping for god-like intervention.
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The point of most BBSes and Public-Dial-Up sites, in my humble opinion,
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is to facilitate constructive and insightful discussion on an infinite
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variety of subjects -- why does the common "flame" and its brothers even
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exist? Our subculture seems to be preoccupied with the art of bickering.
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Stop! Our world, our lives don't need this nonsense.
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II
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II
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II ___________________________________________________
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II / \
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| A SUBTLE LITTLE WAR: WHO WILL MAKE THE PICTURES? |
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| |
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| George Sibley, Electrozine Advisor/Cheerleader |
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\___________________________________________________/
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Due to some difficulties experienced in the 'zine's "subscription
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drive," as well as other questions that have been raised concerning
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institutional liability, appropriateness of this and that, and other
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such issues, I have been doing some research into the "law of the
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cyberland."
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That I have not found much probably comes as no surprise to many of
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our readers. The November/December '92 issue of TECHNOLOGY REVIEW had
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a good essay on the evolution of standards for electronic publishing
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("Of Bytes and Rights," by Herb Brody); according to the author,
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everything from network standards to Constitutional Amendments has been
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proposed, but nothing has been universally adopted; and the usual
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continuum of positions ranging from ultimate control to ultimate
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liberty is taking shape. In this regard, we would appreciate a copy
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of any network codes of ethics, proposed electronic legislation, or
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other efforts to push the law into these new realms; and we would also
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encourage the submission to this 'zine of essays suggesting what kind
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and degree of legal controls should be overlaid on the medium.
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This research, however, gave rise to larger thoughts that really need
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to be addressed before proposing legislation, and these thoughts have
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to do with what I think of as the "basic analogy" of "paperless
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publishing" in general and this 'zine in particular. More simply:
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|
what are we "like"? Or what are we trying to create? Brody's essay
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suggests a lot of possibilities. From the "global bulletin board," he
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moves on to the electronic neighborhood, the electronic village, the
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"electronic watering hole," the library, the bookstore, as possible
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metaphors for "what we are like."
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One of the most interesting observations I've encountered on the "lay
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of the land" in cyberspace, however, was in the second issue of the
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Electrozine: Benjamin Price's "Final Opinion." Price says, "A
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computer screen and a connection to the world become the greatest
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equalizing force I have ever known. Once you sit down and enter
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Cyberspace, there are no longer any judgments. There is no race, no
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creed, no gender. . . . You are defined simply by how much you know
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and how you choose to use that knowledge."
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A skeptic might point out that a "literacy requirement" makes "some
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animals more equal than others" in Cyberspace--but in a way, that is
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one of the things that I like most about the medium. The need to put
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everything in text files makes electronic publishing--at this point,
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at least--the most totally literate medium we have: no pictures, no
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infographics, not even any italics--none of the things paper publishers
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have come up with to make the printed word more palatable to a larger
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(and increasingly less literate) audience.
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When I asked a class of "Sci/Tech in Culture" students to evaluate
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the Electrozine concept, most of the students saw this lack of graphics
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as a major strike against the idea, and stopped there.
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One student, however, thought that through such media "we might
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develop our writing to the extent that we return to using our
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imaginations." While I haven't asked her, I would guess that this
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student might have had little or no access to television in her young
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years, because what she said reminded me immediately of something my
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son had said, years ago at about the age of six, before he was
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"captured" by the visual culture (which was not present in our home).
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He had gone to a friend's house to watch a televised version of C.S.
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Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe"--a book that we had
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already read aloud. When he got home, and I asked him how he'd liked
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it, he was quiet for a minute, then said, "It's better when you make
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your own pictures."
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In a new book, TECHNOPOLY, educator and cultural critic Neil Postman
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describes a "war for the future of education" currently in process
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between a "knowledge monopoly" based on the printed word and the
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emerging knowledge monopoly based in visual/interactive media. He
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derides the notion that the print-based knowledge monopoly, still in
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control of the classroom but on the run everywhere else, can "contain"
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the visual media by declaring television to be "okay for some things but
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not for others"; this, says Postman, is like the medieval church or
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some other institution grounded in the oral tradition telling Gutenberg
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that books were okay for stories and essays but not for religious and
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inspirational works.
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I would be more sanguine about this "war for the future of
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education," had I not spent most of the past decade in the classroom
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with students who are, in effect, the first generation of "displaced
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persons" created by that war: young people primarily educated by the
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visual media which have been so uncritically embraced by the culture,
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but still "doing time" in the classrooms which are the last holdout of
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the old knowledge monopoly. For the most part, these are people
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without imagination: so overloaded with images created by others
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(expertly, with virtually unlimited resources) that they have no room
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for--or respect for--their own incipient halting efforts.
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The nature and outcome of this war is made even more disturbing when
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one reads Jerry Mander's new book, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SACRED, in
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which he points out that "about 75% of commercial network television
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time is paid for by the 100 largest corporations in the country," which
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"leads to certain kinds of information dominating the airwaves." The
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same figures probably apply to the visually-oriented popular magazines
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that most of my students love and consider to be a literate medium.
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All of these advertisers, says Mander, essentially have the same
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message: "Whether you buy this commodity or that one, satisfaction in
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life comes from commodities." The spiritual and imaginative writers
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on the human experience have never managed to come up with such a
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simple and consensual message/massage.
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I will close by relating of one of my own skirmishes in this war for
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the future of education. Here at Western State College, we have been
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trying hard to develop a set of coordinated "core" courses focusing on
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the development of both creative and critical thinking skills--in
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essence, how to effectively ask "why" about what is, and "why not"
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about what is not. Like everyone else in public education, we are
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"bootstrapping on a shoestring": broadly defining the investment to
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encompass the whole reorientation and diversion of resources including
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faculty, development of the program has probably cost $10 million over
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the past half decade.
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Meanwhile, however, Anheuser-Busch has invested $70 million in
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inundating our students (and everyone else) with its "Why ask why?"
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campaign--the very antithesis of critical and creative thinking. I've
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stopped buying Budweiser as a result--that would be like G.I. Joe
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buying German war bonds in 1943. But given the resources the visual
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media can muster, compared to what print-based public education can
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muster--should I be such a fool as to be optimistic about the outcome?
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Only, I guess, so long there are students with enough of a vestigial
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imagination to imagine an appropriate environment for its full
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development, or students like Ben Price and the rest of this 'zine
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staff looking for themselves in front of a screen that stays blank
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until they put something of themselves there--in an environment that
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requires their receivers to flex their own imaginations enough to "make
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the pictures."
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No doubt many well meaning technicians are hard at work on making
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visual information easily accessible in a text-file format; but I
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won't buy into it, and I would encourage others to "think large" about
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it. My own emerging "basic analogy" for this medium is more that of
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"the great unexplored continent," a place in which I keep meeting
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people I already know who, here, are not quite the same old people.
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Knowing of course that it probably can't, I nevertheless wish that this
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abstract unexplored continent would stay this way: a place for the
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word and its pictures, and those humans willing and able to imagine,
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to make their own pictures.
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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III
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III _____________________________________
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III \ /
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III \ W o r l d N E T /
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\ Tour Guide /
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____\_____________#2______________/____
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\ Using ARCHIE /
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\ By Deva B. Winblood /
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/___________________________________\
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This issue's WorldNet Tour Guide is on the topic of ARCHIE.
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ARCHIE is a program that will search many sites very rapidly and return
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information on the location of files you are seeking. It is an incredible
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time saver.
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ARCHIE sites should be connected to using the TELNET command.
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This command is what we use on our VAX/VMS machine here and is common on
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most platforms. The command you use may be different; unfortunately
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it is not available to BITNET users.
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TELNET EXAMPLE:
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TELNET <address of computer>
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TELNET ARCHIE.ANS.NET
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Once connected to a computer hosting an ARCHIE program, you will
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be prompted to login. The LOGIN is usually `archie.' There is no
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password required. Once connected you can use the ARCHIE program to
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help you find files. Four commands will be described in this Tour
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Guide. They are all you need to get started.
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You the reader should be informed now that the ARCHIE sites
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request that your site install a CLIENT program that enables you to use
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ARCHIE without TELNETTING to their site. The information on where to
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obtain the client software will be displayed on some sites upon connecting.
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This software can be obtained using FTP(see ICS Volume 1 Issue 2).
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The four commands that will be discussed here are HELP, SET SEARCH,
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PROG, and MAIL. These commands should be sufficient to get you started
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with ARCHIE.
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HELP
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The HELP command tells the ARCHIE program to display a list of
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commands. These are commands that you can use from ARCHIE. Most of
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these commands you will not need. The commands needed to get started are
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in this WorldNet Tour Guide article.
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The HELP command will enable you to request more help by typing
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HELP <topic>.
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SET SEARCH <mode>
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This allows you to set how detailed a search you wish to use. Some
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archie sites are set to search mode SUB and occasionally they are
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set to EXACT. The difference is that SUB takes longer and will return
|
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every occurence of the word you are searching for, but EXACT will only
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return occurences that are exactly what you typed in. It is very fast.
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These modes and others will be discussed in more detail here.
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MODE--What it means:
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----------------------
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SUB This mode sets the ARCHIE program to a case insensitive(does
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not matter whether caps is on or off) substring search. It
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will set the mode to search for any occurence of that pattern.
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SUBCASE This is the same as SUB, however it IS Case sensitive.
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EXACT This mode means that it should report any EXACT occurence of
|
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what you type in and nothing more. This is the fastest search
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method, but it requires that you know exactly what you are looking
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for.
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REGEX This is the DEFAULT setting of most ARCHIE sites(ARCHIE.ANS.NET
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is defaulted to EXACT mode). This allows searches to be made
|
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for regular expressions. There is a lot of information available
|
|
concerning this search mode. To obtain it, just type HELP SET SEARCH
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at the ARCHIE prompt. More information can be obtained by typing
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HELP PROG REGEX at the ARCHIE prompt.
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PROG <expression>
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This ARCHIE command tells it to go into the database and search for occurences
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of the expression based on whatever the current search mode is set to. It
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will keep you informed of progress as it goes. When it is done, it will
|
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display the results to the screen. You can have the results mailed to you
|
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using the MAIL command that is described next.
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MAIL <email address>
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This tells the ARCHIE program to send the results of the search to the EMAIL
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address that you indicate. Large amounts of information will be fragmented
|
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into several pieces of mail.
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ARCHIE SITES:
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-------------
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|SYMBOLIC ADDRESS |NUMERIC ADDRESS | Where |
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|=============================|=================|===============|
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|ARCHIE.RUTGERS.EDU | 128.6.18.15 |NewJersey, USA|
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|ARCHIE.SURA.NET | 128.167.254.179 |Maryland, USA |
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|ARCHIE.UNL.EDU | 129.93.1.14 |Nebraska,USA |
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|ARCHIE.MCGILL.CA | |Canada |
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|ARCHIE.AU | 139.130.4.6 |Australia |
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|ARCHIE.FUNET.FI | 128.214.6.100 |Finland |
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|ARCHIE.DOC.IC.AC.UK | 146.169.11.3 |London, UK |
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|ARCHIE.CS.HUJI.AC.IL | |Israel |
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|ARCHIE.WIDE.AD.JP | |Japan |
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|ARCHIE.NCU.EDU.TW | 140.115.19.24 |Taiwan |
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|ARCHIE.SOGANG.AC.KR | 163.239.1.11 |Seoul, Korea |
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|ARCHIE.ANS.NET | |New York, USA |
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|===============================================================|
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** End of WorldNet Tour Guide #2 **
|
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IV
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IV
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IV
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IV[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][]
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[] How to finger and to create a plan for your Vax account. []
|
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[] by Daniel Frederick / Doppelalias []
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[] []
|
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[] Have you ever FINGERED an account or site? []
|
|
\/ There are two ways to finger an account. \/
|
|
Why would one want to? If you ever wondered if a friend was on-line
|
|
and just wanted to know, without writing a mail message to them, you
|
|
could finger their account. One way to do so would be to type FINGER
|
|
@SITEADDRESSHERE, an example on how you would do so to WSC:
|
|
Finger @WSC.COLORADO.EDU / this would show you everyone who is
|
|
currently on the WSC system, and ours also shows personal names,
|
|
system status, et cetera. By scanning this list you would be
|
|
able to see if that special someone was on-line.
|
|
One can check to see if selected individuals
|
|
are on. Say you wanted to know if I was logged-on during a
|
|
certain part of the day then you would type the
|
|
following <Finger stu445666405@wsc.colorado.edu>. This would show
|
|
you if I was currently on the system along with my current system
|
|
status. You may encounter a person who has created a little
|
|
addition to their account. When a person fingers this type of account
|
|
they encounter a PLAN file that the user designs. Try the
|
|
Electrozine account at <ORG_ZINE@WSC.COLORADO.EDU>.
|
|
What is going on when you encounter something like:
|
|
|
|
stu445666405 204243405 *DCL* .LT4354SRV13/PORT_2
|
|
[No Plan]
|
|
|
|
The stu445666405 is the person or site you fingered.
|
|
The 204243405 is the process ID. The *DCL* is what that person is
|
|
currently doing. This may say "not logged on." The
|
|
".LT435SRV13/PORT_2" is the present local terminal
|
|
location. The [No Plan] is stating that this person has no plan.
|
|
What is a plan? A Plan is an attached graphic or some text
|
|
that you can add to your account that comes up when fingered.
|
|
On the VAX/VMS environment you need to do the following
|
|
to create a plan file. Enter to your DCL prompt and edit in an
|
|
ASCII format. Type edt plan.txt at this point you should be in a
|
|
edit buffer. Command files are not necessary -- at this point
|
|
what ever you type will show up. So type in your name and email,
|
|
then write I READ ICS, YOU SHOULD TOO! Exit and save it.
|
|
The protection on your plan.txt should be set so that it is like
|
|
this: (W:r) plan.txt; the World should be able to read it.
|
|
Try to finger your own account. Also try to finger your
|
|
account from a different account (like a friends) to make sure
|
|
it works. You now have a plan. make it look neat and descriptive.
|
|
|
|
/\ /\
|
|
[] []
|
|
[] Vax: Set prot=(S:rwe,O:rwed,W:r,G) plan.txt / Unix: .plan (Prot?) []
|
|
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][]
|
|
[] []
|
|
[] by Doppelalias - ICS Tech. Corrections & Role Playing Editor. []
|
|
[] E-mail me for more help if needed, or if you know []
|
|
[] how to build a plan on the Unix or any other system. []
|
|
[] []
|
|
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][]
|
|
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
V _____________________________________
|
|
V /\ /\
|
|
V | \ S e v e r a l / |
|
|
V | \ P o e m s / |
|
|
| \_____________________________/ |
|
|
| B Y |
|
|
| Heather Elliott |
|
|
\_____________________________________/
|
|
-------------------------------------+------------------------------------------
|
|
AURA |RUB
|
|
* |*
|
|
i felt the cold breeze |turnout
|
|
wrap around me |step
|
|
yet i retained |transfer
|
|
a shell |transfer
|
|
of warmth |focus
|
|
* |HALT
|
|
i can only feel |*
|
|
your cool breeze |you were bug-eyed
|
|
but i know | hands dropped to the side
|
|
that such warmth |*
|
|
encases you |saw your cute belly
|
|
* | became Buddha
|
|
i want to wrap up |*
|
|
in the aura |could I feel that warmth
|
|
of your warmth | again?
|
|
on a cold clear |
|
|
night |
|
|
-------------------------------------+--------+---------------------------------
|
|
FreeFall |AN EVENING WITH _
|
|
* |*
|
|
You said you'd catch me |mellow
|
|
if I fell |comforting
|
|
but I couldn't let myself fall |relaxing
|
|
* |soft drums beat in the background
|
|
Afraid of that sinking feeling |pillows fly
|
|
so much resembling |smiles sparkle
|
|
utter disappointment |eyes glitter
|
|
* |yet, we each have our own drum
|
|
Filled with worry |stunts
|
|
became a wallflower |games
|
|
* |jokes
|
|
Saw that I could do the steps |and my drum beats out of sync
|
|
said I'd be fine |
|
|
if I followed your lead |
|
|
* |
|
|
I followed with such grace|
|
|
I'm falling |
|
|
catch me |
|
|
----------------------------------------------+---------------------------------
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VI /\___/\ /\___/\
|
|
VI \ *m* /----------------------------\ *m* /
|
|
VI \v v/ Tales of The Unknown #3 \v v/
|
|
VI \_/ By \_/
|
|
\ Deva Winblood /
|
|
\ /
|
|
\ SO TALL LADY IN WHITE /
|
|
\__________________________/
|
|
___
|
|
(_ _)
|
|
(_)he sky was dark and a blanket of moisture was all around. The sound
|
|
of divots in the road were droning background sounds to the intoxicated
|
|
youths in the back seat of the Pontiac Firebird. The party they had just
|
|
come from had supplied three passengers with more than ample alcoholic
|
|
beverages. It was times like this that they were thankful for sober
|
|
people to drive them home.
|
|
The snow had all melted and spring had come and brought the
|
|
green back into the trees on the side of the road. The trees could be
|
|
seen for a long way on this very straight road. This was not an
|
|
unfamiliar road to the driver. Actually this was the road the driver had
|
|
to drive every night to get to his house. The driver turned up the
|
|
stereo as the quiet music reached a song he particularly enjoyed.
|
|
The heavy metal and stuporous state did not stop one of the
|
|
passengers from commenting on the mist that was quickly thickening around
|
|
the road. Notice they did, and of course some drunken comment was made that
|
|
the other passengers felt was amusing.
|
|
There were no visible lights of cars in either direction and as
|
|
near as the passengers and drivers were could tell it was near midnight.
|
|
The absence of other car lights and the mist made this a particularly
|
|
dark stretch of road.
|
|
Suddenly, not far ahead, the occupants of the car noticed a white
|
|
figure on the side of the road with an arm extended and thumb pointing
|
|
upwards. The car was closing the gap to the figure fairly rapidly. The
|
|
occupants of the car looked on with curiosity which gradually shifted to
|
|
fear and concern. This was a lady dressed in white and she appeared to
|
|
be leaning outwards into the road at a near 45 degree angle.
|
|
The passengers quickly noted that this was not a natural angle
|
|
for a human to stand at. The driver turned the wheel and entered the
|
|
other lane of the road. As they past the figure they saw it vanish.
|
|
The next few years the passengers would relate this tale to anyone
|
|
interested in this tale. After all, it wasn't the first report of ghostly
|
|
hitchhikers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VII ____________________________
|
|
VII / The Martians Are Coming! \
|
|
VII | By |
|
|
VII | Russell Hutchison |
|
|
\____________________________/
|
|
|
|
Frank climbed to the top of the ladder and stepped onto one wing
|
|
of his delta shaped fighter. He began to cross over to the cockpit, the
|
|
material of his pilot suit making an annoying, abrasive sound as the legs
|
|
rubbed together. Frank clambered into the war machine and tried to think about
|
|
anything to keep his mind off the upcoming battle. The canopy began to seal
|
|
with a hiss that reminded him of the videos of snakes that he had seen when
|
|
he was a boy. Frank wondered if he would ever see a snake in real life.
|
|
'Maybe when this war between Earth and the Mars colonies ends
|
|
I could go and visit Earth. Of course, since the gravity of Earth is
|
|
so much stronger than that of Mars, I'll feel like a weak child,' Frank
|
|
thought. 'And I can't afford it, unless Mars wins this war. It's
|
|
funny to see how history repeats it's self. America broke away from
|
|
Britain because of extreme taxation and political manipulation, yet the
|
|
Earth didn't learn from this example and is mishandling the Mars in the
|
|
same fashion---'
|
|
The voice of his flight leader snapped Frank out of his reflective
|
|
mood. "SMITH! Wake up and sound off if you're there."
|
|
Frank winced at the flight leaders sarcastic tone. "Sorry, Sir!"
|
|
"Better. Now listen up boys and girls, the assault force is
|
|
going to be dropping out of lightspeed in forty seconds. Begin warming
|
|
up engines, lasers, and particle cannons."
|
|
Following instructions, Frank activated all systems. The weapons
|
|
display screen showed that both lasers in each wing were ready, also the
|
|
particle cannon was charging and the missile pod was loaded with six
|
|
separate 'flights' of ten missiles per 'flight.' Frank placed his helmet
|
|
on his head, feeling comforted by the sound of the weapon capacitors charging,
|
|
but his entire body was coated in sweat that heightened the discomfort of
|
|
his flight suit.
|
|
Even in training flights, Frank always broke into a cold sweat and life
|
|
seemed like an event that was happening to someone else, but that changed
|
|
when the action started. Frank was the best combat pilot in the Martian
|
|
fleet, and he tried to use this knowledge to calm his nerves as best as
|
|
he could. He also reminded himself that surprise had been achieved even
|
|
though Earth had known, two hours ago, that the attack was on its way.
|
|
The attack became obvious when the missiles launched from Martian
|
|
surveilance ships destroyed the defense satellites of Earth and the moon.
|
|
Frank ANGEL fighter, and those of 17 other pilots, were riding
|
|
aboard a battlecruiser named the "Vengeance". The thick, titanium-shelled
|
|
battlecruiser had been mined from the astroid belt, assembled in Earth
|
|
orbit and given to Mars to protect it from raids by other inhabited
|
|
solar systems. The Vengeance was a massive hulk measuring about half
|
|
a mile in length and would weigh over 800,000 tons in atmosphere. Now
|
|
this goliath of battle, and 21 other ships, were turning their weapons
|
|
on the planet and factories that had built them.
|
|
The weapons that would spell Earths defeat had been designed
|
|
and redesigned over the past 500 years and were the cutting edge of
|
|
technology, deuterium fluoride chemical lasers which created lethal, 15
|
|
megawatt beams of infra-red light, invisible to the human eye. Hyper-velocity
|
|
missiles that could lock-on to targets 2,000 miles away, reaching them
|
|
in 30 seconds and causing devastating damage. Coilguns that fired
|
|
500 pound to 2 ton explosive shells down launch tubes that reached lengths
|
|
of up to half-a-mile. And particle cannons that fired 20-45 megawatt
|
|
streams of neutral particles, destroying the molecular bonds of the
|
|
target area and causing almost instant vaporization.
|
|
The voice of the flight leader invaded the cockpit of Franks
|
|
ANGEL, "O.K., the game plan is to concentrate firepower on the two
|
|
battlecruisers first, then the destroyers. Light deceleration will
|
|
commence in 5 seconds."
|
|
Frank felt a sudden dizzying sensation as the Vengeance dropped
|
|
into attack speed. Vibrations, from fighters launching on the upper
|
|
flight decks, lightly shook his ANGEL fighter. Then, with the muffled
|
|
whirring of gears, the platform elevator that was holding his ANGEL
|
|
rose upward to the flight deck. Frank closed his eyes and took several
|
|
deep breaths. When the elevator stopped he opened his eyes and stared
|
|
calmly at the flight deck doors. Then all sound outside the fighter
|
|
stopped when the doors snapped open and the surrounding air rushed out
|
|
into the void of space. The only sounds left were those of Franks
|
|
breathing and the comlink.
|
|
With a sudden kick Frank was pushed heavily back into his
|
|
control seat. The delta-shaped ANGEL fighter leapt from the left side of
|
|
the Vengeance and followed the bright lights of another ANGEL's drive
|
|
engines. Frank eased his fighter above the Vengeance accelerating
|
|
over and past huge spheres of the four launching trooplanders, attached
|
|
to the Vengeance like massive ticks. Each one of the trooplanders was
|
|
approximately 200 feet in diameter and carried 400 Martian marines.
|
|
The laser lights from the Heads Up Display, originating from the top of
|
|
Franks helmet, quickly highlighted all possible targets, making them
|
|
stand out against the star filled backdrop of the battlespace. The
|
|
H.U.D. listed the distance to Earth at around 500 miles and the fleet
|
|
was closing at almost 200 miles per minute.
|
|
All of the larger war-ships had the same basic shape, long
|
|
cylinders with protruding weapon pods, sensor arrays, maneuvering
|
|
thrusters, and so forth. The only major exceptions being the, 800 foot
|
|
long 12,000 ton fighter carriers. The back halves of these ships are huge
|
|
delta-shaped wings that are actually fighter launch tubes. Frank could see
|
|
many other ANGEL fighters, each easily spotable because of the twin sparks of
|
|
light coming from the engines of each fighter. The fighters the Earth
|
|
Defense Fleet used were called BATs and looked like a single straight
|
|
wing with a reflective plastic composite cockpit in the middle. The
|
|
BATs had much lighter weaponry, consisting of one particle cannon and
|
|
two missile racks similar to the ANGELs on either side of it's cockpit.
|
|
But the BAT fighters have three drive engines each and can out maneuver
|
|
the ANGEL fighters.
|
|
As Frank accelerated past the bow of the Vengeance, he gained a
|
|
complete view of the battlespace. The Martian flag/battleship was
|
|
turning its massive 4,000 foot, 1,500,000 ton bulk towards the
|
|
earth-orbit space station. It was followed by two frigates and two
|
|
heavy cruisers, each massing around 745,000 tons and measuring over 2,300
|
|
feet in length, the cruisers being slower but carrying more weapons.
|
|
Eighty ANGELs sped ahead of the battleship and its escorts to engage the
|
|
enemy fighters while twenty fighters remained behind for fighter defense.
|
|
The space station, called "Garden," looked like a titanic mushroom with a two
|
|
mile long 'stem' and a three mile diameter 'cap.' Garden was also surrounded
|
|
by two, 3,000 foot, 600,000 ton destroyers, a dozen trooplanders, and almost
|
|
50 fighters.
|
|
Two fighter carriers began to accelerate towards Earth, followed
|
|
by four corvettes and the longest ship in the Martian fleet, a
|
|
troopcarrier. The 400,000 ton, 1,300 foot corvettes were straining
|
|
their engines to try to catch up with the carriers and the 5,000 foot
|
|
1,500,000 ton troopcarrier was quickly out-distanced by the other ships.
|
|
But this goliath made up for its slowness with its ability to carry
|
|
twenty-five trooplanders alone. Together with the thirty-four other
|
|
trooplanders from the rest of the fleet and 146 ANGELs this part of the
|
|
fleet vectored towards the planet, which had three frigates, about
|
|
eighty BAT fighters and 30 trooplanders guarding it.
|
|
The rest of the Martian fleet headed for the main Earth Defense
|
|
Fleet that was halfway between Garden and Earth. The last fighter
|
|
carrier lead the charge followed closely by two corvettes. These, in
|
|
turn, were followed by two more frigates and the Vengeance. Lastly were
|
|
four older-version battlecruisers. Weighing 850,000 tons and measuring
|
|
nearly 4,700 feet, these ships were slower and carried less armor than
|
|
the newer battlecruisers like the Vengeance. Together with 106 fighters,
|
|
one of which was Frank, this group was to seal the fate of the rest of
|
|
the Earth Defense Fleet. The EDF consisted of four destroyers, three
|
|
corvettes, nearly seventy fighters, and the primary target for Frank and
|
|
the Vengeance, two of the newest heavy cruisers. Measuring at around
|
|
2,700 feet and weighing 740,000 tons, these heavy cruisers carried
|
|
nearly twice the weapons and armor of the Martian heavy cruisers.
|
|
Pushing their fighters to maximum acceleration, the Martian
|
|
pilots raced ahead of their fleet and began breaking into pairs. One
|
|
fighter in each pair had a hyper-velocity missile from one of the
|
|
warships jury-rigged to the bottom of the fighter. A missile as long as
|
|
the fighter its self. Franks fighter was one of these missile carriers.
|
|
Franks wingman pulled in above and behind him.
|
|
"Good mornin' Frank, how's the wife?" the wingman
|
|
asked.
|
|
"Rosie is just fine, Rick, how are you?"
|
|
"Never better...Man, there sure are lots of badguys today. It
|
|
looks kind-of vicious out there."
|
|
"Hey, just remember, we're not surrounded, we're in a target
|
|
rich environment."
|
|
"Right. Good luck at the office today, Bawanna."
|
|
"You too."
|
|
Even as the fighters passed the halfway point to the enemy,
|
|
brilliant lights began to flash all over the EDF, caused by the
|
|
invisible lasers and particle beams of the Martian warships. Then the
|
|
blur of coilgun rounds and the streaks of light from the hyper-velocity
|
|
missiles rocketed past, erupting into orange-white explosions whenever
|
|
they hit.
|
|
Three fourths of the way to the EDF the Martian ANGELs
|
|
encountered the Earth fighter defense. (TO BE CONTINUED)
|
|
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
VIII
|
|
VIII ________________/\
|
|
VIII ______________/\/___BACK THEN______\____________
|
|
VIII _______________X____BY FRED SKANES____X_____________
|
|
|
|
|
|
Laying the slice of olive and pimento on the nacho shivered up a memory.
|
|
These often came when Michael was unprepared, or at least unsuspecting. He
|
|
would be involved in a simple task, something routine and everyday, when a
|
|
quick flood of remembrance would bolt him back to another time. Back to
|
|
himself, back to her. His present thoughts were glazed over. Disoriented,
|
|
Michael sat down by the stove. The chair wobbled underneath.
|
|
Michael took a long draw on his smoke. He watched the cool blue smoke
|
|
wither in the air. His gaze drifted over to the pan of nachos. He noticed
|
|
that only half of the chips were streaked with the red and yellow pieces of
|
|
hot banana peppers. She never liked them. Old habits die hard. Michael
|
|
chuckled silently. The pepperless side was smothered in Cheddar and Jack.
|
|
That's all she liked. He thought, she isn't here really, but she is.
|
|
|
|
Nearly a year had passed. Michael pushed ahead, trying to start fresh. He
|
|
would seek comfort from his friends but that was sporadic at best. They had
|
|
their own lives and now he was the odd man out. They were all `coupled off'.
|
|
|
|
On occasion they would all sit around and relate their stories about the
|
|
everyday things that made up their lives -- dirty diapers, work, rows and
|
|
booze. A diverse hodgepodge of matter of fact discussions. One day, tired
|
|
of Michael's usual referrals, his friends, with exasperated tones, echoed
|
|
each other.
|
|
|
|
-- Mike it's been a long time --
|
|
-- Get on with your life --
|
|
-- Mike, for jesus sake, let it go will ya --
|
|
|
|
Whether they were talking about food, money, sex or the problems of the
|
|
planet, Michael always pluralized his viewpoint.
|
|
|
|
-- Yeah, _____ and I never liked that much --
|
|
-- No, we thought that was unnecessary --
|
|
-- The Continental was our favorite --
|
|
|
|
Often Michael thought that their remarks were selfish and insensitive. He
|
|
was getting on with his life but in his own way, not theirs. He sprinkled
|
|
some red pepper on the nachos.
|
|
|
|
_______________________________________________________________________________
|
|
In the car his frozen toes made the day constant. It was a cold winter thus
|
|
far. As they moved along the brackish road, the hardened wheel well slush
|
|
continuously rubbed the tires. They pulled into a flower shop to collect a
|
|
friend.
|
|
|
|
Stirring from a daydream, ignoring the frosty chat, Michael begrudgingly
|
|
squeezed from the back seat. As he entered the earthy warmth of the shop
|
|
his thoughts quickly moved to memory. The last time in this place was with
|
|
her. Ferns, that was their goal on a Sunday.
|
|
|
|
Trying to ride the crest of this emotional wave Michael clung to his
|
|
friends. He followed them around the store. He somehow felt that by keeping
|
|
close to them he would be secured from his past. Companionable shelter in
|
|
a tormenting emotional storm? Louisiana Hot Sauce dribbles over the pepper
|
|
and cheese.
|
|
|
|
_______________________________________________________________________________
|
|
Thinking back, a bit brave for the task, Michael often felt that the `break
|
|
up' period was not really a breaking up of anything. Easily categorized, he
|
|
thought, to neatly file away the pain and confusion. A quick way out for some.
|
|
|
|
She left, he stayed. Michael lived in the same place. He dealt with sleeping
|
|
in `their bed', alone. Rolling over, and over to the other edge.
|
|
He picked up her mail, answered her calls, cleared away her things. He
|
|
wasn't `breaking up' anything. Yet. His contacts with her were still around
|
|
him, a part of his daily life.
|
|
The more someone tried to figure out why someone was leaving them, the more
|
|
confusing it all seemed. When Michael focused on her departure, the brief
|
|
note that summarized a relationship, he conjured up a smattering of
|
|
theories as to why?
|
|
|
|
Michael butted the smoke in the popcan ashtray. He thought of the letters.
|
|
Jesus, how many did he write? It all happened so fast. He remembered trying
|
|
to balance the speed of her departure with introspection. He penned body
|
|
and soul in at least fifteen letters in the first three weeks!
|
|
|
|
Each letter attempting to explain in some way the chaos of thought and
|
|
emotion. Each one a new stab at trying to let her know how he felt. Each
|
|
time, Michael was never sure of the end result but they went in the post
|
|
just the same. Michael thought that somehow through all the fragments she
|
|
could see how strong his love was for her.
|
|
|
|
No matter what flowed into each letter Michael never crumpled one for the
|
|
trash can. He mailed them all thinking that this diligence and honesty
|
|
would strengthen his position. He sent her all of his feelings whatever
|
|
they were at the time of writing. These letters became hurried glimpses of
|
|
truth. The pre-heating light went out. Michael slid the Nachos into the hot
|
|
oven.
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
|
|
His beard is full now except for two vee shaped spots hanging off his lower
|
|
lip. All in all a shaggy reminder of her. She hated the coarse rub of his
|
|
face. Growing the beard somehow signalled a change. He checked to make sure
|
|
the nachos were not burning.
|
|
|
|
______________________________________________________________________________
|
|
They both lived in the same neighbourhood now. Their paths never crossed. A
|
|
chance encounter seemed likely but never materialized. Michael could
|
|
somehow relate this to their separate lives but he still found it funny
|
|
that in such a small community there never was a run in of any sort. Their
|
|
crowd watered at the same hole and yet on many anxious occasions as he
|
|
pulled open the local bar door, she was never there. It was as if she somehow
|
|
knew the nights that Michael would decide to spend those last few UI dollars
|
|
out and about.
|
|
|
|
Her friends would be there many nights. They were `her' friends now; before
|
|
they had been mutual friends, but owing up to past alliances from before they
|
|
became a `couple', friends now camped with old allegiance.
|
|
|
|
One day while clearing the cobwebs with coffee at a new cafe, Michael
|
|
sighted her across the street. She was attending a community college nearby.
|
|
An anxious moment nearly knocked the coffee and cream mugs off of the
|
|
uneven table as Michael crazily thought of scrambling to the door and
|
|
shouting out her name. Gathering himself he sat back down to agonize once
|
|
more.
|
|
|
|
From that day on, the cafe at the top of the hill became a symbol of
|
|
Michael's torturous days. In the days of unemployment, time leads to many
|
|
thoughts. On many occasions, even though the relationship had been long
|
|
snuffed, Michael would daydream himself to the door of the cafe.
|
|
It became a focal point, almost a refuge of sorts.
|
|
|
|
Confused, he often left without even looking in through the window. Love
|
|
and anger mixed together, fueling moments of panic and indecision. The
|
|
next hour or so left him emotionally paralyzed. His concentration became a
|
|
struggle. Any conversation with friends that he would bump into would wane;
|
|
Michael would curtly drift away.
|
|
|
|
Finally, one day, Michael and a friend, Jamie, decided to go for coffee. It
|
|
was no surprise to Michael when he suggested the cafe at the top of the
|
|
hill. As they entered the smokey lunch time crowd and situated a table,
|
|
Michael's stomach tied itself tightly. There she sat. With Jamie in the
|
|
lead, feeling blind and crippled, Michael grappled to a corner table.
|
|
MIchael felt that he could touch her by simply thinking about it.
|
|
|
|
Jamie continued the conversation from the car. Michael faintly nodded
|
|
concern; income tax and the cost of living could take a back seat for the
|
|
moment. The reach of his hearing centred on her table.
|
|
|
|
Michael picked up his coffee and for a moment the movement disentangled him
|
|
from Jamie's words. He tried to quickly snatch her voice, wanting to know
|
|
what she has been up to. A moment summarizes months of living, Michael
|
|
thought.
|
|
|
|
There would be no acknowledgment that day. They would both have lunch,
|
|
talk to friends, and go on to the afternoon. Such days were random. Michael
|
|
went to the cafe sporadically after that first encounter. He thought that
|
|
maybe this was a sign of something. A change occurring in his outlook on
|
|
the past.
|
|
|
|
Getting up from the chair, he shrugged off the daydream. The oven had
|
|
filled the kitchen with sleepy heat. Michael opened the oven door to check
|
|
on the nachos. They were almost ready, the cheese beginning to bubble.
|
|
|
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
|
|
It gave way one day. That day. Funny thing was, Michael had thought of this
|
|
exact moment. He conjured up daydreams while on the bus of such symbolic
|
|
events. He took it as a sign to let go. Finally.
|
|
|
|
Michael so often imagined this day. He felt glad that the earthy colored
|
|
`weavy', as she called it, had fallen off unnoticed. It had dangled on
|
|
his wrist for a year or thereabout. A constant reminder.
|
|
|
|
Michael knew that to prepare for this moment would have been a troublesome
|
|
gesture. A parting glance back, somehow ceremonialized, would have
|
|
undoubtedly yielded substantial flashbacks. A jaunt to the liquor store for
|
|
two litres of Bull's Blood would have been in order.
|
|
|
|
He was glad that it remained. Like the two he angrily cut from his wrist
|
|
when she first left, this one would hang around as well. He stuck it in the
|
|
fold of the cookbook that lay open on the table. Holding a place of
|
|
reference, keeping a memory. Michael pulled the finished nachos from the
|
|
oven.
|
|
|
|
|
|
___________________________________________________________________________
|
|
IX
|
|
IX ___________________________________________________
|
|
IX / \
|
|
IX / Steve Jackson Games Wins Against Secret Service \
|
|
\ Daniel Frederick / Alias: Doppelalias /
|
|
\___________________________________________________/
|
|
|
|
On March 1, 1990 Steve Jackson found out his company was on the list
|
|
of places to raid during Operation Sun Devil. The secret service paid
|
|
SJ Games a visit. The SS broke into locked file cabinets, ransacked the place,
|
|
and left carrying 3 computers, 2 laser printers, and a lot of hard disks
|
|
and papers. Later, a posting on the BBS run by SJ Games, used to keep up
|
|
communications with role players, related the following:
|
|
|
|
"So far we have not received a clear explanation of what the secret
|
|
service was looking for, what they expected to find, or much of anything
|
|
else. We are fairly certain that Steve Jackson Games is not the target
|
|
of whatever investigation is being conducted; in any case, we have done
|
|
nothing illegal and have nothing whatsoever to hide. However, the
|
|
equipment that was seized is apparently considered to be evidence in
|
|
whatever they're investigating, so we aren't likely to get it back any
|
|
time soon. It could be a month, it could be never."
|
|
|
|
Later in another game, Steve Jackson said:
|
|
"In 1990, Steve Jackson Games was raided by the U.S. Secret Service during
|
|
a 'hacker hunt' that went disastrously out of control. We lost several
|
|
computers, modems, and other equipment. Worse, we lost the manuscripts to
|
|
several uncompleted games, most notably _GURPS Cyberpunk_, which a Secret
|
|
Service agent the next day called `a handbook for computer crime.' The
|
|
company had to lay off half its staff, and narrowly avoided bankruptcy.
|
|
|
|
"Eventually we got most of our property back (though some of it was damaged
|
|
or destroyed). The Secret Service admitted that we'd never been a target of
|
|
their investigation. We have a lawsuit pending against the officials and
|
|
agencies responsible."
|
|
|
|
One reason the secret service raided SJ Games is because of one of the
|
|
staff writers, known as The Mentor of the LoD (Legion of Doom). The
|
|
LoD is a band of hackers, and all hackers are evil in the eye of the
|
|
law. The book, `GURPS-Cyberpunk, High-Tech Low-Life Role-Playing,' is
|
|
now advertised as "The book that was seized by the secret service".
|
|
|
|
If you are interested, SJ Games operates a BBS with discussion areas
|
|
for several games, including GURPS. Its up 24 hours a day at 521-447-4449,
|
|
at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud.
|
|
|
|
Now with the help of the EFFector 'zine, SJ Games has won its
|
|
law suit.
|
|
|
|
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 93 00:33:21 -0600
|
|
From: (Steve Jackson)
|
|
To: ORG_ZINE@WSC.COLORADO.EDU
|
|
Subject: Re: Question.
|
|
|
|
Yep, we won. By all means, print info - that's why we sent out the
|
|
press release! Thanks for the interest. Best of luck to you; electrozines
|
|
are a wave of the future.
|
|
|
|
-------------Start of Message------------
|
|
From: Steve Jackson
|
|
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 21:24:46 GMT
|
|
|
|
We won.
|
|
Pete Kennedy, our attorney at George, Donaldson & Ford, called me
|
|
with the news about 3:30 today. Apparently the decision came in late
|
|
Friday while Pete was at the CFP. The judge ruled for us on both the PPA
|
|
and ECPA, though he says that taking the computer out the door was not an
|
|
"interception." (I have not read the decision yet, so no quotes here.)
|
|
He awarded damages of $1,000 per plaintiff under the ECPA. Under the PPA,
|
|
he awarded SJ Games $42,259 for lost profits in 1990, and out of pocket
|
|
costs of $8,781. Our attorneys are also entitled to submit a request for
|
|
their costs. No word on appeal yet.
|
|
|
|
Look for a more complete and coherent account after we all read
|
|
the decision. Please copy this announcement to all electronic and
|
|
|
|
other media. Thanks for your support through all this!
|
|
------- End of forwarded message ---------
|
|
|
|
End/Daniel Frederick/Alias: Doppelalias
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
X ___________________________
|
|
X | | ++ I.
|
|
X / T W O P O E M S \ ++ C.
|
|
X \ By Gayle L. Allenback / ++++++++ S.
|
|
\_________________________/ ++ BLURBS
|
|
++
|
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+----------+---------+---------
|
|
The Map | |ICS BLURB|
|
|
. | +---------+
|
|
Planning my route to paradise, |If your interested in a Zine
|
|
I'm aware of the stack of books on the table.|that describes itself as
|
|
Reading them would make me blind, |"Being the excremeditation of
|
|
So I travel on with my sight, |a hyperactive armadillo's
|
|
Getting worn down by gravel roads. |activities, and other stuff.."
|
|
. |
|
|
by Gayle L. Allenback |Send to:
|
|
|USnail:
|
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+Armadillo Culture
|
|
Sitting Alone on a Moonlit Night |2857 Foxmill Rd.
|
|
. |Herndon, VA. 22071
|
|
The moonglow silvers a snake in the water, |or EMAIL:
|
|
>C8o{. a mesmerizing fortune uponH7 |sokay@cyclone.mitre.org
|
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+------------------------------
|
|
[[[[[[ I C S B L U R B ]]]]]] | RPG CONVENTION ANNOUNCEMENT
|
|
"Simulation & Gaming" Zine has issued a call for | -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-
|
|
papers. "Simulation & Gaming: An International | Allied Gaming Interests, Inc.
|
|
Journal of Theory, Design, and Research" (Sage | presents
|
|
Publications) is the world's foremost journal | D - C U B E D 1993
|
|
devoted to academic and applied issues in the |
|
|
fast expanding fields of simulation, computerized| The Southeast's largest
|
|
simulation, gaming, modeling, play, role-play and| "Gamer's Only" convention
|
|
active, experiential learning and related |
|
|
methodologies in education, training and |WHEN: June 5-6, 1993
|
|
research. The broad scope of interdisciplinary |WHERE: Pensacola Civic Center
|
|
nature of "Simulation & Gaming" is demonstrated | Pensacola, Florida
|
|
by the variety of its readers and contributors, |HOW MUCH: $10 per day
|
|
as well as its Editorial Board members, such as | $15 for both days
|
|
sociologists, political scientists, economists, |HOTELS: Seville Inn
|
|
psychologists and educators, as well as experts | (1-800-277-7375) Ask for
|
|
in environmental issues, international studies, | group rate #2910.
|
|
management and business, policy and planning, | Days Inn
|
|
decision making and conflict resolution, | (1-800-325-2525, ask for
|
|
cognition, learning theory, communication, | D-CUBED special)
|
|
language, learning, media, educational |
|
|
technologies and computing. Manuscripts are | Both only $39 per night
|
|
welcome at any time. Before submitting a |
|
|
manuscript, potential authors should write for a |FOR MORE INFORMATION:
|
|
copy of the Guide for Authors, enclosing a self- |Send email to
|
|
addressed, sticky label and $2 in stamps(in the |UWFGAMER@UWF.CC.UWF.EDU
|
|
USA only). Write to David Crookall, Editor S&G |TVERITY@CONCH.SENOD.UWF.EDU
|
|
Morgan Hall. BOX 870244, U of AL, Tuscaloosa, |UWFGAMER@UWF.BITNET
|
|
AL 35487, USA. TO SUBSCRIBE, write to Sage |-----------------------------
|
|
Publications, 2455 Teller Road, Newbury Park, CA | Well that is the end of
|
|
91320,USA; 6 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PU, UK.| ICS Issue #3 Blurbs.
|
|
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=+=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XI ___/\____/\_/\____/\___
|
|
XI / L E T T E R S T O \
|
|
XI \ I. C. S. /
|
|
XI \_____/\_______/\_____/
|
|
|
|
Secrest Elementary School 6875 W. 64th Avenue
|
|
Arvada, CO 80003 USA
|
|
Mar.12, 1993
|
|
|
|
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
|
|
|
|
For those who have missed previous notices about "Project: Indiana Jones and the
|
|
Power of the Internet" I would like to take a minute or two to update you.
|
|
|
|
My name is Sam F. Radovich, 6th grade teacher here at Secrest. I've been
|
|
teaching 19 years in Jefferson County, the largest school district in the State
|
|
of Colorado. I've been at Secrest for 5 years.
|
|
|
|
I'm not a computer scientist or programmer, just a creative, innovative
|
|
classroom educator who is trying to implement the use of technology to enhance
|
|
and enrich basic education.
|
|
|
|
This all started several years ago when I wrote a "Long Distance Learning
|
|
Proposal" that was rejected. A second one that was networking two of our sister
|
|
elementary schools, which was also rejected so the local high school could pay
|
|
for a cd-rom program instead of the "Power of the Net."
|
|
|
|
Thanks to Mr. Ken Harmon, Executive Director of Colorado SuperNet, this dream is
|
|
becoming a reality on a daily basis. He adopted us and has provided us with the
|
|
access to the Net. This "Educational Partnership" has provided unlimited
|
|
learning opportunities.
|
|
|
|
I'm trying to educate and convince the public of the importance of technology
|
|
for accessing the world classroom that we all know exits via the Net. Many feel
|
|
this is not important in elementary school. We just had a super demonstration
|
|
with "Educating a Superintendent."
|
|
|
|
We had responses from around Colorado and the Nation, also from Australia, New
|
|
Zealand, and yes even from South Africa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sincerely
|
|
Sam F. Radovich
|
|
(aka Dr. Jones or Indy and Associates)
|
|
P.S. We've just made it into the South Pole and Iceland, too.
|
|
|
|
{That's great to hear. Schools should definitely be using the incredible
|
|
resources out there as much as they can; it is good to know that there
|
|
are teachers out there making an effort to make it happen. -BP}
|
|
|
|
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|
|
|
|
Hello all,
|
|
|
|
I have to make a confession. I did something appalling and I can't
|
|
keep it bottled up anymore. It really is terrible, but here goes.
|
|
|
|
When I received the first edition of your electrozine, I was very busy
|
|
and didn't really have time to read it, so I ... PRINTED IT! Can you believe
|
|
I would do such a thing to an electronic magazine. Whew, I feel so much
|
|
better now that I got that off my chest.
|
|
|
|
Congratulations, it was an excellent edition and I wish you all the
|
|
best of luck.
|
|
|
|
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
|
|
Keith D. Baker "An honest politician is one who,
|
|
Department of Chemistry when bought, stays bought."
|
|
University of New Orleans
|
|
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
|
|
|
|
{I hope you realize, Keith, that there is no hope for you. What you did
|
|
was utterly unforgivable, and it breaks my heart to hear about a true
|
|
net citizen reduced to... dare I say it... hard copies. But seriously,
|
|
thanks. -BP}
|
|
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
XII _______________________________________________
|
|
XII / F I N A L O P I N I O N \
|
|
XII | B Y |
|
|
XII | Benjamin Price |
|
|
\_______________________________________________/
|
|
|
|
Hmmm. The lab is fairly quiet at last. Most of the research paper
|
|
strugglers have given up and decided that scholarship isn't worth it. Or
|
|
who knows? Maybe they even finished the things. There are still a few
|
|
dedicated souls at work, though, and occasionally a staccato keyboard
|
|
run announces a DikuMUD in progress. The wall clock tells me there are
|
|
forty-five minutes left before I get kicked out.
|
|
It is time to get to work.
|
|
For the past couple years, I had a project: to make Matthew Thyer's
|
|
Internet life a hell. With one last look around, I call up the local
|
|
BBS, and begin to post horrible, senseless gibberish. First, I make fun
|
|
of Mr. Thyer's grammar; next, his spelling; and lastly and most
|
|
enjoyably, I attack him personally. I use great imagination, making sure
|
|
I have completely addressed his every shortcoming.
|
|
Gosh, what fun.
|
|
No, that is not a true story. But is it accurate?
|
|
Considerable debate often arises over public access bulletin boards.
|
|
It is unfortunate that so often they become war grounds instead of
|
|
whatever the programmer originally intended. There are a great number of
|
|
very intelligent people using the boards who tend to see posting as a
|
|
competition; for them it is a great source of pride to be the one who has the
|
|
most skill in programming, language, articulation, or whatever is on the
|
|
table for discussion.
|
|
The ones who get hurt by this are those who are unable or unwilling
|
|
to play aggressively. Bulletin boards become unusable by less willful
|
|
information or socialization seekers because of the antagonistic nature
|
|
of the board.
|
|
I realize this is not a universal problem, but it is certainly a
|
|
common one. And an aggressive personality and/or intellect can also be a
|
|
great asset to a BBS, guiding and providing. Our minds are everything in
|
|
this environment. We have a responsibility to be aware of the power that
|
|
gives us.
|
|
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
ICS would like to hear from you. We accept flames, comments,
|
|
submissions, editorials, corrections, and just about anything else you
|
|
wish to send us. For your safety use these guidelines when sending us
|
|
anything. We will use things sent to us when we think the would be
|
|
appropriate for the goal of the issue coming out. So, if you send us
|
|
something that you DO NOT want us to use in the electrozine, then put
|
|
the words NOT FOR PUBLICATION in the subject of the mail you send us.
|
|
You can protect your material by sending a copy to yourself
|
|
through the mail and leaving the envelope unopened.
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
ADVERTISEMENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS: We will accept either of these as long as they
|
|
are of global interest and good quality. This is a non-profit public service
|
|
of the ICS Electrozine.
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
BACK ISSUES: Back Issues of ICS can be FTPed from UGLYMOUSE.CSS.ITD.UMICH.EDU
|
|
They are in the directory /pub/Zines/ICS. (NOTE: the administrator may have
|
|
them in /pub/Politics/ICS still.)
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
ICSICSICSICSICSICSICS/\ICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICS
|
|
CSICSICSICSICSICSICS/ \CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICS
|
|
ICSICSICSICSICSICSI/ \ICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
|
|
CSICSICSICSICSICSI/ \CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSI
|
|
ICSICSICSICSICSIC/ I C S \ICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSIC
|
|
CSICSICSICSICSIC/ \CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSIC
|
|
ICSICSICSICSICS/ Electro- \ICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICS
|
|
CSICSICSICSICS/ Zine \CSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICSICS
|
|
\ /
|
|
\ #3 /
|
|
\ /
|
|
\ / An Electronic Magazine from
|
|
\ / Western State College
|
|
\ / Gunnison, Colorado.
|
|
\ / ORG_ZINE@WSC.COLORADO.EDU
|
|
\/ '*'
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|