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292 lines
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The following is one sysop's idea on flame warring. It is developed over the
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course of one summer in heated debates ranging from anarchy, socialism to
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xenophobic FIDOnet sysops. Please read the with an open mind and anylize
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them. I claim no responsibility for anyone that choses to use the following
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tips, but I feel that if used the way I perscribe that no harm will result,
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except maybe hyperventalation from the humor or irony.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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OTTO'S FLAME TIPS
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How to conduct a flame war
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or
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How to piss off FIDOnet sysops in 105
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Note to the reader: This document is one on how to conduct a proper flame
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ war, and is in no way directed at any BBS in particular.
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A person that DL'd this Gfile and then UL'd onto a NET 105 BBS has been
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making wild accusationg about this, by titleing it "Otto's Tips on how to
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piss of NET 105 sysops". The only name that this document may go by is
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"Otto's Tips on Flame Warring" Why go through all of the troubles of
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renaming it and breaking a copyright law?
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Introduction: This document was created over the course of a few messages. I
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~~~~~~~~~~~~ found that it was in the best interest of the entire community
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to hear my tips on flame warring. I HIGHLY suggest that you do try a few of
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the tips, however: I will take no responsibility for any trouble that you
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get into. If anyone calls under my names, make SURE that they are me and
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not just some imposteur trying to use my name.
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============================================================================
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Well, after my immersion on the NET 105, I thought that it would be a good
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idea to write down a very simple thing about flame warring. These are all
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ideas, and I do not reccomend trying them.
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============================================================================
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I. The Target
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Perhaps the most important thing in a flame war is deciding who to
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hit with your words. Depending on the results wanted, I would
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suggest the following as a guide, and the pro's and con's are
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listed:
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GENERAL USER- this is the best choice if you are looking for some
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fun with almost no chances of it getting you burned. The only
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problem (if this is one) is that you will almost never get
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anything (if you are trying) done. I highly
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recommend this for practice.
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SYSOP- this is the fun one. What you do is find a sysop that is very
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conservative and a jerk (the best ones are the sysops that are
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doing it for the power trip and that constanly break the rules).
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The problem here is that you may be thrown off of the system (oh
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no!) and if it is a NETed system, you may have problems throughout
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the net. The pro's of this target is that the sysops will notice
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you from now on, and will most likely want to kill you. If you are
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going for a cause, this is the best target.
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II. The Subject
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The best subject to use is dependant upon your cause. If you
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are trying to get a place to debate, use high risk [ط6<D8B7>[c<> (i.e.
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A.I.D.S., Government, Womens Lib.) Eventualy they will end up
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involved in a flame-war (the other users and the sysops) and WILL
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HAVE TO GIVE IN or lose all of their users.
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If you are looking to shut down a few nodes, the best way to go is
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constant bickering. You want people to have to read whatever you are
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saying no matter where they go. Once the sysop realizes that you
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will not give up, he will give in or the people will withdraw.
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III. The Way to Do It
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Ok, first off you need to log in. Use a fake name (make sure that
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you use a name in the phone book), and make sure that the phone
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number is correct. You will not want to stay with an alias for too
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long.
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In the beginning, just read. After you get the feel for the weak
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spots start posting. I do not suggest (and in fact will kill anyone
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doing this) complaining about BBS types being better or worse, or
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the grammer and spelling of another person. Keep the first few posts
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fairly civil, and slowly build up the flames. After a few days the
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message bases will be very hot and you will have mega-attention.
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Remember to post on as many bases as you can to maximize your
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effectivity in your cause. ( We call this the blanket / smother effect
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)
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*note: never flame about something that you know
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nothing about. It is best to be very knowledgable
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in whatever thing you flame about.
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IV. Writing the Message
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A: Check the Spelling
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B: Do not swear
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C: Quote!
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D: Provide sources (fake are cool too) to back up your side
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E: Site examples from other states and regions
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F: Never give in unless it is just as a ruse
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G: You are a psychologist
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H: Everyone is always out to kill you.
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I: Everyone is on your side, they just are so taken in by you
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messgages that they are at a lack of words.
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*note: H and I do contradict, TRUST ME.
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The above should be some good pointers on flaming. I would suggest
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that you always keep the words clean and do not swear, as swearing
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really ruins the messages and makes you look uneducated.
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INSERT #1:
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When the flames start getting hot the users will get mad. When the
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users get mad, they complain. Once that happens- the sysop is in a
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tough position. If he is net'd he will have to drop the NET or get
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dropped. There is almost NO way to completely eliminate the flame-
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artists from loggin in. I never went away, probably because no one
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ever kicked me off of their system.
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The HOT topic list:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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-CENSORSHIP: call the sysop a "censorsop". Tell eveyone that the sysop
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is removing messages for no reason. For proof enter a really
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normal message, screen copy it..then delete the online message. Wait
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for a day and scream bloody murder for this injustice.
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-VIOLATION OF POLICY: now this is the easiest. There are sysops and
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users out there that just cannot follow the rules. Don't worry
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about the users-- just get the sysop because he is supposed to be
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the roll model (or she).
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-AGISM: everyone knows that adults are fascist pigs, so remind
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the entire BBS a few times.
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-GOVERNMENT: anarchy, socialism or communism should do the trick.
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Offer the Communist Witch Hunts of the '50s. This will cause an
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uproar. (I have actually tried this one many a time)
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The DUMB topic list:
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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-CLASSES: my BBS is better than your BBS messages. Very dumb, and
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a bad approach.. doesn't seem cool because you may end up
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flaming a perfectly cool sysop unknowingly.
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-SPELLING: this is the worst and lowest blow. DO not even BOTHER
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with it. This is a sign of the other side having nothing left to
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say. It is a fairly good side that you have almost won, or that
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the other side is out of ideas (for now..).
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HOW TO CHOOSE A NAME:
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* Grab the phone book
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* Pick three numbers (random) 0-9.
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* Go to that page
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* Randomly grab a name and a phone number
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* Log in to the BBS
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* Use the above name
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-read a bunch of messages, find one that offers
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flame possibilities.
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-post
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-post
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-post
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* Logoff
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[wait for 12 hours or 24 hours.. depending if it is NET'd]
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* Call back
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-read
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-post
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* Repeat from [] down.
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Use the same name until you are discovered. Most sysops only check to
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see if the name exists, not if the person lives there. I would suggest
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that you use a name that sounds VERY real if you make up a new alias.
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You will need to change names periodicaly, and whatever you do: NEVER GO
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BACK TO THE SAME NAME or else you will be killed the first time; some
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BBS's have a TRASHCAN file where bad users' names are put.
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TIPS ON MESSAGE FORMAT AND WRITING: Do not swear, as people with a limited
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ vocabulary must lower themselves to
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this. The way to combat bordome in drab messages: a thesaurus.
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(dictionaries are also of use) To make the messages very interesting
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and use very long words, but not too long or else the people will just
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scan over them.
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calmness, n.: quietness, tranquillity, calm.
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From the above I would choose tranquillity because it sounds so
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ironic to find it in a flame message.
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Basicaly, remember that you WANT people to read these messages, and
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not just pass them by. I would suggest humor through irony, a good
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vocabulary, intelligent writing style, and ABOVE ALL: good grammer.
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MISC tips:
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-never get mad
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-never try to impersonate someone
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-never use your real name or number
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-always keep a GOOD user on every BBS
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-never form an alliance with ANYONE
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-do not compromise
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I suggest keeping a good user on a few BBSes because that way you can keep a
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constant supply of information. Never call in with both users at the same hour
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or else patterns will show and you will be discovered. I do not suggest
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alliances as they will eventualy turn against you.
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COMBATTING PARANOIA: In the flame you will get paranoid. By all means combat
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ this with anything that you can find. I have never been
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been able to do this. Remember that they do NOT know who you are, and
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they cannot come to your house and make you into a pudding that Bill
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Cosby will be shoving down some kid's throat.
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CONFIDENTIALITY: Never believe this policy. I have been ratted on before. I
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ do not suggest letting ANYONE know who you are-- even your
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friends. A sysop may say that his records are confidential: but they
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NEVER are. I currently have my real name floating around between PDX
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and Vancouver on just about every OPUS (about 1000000 zillion.. hard to
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count because there are no identifying/charecteristic features/prop-
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erties) by a sysop who claimed to be confidential.
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FILE TRANSFERS: When you have all of these names, make sure to use them to
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ get the advantage of virtualy unlimited DL/UL abilities.
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When you first start the war (user name #1) wait until it gets bad,
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then milk the DL/UL areas until you are thrown off for messages and
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DL/UL ussage (or should I say exploitation?). When you get thrown
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off just start in another day or so-- UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME.
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WHEN TO STRIKE: When the sysop is on vacation. If the sysop is not answering
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ his mail, chances are he is out of town for the weekend or
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the holliday. If he is not there: he cannot delete your messages. This
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is not the best time to attack the sysop, as he will most asuradly
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read his mail once he gets back, and will be paying extra attention
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to any changes since he was gone. If you would like to play hit and
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run, while he is on vacation, while sticking to one alias, rape his
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board with massive loads of information. Once he gets back-- go on
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`vacation' for a week of so after.
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WHY NOT TO FLAME: it is a pain in the butt if ANYONE finds out your real
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ name. If the sysop is cool, you will be wrong in doing
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whatever you say, but then he may be BAD. You may also find that
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the flame will mean more than anything else.
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WHY TO FLAME: it is about the only way that people will read your opinions.
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~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is very hard to ignore a board-wide or NET-wide flame war.
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It is also the ultimate in publicity if you run a BBS (trust me--
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everyone that is on my net and reads VANPORT knows who I am,
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and what my BBS is) what they hear may not be too cool, but they
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will eventualy if THEY are good users (to seek adventure).
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____________________________________________________________________________
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** do not alter, add or remove any portion of this text without written **
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** permission from the Author.. yeah-- that's right! **
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+------------------------------------------------------------------+
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|Otto, the Legion BBS. (503) 223-7538. We are PCPable (orport) !!!!|
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+------------------------------------------------------------------+
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____________________________________________________________________________
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Which G-file (Q=Quit) ?
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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Another file downloaded from: NIRVANAnet(tm)
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& the Temple of the Screaming Electron Jeff Hunter 510-935-5845
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Burn This Flag Zardoz 408-363-9766
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realitycheck Poindexter Fortran 510-527-1662
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My Dog Bit Jesus Suzanne d'Fault 510-658-8078
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New Dork Sublime Demented Pimiento 415-864-DORK
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The Shrine Tom Joseph 408-747-0778
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"Raw Data for Raw Nerves"
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X-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-X
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