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1649 lines
80 KiB
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# #
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# BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News #
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# #
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################################################################
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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COPYRIGHT 1993 ISSN 1055-4548
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Volume 7, Issue 6 Issue #70 July 1994
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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edition 2
|
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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-----------------
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article title author
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Disclaimer/Statement of Policy.............................Staff
|
||
From The Editor.................................Scott Hollifield
|
||
Letters to BTN.......................................BTN Readers
|
||
Youth Speaks Out! Part 2...............A BTN "Instant Talk Show"
|
||
Big Brother Ain't Watching You.....................Dean Costello
|
||
Bad Boys, Bad Bouys!..................................Gary Hasty
|
||
Oppression.......................................Shayne Hardesty
|
||
Movie Review: _Blown Away_.........................Dean Costello
|
||
Special Interest Groups (SIGs).........................Eric Hunt
|
||
Known BBS Numbers...........................(sub).Richard Foshee
|
||
----------------------------------------------------------------
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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################################################################
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DISCLAIMER
|
||
AND STATEMENT OF POLICY
|
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FOR BTN
|
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################################################################
|
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|
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|
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We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
|
||
information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for damage
|
||
due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability, if any for BTN, its
|
||
*editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
|
||
etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
|
||
even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
|
||
of such damages occurring.
|
||
|
||
With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
|
||
policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
|
||
monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
|
||
publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any time
|
||
but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear in a
|
||
particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise harm a
|
||
person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the content of
|
||
the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their work and it
|
||
is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles from BTN
|
||
with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a reprint, in
|
||
which case he will specify in the content of his article. Otherwise,
|
||
please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as the
|
||
source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
|
||
article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
|
||
please forward a copy of your publication to:
|
||
|
||
|
||
Mark Maisel
|
||
Publisher, BTN
|
||
606 Twin Branch Terrace
|
||
Birmingham, AL 35216
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||
(205) 823-3956
|
||
|
||
|
||
We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
|
||
you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
|
||
all of this and not get too serious about it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
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################################################################
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FREEBIE!!!
|
||
GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT! Systems That Offer Free BTN
|
||
################################################################
|
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|
||
The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is
|
||
with no charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
|
||
|
||
ADAnet One Alter-Ego Bone Yard
|
||
Bus System The Castle Channel 8250
|
||
C.A.B. The Comfy Chair! Crunchy Frog
|
||
DC Info Exchange Final Frontier The Guardian
|
||
Hardware Hotline Homewood's Hell Hole Joker's Castle
|
||
Leaping's Lounge Lemon Grove Lion's Den
|
||
Martyrdom Again?! The MATRIX The Outer Limits
|
||
Owl's Nest The Parthenon Playground
|
||
Safe Harbor Southern Stallion Starbase 12
|
||
Thy Master's Dungeon Weekends BBS
|
||
|
||
|
||
(This list includes some systems which are not local to Birmingham and
|
||
therefore not included on our BBS Numbers list.)
|
||
|
||
If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
|
||
me know via The Matrix or Crunchy Frog so that I can post your board as
|
||
a free BTN distributor. Thanks.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
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################################################################
|
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NEWSFLASH!
|
||
NEWSFLASH!
|
||
NEWSFLASH!
|
||
################################################################
|
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|
||
|
||
YES, BTN IS LATE!
|
||
Like it's not enough
|
||
that we're free?
|
||
|
||
|
||
IF YOU RECEIVED THIS ISSUE
|
||
THROUGH THE INTERNET:
|
||
The "From The Editor" column
|
||
has something to say to you.
|
||
READ IT!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
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|
||
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################################################################
|
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FROM
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THE EDITOR Scott Hollifield
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################################################################
|
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|
||
|
||
Three weeks.
|
||
|
||
A long time, if you think about it. A lot can happen in three
|
||
weeks.
|
||
|
||
A lot can also not happen. One of the things that did not happen in
|
||
three weeks was BTN #70 being released.
|
||
|
||
I suppose I could make up some long, involved and passably
|
||
entertaining story about how the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 threw us all off
|
||
our schedule, but the truth is, I was nowhere near either Jupiter or
|
||
the next best thing, my television set, when the fragments hit. So
|
||
unless things in this great big cosmos of ours work in even more
|
||
mysterious ways than I suspect they do, the comet is blameless.
|
||
|
||
Instead, a large part of BTN's delay was due to the delay in getting
|
||
our Known BBS List ready for publication. The List, as many of you are
|
||
aware, is probably the most popular feature in BTN, and I didn't want
|
||
to release the issue without it.
|
||
|
||
Nor did I want to re-use another weak fallback, that of simply
|
||
skipping a month, as I've done once or twice in the past. I really
|
||
really hate having to do that.
|
||
|
||
So that, in a rather compact and necessarily concise nutshell, is
|
||
why BTN is coming out twenty days late, instead of five or six as is my
|
||
usual standard.
|
||
|
||
Now, those of you who paid attention in math class may now pipe up,
|
||
"But August is right around the corner! Will we be seeing yet another
|
||
issue of BTN in a mere eleven days? Or will the 20th be the new regular
|
||
release date, henceforth to the end of existence?"
|
||
|
||
The answer to both earth-shattering questions is a resounding NO.
|
||
|
||
The next issue of BTN will, according to plan, be released a little
|
||
less than a month from now. The next issue, a little less than that.
|
||
The idea is eventually, hopefully no more than four issues away, we get
|
||
the date back up to the top of the calendar.
|
||
|
||
So, now that I've explained things to you in a clear, slow,
|
||
condescending way, much as an irritable professor might exposite to a
|
||
spoiled, precocious but nonetheless valuable pupil, let me go further
|
||
and clue you in to what we've got to share in this month's issue. You
|
||
know, the reason you download BTN!
|
||
|
||
First of all, thanks to Richard Foshee for a late pinch-hitting job
|
||
in the BBS list department. Our regular listmeister, Luke Whitley,
|
||
was unable to compile the list this month, due to other, obviously far
|
||
less important, events in his life, and we understand completely.
|
||
|
||
Next, we received quite a bit of input in response to last's month's
|
||
"Instant Talk Show". Printed here in are two missives in reply to the
|
||
subject of the "new Matrix", one of them by the Matrix's sysop, Rocky
|
||
Rawlins himself. Quite frankly, I'm rather pleased by all the dust that
|
||
this thing has raised, and in that spirit, I'm proud to publish Part 2
|
||
of the Instant Talk Show, "Youth Speaks Out". (I also had a bit of
|
||
positive response to the Instant Talk Show concept itself, and so I do
|
||
indeed plan on making it a regular feature.)
|
||
|
||
Dean Costello returns, yet again, like an addict to the needle, to
|
||
our pages, with two features: one, a new installment in Dean's
|
||
continuing series on What's To Come in the wierd but popular new thing
|
||
some call the National Information Infrastructure. The second of Dean's
|
||
two features is a review of the motion picture _Blown Away_, which he
|
||
and I saw together. If you read really closely, you may well discover
|
||
that these two articles are actually about the same thing. If this is
|
||
the case, let me know so I can analyze your prescription.
|
||
|
||
A face from the past, Shayne Hardesty returns to BTN with some words
|
||
about the present state of education which may interest you. The
|
||
esteemed Late Rev. Gary Hasty also makes his second appearance in these
|
||
pages, direct from The Comfy Chair! BBS in Georgia. Little by little,
|
||
we're eradicating the relevance of all *three* words in "Birmingham
|
||
Telecommunications Newsletter".
|
||
|
||
Not present in these pages, nor perhaps the next couple of issues as
|
||
well, is Judy Ranelli's local music column. The nature of Judy's column
|
||
is such that publication at the beginning of the month is a really good
|
||
idea, so that she can deliver the goods on a whole month of mod musical
|
||
events. Publication two-thirds of the way through the month is less of
|
||
a good idea, for obvious reasons. When BTN returns to something more
|
||
approximating an actual top-of-the-month schedule, Local Music in
|
||
Birmingham will return as well. Until then, I'm going to try to bribe
|
||
Judy into writing about something else, so who can tell?
|
||
|
||
This issue, then: It may not be worth waiting seven weeks for, but
|
||
we like it, and it's better than home movies, so sit up and read. It'll
|
||
be good for your eyes.
|
||
|
||
Oh, one final note. It has come to my attention that a certain
|
||
publisher whose initials are the same as Marilyn Monroe may have placed
|
||
BTN's name in a national, Internet-distributed catalog, where it sits
|
||
along with the names of a bunch of real online periodicals. While this
|
||
is highly appealing to me in a sort of guerilla-media sense, it's
|
||
caused me to receive several inquiries through the Internet on receiving
|
||
sample issues or even (shudder) subscriptions. So, if anyone out there
|
||
in infobahn-land is listening, let me make the following pronouncement:
|
||
there is, as of yet, no facility available for receiving BTN
|
||
automatically through Internet e-mail. No ftp site, no automated list
|
||
server, no nothin'. I'm going to be sending a number of copies of this
|
||
issue out, as samples, but I have to warn you, I'm not the cyber-Santa,
|
||
and don't have the time nor inclination to e-mail BTN to a dozen or a
|
||
hundred people every month. If you want BTN on a regular basis, one of
|
||
two things are must occur: (1) You're going to have to call a BBS local
|
||
to Birmingham, and download it like the rest of the masses, or (2)
|
||
Something is going to have to happen. "Something wonderful," as they
|
||
said in 2010. That is to say, circumstances are going to have to
|
||
present themselves such that BTN *can* be made available to Internet
|
||
users on a regular basis. At the rate that technology and net
|
||
availability is progressing, it wouldn't surprise me very much if this
|
||
were to happen, at some point in the not-so-far future. So watch this
|
||
space.
|
||
|
||
That's it. Auf weidersehen, buckaroos.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
LETTERS TO
|
||
THE EDITOR From BTN Readers
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
From: Rocky Rawlins
|
||
BBS: The MATRIX
|
||
|
||
|
||
Scott, I read the article in BTN of your chat session about our
|
||
change of software and figured I'd take a few minutes to respond.
|
||
|
||
What struck me more than anything else was the very hostile nature
|
||
of many of the comments. For many years the BBS community here in
|
||
Birmingham was a close knit group. People helping each other with
|
||
everyone working toward something of a common goal; moving Birmingham
|
||
into the world of electronic communications.
|
||
|
||
Now it seems as if some of the folks look at it as if it were some
|
||
kind of guerilla warfare. "We will BURY them!" one of the folks said
|
||
about their BBS vis a vis Matrix? That's a pretty sad commentary of
|
||
either the state of the local BBS Community or else of the individual
|
||
making the statement.
|
||
|
||
"We make a profit. Why can't they?" and then the same person
|
||
complains that we charge too much?
|
||
|
||
Perhaps the difference between that person and me is that I have
|
||
devoted 14 years to providing a BBS service with one goal in mind:
|
||
providing a BBS service. I didn't start a BBS to get rich. Anyone who
|
||
does obviously has some serious misunderstandings of financial leverage.
|
||
In one month I could make more money SELLING the equipment we run the
|
||
system with than the system makes in that same time and spend a HELL of
|
||
a lot less time working to make the same amount and then do it again the
|
||
next month. I make more money consulting a few days a month than the
|
||
Matrix does that whole month.
|
||
|
||
I really don't understand the hostility of some of the folks.
|
||
|
||
The folks who make up the staff of The MATRIX are, I think,
|
||
justifiably proud of what they've accomplished and if they crow about it
|
||
sometimes well good for them. They SHOULD be proud of the fine work
|
||
they do.
|
||
|
||
The past couple of months I personally have been so buried in
|
||
programming ways around some of the limitations of Major that I've been
|
||
pretty well invisible on the system even though I spend 10 to 12 hours
|
||
online a day. Unfortunately I've usually been in the middle of
|
||
debugging some new program and I stay in "Invisible mode" to get the
|
||
work done. I'm looking forward to getting out from under some of that
|
||
and getting involved again in the system as a User.
|
||
|
||
And despite our problems with Major I still think it was a good
|
||
choice. While we've experienced some real problems during the
|
||
conversion I see a lot of potential for what we'll be able to do with
|
||
the system as we modify it to everyone's needs. In the short run it's a
|
||
pain. In the long run it will take us far beyond what we had before.
|
||
|
||
As far as all the issues of subscription vs, free, the people who
|
||
want to surpass The MATRIX, I say simply the best of wishes and if I can
|
||
do anything to help, don't hesitate to call. If someone out there can
|
||
put together a more affordable solution with more services and make a go
|
||
of it, I'll be one of the first ones to subscribe. I would love to see
|
||
someone surpass all the systems in town and provide the more services to
|
||
all of us at less cost. Until then however we'll keep muddling along as
|
||
best we can.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
From: "Immy"
|
||
BBS: Genesis Online
|
||
|
||
|
||
I read BTN "Youth Speaks Out" in the 69th issue and had to comment.
|
||
About 30% of the article made a good point, Matrix has NOT changed for
|
||
the better in the eyes of the local users, this much is true. But it
|
||
seems to my like the rest of the article was a hype for Milliway's BBS.
|
||
|
||
True enough, Matrix has gone to the LEAST user-friendly format
|
||
possibile, they might as well be running a Apple // "TeleCat" BBS. It's
|
||
also true that 90% of the time Jan Murphree is the only one around to
|
||
talk to, and since she's not the 'tech' part of the team.....well, it's
|
||
a nice gesture but it doesn't help much.
|
||
|
||
I think a little light needs to be shed on another BBS in
|
||
Birmingham, and that is "Genesis" BBS. The YSO article mentioned the
|
||
name once, but what they didn't mention is that Genesis recieved just as
|
||
many users from the Matrix turnover as Milliway's did.
|
||
|
||
But wait, there is NO MORE Milli's so that bring into light the word
|
||
"consistancy". It seem that Milli's again went off-line to pop up as
|
||
"City Lights". Let us hope that City Lights stands more than three
|
||
months and hope that their "900" number does them some better business.
|
||
|
||
See, that's another thing i noticed when i called looking for
|
||
Milliways. It seems that after the article they published in BTN #69
|
||
talking about The Matrix saying, "can't afford a dollar an hour", they
|
||
are using a 900 line. Seems to me that they are following in the
|
||
preverbial footsteps of The Matrix.
|
||
|
||
Don't get me wrong. I know all too well that running a BBS costs
|
||
money, but let's not talk about another board avoiding the public
|
||
interest and then put up a 900 line. Tsk, tsk, that's a double-standard.
|
||
If you're going to spotlight a BBS and harp on it, do it right.
|
||
|
||
I think the article was written for a good reason from some points
|
||
of view, but all of the interviewers [sic] are basically saying how
|
||
great one BBS is compared to how the other sucks.
|
||
|
||
I won't take shots at The Matrix because of their changes. I was a
|
||
member for a LONG time, back in the early 80's. But, everyone knew this
|
||
was going to happen who paid attention. With growth always comes some
|
||
kind of change. This is the kind of change that has resulted. Be it
|
||
for better or worse, we might as well accept it.
|
||
|
||
Maybe one of the Matrix team will get tired of it all and decide to
|
||
start over and run a new version of the "old" Matrix that all of us
|
||
remember. Just give it time.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
YOUTH SPEAKS OUT!
|
||
Part Two A BTN "Instant Talk Show"
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Item! The Matrix dumps longtime-favorite traditional software PCBoard
|
||
for the far more expensive and controversial MajorBBS! Is this a good
|
||
move for the Matrix? And what do the users of a young turk BBS called
|
||
"Milliways" think about it?
|
||
|
||
This month, we conclude "Youth Speaks Out", with part 2 of my
|
||
conversation with the users of Milliways BBS.
|
||
|
||
NOTE! Since this conversation was recorded, Milliways changed names to
|
||
City Lights BBS, and subsequently went offline not very long after.
|
||
|
||
------------
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
BTN: So you think that the BBS is moving toward more of a social,
|
||
community type environment?
|
||
|
||
The Master: actually, here it already has been there
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: Go to a millies party and see
|
||
|
||
Die Hard: Further proof...we've all ready been there, done
|
||
that..BEFORE others..
|
||
|
||
Bad Girl: As far as my understanding with the Matrix...they are
|
||
wanting a different crowd...not just the chatters.
|
||
|
||
BTN: This is a good point. As newer, less computer-literate
|
||
people join the medium, they're going to be looking for
|
||
more friendly humans.
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: people have enough other situations where it is cold and
|
||
unfriendly...alien...they need activities that
|
||
encourage....relax...
|
||
|
||
The Master: many of us know each other...Milliways has parties, and
|
||
softball games, etc
|
||
|
||
BTN: The Matrix and BTN have also had parties in the past.
|
||
|
||
The Master: True...but people with tuperware have parties? whats
|
||
your point?
|
||
|
||
BTN: You were making the point that Milli's social gatherings
|
||
was part of what distinguished it.
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: the matrix wants to impress with their professionalism...
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: (to Cinnamon) you can be professional and friendly at the
|
||
same time
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: milli's people are the distinguishing factor...
|
||
|
||
BTN: They used to say that about the Crunchy Frog, and before
|
||
that, other boards... maybe there is something there.
|
||
|
||
The Master: And that is true...except we know each other...i mean,
|
||
Matrix has something like 1000 users...how many of them can
|
||
actually say they know everyone else...? most of the
|
||
Milliways bunch DOES know everyone else..
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: The point is, we get together, we talk, we hang out, we
|
||
sort of KNOW each other... not just type, but real faces..
|
||
we are like a family in many respects.. we do favors for
|
||
each other.. we help other.. an electronic village for real
|
||
|
||
Die Hard: DAMN STRAIGHT!
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: WELL SAID!!!!
|
||
|
||
BTN: So Teleconference is the wave of the future, is it?
|
||
|
||
Bad Girl: I agree with that
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: matrix hasn't realized that yet..if you are not part of the
|
||
elite there, it can be a very cold place...
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: damn straight..although I have found myself welcomed there
|
||
in the TC
|
||
|
||
BTN: So you don't think there's any cliquism on Millis?
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: A little, but we TRY to avoid it.
|
||
|
||
Die Hard: There are cliques everywhere, but it is at a VERY low
|
||
minimum on here..
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: the big difference is that i feel at home here...i can
|
||
relax..
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: most everyone here seems to get along
|
||
|
||
BTN: You know, this whole thing about the move toward a
|
||
friendlier, more community-like environment kind of flies
|
||
in the face of what the national media is telling us...
|
||
that cyberspace will be you on your own with all the raw
|
||
data you can handle.
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: We try to welcome, and help out new users... we even put up
|
||
with abrasive ones as long as we can.. If people wanted
|
||
data, they would watch star trek, or go to a library
|
||
|
||
BTN: But that's one function that the info highway is supposed
|
||
to fulfull, being an electronic home library.
|
||
|
||
The Master: i used to be on here about 400 minutes a day last summer....
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: People want to talk to each other, and meet new people, in a
|
||
relaxed environment, can;t get more relaxed than your
|
||
living room man...
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: small communities in real life are not island...people
|
||
always crave contact
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: I need the village...the friendly atmosphere...
|
||
|
||
BTN: What about the argument that as people socialize more and
|
||
more on their terminals, they're going to do less and less
|
||
real life interaction? I know you guys have parties and
|
||
play softball, but most people would rather stay at home
|
||
and do it.
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: I disagree..people are always asking when the next
|
||
getogether is
|
||
|
||
Buster: I'd love the oppertunity to meet others in the flesh.....
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: I have hardly any files, hardly any games, but it does not
|
||
matter, people come here, and spend HOURS in the TC, to
|
||
talk , and flirt, and laugh, and cry, and tell their
|
||
stories... much better than games or files... I could kill
|
||
my file libraries, and hardly anyone would notice...
|
||
|
||
The Master: 70,000+ calls in its first year is pretty damn good for a BBS
|
||
with only about 300 users..
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: we tend to be attracted to this because we can do it at
|
||
home...when going out is not an option...
|
||
|
||
BTN: Do you think that the info highway will ultimately be a
|
||
multitude of local TC board-communities like this one?
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: Yes, eventually the "info highway" will be a collection
|
||
of roadhouses where people socialize. The REAL people,.
|
||
not academicians, will want to do what we do here, not
|
||
gather data, but to become more aware of the people in the
|
||
world by contact with the people in it, in a safe, and
|
||
secure manner...
|
||
|
||
The Master: we have the best male/female user ratio of any BBS i have EVER
|
||
seen
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: (to The Master) Matrix is close though
|
||
|
||
The Master: we have what is probably the highest sub rate per user of
|
||
any BBS in town...something like 80 or 90% of our user base..
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: cause we have something people want
|
||
|
||
The Master: and i have never EVER heard a user say that Milliways was
|
||
not worth it..
|
||
|
||
BTN: So the emphasis on files is on its way out, you figure?
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: There will ALWAYS be file leeches, UNTIL they learn about
|
||
the TC, then Whoomp there it is.. they forget the files,
|
||
and talk.
|
||
|
||
BTN: Could be that "files" are mostly intended for the tech
|
||
junkies who started the phenomenon... that very few of them
|
||
are actually useful to the average newbie.
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: i have never seem such loyalty amoung users as i have for
|
||
this bbs...it amazes me...
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: I rarely go to any other bbs
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: If you get people in here, and get them started, they are
|
||
hooked, and forget files, and message bases, message bases
|
||
are sort of dying in favor of real time debate like we are
|
||
having now...
|
||
|
||
The Master: i only call 3 BBSs regularly...and this is number one on the
|
||
list..
|
||
|
||
BTN: I've talked to a few people who don't like TC... they say
|
||
that the conversation is usually shallow and time-consuming.
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: If it is, let it wander as is... if it is directed, it can
|
||
be fascinating..
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: TC is the easiest way to become familiar with computing...
|
||
chat...learn...get help with whatever you need...i learned
|
||
more from chatting than i could have from any file..
|
||
|
||
The Master: there will always be dissidents...but most of the cyberpunks
|
||
out there would rather talk, not d/l
|
||
|
||
BTN: I'm not sure "cyberpunks" is really an apt term anymore...
|
||
a little trendy, don't you think?
|
||
|
||
The Master: A cyberpunk is ANYONE who uses a modem to telecomunicate on
|
||
BBSs...
|
||
|
||
BTN: Uh-HUH.
|
||
|
||
The Master: also, chatting is a great place to learn to type...
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: I watch all the time... it is fascianting to watch new users
|
||
approach, be checked out, eventually be accepted, and
|
||
become part of us... part of our family..
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: my typing has gotten much faster
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: mine too...<G>
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: If you have a question, or NEED a file, there is usually
|
||
ALWAYS someone in TC or online that can help you out, and
|
||
be friendly too..
|
||
|
||
BTN: A local expatriate named J.R. Taylor wrote in Black & White
|
||
that TC is essentially a high-tech 976-GABB line. What do
|
||
you think about that?
|
||
|
||
Gradstud: that is close but not all
|
||
|
||
The Master: he needs to actually use a tc
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: if that's what you are looking for, you can find it...but
|
||
for most of us, it's like Cheers...a friendly place...where
|
||
our friends are..
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: So it is a gab line? People are talking and learning.. so
|
||
what is so bad about that?
|
||
|
||
BTN: I think the implication is that an awful lot of people call
|
||
GABB lines to get sex.
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: so? we are adults.. if we choose to meet and have sex, what
|
||
is the big deal? We also get comfort when we are sick, or
|
||
depressed, and we get help and info when we need it...
|
||
|
||
BTN: That's just my point... why all the talk about how helpful
|
||
and social it all is, if the primary function is that of a
|
||
singles' bar?
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: it's just like in other areas of life....different needs...
|
||
different versions of the same theme...
|
||
|
||
Die Hard: Hey...you don't go to singles bars JUST to get laid..you go
|
||
to make friends,as well.honest hard working joes like
|
||
yourself worth a damn...
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: No, the primary function, is to allow people to meet, and
|
||
talk, and get to know more, without the pressure of
|
||
computer salesmen, or singles bars... or the like...
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: not the primary function...one of many...it fills a need...
|
||
if that's what someone calls for...why not....
|
||
|
||
Prophet: hell if there are two individuals who meet here and wanna
|
||
go have sex it is their perogative
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: They are users to Rocky.. and will always be I guess...
|
||
|
||
BTN: So getting back to the Matrix, it's beginning to look like
|
||
your advice is to concentrate on making the TC a friendly,
|
||
social environment.
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: Rocky, to be a success, and to continue to compete, needs to
|
||
loosen up a bit, as it were... adding more lines as users
|
||
need them, and STILL be friendly, even idf we get huge...
|
||
it is working well so far...
|
||
|
||
BTN: I'm going to wrap this thing up... anyone want to say
|
||
anything as a closing summation?
|
||
|
||
Die Hard: Yeah...Everything about Matrix is summed up in one finger!
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: it's hard to put into words...but calling here makes me feel
|
||
better...i have met very few of the people on person, but i
|
||
always feel at home...they are the most open and accepting
|
||
group in bbs'ing...
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: OKay, The way I see it, is that the info highway, is going
|
||
to be a pipe to provide people access to other people...
|
||
and the winners in the BBS world, wil be the ones that
|
||
provide a comfortable, everyone is welcome atmosphere, and
|
||
the losers will still be seeing people as USERS or dollar
|
||
signs, and not as people...
|
||
|
||
Cinnamon: people are social by nature...it's what we look for in others..
|
||
|
||
Zaphod: You and I, and everyone here is a person, worthy of
|
||
respect, and fair treatment, and Rocky and everyone else
|
||
needs to see that we are people, not numbers..
|
||
We WANT to know more about others, we are as Cin said,
|
||
social by nature, partly out of curiousty, and partly out
|
||
of the need to interact to grow. We are that.. a way to
|
||
interact and grow, in a safe way.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
BIG BROTHER AIN'T
|
||
WATCHING YOU Dean Costello
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
####
|
||
OR
|
||
####
|
||
|
||
A Little Knowledge Is Dangerous
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Over the last several months I have waxed eloquent about the
|
||
wonders and joy that will be forthcoming in regards to the Information
|
||
Superhighway (IS). I have to admit it: I am biased towards the success
|
||
and advancement of the IS and the National Information Infrastructure
|
||
(NII). I really want this thing to occur, and from a dead-selfish
|
||
point-of-view, the faster I can get access to the system, the happier I
|
||
will be in the long run. But all may not be sweetness-and-light. The
|
||
possibility of abuse of privacy and security concerns is a bit of a
|
||
problem that needs to be addressed. And herein are the concerns that I
|
||
will address in this article.
|
||
|
||
What kind of security is going to be employed that would protect
|
||
your privacy from Naughty Folk? For instance, let's look at medical
|
||
records. A part of the cost savings in some of the health insurance
|
||
protocols I have read is that medical records are to be shared to some
|
||
extent in order to save money in replicating procedures, and to expedite
|
||
cures by sending the patient and records to the best/fastest facility
|
||
for a desired procedure. Do you want your medical records read by any
|
||
chump with a modem? I sure as shit don't.
|
||
|
||
All in all, security is a very valid and timely question,
|
||
especially if you are in the database management business, and you don't
|
||
wish for your hard-earned data (even though all good felons [and civil
|
||
libertarians who aren't in the business of gathering information] know
|
||
that data wants to be free) to go willy-nilly to everywhere.
|
||
|
||
In the course of my work as an environmental scientist, I get
|
||
circulars from Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque describing ongoing
|
||
research that is being conducted. One of the researchers at Sandia,
|
||
Sharon Fletcher, is working on ways of securing databases from the
|
||
roving eye. I asked her about the new stuff on the horizon.
|
||
|
||
"Our current research effort is to develop a better way to assess
|
||
risks in software systems, where risks can stem from security, safety,
|
||
or reliability concerns (ie., a very broad definition of risks). We are
|
||
striving for a methodology that could be used to make design decisions
|
||
when a system is originally developed, and that could also be used to
|
||
determine whether later changes to systems maintain an appropriate level
|
||
of risk mitigation. This will be reported on at IFIP SEC'94 later this
|
||
month, so you may want to watch for the proceedings of that conference.
|
||
"Future work is uncertain, but we are thinking about research
|
||
proposals in the following areas:
|
||
|
||
- Security & access controls for applications such as medical
|
||
records;
|
||
|
||
- Better methods for software requirements elicitation
|
||
(including ability to specify "surety" requirements), since
|
||
the majority of software problems are attributed to unclear
|
||
requirements or other requirements problems; also
|
||
|
||
- Research on security standards for TCP/IP and ATM switched
|
||
networks, and in encryption standards."
|
||
|
||
I also asked her about how to keep confidential business
|
||
information, well, confidential. One thing that comes up is in regards
|
||
to confidential business information. We have a lot of contact with
|
||
businesses that wish to invoke CBI restrictions on the release of data
|
||
from their processes. She admitted that it was an area that required a
|
||
lot of work, but she was unaware about anything that addressed that
|
||
topic.
|
||
|
||
As I think about security, I think about personal data security and
|
||
privacy. And there is no doubt about it, the big topic, or at least the
|
||
loudest topic, in regards to privacy is the mighty Clipper chip. Given
|
||
the amount of rhetoric and silly statements, both in BTN and on the
|
||
Internet, that I have seen in the near past, I can only chuckle. For
|
||
instance, "If this Clipper monster isn't stopped soon, we are going to
|
||
witness the criminalization of anyone who insists on complete privacy of
|
||
personal communications on computer networks," or, "Beating Clipper is a
|
||
crucial step in freeing ourselves from all the dark possibilities of an
|
||
authoritarian national-security state." As a result of obvious lack of
|
||
real information, or just flat-out ignorance, it appears that it falls
|
||
to me, an environmental microbiologist, to explain computer topics to
|
||
you yet again.
|
||
|
||
Let us begin at the beguine, and consider the way encryption works
|
||
for a moment, shall we? Codes and methods of encryption have been
|
||
around since Thundarr the Barbarian didn't want the Bad Guys to know
|
||
where he kept the village grain. [Editor's note: Thundarr is from the
|
||
future, not the past, Dean.] Until 1976, all codes had a flaw in
|
||
design: Each relied on a particular coding method that would allow the
|
||
"text" to be coded into a "cipher" and then decoded later. The people
|
||
sending and receiving the message would have to agree with each other as
|
||
to the type of method that would be used. The need for two or more
|
||
people to agree ahead of time leads to potential problems that I will
|
||
let you ruminate upon.
|
||
|
||
In 1976, two Stanford researchers presented a paper that described
|
||
the concept of the "Public Key", in which a sender and receiver do not
|
||
require agreeing on a secret coding system. In 1978, a paper written by
|
||
MIT researchers describe exactly how a public key system might actually
|
||
work. This generated what is called the RSA.
|
||
|
||
Okay, how does it work? It is based on what is called a "virtual
|
||
one-way function". That means that it is easier and less time consuming
|
||
to perform an equation in one direction as opposed to another. It is
|
||
easy to calculate 7 to the 6th power (7x7x7x7x7x7), but it ain't easy to
|
||
determine the 6th root of 117,649. And this in turn is applicable to
|
||
computers. They can add, subtract, and multiply numbers very quickly;
|
||
significantly faster than their ability to determine factors for a
|
||
number. For example, it is child's play for a computer to multiply 987
|
||
x 1,103, but if the computer starts with 999,831 it will take time for
|
||
the machine to determine, through trial and error, that the factors of
|
||
the number are 987 and 1,103.
|
||
|
||
As the numbers get big, the CPU time required to solve the equation
|
||
gets very big. For example, let's say you multiply two 100-digit prime
|
||
numbers (numbers that cannot be divided evenly except by 1 and itself),
|
||
you will get a number that is approximately 200-digits long, and it will
|
||
take no time to get to that value. However, if you start at the
|
||
200-digit number, a top-speed supercomputer would require not
|
||
milliseconds, or even minutes, but centuries to calculate the factors.
|
||
To complete the task is referred to as "computationally infeasible".
|
||
And this is where the wonderment of encryption lies.
|
||
|
||
The key is not really secret, of course, since with infinite time
|
||
an outsider can calculate the hidden numbers. In the RSA system,
|
||
messages can be decoded by anyone who knows the two secret 100-digit
|
||
prime numbers that were used to produce the 200-digit public key. Each
|
||
person chooses their own secret prime numbers to generate a public key.
|
||
Anyone wanting to send a message to that person applies their public key
|
||
in the encryption formula. The original prime numbers that generated
|
||
the public key are then used in a decryption formula to produce the
|
||
original message. Only the intended recipient knows the original prime
|
||
numbers; no one else can figure them out from the public key.
|
||
|
||
The process is somewhat straightforward, but governments are
|
||
worried. The party line for many years is that the various U.S.
|
||
agencies that are in decoding have been confident of their ability to
|
||
break a code if they really needed to. But now, public key encryption
|
||
allows for secure communications that are available to almost everyone.
|
||
Officials are concerned that as public-key coding programs become cheap
|
||
and available, the government would lose its ability to hear what other
|
||
governments, and in certain cases its own citizens, were saying to each
|
||
other.
|
||
|
||
Two agencies are most concerned about these events: The FBI
|
||
(internal wiretapping) and the National Security Agency (NSA; they that
|
||
intercept telephone and broadcast transmissions around the world). The
|
||
NSA was the main force behind the Clipper chip. The reason is that the
|
||
public-key coding system would become so cheap that everyone would
|
||
routinely use them to scramble phone calls and data transmissions which
|
||
in turn would make it virtually impossible to decode the transmissions.
|
||
NSA, therefore, supposed the Clipper proposal so that a
|
||
government-approved encryption system might prevent the spread of
|
||
public-key codes.
|
||
|
||
Lets talk about the chip for a moment. The Clipper chip is
|
||
literally a chip (the MYK-78, programmed by Mykotronx, Inc.) that goes
|
||
into communication devices, and it generates implausibly difficult
|
||
encryption that is not public-key but through a coding algorithm called
|
||
Skipjack. Skipjack works with several "keys", including unique numbers
|
||
built into the chip supplied with each Clipper-equipped device. The
|
||
Skipjack algorithm is very classified. That's fine (except for the
|
||
all-so-slick, who believe that the can find the secret flaw in the code
|
||
that any bureaucracy creates [I note that no one has cracked the
|
||
Federal Reserve wire transfer center {Culpepper, VA}]), but the NSA and
|
||
the FBI have a backdoor code to allow them access to unencrypt coded
|
||
communications. Which leads to the other problem that people have with
|
||
the chip: the "key escrow" plan.
|
||
|
||
Unlike the public-key method of scrambling, the messages produced
|
||
via Skipjack on the Clipper chip are vulnerable to anyone who somehow
|
||
obtains their codes, including the ID numbers built into each
|
||
Clipper-containing device. Under the Clipper program, the feds will
|
||
maintain a master list of ID numbers for all Clipper devices ever sold.
|
||
Each number - which is in effect the key to its phone's Clipper chip -
|
||
will be split in two and be "escrowed" by a government agency (probably
|
||
either the FBI or NSA). In the right circumstances, usually considered
|
||
to be a legal order for wiretap, the two halves of the number will be
|
||
combined and the wiretappers will be able to hear what is said on that
|
||
phone.
|
||
|
||
The government is happy since it has the keys to eavesdrop on
|
||
conversations when required. But privacy advocates aren't too happy for
|
||
the same reasons. Worse is the possibility that the bureaucrats
|
||
guarding the keys could be bribed, etc., into turning the keys over to
|
||
Bad People. Computer companies aren't happy since now they have to gear
|
||
up to generate a foreign and a domestic version of their modems, phones,
|
||
etc.
|
||
|
||
The Clipper plan required no legislation and was put into effect by
|
||
the Clinton administration earlier this year. Clipper now exists as a
|
||
standard for government contracts and purchases. Most of the
|
||
secure/encrypted communications equipment sold in this country is sold
|
||
to federal agencies, and all of this equipment must be based upon the
|
||
Clipper chip.
|
||
|
||
Is this the end of Western Civilization? Hardly. People, I tell
|
||
you three times, I tell you three times, I tell you three times: THE USE
|
||
OF A CLIPPER DEVICE IS VOLUNTARY. From now on, anyone who talks on
|
||
government-owned secure phones will be using the Clipper chip, but no
|
||
one else is obliged to use a Clipper chip phone. No one is forbidden
|
||
to develop, sell, or use other encryption schemes. The inventors of the
|
||
RSA code sells public-key software. Americans are just as free to use
|
||
them now as they were before the Clipper chip.
|
||
|
||
Both sides of the debate avoid mentioning the voluntary nature of
|
||
Clipper. The feds don't want to view since it is the basic flaw of
|
||
their plan. They at least acknowledged the problem, and use two main
|
||
arguments to support it,
|
||
|
||
1). Most criminals would never hear about Clipper chips, or would
|
||
forget about them when they were making plans. An FBI agent said,
|
||
"If the smartest segment of the population ever got into crime,
|
||
there would really be a problem. Will some criminals catch on to
|
||
the system and buy their encryption from a non-Clipper country?
|
||
Yes, but it will be a substantially smaller problem than if we did
|
||
nothing."
|
||
|
||
2). The ability to make markets. If big companies are producing
|
||
Clipper products because that's what they make for the government,
|
||
then in the long run Clipper encryption will crowd out rival
|
||
schemes. Apart from the government, the largest markets for these
|
||
kinds of products are banks and credit card companies. By
|
||
establishing Clipper as a standard, the government hopes to keep
|
||
encryption, especially public-key systems, from becoming so cheap
|
||
that someone can walk into Computers 'R' Us and walk out with a
|
||
perfectly secure phone. This attempt to shut off a market tends to
|
||
make anti-Clippers annoyed, but it also illustrates the limits of
|
||
Clipper's effects. It is guaranteed to be least effective against
|
||
the most serious criminal opponents.
|
||
|
||
Opponents have also downplayed the voluntary factor, because it
|
||
makes adoption of the system seem less nightmarish. When pressed on
|
||
this point, they have usually reverted to the "slippery slope" argument:
|
||
Today voluntary; tomorrow mandatory and all other encryption outlawed.
|
||
There is no peacetime precedent to suggest that Congress would pass
|
||
such a mandatory measure with sweeping controls on forms of speech. The
|
||
likelihood of abuse would be reduced if Clipper's "key escrow" plan were
|
||
changed in one way. Under current guidelines, the two agencies each
|
||
designated to hold half of the keys will be part of the executive
|
||
branch; one is Treasury, the other is National Institute of Standards
|
||
and Technology. On separation of power grounds, it would be safer for
|
||
one of the escrow holders to be part of the Judicial System, insulted
|
||
from direct executive control. Those who are worried about Clipper no
|
||
matter who its escrow agents are can and should start using some other
|
||
encryption scheme.
|
||
|
||
Okay, you are paranoid, and there is no doubt in your mind that the
|
||
FBI is listening to your calls to Domino's Pizza. What happens next?
|
||
Well, AT&T Bell Labs has found that the NSA can eavesdrop on
|
||
conversations, but that communications can be encoded so that the
|
||
government, with decrypting keys in hand, cannot descramble the
|
||
conversations. What's the point of having the descrambling protocols if
|
||
the communication can be further scrambled?
|
||
|
||
The aforementioned flaw goes something like this:
|
||
|
||
1). You have laptop with Tessera card. (The Tessera card is a small
|
||
addition to the average laptop which is used to access a home
|
||
mainframe. It generates one-half of a password that changes on a
|
||
specific timetable which is in synch with the home mainframe that
|
||
you are trying to access. So, between the generated password, as
|
||
well as a user password that is constant; one can access the master
|
||
computer).
|
||
|
||
2). Before computer sends encrypted e-mail, it transmits a 128-bit
|
||
string that identifies the device (required for Clipper encryption)
|
||
as well as a CRC check sequence. The two strings form the LEAF
|
||
(Law Enforcement Access Field).
|
||
|
||
3). Receiving computer must be able to ID the LEAF as valid before
|
||
decryption can take place. The LEAF also tells the court-allowed
|
||
wiretapper which key to use in decrypting the data.
|
||
|
||
4). The court-appointed representative, LEAF in hand, goes to both the
|
||
Treasury Department and NIST (they each have half of the decryption
|
||
code), gets the code, and examines the data. The FBI are called in
|
||
and the bad guys are marched right off to jail.
|
||
|
||
5). Ahh, but what if you transmit an improper LEAF? This is what Bell
|
||
Labs has noted. And the NSA agrees. NSA states that it is "not
|
||
practical in real-world applications to generate improper LEAFs.
|
||
|
||
6). Which is not necessarily true. All you have to do is download a
|
||
rogue LEAF-generating program, and you have thwarted the finest
|
||
minds at the NSA.
|
||
|
||
Another thought that comes to mind is that if you use a public-key
|
||
program, just continue to use it. People that are tapping the line can
|
||
uncode the Clipper/Skipjack encryption, but that gets them no closer to
|
||
uncoding the public-key program.
|
||
|
||
Congressional hearings have been held on the mighty Clipper. On
|
||
May 3, 1994, Senator Patrick Leahy, the Chairman of the Technology and
|
||
Law Senate Subcommittee opened hearings on the Clipper Chip Key Escrow
|
||
Encryption Program. As Senator Leahy says, "before American citizens
|
||
and potential customers of American computer and telecommunications
|
||
products will see this as the solution to privacy and security concerns,
|
||
they must be assured that ironclad procedures are in place to guarantee
|
||
that, absent a court order, no one will be able to decode their private
|
||
communications, except the recipient they choose. Otherwise, even
|
||
law-abiding users will not want to use encryption devices with Clipper
|
||
Chip. The general tensions and fundamental questions posed by these
|
||
challenges are the same ones that confronted the founders of our
|
||
country. Our Constitution requires that we strike a balance between an
|
||
individual's right to be left alone and conduct his or her own affairs
|
||
without government interference, and our interest in a secure, safe
|
||
society." I haven't been able to find the transcripts of the hearing as
|
||
of the date of writing this (6/17). I will keep an eye out for it, and
|
||
will report on same when I track it down.
|
||
|
||
The nut on the mighty Clipper? Don't sweat this kind of stuff. It
|
||
is very unlikely that anything you do is so important that you need any
|
||
of these measures. You don't work for the government in a position that
|
||
requires the use of secured communications, nor do you do any work that
|
||
is so sensitive that it would require this kind of encryption. And,
|
||
let's face it, it is even more unlikely that an investigating office
|
||
would care so much about what you do/say/transmit that they will bother
|
||
going through the steps to decode your traffic. Sure, there is machismo
|
||
in these hyper-effective coding processes, but what do you really need
|
||
them for? I will bet that most of the people who are screaming about the
|
||
horrors of Clipper have already something like PGP, and set the key to
|
||
"Military", or whatever the highest level of encryption is. Get real,
|
||
people. This is no more legitimate than getting a 486-66 to run Word
|
||
Perfect 5.1. And you won't get any chicks, either.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
BAD BOYS... BAD BOUYS!
|
||
Gary Hasty
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
[Note from the Editor: Rev. Hasty's intentional misspellings are
|
||
kept intact by dint of an isolated and frankly unfair personal
|
||
preference by yours truly. Other writers: Don't try this at
|
||
home!]
|
||
|
||
|
||
Ya know...I used to read BTN and the Frog's main board, and giggle
|
||
(like a little party girwl) over the BBS-geek wars y'all seem to always
|
||
have in Birmingham. Hell, who's Dean pissed off this month or who slept
|
||
with who's livestock at the dentist office last Tuesday or who's lawyer
|
||
will beat up who's lawyer today. Phunny stuff, guyz! Well...it *was*
|
||
funny....then it hit home.
|
||
|
||
It's happening here people. That's trouble...with a capitol 'P'.
|
||
It started first with the rumours about moi. I started hearing thru
|
||
the cyber-grape-line that a syslop in my area had some "problems" with
|
||
me. I didn't know I'd had any trouble with anyone. No one let me in
|
||
on the problem; and I assure ewe that if I want to be a problem...I
|
||
would go about it in a more noticable manner. I dismissed this as
|
||
just geek-talk (they don't get out much, ya know). The user who told
|
||
me this was later destroyed by some of my loyal servants when he clearly
|
||
demonstrated his lack of a sense of humor.
|
||
|
||
Then came the rash of "trouble users". Whatever the hell that is.
|
||
One caller downloaded a boards userbase (users fault?...) and went
|
||
playing on the local boards. Some other syslops got very upset with moi
|
||
because I refused to lock out their suspect. I've never locked out
|
||
anyone in the three years I've ran a board so you've *really* got to
|
||
piss me off *real* hard to become a twit. So naturally, the other
|
||
boards have decided to go "registered users only" as of August 1, 1994
|
||
to stop this foolishness from happening...(Isn't this the stage right
|
||
before shutting down?)
|
||
|
||
Ahhhhhh, then I join FidoNet! When a sysop is not getting paid
|
||
MONEY for his "services" there's always power to be had...enter Fido!
|
||
All the horror stories I'd always heard about Fido really aren't true
|
||
about the national/international area of Fido...but the local
|
||
crap...JEEEEESSSSSSUUUUUUSSSS!!! Just beat me with a hammer before
|
||
making me go to the next syslop meeting.
|
||
|
||
AND SO...there I was minding my own business (sort of) this past
|
||
Saturday and I get a call from one of the more paranoid syslops about
|
||
another syslop. Seems a new 3-hour-online-a-day-my-folks-will-kill-me-
|
||
when-they-see-the-phone-bill-ran-by-an-underaged-syslop board was
|
||
giving out "adult" access to all callers and had a lot of nudge-nudge
|
||
online. I had already mentioned to this nudge-syslop that he should
|
||
watch it with the "adult" stuff in this little community and that if a
|
||
user downloaded from him knowing he was underaged then they are
|
||
"contributing to the blah-blah of a minor". So he changed his security
|
||
a little. "Paranoid Syslop" tells me that he is locking this syslop out
|
||
of his system because he lied about his age and wanted to warn me about
|
||
him. Then two hours later I get a call from "Paranoid" that there are
|
||
cops at "Pre-pubescent Syslop's" house confiscating his board, etc
|
||
because a parent saw some nudge-nudge that li'l Billy downloaded. Hmmmm,
|
||
so I get the next dayz paper...nothing! Then today I talk to another
|
||
"pre-pub syslop" and find out that "paranoid" had threatened to call the
|
||
cops on "naughty pre-pub" but that nothing had happened...
|
||
|
||
SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT!!!!!!! Is there any
|
||
wonder I'm thinking about getting one o' those satellite dish thingys
|
||
so I don't have to fool with these people for mail...? It's just a
|
||
damn hobby, folks!
|
||
|
||
XXXOOOXXX
|
||
|
||
The Late Rev. Hasty, COO
|
||
ROAS Foundation and Oriental House of Pleasure
|
||
The Comfy Chair! BBS 706-673-4436
|
||
Fido -> 1:362/844
|
||
Internet - > gary.hasty@f844.n362.z1.fidonet.org
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
OPPRESSION
|
||
Shayne Hardesty
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
Oppression; one word, one generation. We are a generation
|
||
oppressed. Our graduating class of 1994 has been told so many times
|
||
what we can and can't do to the point where we are brain dead. We can
|
||
no longer think for ourselves. Society has given us its standards and
|
||
told us to conform to them or else. But I say forget conformity; it is
|
||
for people with no heart and soul, only ambition. And this is a
|
||
devastating combination of qualities.
|
||
|
||
By definition, oppression is "the act of being oppressed".
|
||
Oppressed, means "being suppressed, hindered, or persecuted". In other
|
||
words, conformity. Conformity looks good on paper or in theory, but it
|
||
serves no purpose in the real world.
|
||
|
||
Nature is based on disorder. Things naturally move from a system of
|
||
order to a system of chaos. How many times have you seen a tornado come
|
||
through and put a house back together, or mend the psychological
|
||
problems of a city? Not very often. Nature produces chaos, and human
|
||
beings thrive off chaos. Some of us are just more accustomed to order,
|
||
but deep down we desire disorder.
|
||
|
||
Think of the school systems. They take us (or our children) and
|
||
put us in ordered rows, seat us in alphabetic order based on our last
|
||
names, tell us what we can and can't wear, and assign us a number and
|
||
move us through, taking no time to get to know us personally. They no
|
||
longer even grade our tests, they have computers which take care of that
|
||
now. They tell us when we can and can't talk, they tell us that we
|
||
can't fight or show affection. What's next--can't be happy or be sad?
|
||
They're probably holding a vote on that right now. I'm not saying that
|
||
they should let us do as we wish. That only provides for anarchy. But
|
||
there is a fine line they should follow. If they don't wish for us to
|
||
talk during lecture time, they should give us spare time for talking. If
|
||
they don't wish us to fight, they should let us show some affection and
|
||
maybe more people would follow that example.
|
||
|
||
They use their system of oppression so that they may have control
|
||
over us. If they make us do something that we do not like, we loose our
|
||
"feistiness". By doing this they can have their way with us. But what
|
||
if they welcomed constructive criticism instead of banning "backtalk"?
|
||
They might find that in some of us there are useful feelings, not just
|
||
coldness and cruelties.
|
||
|
||
The world is moving to computers; this no one will deny. These
|
||
unique machines bring with them advantages too numerous to list. But
|
||
they also produce disadvantages. There is no longer a personal
|
||
interaction between faculty and students at school. A person can make a
|
||
25 on his ACT, and have an F+ in *one* class and still be prevented from
|
||
graduating on time. Obviously this person is not lacking in
|
||
intelligence, but for what ever reason he has not made a "passing"
|
||
grade. But the computer never questions this. The computer can't know
|
||
that his "bad" grade may be because his parents have gotten divorced
|
||
during the school year, or maybe his girlfriend has left him, or maybe
|
||
his parents or someone he cares deeply about has been killed. But the
|
||
computer questions nothing. It averages four grades, and if they don't
|
||
average out to 60 or higher, the counselor is on the phone to his
|
||
parents.
|
||
|
||
This is by far the worst way to oppress a senior. Because they
|
||
know the most important thing we value in our life is our graduation,
|
||
and it is held over us; we are not allowed to forget it all year long.
|
||
This produces new fears and indescribable levels of stress throughout
|
||
the year, and especially towards the end of the year. But at the end of
|
||
the year the computer averages the four grades it is given, and makes
|
||
some seniors happy, and for the rest of us, it shatters our lives.
|
||
|
||
The personal touch in the school system has been lost. I'd wager
|
||
to say that the principle of my high school couldn't even pick out half
|
||
of the graduating class and tell you their first names. And if he
|
||
doesn't even know our names, then how is he supposed to be a fair
|
||
educator to us?
|
||
|
||
Individuality and diversity should be encouraged in our schools,
|
||
and not just acknowledged and filed away. People are different. We are
|
||
created by God to be different, and by that we have different ways of
|
||
learning, different needs, different desires, and different goals. But
|
||
how many different diplomas are we offered? Five. How many different
|
||
courses of study do we have? Five. One for each type of diploma.
|
||
|
||
What if we are going into welding? We need a standard diploma.
|
||
And by looking at the requirements for a standard diploma you will see
|
||
that we are required to have three units of history during our four
|
||
years of high school. Where will we need history in welding? On how
|
||
many job applications will the question "What year was Hayes elected
|
||
president?" appear? I'd wager to say not many.
|
||
|
||
So we are thrust into conformity, and it upon us, and our souls
|
||
deteriorate. For some of us we get out with some individuality left,
|
||
for the rest of us, we jsut keep conforming to society so that we will
|
||
be accepted.
|
||
|
||
The drop out rate increases annually, as does the failure rate.
|
||
Summer school, and night school have become increasingly popular. And
|
||
the students are blamed. Everyone claims that society is growing worse
|
||
because of the students. But the worse we get the more we are
|
||
oppressed, and the more we are oppressed, the worse we get. The problem
|
||
here lies not in finding the problem; but in solving it. The adults
|
||
have their "values" and will not accept us for who we are, so they try
|
||
to change us. Thus bringing on oppression.
|
||
|
||
The only solution is for someone to bite the bullet and be the
|
||
first to change. The students do not realize what they are doing. We
|
||
are rebellious by nature, by our age. We are too numerous to change who
|
||
we are or how we act as a whole. But the schools are less numerous, and
|
||
are more capable of changing. Therefore the change will have to be in
|
||
the schools first if things are to change. But of those people who see
|
||
where the problem lies, or those who even see that there is a problem,
|
||
no one wants to rock the boat. No one wants to stand up and say that
|
||
change is needed. And even if they did, it would take either many
|
||
people with the same opinion, or a handful of very powerful people to
|
||
bring these changes about.
|
||
|
||
In short, there are no easy or feasible solutions for the problems I
|
||
have outlined. But maybe by studying the problems further, we can put
|
||
the blame where it belongs rather than blaming the students who are
|
||
acting the only way they know to act; rebellious. But we are not to be
|
||
"broken" of our rebellion, we will grow out of it on our own. By trying
|
||
to break us they are only repressing us further. No one person can
|
||
solve the problems plaguing the students and schools today. But if the
|
||
problem is acknowledged and studied further, maybe a solution will
|
||
present itself. But until then many paths will be searched, and many
|
||
lives ruined until a solution is reached. If there was a lasting legacy
|
||
of the class of 1994, it would be this statement: We are a diverse group
|
||
of individuals with individual needs, and we refuse to be oppressed.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
MOVIE REVIEW:
|
||
_BLOWN AWAY_ Dean Costello
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
I've seen some rough movies in the last fifteen years or so. You
|
||
know what I mean by "rough" : lame plot, bad acting, poor production.
|
||
For instance, a movie such as _Child's Play 3_ is right on the verge
|
||
of rough. Its saving grace is that it is funny, albeit not by design.
|
||
I haven't been to a movie in a while, probably since the last time I was
|
||
in Birmingham, last Christmas, and saw _Addams Family Values_ with
|
||
Scott Hollifield, who is a fiend for movies. _Addams Family Values_ was
|
||
kind of clever, but it telegraphed the plot twists, so they weren't so
|
||
much a plot twist as a curve on the gently winding Plot Road. And such
|
||
was _Blown Away_.
|
||
|
||
_Blown Away_ stars Jeff Bridges, who hasn't made a bad movie since
|
||
_Against All Odds_. He is a not-at-all-bad lieutenant in the bomb squad
|
||
of the Boston Police Department. Come to find out, a very bad IRA
|
||
member had escaped from a nasty looking prison that reminded me of a
|
||
cross between the fortress in _The Guns of Navarone_ and an airport from
|
||
_Blade Runner_ Fourteen months later, he shows up in Boston, packing
|
||
short hair, a love for explosions, and a very bad attitude towards our
|
||
hero and his buddies in the bomb squad.
|
||
|
||
Before you can say, "Fire in the hole!", half of the bomb squad has
|
||
been killed by explosives planted by Tommy Lee Jones, the IRA fanatic.
|
||
After one of the more implausible explosions, our hero picks up the
|
||
cellular phone that was blown out of the hands of one of his now-dead
|
||
buddies. Come to find out that Tommy Lee is on the other side and
|
||
taunting our hero, and calling him Liam. "Liam? Who's Liam?" I
|
||
thought. In a very confusing series of flashbacks and not-very-subtle
|
||
exposition on the part of Tommy Lee and our hero, we find out that Jeff
|
||
Bridges was actually a member of an IRA cell who made bombs for the
|
||
cell. One bomb was going to be detonated in a crowded market area, and
|
||
Jeff pull the trigger a little early, thusly saving the civilians, and
|
||
killing all of the team except for himself and Tommy Lee, who was
|
||
shipped off to the Jail of Navarone. There are also some vague
|
||
references to fiance's, wives, and other assorted females, but they are
|
||
casually ignored.
|
||
|
||
Except, that is, for the wife of our hero, who is an annoying
|
||
shrew, and who looks like a forty-year-old Briget Fonda who wields a
|
||
mean fiddle. In a scene which just made me angry with the contempt
|
||
that the filmmakers treated the audience, we see that the wife was at
|
||
her orchestral rehersal (Boston Symphony, of course), and they were
|
||
practicing for a concert that was to be held on the Fourth of July.
|
||
After a quicky scene that showed how selfless concert musicians have to
|
||
be for their art, we cut to a view from our hero, who was watching the
|
||
rehersal with a smile on his lips, and love in his eye. After a scene
|
||
like this, it doesn't take an environmental scientist to figure out that
|
||
Tommy Lee will be planting a bomb at the concert.
|
||
|
||
Other cliches include the young, cocky replacement for Jeff Bridges,
|
||
Forrest Whittaker (who, after proving themselves to each other, become
|
||
buddies of a sort) as well as the bomb squad captain who has to keep
|
||
Jeff Bridges under control during the investigation of the deaths of the
|
||
squad members, the fight to the death between our hero and Tommy Lee,
|
||
and the crusty father (Lloyd Bridges) who spends the first two-thirds
|
||
of the movie dispensing hogsheads of homespun wisdom. In the last
|
||
scene, where our hero was trying to defuse a bomb in his wife's Jeep
|
||
that was connected to the brake for no real good reason, I was hoping,
|
||
beyond all hope, that something interesting would happen at this step,
|
||
like the Jeep would explode and take Whittaker with it. But no, this is
|
||
a Happy Ending, and we'll have none of that icky stuff occurring here.
|
||
|
||
There were some good things about it, though. The wife's daughter
|
||
was about eleven years old, but she wasn't wisecracking in the least
|
||
bit. She appeared to be vaguely normal, in a whiny kind of way. And
|
||
also, to be fair, the sound was good. Scott and I saw the movie in one
|
||
of the special digital sound theaters, and I was very impressed with
|
||
the way it sounded. My home stereo sounds better, but hey, this is the
|
||
movies, and any advance in audio quality is appreciated.
|
||
|
||
Final review: Crappy. Avoid it like the plague. Tommy Lee is
|
||
probably the best character, but even that isn't saying much. Jeff
|
||
Bridges switches accents from an off-Boston kind of tone to a sad
|
||
attempt at an Irish sound, to something that sounded like it was
|
||
generated outside of Wichita, Kansas, in view of the cattle yards. The
|
||
wife was annoying, with fits of stupidity that left me breathless; the
|
||
daughter was bearable; and Lloyd left my lungs aching for air. I didn't
|
||
like this movie and I think that I am very annoyed with this movie. You
|
||
see, there appeared to be a lot of promise here. This could have been a
|
||
real good movie, something along the lines of say, _Dirty Harry_, where
|
||
he has to get into the mind of the bad guy to get him. But it wasn't.
|
||
The filmmakers took the easy way out at every step of the way. One
|
||
scene, right after the phone call explosion, implied that the Bridges
|
||
family was going to be blown up. The filmmakers looked at every little
|
||
thing that could contain a bomb (a telephone, an oven, a telephone
|
||
jack(?)), and by the time the scene was over, instead of feeling anxious
|
||
with increasing suspense, the audience was laughing at every little
|
||
trick the filmmakers were attempting. There's no excuse for this.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
SPECIAL INTEREST
|
||
GROUPS (SIG's)
|
||
[COMPUTER RELATED] compiled by Eric Hunt
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
BIPUG Alabama UniForum
|
||
Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group Homewood Public Library
|
||
UAB Nutrition Science Blg 1st Tuesday
|
||
RM 535/541 Shawn Cleary 870-6130
|
||
1st Sunday (delayed one week
|
||
if meeting is a holiday)
|
||
Marty Schulman 967-5883
|
||
|
||
Birmingham Apple Core
|
||
Informal breakfast meeting every Saturday, 9am - 11am
|
||
@ Kopper Kettle, lower level Brookwood Village Mall
|
||
Formal meeting held second Saturday of each month, location
|
||
variable (to be announced at breakfast meetings and in the
|
||
user group's newsletter "The PEEL".)
|
||
President: Sam Johnston - 322-5379
|
||
Vice-Prez: Marie Prater - 822-8135
|
||
|
||
The SIG listing is being re-verified. If you know of an active
|
||
Computer Related user's group, please let me know.
|
||
|
||
I can be reached via Internet email at
|
||
eric.hunt@the-matrix.com or drop me a note directly on the
|
||
MATRIX.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
KNOWN BBS NUMBERS
|
||
FOR THE
|
||
BIRMINGHAM AREA
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
Sysops, PLEASE check your listing to make sure everything is
|
||
correct, especially the networks. Corrections should be mailed
|
||
to either Luke Whitley or Scott Hollifield on The Matrix, Crunchy
|
||
Frog, or Southern Stallion.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ADAnet One (Nodes 1-3) 250-0013 1200-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, fi, ad]
|
||
ADAnet One (Node 4) 254-6050 2400-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, fi, ad]
|
||
Alcatraz BBS 608-0880 300-9600 PCBoard 15.0
|
||
[he, vi]
|
||
Alter-Ego BBS 925-5099 1200-9600 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[alt, ez, mn]
|
||
Baudville (Nodes 1-7) 995-0013 300-2400 Major BBS 6.12
|
||
[none]
|
||
Bloom County 985-4335 300-28800 VFC 28.8 PCBoard 15.1
|
||
[in,fr]
|
||
BulletProof 668-1624 300-19200 ZyXEL Wildcat 3.90 *RIP*
|
||
[none]
|
||
Bus System 987-5419 300-2400 PCBoard 14.2
|
||
[none]
|
||
Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 2400-14400 V.32 WWIV 4.12
|
||
[none]
|
||
Castle, The 841-7618 300-2400 Image 1.2
|
||
[none]
|
||
Cherry Tree 681-1710 1200-14400 TriBBS 4.01
|
||
[wm, ca]
|
||
Christian Apologetic 808-0763 1200-14400 V.32bis Wildcat! 3.90
|
||
[ez, cp]
|
||
Crocodile Country BBS 477-6283 1200-16800 USR DS Searchlight 3.5 *RIP*
|
||
[sl, fi]
|
||
Crunchy Frog (Node 1) 823-3957 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, mn, lu, ll]
|
||
Crunchy Frog (Node 2) 823-3958 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, mn, lu, ll]
|
||
Crystal Village 856-3749 1200-2400 VBBS 6.10
|
||
[cr, cs, al, ho, co, fn, vi]
|
||
Den, The 933-8744 300-14400 USR DS PCBoard 15.1
|
||
[ez, mn, il]
|
||
Digital Publishing 854-1660 300-9600 V.32 Wildcat! 3.60
|
||
[pl]
|
||
Drawing Room, The 951-2391 300=14400 V.32/42 Wildcat! 3.90
|
||
[none]
|
||
Electro-BBS 491-8402 300-14400 V.32/42 Maximus 2.01
|
||
[fi]
|
||
Family Smorgas-Board 744-0943 300-2400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, fi, mj, bc, fa, ic, cf, cd, ve, ad, wg, pt, ed, gn]
|
||
Final Frontier 838-5634 300-14400 VBBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
||
[al, he, re, fn]
|
||
Free Enterprise 856-9809 300-14400 V.32/42 Remote Access 2.01
|
||
[fi,it,sz,br]
|
||
Genesis Online(Nodes 1-6) 620-4150 300-14400 V.32bis Major BBS 6.11
|
||
[mr]
|
||
Gone Fishin' 733-0860 1200-14000 V.42bis Searchlight 3.5a *RIP*
|
||
[do, sl]
|
||
Guardian, The (Node 1) 425-1951 1200-14400 V.42bis Synchronet 2.0
|
||
[dv, sp]
|
||
Guardian, The (Node 2) 425-1956 1200-14400 V.42bis Synchronet 2.0
|
||
[dv, sp]
|
||
KickAxis BBS (Node 1) 733-0253 1200-14400 USR DS PCBoard 15.0
|
||
[he]
|
||
KickAxis BBS (Node 2) 733-0299 1200-14400 USR DS PCBoard 15.0
|
||
[he]
|
||
Leaping's Lounge 856-2521 1200-14400 GTPower 18.00
|
||
[gt, ez, mn, wm, di]
|
||
Lions Den 871-9688 300-14400 USR DS Wildcat! 3.90
|
||
[wi, fi]
|
||
Lumby's Palace 520-0041 300-14400 VBBS 6.0
|
||
[he]
|
||
Magic City (Node 1) 664-9883 300-14400 USR DS Wildcat! 3.90
|
||
[di, wm, wi, ca, cm, pe]
|
||
Magic City (Node 2) 664-0435 300-2400 Wildcat! 3.90
|
||
[di, wm, wi, ca, cm, pe]
|
||
Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300-14400 USR HST PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, mn]
|
||
MATRIX, The (Nodes 1-10) 252-9888 300-2400 Major BBS *RIP*
|
||
[ez, mn, th, il, in, us, al, sh, sc, gl, ic, ri, fr]
|
||
MATRIX, The (Nodes 11-25) 252-5566 9600-14400 USR DS Major BBS *RIP*
|
||
[ez, mn, th, il, in, us, al, sh, sc, gl, ic, ri, fr]
|
||
MetaBoard 854-4814 300-14400 USR DS Opus CBCS 1.73
|
||
[fi, ad]
|
||
MetroMac BBS (Node 1) 323-6306 1200-28800 V.FC TeleFinder 3.1
|
||
[none]
|
||
MetroMac BBS (Node 2) 252-0582 1200-28800 V.FC TeleFinder 3.1
|
||
[none]
|
||
Milliways BBS (Node 1) 956-3177 1200-2400 Major BBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
||
[none]
|
||
Milliways BBS(Nodes 2-6)956-2731 1200-2400 Major BBS 6.11 *RIP*
|
||
[none]
|
||
Missing Link 853-1257 300-16800 USR DS C-Net Amiga 2.63
|
||
[cl, cn]
|
||
Neon Moon (Node 1) 477-9352 9600-14400 TriBBS 4.0
|
||
[none]
|
||
Neon Moon (Node 2) 477-5894 2400 TriBBS 4.0
|
||
[none]
|
||
Owl's Nest, The 854-4852 300-38400 PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[ez, mn]
|
||
Parthenon, The 678-9676 1200-28800 Wildcat 3.9
|
||
[fi, un, wi, ru, me]
|
||
Party Line 856-1336 300-14000 V.32bis TriBBS 4.0
|
||
[cc, wm, di]
|
||
Playground 681-5070 1200-14000 V.32 TriBBS 5.0
|
||
[wm, di, al, ez]
|
||
Posys BBS 854-5131 300-9600 V.32 PCBoard
|
||
[none]
|
||
Programmer's Shack 988-4695 2400-14400 HST DS Renegade
|
||
[ws, fi, it]
|
||
Quiet Zone 833-2066 300-2400 ExpressNet
|
||
[none]
|
||
Safe Harbor (Node 1) 665-4332 300-2400 GTPower 18.00
|
||
[gt, ez, mn, lg, ae, fr]
|
||
Safe Harbor (Node 2) 665-4355 300-14400 USR DS GTPower 18.00
|
||
[gt, ez, mn, lg, ae, fr]
|
||
Sam's Domain 956-2757 1200-14400 SL. 3.50
|
||
[da, he]
|
||
Safety BBS 581-2866 300-2400 RBBS-PC 17.4
|
||
[none]
|
||
Southern Stallion 322-3816 300-16800 ZyXEL PCBoard 15.1 *RIP*
|
||
[alt, ez, lu, th, rs, un]
|
||
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-2400 V.32/42b PCBoard 15.0
|
||
[none]
|
||
ST BBS 836-9311 300-14400 HST PCBoard 14.2
|
||
[ez]
|
||
StarBase 12 647-7184 1200-14000 TriBBS 4.0
|
||
[ez, mn, wm]
|
||
Thy Master's Dungeon 940-2116 300-57600 V.32/42b PCBoard 14.5
|
||
[fr]
|
||
Torch Song 328-1517 1200-14000 V.32/42b Wildcat 3.90
|
||
[pr, st, gn]
|
||
Weekends BBS 841-8583 2400-16800 USR DS Wildcat! 3.9
|
||
[ca]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 1) 664-9902 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 2) 664-9903 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 3) 664-9895 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 4) 664-9896 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Ziggy Unix BBS 991-5696 300-1200 UNaXess
|
||
[none]
|
||
|
||
*RIP* = BBS Software is RIP Graphics capable. You must be using a RIP
|
||
compatible term software to view them. RIPTerm or QmodemPro v1.50 are
|
||
the only two I know of that support it at this time. RIPTerm is shareware
|
||
and can be downloaded from most BBS's. QmodemPro is a commercial product.
|
||
|
||
The two-letter abbreviations you see on the line below the names of
|
||
many of the bbs' in the list signify that they are members of one or
|
||
more networks that exchange or echo mail to each other in some organized
|
||
fashion.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ad = ADAnet, an international network dedicated to the handicapped
|
||
ae = Arts & Entertainment, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
ag = AgapeNet, a national Christian network, multi-topic
|
||
al = AlaNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
||
alt = AlterNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
||
an = The Annex, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
at = AdultNet, a national network, adult-oriented
|
||
bc = BCBNet, a local network, religion-oriented
|
||
bh = BhamTalk, a local network, multi-topic
|
||
bi = BitchNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
br = BreezeNet, National network, multitopic
|
||
ca = CafeNet, a local network, restaurant/dining, recipes, etc.
|
||
cc = Coast2Coast, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
cd = CDN, a national Christian network for file distribution
|
||
cf = CFN, a national Christian network, multi-topic
|
||
ch = ChristNet, a national Christian network
|
||
cl = CLink, uncertain at press time
|
||
cm = CompuLink, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
cn = CNet, multi-topic
|
||
co = ComicNet, a local net for comic book readers
|
||
cp = CAPNet, a national Christian network, multi-topic
|
||
cr = CrystalNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
cs = ChaosNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
cy = Cybernet, uncertain at press time
|
||
da = DateNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
de = DevNet, an international network for programmers and developers
|
||
di = Dixie Net, a regional network, multi-topic geared toward the south
|
||
eastern United States
|
||
do = DoorNet, a national network for the distribution of BBS doors
|
||
dv = DoveNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
ec = EchoNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
ed = EduNet, a national network devoted to homeschooling and Christian
|
||
education
|
||
er = ErosNet, an international network, adult oriented, files & messages
|
||
ez = EzNet, a local IBM compatible network
|
||
fa = FamilyNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
fi = FidoNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
fn = FrontierNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
||
fr = FredNet, a regional network, political discussion
|
||
fs = FSNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
ga = GameNet, a local network, uncertain at press time
|
||
gl = GlobalLink, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
gm = GayCom, an international network, homosexually oriented
|
||
gn = GlobeNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
gt = GTNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
gy = GayNet, a national network, homosexually oriented
|
||
he = HellNet, a local network, multi-topic
|
||
ho = HobbyNet, a local network for hobbyists
|
||
ic = ICDM, an international Christian network, multi-topic
|
||
ie = Intelec, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
il = ILink, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
in = InterNet, an international network of mail, linking businesses,
|
||
universities, and bbs', multi-topic
|
||
it = ITCNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
lg = Local GT Net, a local network, connecting GT Power systems
|
||
ll = LlamaNet, a national network, freeform correspondence
|
||
lo = LocalNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
lu = LuciferNet, an international network, adult oriented
|
||
ma = MAXnet, a local network, connecting WWIV and VBBS systems
|
||
me = Medieval-Net, uncertain at press time
|
||
mj = MJCN, an international network for Messianic Jews
|
||
mn = Metronet, an international network which echoes RIME, multi-topic
|
||
mr = MajorNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
nl = NewLife, uncertain at press time
|
||
np = NPN, a national network for new parents
|
||
or = OraNet, a national E-mail network
|
||
pe = Planet Earth Network, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
pl = PlanoNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
pn = PoliceNet, an international network, law-enforcement only
|
||
pr = PrideNet, a national homosexually oriented network
|
||
pt = PRNet, a national network devoted to 2nd amendment rights
|
||
rf = RF Net, a national network for ham radio users and hobbyists
|
||
ri = RIME, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
rb = RoboLink, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
re = RealityNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
rp = RPGnet, a local network for role-playing games
|
||
rs = RoseNet, a national network, technically orient*ed
|
||
ru = RushNet, a national network for Rush Limbaugh fans
|
||
sc = Science Factor Net, a national network, science and technology
|
||
oriented
|
||
se = SEC, a regional network, homosexually oriented geared toward the
|
||
southeastern United States
|
||
sh = Shades N Shadows Net, a national network for role-playing games
|
||
sl = SearchlightNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
sm = SmartNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
sn = ShadowNet, a national network for role-playing games
|
||
sp = Sub-SpaceNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
ss = SexSations!, a national network, adult-oriented
|
||
st = StudsNet, a national network, homosexually oriented
|
||
sz = SCN-Net, uncertain at press time
|
||
te = TECHnet, a local network, hardware and utility oriented
|
||
th = ThrobNet, an international network, adult oriented
|
||
un = U'NI-Net, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
us = Usenet, an international network existing on the Internet, multi-
|
||
topic
|
||
ve = VETLink, a national network for military veterans
|
||
vi = VirtualNet, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
wg = WGA, an international network devoted to genealogy research
|
||
wi = WildNet, a national network, multi-topic
|
||
wm = World Message Exchange, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
ws = WishNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
ww = WWIV-Net, an international network, multi-topic
|
||
|