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1615 lines
78 KiB
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# #
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# BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News #
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# #
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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COPYRIGHT 1994 ISSN 1055-4548
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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Volume 7, Issue 7 Issue #71 September 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
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From The Editor.................................Scott Hollifield
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Submission Guidelines......................................Staff
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What Do I Think?.....................................Mark Maisel
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Notes From the Trenches............................Dean Costello
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The Internet and the Anti-Net........................Nick Arnett
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No Beer Blues........................................Damion Furi
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Epilogue..............................................Gary Hasty
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Special Interest Groups (SIGs).........................Eric Hunt
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Known BBS Numbers..........................................Staff
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----------------------------------------------------------------
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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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################################################################
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DISCLAIMER
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AND STATEMENT OF POLICY
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FOR BTN
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################################################################
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We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
|
||
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
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||
of such damages occurring.
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With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
|
||
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:
|
||
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|
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Mark Maisel
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Publisher, BTN
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606 Twin Branch Terrace
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Birmingham, AL 35216
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(205) 823-3956
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We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
|
||
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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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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################################################################
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FREEBIE!!!
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GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT! Systems That Offer Free BTN
|
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################################################################
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The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is
|
||
with no charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
|
||
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ADAnet One Alter-Ego Bus System
|
||
The Castle C.A.B. The Comfy Chair!
|
||
Crunchy Frog DC Info Exchange Final Frontier
|
||
Free Enterprise The Guardian Leaping's Lounge
|
||
Lion's Den Martyrdom Again?! The MATRIX
|
||
The Outer Limits Owl's Nest Playground
|
||
Safe Harbor Southern Stallion Starbase 12
|
||
Thy Master's Dungeon Weekends BBS
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||
|
||
|
||
(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!
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||
NEWSFLASH!
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||
NEWSFLASH!
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################################################################
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YEAH YEAH YEAH
|
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Late again.
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See From The Editor for
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more grousing.
|
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I NEED PASSWORDS!!!
|
||
If you're the sysop of either
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LUMBY'S PALACE
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||
or
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METROMAC BBS,
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||
please either call me or leave me mail on The MATRIX
|
||
giving me my password, since I've forgotten or lost it.
|
||
|
||
|
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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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Remember last month when I said the following?
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||
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||
"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."
|
||
|
||
Well <sigh> as you've probably guessed by now, things didn't work
|
||
out quite that smoothly. (If you can call the original idea smooth at
|
||
all.) I won't bore you by detailing the list of things that put me
|
||
off my schedule and delayed the arrival of the September issue of BTN
|
||
(thereby saving me from having to come up with such a list).
|
||
|
||
Suffice it to say that you did *not* miss the August issue of BTN,
|
||
as there was none.
|
||
|
||
What can I say? I think we're back on schedule now, and
|
||
<hope-hope-hope-hope-hope> the October issue should also come out more
|
||
or less on time.
|
||
|
||
Next month's issue will also mark the beginning of a promising young
|
||
career; I'm talking about the naive young grasshopper who will take
|
||
over the task of compiling the Known BBS Numbers list as of next issue.
|
||
His identity will be revealed next issue; in the meantime, pray to
|
||
whatever gods you find fruitful that he is prepared for the labors ahead
|
||
of him.
|
||
|
||
As for this month, yet another "less-is-more" feast awaits your
|
||
hungry eyes and minds... Dean Costello is back with another very
|
||
relevant article on the current attitudes regarding computer techonology
|
||
and the government. Our esteemed publisher, Mark Maisel, actually
|
||
wrote something this month in what will hopefully be a semi-regular
|
||
series of commentaries. We have an article from outsider Nick Arnett,
|
||
who also has some cogent things to say on the culturalization of the
|
||
Internet. Gary Hasty concludes his telling of the trials and
|
||
tribulations he's immersed in as a sysop in Dalton, GA. And finally,
|
||
we showcase Damion Furi's rarely-seen tender, musical side, in the
|
||
first of what may alarmingly be a series of... song lyrics. (Longtime
|
||
readers will recall that *I* myself tried this angle in an early issue
|
||
of BTN, #5 to be exact. And you can see where it got me.)
|
||
|
||
One final addendum: Despite us being forced awkwardly back to our
|
||
old top-of-the-month schedule, Judy Ranelli's Local Music column is
|
||
taking a vacation this issue. I would say that hopefully she'll be back
|
||
next month, but who knows what kind of world we'll have by then?
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
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||
I. ARTICLE LENGTH
|
||
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||
Right now, there's no strict enforcement of a length restriction,
|
||
but if your submission is somewhat short, I may request that you make it
|
||
longer. Anyone can sit down and type out a screen's worth of stuff. I
|
||
have yet to encounter an article that was too *long*, so don't worry
|
||
about that.
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||
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||
|
||
II. SUBJECT MATTER
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||
|
||
Again, there's no hard-and-fast rules about subject matter. I'm
|
||
interested in seeing material on a wide variety of topics. That
|
||
includes BBSs, politics, music, books, or better yet, something that
|
||
doesn't neatly fall into any one category. Next to that, my favorite
|
||
articles are the ones that have something to do with BBSing, since that
|
||
is supposedly what we're sort of about. Technical reviews are also
|
||
good. I tend to kind of frown on fiction, but I'm willing to take a
|
||
look at anything you've got. If it's interesting enough, your chances
|
||
are good.
|
||
Politics is fine, but try not to rant--and make whatever you have to
|
||
say original. I can go out and find ten Rush Limbaughs if I want.
|
||
Also refrain from "This Is What Happened To Me Today" slice-of-life
|
||
articles unless it's leading somewhere good.
|
||
Reviews should be both informative and opinionated. Don't be too
|
||
objective, but still tell us about what you're reviewing.
|
||
|
||
|
||
III. FILE FORMAT
|
||
|
||
Plain and simple ASCII is preferred, but we can convert WordPerfect
|
||
files if need be.
|
||
|
||
|
||
IV. STYLE GUIDELINES
|
||
|
||
1. Use a right margin of 72 columns.
|
||
2. Indent paragraphs at the fifth column.
|
||
3. Put two spaces after each sentence.
|
||
4. Skip a line after each paragraph.
|
||
5. Refrain from using BBS-specific devices like "<grin>" and ":-)".
|
||
6. Be sure to give your article a title.
|
||
7. Try to use correct grammar, spelling and capitalization! My staff
|
||
proofread as best as we can, but a well-typed article makes our job
|
||
easier.
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||
8. The dash is correctly typed as two hyphens, like "--". Use it to
|
||
set apart phrases and clauses--as with this sentence.
|
||
9. To emphasize a word, place a pair of asterisks around it, like
|
||
*this*. This takes the place of italics (except for titles; see
|
||
12).
|
||
10. If you have to emphasize a group of words, use capitals, AS IN THIS
|
||
EXAMPLE. I generally don't like the way that looks, so use it
|
||
sparingly, if at all.
|
||
11. If you're unsure whether to spell out a number or not, leave it in
|
||
numeral form.
|
||
12. Titles of books, films, plays, albums and works of art are
|
||
surrounded by underlines, like: U2's _The Joshua Tree_. This takes
|
||
the place of italics in this regard; I call it "title-cizing".
|
||
On the other hand, television shows, songs, poems, article titles
|
||
and short stories are surrounded by quotation marks.
|
||
|
||
|
||
V. HOW DO I SUBMIT AN ARTICLE?
|
||
|
||
The easiest way is to upload it as a private file on one of two
|
||
systems: The Matrix and the Crunchy Frog. (Their phone numbers are
|
||
listed at the end of this feature.) To upload a file privately, begin
|
||
your file description with a slash ("/"). Then leave me (SCOTT
|
||
HOLLIFIELD) a private message telling me what the file name is, so that
|
||
I can have the sysop make it available for me.
|
||
Another way is to leave me the article as a private message, or a
|
||
series of private messages.
|
||
If you become a regular contributor to BTN, you can get access to
|
||
the private BTNWA conference, which is for BTN writers. There we
|
||
discuss articles, policy, ideas, etc. The BTNWA conference also
|
||
contains a private file directory which I can access more easily than a
|
||
private file outside BTNWA.
|
||
Finally, as an alternative, if you live outside of the local
|
||
Birmingham area and you don't wish to call long distance, you can submit
|
||
an article via Internet e-mail. My address is scotth@the-matrix.com.
|
||
|
||
That's it!
|
||
|
||
Get to work!
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
LETTERS TO
|
||
THE EDITOR From BTN Readers
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
None this month! I spit on you all!
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
WHAT DO I THINK?
|
||
Mark Maisel
|
||
################################################################
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||
|
||
|
||
"1.) On 05/24/94, Steve Smith said to Damion Furi:
|
||
|
||
This brings up another question that seems to be brewing in my mind.
|
||
The options you refer to above are attractive, to the extreme for me.
|
||
By only short extension those options allow me access to information
|
||
that is not available via mainstream media. Some are predicting that
|
||
the "information superhighway" concepts, ie, wideband interactive TV,
|
||
will overshadow then leave BBS technology in the dust. Others say no,
|
||
that BBS software and the hardware to run it is just now coming into
|
||
it's own. What's your read of this?"
|
||
|
||
The above was posted as noted. I was sitting here and thought it
|
||
high time I addressed this issue. I've discussed with a variety of
|
||
folks over the years, at least what the future holds for BBSs. I've not
|
||
given much thought to any conglomeration of TV, digitally stored and
|
||
produced information, and the notion of "Information Super Highway".
|
||
|
||
To start, BBSs began as the domain of hobbyists. I'd like to have
|
||
been around when it occurred to the first one that the thing might make
|
||
money, even were it only to pay for itself. I've always preferred BBSs
|
||
as a hobby, though I certainly don't hold anything against anyone who
|
||
wishes to cover their costs or even attempt to extract a profit. It is
|
||
difficult to prognosticate but here goes...
|
||
|
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A year or two ago, I wrote a piece about BBSs in change. In it, I
|
||
suggested that BBSs would adapt in order to compete against much more
|
||
sophisticated services. To cover the increased costs of such changes,
|
||
most would either have to charge, give up, or continue in hopes of
|
||
attracting folks who prefer the simpler bbs offerings or are simply "old
|
||
timers" a la Brett Thorn.
|
||
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||
[Brett is quite the curmudgeon regarding the shift over the years
|
||
of BBSs from the domain of hobbyists to the new "CB Radio". I've
|
||
spoken extensively with him about these changes and our mutual
|
||
feelings about them. Thanks to him for his insight before I
|
||
continue.]
|
||
|
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So far, my thoughts have come to pass, at least locally. The trend
|
||
started much sooner throughout much of the country, but I gathered that
|
||
much of the charging elsewhere was done solely to discourage children
|
||
and adolescents from participating with the "grown-ups". A few months
|
||
after I wrote that piece, The MATRIX placed greater emphasis on
|
||
subscriptions and shortly thereafter went subscription only, though some
|
||
free time is offered as an introduction to new callers. Other boards
|
||
have changed their policies toward charging that had previously been
|
||
free and new boards have sprung up expressly to charge for access. I do
|
||
not call these systems, being satisfied these days with the few systems
|
||
I do call. I gather they do well, at least well enough that they
|
||
continue to appear in the BTN BBS List each month. The older boards and
|
||
the new ones are offering much wider variety of services and openly
|
||
competing against each other, though most of this competition has been
|
||
friendly. Other boards have either languished or gone down. There are
|
||
several local examples of these changes. The boards that have gone down
|
||
over the last several months are of interest to me. In particular,
|
||
Joker's Castle and Channel 8250 come to mind. The former only recently
|
||
ceased service and I have not yet talked to the sysop to find out why he
|
||
took it down. From having called it for years prior to its end, I can
|
||
tell you that it became a less busy place with the passage of time. I
|
||
do not know if this was a factor. The latter is a story I know better.
|
||
The sysop had not been active for a year or two though he was
|
||
infrequently and irregularly spotted on another system. I suspect he
|
||
was simply waiting for an event to give him an excuse to pull the plug.
|
||
Things have changed...for both people and BBSs. Both sysops were
|
||
hobbyists. Neither, as best can be told, had any interest in charging
|
||
for access or adding services beyond what they already offered.
|
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||
From this I conclude that lots of folks see some money to be made
|
||
dishing up information and related services. From here, much depends on
|
||
what the phone, utility, and cable companies are permitted to do in
|
||
regards to offering same. If they become players, all bets are off and
|
||
I suspect that most BBSs will decline back to the realm of hobbyists.
|
||
If these companies continued to be hobbled by the government and their
|
||
own corporate trappings, BBSs will continue to grow until they resemble
|
||
larger siblings such as The Well. They'll have to make lots of money to
|
||
do it. Expect price increases and increased services, availability, and
|
||
speed. I gather that the "big boys" are working toward getting services
|
||
online. I suspect that they will, in time. For this section, you'll
|
||
have to accept my possibilities rather than a single possibility.
|
||
|
||
This leads us to what the future of online holds. Currently, many
|
||
projects are underway with many hoping for a piece of the action from
|
||
the so called "Information Super Highway". Movies on demand seem a
|
||
popular notion and experiments are under way to make them a reality.
|
||
Other entertainment and educational opportunities that will rely on
|
||
interactivity, high bandwidth, etc. will come in time. A hybrid of TV
|
||
and our desktop computers seems a reasonable delivery device for homes.
|
||
But, is this what the "ISH" is supposed to be? Is this what the
|
||
Internet is supposed to be?
|
||
|
||
Before I go on, I'll define some terms. Interactivity means
|
||
that you are an active participant rather than an inert
|
||
viewer taking in whatever is broadcast to you. Bandwidth
|
||
refers to the capacity for the medium and how much can be
|
||
crammed onto it at any one time, and the speed at which it
|
||
travels. For example, let us take the DC Beltway, designated
|
||
as US Interstate 495 (Yes, there are several roads designated
|
||
with this number. I don't know why.); it was designed for
|
||
high speed travel by automobiles and commercial vehicles.
|
||
Once upon a time, it was sufficient to carry the number of
|
||
vehicles expected in a reasonable time from point a to point
|
||
b. As time went by, the number of vehicles increased until
|
||
it reached a point of saturation, leaving the road choked
|
||
with vehicles moving at a crawl, if moving at all. The
|
||
result is that US 495 lacks bandwidth for the traffic on it.
|
||
|
||
To define Internet, I again talked with Dean as his efforts give
|
||
him insight here as well. Technically, the Internet defies definition
|
||
because it is such a "mish-mosh" or conglomeration, if you will, of
|
||
research facilities (private and government), universities, businesses,
|
||
and libraries. Historically, the Internet was set up for researchers to
|
||
quickly and easily share data from their research. From there, graduate
|
||
and undergraduate students got hold of it and got us where we are today.
|
||
It was never intended to be especially user friendly, having been geared
|
||
for researchers rather than for casual electronic correspondence and
|
||
file hunting.
|
||
|
||
To define the "ISH", I conferred with Dean Costello, who has given
|
||
much energy to research regarding this and related topics. Keep in mind
|
||
that we are going to be talking about government defined terms and the
|
||
like. As such, the definition is, shall we say, sorta vague. The
|
||
closest the government has come is HR-1757 or The National Information
|
||
Infrastructure Act of 1993. The preamble of this law basicly sets out a
|
||
wish list for a wide area network with several public and not so public
|
||
databases for use by the public and governmental agencies. Its purpose
|
||
is to make more information available for education, research, commerce,
|
||
and individual enlightenment. The "NII" is supposed to be
|
||
technologically neutral so as to not favor any particular vendor or
|
||
vendor standards over another. There are four elements composing "NII".
|
||
The first is data. Information exists and is produced daily in many
|
||
places. The second is software, that is the actual tools for
|
||
retrieving, processing, and using the collected data. The third is
|
||
standards. These are the network transmission standards that facilitate
|
||
interconnectivity and interoperation between networks to insure privacy
|
||
and integrity of data. The fourth element is people. The people that
|
||
generate the information, develop the tools, construct the hardware, and
|
||
train the rest of us to use it all.
|
||
|
||
Is the Internet the basis for the "NII"? I don't think so, though
|
||
it may start off that way. The Internet was not designed for "us". As
|
||
such, it will crumble under our collective weight when we try to load it
|
||
down too heavily. Already, research institutions, government agencies,
|
||
and private concerns are building their own private networks so they
|
||
will not have to rely on the Internet as they did at one time. Enjoy it
|
||
while it lasts. I certainly intend to do just that. Don't worry about
|
||
its potential for demise as something just as good or better will be
|
||
available by the time it can no longer carry us. It may carry a higher
|
||
personal price tag and be policed, but that is the price of progress, or
|
||
so history tells me.
|
||
|
||
Is the "NII" going "leave bbs technology in the dust"? Probably.
|
||
It will do so in the same way as the automobile did this favor for the
|
||
horse and buggy. The result may well be similar in that BBSs will
|
||
become quaint and entertaining vehicles for leisure time, much as they
|
||
are now...much as riding horse is a leisure time activity for most of
|
||
the folks who do so. The entertainment Americans crave will be at the
|
||
forefront of any private efforts to build any "NII" in which
|
||
entrepreneurs and corporations take a stake. The government will
|
||
attempt to build to its advantage whatever it can from "NII". The
|
||
preamble to HR-1757 clearly spells this out. The speed with which this
|
||
will happen depends upon many variables, some of which have already been
|
||
described here. This speed will determine much of how BBSs will fare.
|
||
|
||
In closing, I can't say that the "NII" is what we'll plug into when
|
||
we want to watch some new flick or grab that new game, but whatever that
|
||
turns out to be will benefit from "NII" and vice versa. If you have a
|
||
particularly sentimental attachment for BBSs as they currently exist,
|
||
you'll probably still be able to find the old diehard hobbyist carefully
|
||
tending to their system. More likely, you'll find someone trying to be
|
||
a part of what the future holds, bearing the attendant costs, and
|
||
possibly passing them along to you for the privilege of access. I
|
||
really can't get worked up about it in any event as I intend to adapt as
|
||
I always have to whatever comes my way. I hope this helps.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
NOTES FROM THE TRENCHES:
|
||
Me Hablo Computadora Dean Costello
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
I am sitting here, high above I-66 in metro Virginia, and I got to
|
||
thinking about things like the difference between ideas and words.
|
||
George Carlin, several decades ago, made a statement along the lines of,
|
||
"All we have are ideas, which are ephemeral. You take an idea and tag
|
||
it with a word, and boom, the idea is locked to a specific word, and
|
||
that's all there is to the idea." Which vaguely reminds me of the first
|
||
couple verses of John, which go, "When all things began, the Word
|
||
already was. The Word dwelt with God, and what God was, the Word was.
|
||
The Word, then, was with God at the beginning, and through him all
|
||
things came to be...", etc., etc. The basic progression appears to be,
|
||
then, Idea -> Word -> Man. I like this; it appeals to something in my
|
||
soul, especially since misinterpretation can occur at any step of the
|
||
progression. But anyway, enough of vague spiritual philosophy.
|
||
|
||
I learned in my world civics class (1982-1983, Cambridge-South
|
||
Dorchester High) that many trades liked to keep the teeming masses away
|
||
from their particular trade by using a specific language that only those
|
||
initiated in the trade have learned. This kept the number of riff-raff
|
||
who were trying to crash the trade to a low level. The above was the
|
||
major reason for the existance of trade guilds: If any Thomas, Richard,
|
||
and Henry could manage to perform a task, than the cost for performing
|
||
the task will drop through the dirt floors of the High Medieval age. So,
|
||
primarily as windowdressing, guilds created a language to surround a
|
||
particular trade. As a general rule, if you (the Archbishop of some
|
||
bishopric in Cornwall who was trying to build a cathedral, for the
|
||
betterment of God and trade) hired someone who sounded like they knew
|
||
their trade, you would feel better about hiring them.
|
||
|
||
This is never more true than today. When I was in high school, I
|
||
took a class in human anatomy and physiology which taught the
|
||
fundamentals of medical terminology. For instance, I could say things
|
||
like "This tissue appears to exhibit sarcomic behavior, limited to
|
||
ciliated- pseudostratifiedcolumnarepithelium," and everyone (who knows
|
||
medical terminology) would immediately understand the above statement to
|
||
mean, "hmm, looks like we got some cancer stuff running around in cells
|
||
of the trachea (sarcomic - like sarcoma (type of cancer), ciliated -
|
||
cells that have cilia (small hairs for filtering air), pseudo-
|
||
stratified - appear to contain nuclei that are layered, columnar - cells
|
||
that are tall/column shaped, epithelium - cells that are on the outside
|
||
of something). Neat, huh? And this is the basis behind a branch of
|
||
medicine called Histology (the study of tissues), which is what a
|
||
medical examiner (ie. Quincy) has to be a master of.
|
||
|
||
As a result of the training I have received over the nineteen-odd
|
||
years of education I have participated in, I have a pretty good grasp
|
||
of many different trade languages, which I would argue is the major
|
||
component of learning a particular craft. The trade that I spend most
|
||
of my time on these days, environmental protection, has a unique
|
||
language all of its own. Above and beyond the basic things ("What in
|
||
the hell is a molten-salt incinerator with preburner?"), I also have to
|
||
deal with acronyms.
|
||
|
||
As a function of what I do and who I do it for (ie. the U.S.
|
||
Government), I have to not only know the catchwords that show that I am
|
||
an acredited member of my guild, but I also have to know the
|
||
abbreviations that are used. The use of acronyms is so prevalent, that
|
||
I am exposed to phrases like this: "The ROD for OU-II was
|
||
predecisional, so using an RI/FS to support an RD/RA is a no-go, even
|
||
though the ARAR MCL/MCLGs noted during the EA/EIS allowed a FONSI."
|
||
|
||
This will take a minute or two to explain...
|
||
|
||
ROD: Record of Decision. This is the rememdy that was agreed upon
|
||
by all of the parties concerned with a particular site. It is signed by
|
||
the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) RA (Regional
|
||
Administrator), and has, more or less, the force of law.
|
||
|
||
OU-II: Operable Unit Number 2. Oftentimes at the average Superfund
|
||
site, one particular part of a remedy needs to be implemented before
|
||
another. For instance, if you have contaminated soil which is
|
||
contaminating the groundwater, there is no point of establishing a
|
||
groundwater cleanup system until the soil is cleaned or removed. As a
|
||
result, OU-II means the second functional part of a cleanup. As a
|
||
matter of interest, each OU usually has its own ROD (see the way these
|
||
acronyms start piling up?).
|
||
|
||
Predecisional: Not necessarily an acronym, but it is still a
|
||
vocabulary word in my guild. This means that a particular method of
|
||
site cleanup is already in the minds of the decisionmakers, regardless
|
||
of what is determined during later onsite work. For instance, if you
|
||
have a wood preserving plant that used creosote to treat railroad ties,
|
||
you already know going into it that either onsite incineration or
|
||
bioremediation is the way to go (onsite incineration: Using an
|
||
incinerator on the grounds of the plant to 'burn' the contamination off
|
||
the soil using very high temperatures, bioremediation: Using bacteria to
|
||
'eat' the contamination in the soil). One project I worked on a couple
|
||
of years ago is designing some kind of decision document so that if you
|
||
know a couple of things about a site, you can start the cleanup using a
|
||
pre-specified technology. Advantages: Fast as the dickens.
|
||
Disadvantages: May not clean stuff to protect the health of locals,
|
||
takes a long time.
|
||
|
||
RI/FS: Remedial investigation/feasability study. The RI determines
|
||
what kind of contaminants are at a particular site and where they are
|
||
located (usually referred to as "amount and extent of contamination").
|
||
The FS determines what type of technology should be used for cleanup.
|
||
This is not as simple as it sounds, since there are currently about 250
|
||
different technologies available for remedial work.
|
||
|
||
RD/RA: Remedial design/remedial action. The RD determines how the
|
||
cleanup will actually be built. The number of reactor chambers, the
|
||
size of the piping, the amount of backfill; the nuts and bolts of the
|
||
cleanup. The RA is the actual work. This is where the bulldozers and
|
||
front-end loaders are used.
|
||
|
||
ARAR: Applicable, relevant, and appropriate regulations. Basically,
|
||
what kind of regulations are in place that are effected by the site in
|
||
question. For instance, there is something called LDRs (land disposal
|
||
restrictions) which determine the maximum concentration of a contaminant
|
||
that can be sent to a hazardous waste landfill. Sometimes, you can just
|
||
ship the hazardous stuff off to the landfill, and sometimes you have to
|
||
treat it. Are there any local regulations? State regulations? Does
|
||
the DOT (Department of Transportation) have anything to say? If you are
|
||
shipping waste to another country, does the Department of State have any
|
||
complaints? This can get sticky, as one can imagine...
|
||
|
||
MCL/MCLG: Maximum contaminant level/maximum contaminant level goal.
|
||
These are the limits of contamination that can be found in a water
|
||
source. Let's use the wood treating plant example above. If the amount
|
||
of, ummm, benzene in the groundwater is above the MCL, then the
|
||
groundwater has to be cleaned to at least the MCL. Mind you, this is a
|
||
general rule, and the groundwater may have to be cleaned to a lower
|
||
level than the MCL. The MCLG is a goal for a particular contaminant,
|
||
basically meaning that it would be nice if the contamination is below
|
||
the MCLG.
|
||
|
||
EA/EIS: Environmental assessment/Environmental Impact Statement.
|
||
These are studies that are conducted to determine the effect that a
|
||
certain project would have on an area. An EA is the first step, almost
|
||
a quicky kind of thing to determine if there are any problem areas like
|
||
wetlands, or historical sites, that would be adversely effected. If
|
||
there is no significant effects, a FONSI (finding of no significant
|
||
impact) is registered, and the project continues. If there is a finding
|
||
of significant impact (no acronym as far as I can tell), than the EIS is
|
||
conducted, which is much more involved. It is unlikely that these
|
||
studies would be conducted for a Superfund site, but it is possible that
|
||
they were conducted prior to the discovery of contamination.
|
||
|
||
So, let us go back to the original statement and decode it:
|
||
|
||
"The ROD for OU-II was predecisional, so using an RI/FS to support
|
||
an RD/RA is a no-go, even though the ARAR MCL/MCLGs noted during the
|
||
EA/EIS allowed a FONSI."
|
||
|
||
Okay, it means something along the lines of: "The cleanup technology
|
||
for the second part of the site was decided ahead of time, so there is
|
||
no reason to conduct sampling and determine the best technology to
|
||
support the design and implementation of the cleanup strategy, even
|
||
though groundwater contamination limits that were examined during an
|
||
initial study showed that they were not a problem."
|
||
|
||
Welcome to the environmental field.
|
||
|
||
"Dean," you say, "how does this effect me? I drive computers for a
|
||
living." Simple. Computer users have just as a confusing and silly
|
||
lexicon as the doctors or the environmental folk. Take the following
|
||
sentence: "Well, I just bought a PC, 486dx2, 525Meg SCSI, 16megs RAM,
|
||
SVGA with a meg, and PS2 mouse". Most of you probably have a pretty
|
||
good feel for what this means. But for the uninitiated, it means no
|
||
more than "toxic insult to the medial pyramidial tracts" (some kind of
|
||
poisoning to an area of the brain/spinal column).
|
||
|
||
I have this article that I found on a local BBS in Washington, D.C.,
|
||
which I will extract from (apoligies to Irving Kind). It is basically
|
||
115K of various terms that as a computer user you are expected to know,
|
||
but may very easily not. Let's take a look at some:
|
||
|
||
AASP ASCII Asynchronous Support Package
|
||
AAT Average Access Time
|
||
ACDI Asynchronous Communications Device Interface
|
||
ADP Automatic Data Processing
|
||
ADPCM Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation
|
||
ADR Address
|
||
ANSI American National Standards Institute
|
||
AO Analog Output
|
||
AS3AP ANSI SQL Standard Scalable and Portable
|
||
.ASC ASCII text (file name extension)
|
||
ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange
|
||
EDOS Enhanced DOS for Windows
|
||
EDP Electronic Data Processing
|
||
EDPM Electronic Data Processing Machine
|
||
HPPI High Performance Parallel Interface
|
||
HPW High Performance Workstation [Sun]
|
||
HRIS Human Resource Information System
|
||
HRG High Resolution Graphics
|
||
ISO/OSI International Standards Organization/Open Systems
|
||
Interconnection (model)
|
||
LGDT Load Global Descriptor Table
|
||
.LIB Library (file name extension)
|
||
LZW Lempel-Ziv-Walsh (algorithm)
|
||
mA Milliampere
|
||
MMIS Materials Manager Information System
|
||
MMPM Multi Media Presentation Manager
|
||
NMOS Negative Channel Metal-Oxide Semiconductor
|
||
NMS Network Management System [Novell]
|
||
PABX Private Automatic Branch Exchange
|
||
PACS-L Public Access Computer Systems List [Internet]
|
||
PAD Packet Assembler/Disassembler
|
||
RARP Reverse Address Resolution Protocol
|
||
RAS Random Access Storage +
|
||
SEC Single Error Correction
|
||
SECAM Sequentiel Couleur Avec Memoire
|
||
TQM Total Quality Management
|
||
TR Terminal Ready
|
||
VGC Video Graphics Controller
|
||
VHS Very High Speed + Virtual Host Storage
|
||
VHSIC Very High Speed Integrated Circuit
|
||
|
||
An impressive list of terms, I have to admit. I would assume that
|
||
most of you (since you are reading this via a computer and therefore
|
||
have at least some passing knowledge of the subject) know about half of
|
||
these statements. I picked them as close to random as I could, since
|
||
there were about 1000 lines of text, and I didn't want to spend the time
|
||
to pick "good" or "bad" examples. I took a quick gander at the
|
||
aforementioned list, and I knew about six of the terms, but I have never
|
||
claimed to be a master of computers.
|
||
|
||
The point being that the computer types have just as specialized a
|
||
vocabulary as other particular guilds. I would say that people that use
|
||
computer as a hobby, or use them for word processing and such do not
|
||
have the grasp of the vocabulary, the same as someone who goes to
|
||
General Nutrition Center (GNC) for vitamins do not have the same grasp
|
||
of biochemistry as I.
|
||
|
||
Since I am an environmental scientist, I have had a lot of people
|
||
ask me about certain topics: The steps of the Superfund process, how
|
||
different technologies work to clean soil, sampling protocol,
|
||
regulations, etc. I have to think about the answers that I give, not
|
||
because they are "good" or "bad", but because I have to gear the
|
||
response to the audience. To examine my prior sentence about OU-II and
|
||
RODs and MCLs and such, people I work with would have no problem with
|
||
understanding what I am saying. When a civilian asks me a question, I
|
||
have to respond in a way that is 1). Informative; which answers the
|
||
question at hand, and 2) Not technical; which means without the
|
||
acronyms, and explaining other concepts on the fly. I have been
|
||
answering questions about asbestos for a person in the Birmingham
|
||
community over the last couple of weeks. I love spreading the knowledge
|
||
around, as it is good to educate people and it also sharpens my
|
||
knowledge of a particular field (to paraphrase Bruce Sterling, data may
|
||
not be free, but knowledge is). But it is very easy, especially with a
|
||
guild such as mine, to swamp the auschlanders with either too much
|
||
information or with information with no context.
|
||
|
||
I have not noted the above constraints with the average computer
|
||
user. From what I can tell, they (on the whole) love nothing more than
|
||
to wow the questioner with their knowledge of arcane factoids. Do I
|
||
really care what a HD interleave is? Is it really important that I
|
||
learn about compression on my modem to ease another 3 cps out of my
|
||
transfer times? .INI files? Memory on graphics card? GIF compression
|
||
routines? Oh, stop it. I'm not impressed. In all of my wandering of
|
||
the computer countryside, questing for knowledge, one person so far has
|
||
routinely and successfully explained computer (and statistics, but
|
||
that's another matter) topics to me without getting lost in the cool
|
||
verbiage: Brett Thorn. Others do to a lesser extent, and I assume it
|
||
is less a function of their ability and more that they assume I know
|
||
more about stuff than I do and can then strut their vocabulary to a
|
||
greater extent. But, far and away, the average user appears to like
|
||
nothing better than to swamp people with their way-awesome vocabulary.
|
||
|
||
It is time to face facts: Until you (the personal computer user) get
|
||
over the love of the computer lexicon, you will not be accepted by the
|
||
general population. When your aunt, who is thinking about buying a
|
||
computer, comes up to you and asks what kind of computer she should buy
|
||
for keeping her recipes in order, you don't swamp her with (in her eye)
|
||
meaningless questions about hard drive space, VGA, RAM, EISA, or
|
||
anything like that. For the most part your audience is not impressed,
|
||
and will simply ignore you and/or wander off and either not fool around
|
||
with the purchase or ask someone else who does know the exact same
|
||
stuff you do, but is able to translate from Guildspeak to English
|
||
better than you do.
|
||
|
||
This is not a Good Thing. You have either successfully driven
|
||
someone to not use a computer, or to not be happy using a computer
|
||
since they believe that they will never master the intricies that you
|
||
obviously are familiar with. The upshot: Think before you spout
|
||
information. The questioner usually has a genuine desire to learn
|
||
something. Take the extra 10 seconds to spell out an acronym and to
|
||
define a term. The person asking the questions will not walk away more
|
||
confused than they were before, and you get the warm satisfaction of
|
||
passing Knowledge to another person.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
THE INTERNET
|
||
AND THE ANTI-NET Nick Arnett
|
||
################################################################
|
||
Two public internetworks are better than one
|
||
|
||
|
||
Networking policy debates tend to paint a future monolithic
|
||
internetwork that will follow consistent policies despite a number of
|
||
independent operators. Although that's how the interstate highway and
|
||
telephone systems--favorite metaphors for network futurists--operate,
|
||
historical comparisons suggest that it is probably not what the future
|
||
holds. Two distinct, interconnected publicly accessible digital
|
||
internetworks are likely to emerge, which is surely better than just
|
||
one.
|
||
|
||
One of the future internetworks will grow out of today's Internet,
|
||
whose roots are in the technology and scientific/academic communities,
|
||
funded by government, institutions and increasingly, corporate and
|
||
individual users. Although the Internet will support commercial
|
||
services, they rarely will depend on advertising. The other great
|
||
internetwork will grow out of the technology and mass communications
|
||
industries, especially cable and broadcast industries. The "Anti-net"
|
||
will rely on advertising revenue to recoup the cost of the
|
||
infrastructure necessary to create cheap, high-speed bandwidth. (I call
|
||
this second network the Anti-net not to be a demagogue but to make a
|
||
historical allusion, explained shortly.) All three communities --
|
||
technology, science and academia, and mass media -- will participate in
|
||
many joint projects. The most successful new ventures often will arise
|
||
from three-way collaborations; skills of each are essential to create
|
||
and deliver network-based information products and services.
|
||
|
||
The Internet community reacts with profound anger and resentment at
|
||
Anti-net behavior on the Internet -- in net-speak, "spamming"
|
||
advertising messages into hundreds of discussions. The outrage is based
|
||
in part on the idealistic traditions of academic and scientific freedom
|
||
of thought and debate, but there's more behind it. Anger and resentment
|
||
fueled by the world's love-hate relationship with the mass media,
|
||
particularly television, surface in many other contexts. Nearly
|
||
everyone in the modern world and large segments of the third world
|
||
watches television; nearly all think broadcast television is stupid,
|
||
offering a homogenized, sensationalized point of view that serves
|
||
advertising interests above all others. In competition with
|
||
television's hypnotic powers, or perhaps simply due to the high cost of
|
||
distribution, other mass media have followed suit.
|
||
|
||
Idealistic defenders of the Internet's purity believe they are
|
||
waging a humanitarian or even a holy war that pits a democracy of ideas
|
||
against the mass media's empty promises and indulgences. Television and
|
||
its kin offer the false idols and communities of soaps, sitcoms and
|
||
sports. The mass media tantalize with suggestions of healing, wealth,
|
||
popularity and advertising's other blessings and temptations. Internet
|
||
idealists even question the U.S. administration's unclear proposal of
|
||
an "information superhighway," suspecting that the masses will be taxed
|
||
only to further expand the Anti-net's stranglehold on information.
|
||
|
||
The same kind of stage was set 500 years ago. The convergence of
|
||
inexpensive printing and inexpensive paper began to loosen the Roman
|
||
Catholic church's centuries-old stranglehold on cultural information.
|
||
The church's rise to power centuries earlier had followed the arrival of
|
||
the Dark Ages, caused in Marshall McLuhan's analysis by the loss of
|
||
papyrus supplies. The church quickly became the best customer of many
|
||
of the early printer-publishers, but not to disseminate information,
|
||
only to make money. The earliest dated publication of Johann Gutenberg
|
||
himself was a "papal indulgence" to raise money for the church's defense
|
||
against the Turk invasions. Indulgences were papers sold to the common
|
||
folk to pay for the Pope's remission of their sins, a sort of insurance
|
||
against the wrath of God. Indulgences had been sold by the church since
|
||
the 11th century, but shortly after the arrival of printing, the pope
|
||
expanded the market considerably by extending indulgences to include
|
||
souls in purgatory. Indulgence revenue was shared with government
|
||
officials, becoming almost a form of state and holy taxation. The money
|
||
financed the church's holy wars, as well as church officials' luxurious
|
||
lifestyles.
|
||
|
||
Jumping on the new technology for corrupt purposes, the church had
|
||
sown the seeds of its own undoing. The church had the same sort of
|
||
love-hate relationship with common people and government that the mass
|
||
media have today. The spark for the 15th-century "flame war," in
|
||
net-speak, was a monk, Martin Luther. Outraged by the depth of the
|
||
church's corruption, Luther wrote a series of short theses in 1517,
|
||
questioning indulgences, papal infallibility, Latin-only Bibles and
|
||
services, and other authoritarian, self-serving church practices.
|
||
Although Luther had previously written similar theses, something
|
||
different happened to the 95 that he nailed to the church door in
|
||
Wittenburg. Printers -- the "hackers" of their day, poking about the
|
||
geographic network of church doors and libraries -- found Luther's
|
||
theses.
|
||
|
||
As an academic, Luther enjoyed a certain amount of freedom to raise
|
||
potentially heretical arguments against church practice. Nailing his
|
||
theses to the Wittenburg door was a standard way to distribute
|
||
information to his academic community for discussion, much like putting
|
||
a research paper on an Internet server today. In Luther's time,
|
||
intellectual property laws hadn't even been contemplated, so his papers
|
||
were fair game for publication (as today's Internet postings often seem
|
||
to be, to the dismay of many). Luther's ideas quickly became the talk
|
||
of Europe. Heresy sells, especially when the questioned authority is
|
||
corrupt. But the speed of printing technology caught many by surprise.
|
||
Even Luther, defending himself before the pope, was at a loss to explain
|
||
how so many had been influenced so fast.
|
||
|
||
Luther's initial goal was to reform the church. But his ideas were
|
||
rejected and he was excommunicated by his order, the pope and the
|
||
emperor, convincing Luther that the Antichrist was in charge in Rome.
|
||
Abandoning attempts at reform, but accepting Biblical prophecy, Luther
|
||
resisted the utopian goal of removing the Antichrist from the papacy.
|
||
Instead, as a pacifist, he focused on teaching and preaching his views
|
||
of true Christianity. Luther believed that he could make the world a
|
||
better place by countering the angst and insecurity caused by the
|
||
Antichrist, not that he could save it by his own powers.
|
||
|
||
Luther's philosophy would serve the Internet's utopians well,
|
||
especially those who believe that the Internet's economy of ideas
|
||
untainted by advertising must "win" over the mass media's Anti-net
|
||
ideas. The Internet's incredibly low cost of distribution almost
|
||
assures that it will remain free of advertising-based commerce.
|
||
Nonetheless, if lobbying by network idealists succeeds in derailing or
|
||
co-opting efforts to build an advertising-based internetwork, then
|
||
surely commercial interests will conspire with government officials to
|
||
destroy or perhaps worse, to take over the Internet by political and
|
||
economic means. Historians, instead of comparing the Internet to the
|
||
U.S. Interstate highway system's success, may compare it with the
|
||
near-destruction of the nation's railroad and trolley infrastructure by
|
||
corrupt businesses with interests in automobiles and trucking.
|
||
|
||
The printing press and cheap paper did not lead to widespread
|
||
literacy in Europe; that event awaited the wealth created by the
|
||
Industrial Revolution and the need for educated factory workers.
|
||
Printing technology's immediate and profound effect was the destruction
|
||
of the self-serving, homogenized point of view of a single institution.
|
||
Although today's mass media don't claim divine inspiration, they are no
|
||
less homogenized and at least as self-serving. The people drown in
|
||
information overload, but one point of view is barely discernable from
|
||
another, ironically encouraging polarization of issues.
|
||
|
||
Richard Butler, Australia's ambassador to the United Nations, draws
|
||
the most disturbing analogy of all. Butler, a leader in disarmament,
|
||
compares the church's actions to the nuclear weapons industry's
|
||
unwillingness to come under public scrutiny. Like the church and its
|
||
Bible, physicists argued that their subject was too difficult for lay
|
||
people. Medieval popes sold salvation; physicists sold destruction.
|
||
Neither was questioned until information began to move more freely. The
|
||
political power of nuclear weapons has begun to fall in part due to the
|
||
role of the Internet and fax communications in the dissolution of the
|
||
Soviet Union.
|
||
|
||
The truly influential and successful early publishers, such as Aldus
|
||
Manutius, were merchant technologists who formed collaborations with the
|
||
scientific/academic community and even the church, especially those who
|
||
dissented against Rome. Out of business needs for economies of scale,
|
||
they brought together people with diverse points of view and created
|
||
books that appealed to diverse communities. The Renaissance was
|
||
propelled in part by books that allowed geniuses such as Copernicus to
|
||
easily compare and contrast the many points of view of his predecessors,
|
||
reaching world-changing conclusions.
|
||
|
||
Today we are at a turning point. We are leaving behind a world
|
||
dominated by easy, audiovisual, sensational, advertising-based media,
|
||
beginning a future in which the mass media's power will be diluted by
|
||
the low cost of distribution of many other points of view. Using the
|
||
Internet is still something like trying to learn from the pre-Gutenberg
|
||
libraries, in which manuscripts were chained to tables and there were no
|
||
standards for organization and structure. But like the mendicant
|
||
scholars of those days, today's "mendicant sysops," especially on the
|
||
Internet, are doing much of the work of organization in exchange for
|
||
free access to information.
|
||
|
||
Today, the great opportunity is not to make copies of theses on the
|
||
digital church doors. It is to build electronic magazines, newspapers,
|
||
books, newsletters, libraries and other collections that organize and
|
||
package the writings, photos, videos, sounds and other multimedia
|
||
information from diverse points of view on the networks. The Internet,
|
||
with one foot in technology and the other in science and academia, needs
|
||
only a bit of help from the mass media in order to show the Anti-net how
|
||
it's done.
|
||
|
||
|
||
_________________________________________________________________
|
||
|
||
Nick Arnett [nicka@mccmedia.com] is president of Multimedia Computing
|
||
Corporation, a strategic consulting and publishing company
|
||
established in 1988.
|
||
|
||
Comments about this article e-mailed to [antinet@mccmedia.com] will
|
||
be linked to a copy of this essay on Multimedia Computing Corp.'s
|
||
World-Wide Web server: <URL:http://asearch.mccmedia.com/>
|
||
|
||
Recommended reading: "The printing press as an agent of change:
|
||
Communications and cultural transformation in early-modern Europe,"
|
||
Vols. I and II. Elizabeth Eisenstein. Cambridge University Press,
|
||
1979.
|
||
|
||
Copyright (c) 1994, Multimedia Computing Corp., Campbell, Calif.,
|
||
U.S.A. This article is shareware; it may be distributed at no charge,
|
||
whole and unaltered, including this notice. If you enjoy reading it
|
||
and would like to encourage free distribution of more like it, please
|
||
send a contribution to Plugged In (1923 University Ave., East Palo
|
||
Alto, CA 94303), an after-school educational program for children in
|
||
under-served communities.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
NO BEER BLUES
|
||
(Song lyrics) Damion Furi
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
It's one fifty-eight on a Saturday night,
|
||
All the bars are closin', and I'm real uptight,
|
||
No beer in the fridge, and I'm outta luck,
|
||
Got no money and it really sucks,
|
||
|
||
All the bills are paid, got nothin' for fun,
|
||
Got my bullets, can't find my gun,
|
||
C'mon, pal, lend me a five,
|
||
I got two minutes, and I wanna get live,
|
||
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got no beer and I'm feelin' abused,
|
||
|
||
It's Saturday night and time for a beer,
|
||
I'm not a Baptist, so hand it here,
|
||
I don't wanna be ramrod straight,
|
||
I've got enough on my mind, and on my plate,
|
||
|
||
Does anybody know a place to go,
|
||
Gimme a beer, don't tell me no,
|
||
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Yeah, you heard what I said,
|
||
C'mon, anybody, and gimme some head,
|
||
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got no beer and there's no excuse,
|
||
|
||
Well, I'll know better next time,
|
||
But that's what I said the last time,
|
||
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got the no beer blues,
|
||
Got no beer and I'm feelin' abused,
|
||
|
||
I wanna get with it,
|
||
I'm no good without it,
|
||
I want another beer,
|
||
There's no doubt about it,
|
||
|
||
Give me a bottle, a mug, or a case,
|
||
I just want to shove another beer in my face...!
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
EPILOGUE
|
||
Gary Hasty
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
"What happened next, Uncle Rev?", screamed the violent children.
|
||
|
||
"Well, I'll tell ya...", I sternly shrugged...
|
||
|
||
GAWD...This week has been phun! The little wars in my little Cyber-area
|
||
had gone from phunny to boring and now they were just pathetic. So I
|
||
scripted an "Open letter the the local BBS community" using snipets from
|
||
messages I had received and posted it in the local echo. (oh, BTW, this
|
||
is the local echo that I had been twitted from because I wouldn't lock
|
||
out a 'trouble user' from my board...not just this echo).
|
||
Then the mail started to flow...J0y!!!!
|
||
|
||
=======================================================================
|
||
|
||
BBS: WILD WHEELS LATE NITE BBS
|
||
Date: 07-29-94 (20:16) Number: 20
|
||
From: TOM ROBERTSON Refer#: 1037
|
||
To: GARY HASTY Recvd: NO
|
||
Subj: Open Letter to BBS Wo Conf: (20) Chats/Dalt
|
||
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
--
|
||
GH>This is crap, folks....this constant bickering and whinning can get
|
||
GH>on a person's nerves. This is a BBS not some damn conspiracy for
|
||
GH>paranoids...it a hobby. PERIOD! I do this because I like doing it.
|
||
GH>PERIOD! These little wars used to be phun to sit back and watch but
|
||
GH>now they're just pathetic. N time I hear that someone "heard
|
||
GH>something I said about blah-blah" I'll freakin' puke. Who the HELL
|
||
GH>do I talk these things over with? I have no idea...I have a
|
||
GH>life...remember!
|
||
|
||
FIRST OFF if ya want to post to everyone about whats going on between
|
||
the local BBS POST IT ON YOUR OWN BOARD were hackers can call useing any
|
||
name they want YOUR WORDS TO ME! Yes this is a HOBIE I spend MY MONEY on
|
||
and don't want MY computer tore up by a VIRUES Tim Smith has already
|
||
uploaded to other boards. When I told you about this and other stuff he
|
||
was doing Like calling up useing his user data file to gain access to
|
||
other area BBS you said fine doen't bother me its just a hobie. That
|
||
users can do what ever they want. And as for you talking to Tim Smith
|
||
this is what he said and wrote a message to him from you stated you
|
||
even gave him your home voice number to call you and you'd talk to him.
|
||
So quite your two faced lies and eaither help the other BBS stop people
|
||
from hacking there systems or just play in your own world. You have a
|
||
reputation of haveing trouble users on your board ORC and the Old N. W.
|
||
GA bbs both had problems with you telling users that were locked off
|
||
there boards to just call your you don't care what users do. YOU EVEN
|
||
TOLD ME THAT.
|
||
|
||
GH>So....I'm taking a well deserved rest from this crap and will only be
|
||
GH>accessable locally via The Chair!, Hi-Tech and Ft Mtn...and hopefully
|
||
GH>the Chatsworth/Dalton echo. Have phun in yar wars...and don't
|
||
GH>include moi!
|
||
|
||
No you wont have access to this or any other conf. on this board gary
|
||
aND THANKS FOR TRING TO COME BETWEEN THE LOCAL BBS WE WERE WORKING
|
||
TOGETHER TO STOP HACKERS BUT THANKS TO YOU POSTING A MESSAGE TO ALL
|
||
WHEN WE WERE KEEPING IT PRIVETE WAS CHILDISH AND STUPID AND I DO HOPE
|
||
WE MEET SOMETIME AGAIN!
|
||
|
||
========================================================================
|
||
...then came this jewel in the local Fido Sysop Chat conference...
|
||
========================================================================
|
||
|
||
From: Tom Robertson Posted: 29 Jul 94
|
||
To : All
|
||
Subj: Gary Hasty
|
||
|
||
Listen up Sysop's thought ya might want to know what kinda sysop Gary
|
||
Hasty is:
|
||
1: we had a user in dalton who ran and still is a bbs and was useing his
|
||
user.dat to gain access to other bbs. I run my board reg. users and he
|
||
was accessing there time they pay for so the other bbs Except Gary
|
||
locked the user out he griped and complained and even sent up a VIRUS to
|
||
two local boards caousing one to go down for good. Any way gary refused
|
||
to follow suit said users can do that on his board HIS WORDS to ME. So I
|
||
no longer allowed him acces (his board) to my local echo conf.
|
||
|
||
2: Now this was all just between sysop's of the local area only but Ol
|
||
gary left a message on my borad denounsing the problem calling it a bbs
|
||
war to all users of my board and I have since had two local BBS drop
|
||
there feeds and 5 users say they won't be calling back. So thanks to
|
||
Gary I'm out $100 and a local echo conf. that was doing good.
|
||
|
||
3. He stated this is just a hobie But Hell I pay money to run this board
|
||
and dont want a user messing up my computer by uploading a virus thru a
|
||
message as already done to one board.
|
||
|
||
Just thought you'd want to know what a fine fellow Gary Hasty is.
|
||
Tom Robertson.
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
...at this point I'm blushing like a li'l party grrrl...Hi!! I'm Satan!
|
||
Then of course the paranoid syslop was bombarded by other syslops...
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
|
||
Message #447 [NetMail (FidoNet)]
|
||
From: Mike Hill (1:362/112) Posted: 1 Aug 94
|
||
To : Gary Hasty (1:362/844) Received: 1 Aug 94
|
||
Subj: Advance copy, message in SYSCHAT to Tom Robertson
|
||
|
||
Gary, I saw the messages from Tom Robertson, and wanted to send you an
|
||
advance copy of one I posted today in the SYSCHAT echo:
|
||
|
||
Mon 1 Aug 94 12:12a
|
||
By: Mike Hill
|
||
To: Tom Robertson
|
||
Re: Gary Hasty
|
||
St: Local
|
||
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
>@MSGID: 1:362/112@@Fido 6a17c6c0
|
||
>@PID: FM 2.02
|
||
Tom, it seems to me that you tried the same little tactics with Gary
|
||
Hasty that you tried with me. You tried to make another sysop do
|
||
something you wanted, you tried to make him dance to your tune, and to
|
||
your rules. When you did not get your way, you went crying off to your
|
||
corner. With no warning to Gary, you passworded him out of your system.
|
||
You DEMANDED that he lock a user out of his system. The moderator of
|
||
your local echo could have banned a user, and could have made the ban
|
||
stick. For you to arbitrarily password Gary Smith out, you prevented him
|
||
from connecting to you. You also prevented an intelligent adult
|
||
conversation about the thing, and instead lied to Gary as he sought
|
||
guidance in our sysop echo as to why his system could no longer connect
|
||
to yours. Gary Hasty has grounds for filing an "excessively annoying"
|
||
complaint against you for your actions. You should also realize that I
|
||
also have grounds to file the same complaint, and for the same reason.
|
||
Two such complaints could very likely cost you your node number in FIDO.
|
||
Is this what you want?
|
||
|
||
Now you have the audacity to complain that Gary's actions cost you $100
|
||
in fees to your precious board! You seem to be presenting a shining
|
||
example to the public on what NOT to do with a BBS, and on just how
|
||
backwards and behind the times that the for-profit Dalton systems can
|
||
be.
|
||
|
||
How dare you bring your whining drivel to this echo and complain about
|
||
Gary Hasty! Go home, turn off your computer, drink a couple of Pepsi's
|
||
and mellow out for a bit. Learn some manners, learn to spell, learn what
|
||
Fido is really about, and then come back and use your node number for
|
||
something besides tossing insults at everyone in sight.
|
||
|
||
Don't bother replying to this message for a couple of days, as I will
|
||
not argue with you. If you want to have a reasonable discussion with no
|
||
flames, I am willing to listen, but if you want to rant and rave at me
|
||
like your last few netmail messages, then save your breath!
|
||
========================================================================
|
||
Message #269 [SYSCHAT (FidoNet)]
|
||
From: Michael Lewis Posted: 30 Jul 94
|
||
To : Tom Robertson
|
||
Subj: Gary Hasty
|
||
|
||
Hello Tom!
|
||
|
||
29 Jul 94 20:28, Tom Robertson wrote to All:
|
||
|
||
TR> Listen up Sysop's thought ya might want to know what kinda sysop
|
||
TR> Gary Hasty is: 1:
|
||
|
||
So far so good.
|
||
|
||
TR> we had a user in dalton who ran and still is a
|
||
TR> bbs
|
||
|
||
A user is a BBS? He used to run a BBS and now he still *IS* a BBS?
|
||
|
||
TR> run my board reg. users
|
||
|
||
Regular users? Regal users? Users named Reg?
|
||
|
||
TR> and he was accessing there time they pay
|
||
|
||
Their time, their money.
|
||
|
||
TR> for so the other bbs
|
||
|
||
You lost me here.
|
||
|
||
TR> Except Gary locked the user out he griped
|
||
TR> and complained and even sent up a VIRUS to two local boards
|
||
TR> caousing one to go down for good.
|
||
|
||
Causing.
|
||
|
||
TR> Any way gary refused to follow
|
||
TR> suit said users can do that on his board HIS WORDS to ME.
|
||
|
||
You owe us three commas.
|
||
|
||
TR> So I no
|
||
TR> longer allowed him acces (his board) to my local echo conf.
|
||
|
||
Cool.
|
||
|
||
TR> 2: Now this was all just between sysop's of the local area only
|
||
TR> but Ol gary left a message on my borad denounsing the problem
|
||
TR> calling it a bbs war to all users of my board and I have since
|
||
TR> had two local BBS drop there feeds and 5 users say they won't be
|
||
TR> calling back.
|
||
|
||
Three more commas and two periods.
|
||
|
||
Are you sure those two boards dropped their feed, or did you password them
|
||
out? :-)
|
||
|
||
TR> So thanks to Gary I'm out $100 and a local echo
|
||
TR> conf.
|
||
|
||
Thanks to Software Creations, I'm out thousands.
|
||
|
||
TR> that was doing good.
|
||
|
||
No that was doing bad, doing good would be using capitalization.
|
||
|
||
TR> 3. He stated this is just a hobie
|
||
|
||
Hobby. You owe us one period.
|
||
|
||
TR> But Hell I pay money to run
|
||
TR> this board
|
||
|
||
Same here.
|
||
|
||
TR> and dont want a user messing up my computer by
|
||
TR> uploading a virus thru a message as already done to one board.
|
||
|
||
Same here.
|
||
|
||
TR> Just thought you'd want to know what a fine fellow Gary Hasty is.
|
||
|
||
Man, I can't believe someone hasn't burned a cross on his front yard already!
|
||
|
||
TR> Following is his message he left to all users on my
|
||
TR> board.
|
||
|
||
Oh goody. I hope it makes more sense than this one. :-)
|
||
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
Then, of course, comes...
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
Message #438 [NetMail (FidoNet)]
|
||
From: Tom Robertson (1:362/881) Posted: 31 Jul 94 13:5
|
||
To : Gary Hasty (1:362/844) Received: 31 Jul 94 22:0
|
||
Subj: Look I am Sorry
|
||
|
||
Gary I'm sorry I blew up in Syschat It just made me mad when You posted a
|
||
messages about what was going on between the sysop's that was being keep (on
|
||
my part anyway) priveat. I had to vent my anger sum way and didn't want to
|
||
involve the users of your's or my BBS this was between us and I seen no need
|
||
to involve them. Again I am sorry for my part in this and Wish to put it
|
||
behind us. Its just after Warren sent me messages you were suppose to have
|
||
writen to Tim Smith I assumed when He said He would get us thru the messages
|
||
you allowed him to echo I reacted. Bad on my part but From what I have seen
|
||
and heard of Tim Smith He would do it. Again hope we can put this behind us.
|
||
|
||
Tom>
|
||
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
...just an update, folks...
|
||
===========================================================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
SPECIAL INTEREST
|
||
GROUPS (SIG's)
|
||
[COMPUTER RELATED] compiled by Eric Hunt
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
|
||
BIPUG Alabama UniForum
|
||
Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group Homewood Public Library
|
||
UAB Nutrition Science Blg 1st Tuesday
|
||
RM 535/541 Shawn Cleary 870-6130
|
||
1st Sunday (delayed one week
|
||
if meeting is a holiday)
|
||
Marty Schulman 967-5883
|
||
|
||
Birmingham Apple Core
|
||
Informal breakfast meeting every Saturday, 9am - 11am
|
||
@ Kopper Kettle, lower level Brookwood Village Mall
|
||
Formal meeting held second Saturday of each month, location
|
||
variable (to be announced at breakfast meetings and in the
|
||
user group's newsletter "The PEEL".)
|
||
President: Sam Johnston - 322-5379
|
||
Vice-Prez: Marie Prater - 822-8135
|
||
|
||
The SIG listing is being re-verified. If you know of an active
|
||
Computer Related user's group, please let me know.
|
||
|
||
I can be reached via Internet email at
|
||
eric.hunt@the-matrix.com or drop me a note directly on the
|
||
MATRIX.
|
||
|
||
|
||
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|
||
|
||
|
||
################################################################
|
||
KNOWN BBS NUMBERS
|
||
FOR THE
|
||
BIRMINGHAM AREA
|
||
################################################################
|
||
|
||
Sysops, PLEASE check your listing to make sure everything is
|
||
correct, especially the networks. Corrections should be mailed on
|
||
the Matrix or Crunchy Frog to Scott Hollifield.
|
||
|
||
|
||
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]
|
||
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]
|
||
Birmingham Online 870-0305 300-2400 Major BBS 6.2
|
||
[none]
|
||
Birmingham Online 870-5400 300-19200 Major BBS 6.2
|
||
[none]
|
||
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]
|
||
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 Synchronet
|
||
[fi, sz, br, tr, dv]
|
||
GenesisOnline (sign-up) 620-9076 300-14400 V.32bis Major BBS 6.11
|
||
[mr]
|
||
GenesisOnline (Nds 1-8) 620-4150 300-2400 V.32bis Major BBS 6.11
|
||
[mr]
|
||
GenesisOnline (Nds 9-16) 620-9076 300-14400 V.32bis Major BBS 6.11
|
||
[mr]
|
||
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]
|
||
The Island BBS 631-0184 300-2400 WWIV 4.23
|
||
[none]
|
||
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]
|
||
Knight's Castle 631-6668 300-14400 WWIV 4.23
|
||
[qu, dd]
|
||
Leaping's Lounge 856-2521 1200-14400 GTPower 18.00
|
||
[gt, ez, mn, wm, di]
|
||
Lions Den 871-9668 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! 4.0
|
||
[di, wm, wi, ca, cm]
|
||
Magic City (Node 2) 664-0435 300-1400 Wildcat! 4.0
|
||
[di, wm, wi, ca, sk, yr, ms]
|
||
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]
|
||
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 300-2400 TriBBS 4.0
|
||
[none]
|
||
Outer Limits 985-1078 300-16800 Wildcat 4.0
|
||
[fi, pn, it]
|
||
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]
|
||
Pirate's Cove 665-7924 300-14000 PowerBBS
|
||
[us]
|
||
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 5.02 *RIP*
|
||
[ez, mn, wm, sx]
|
||
Torch Song 328-1517 1200-14000 V.32/42b Wildcat 3.90
|
||
[pr, st, gn]
|
||
Virtual Football 823-2029 300-2400 Hermes II v.3.0.2
|
||
[none]
|
||
Weekends BBS 841-8583 2400-16800 USR DS Wildcat! 3.9
|
||
[ca]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 1) 664-9902 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 2) 664-9903 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 3) 664-9895 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Willie's DYM (Node 4) 664-9896 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
|
||
[or]
|
||
Ziggy Unix BBS 991-5696 300-1200 UNaXess
|
||
[none]
|
||
|
||
*RIP* = BBS Software is RIP Graphics capable. You must be using a RIP
|
||
compatible term software to view them. RIPTerm or QmodemPro v1.50 are
|
||
the only two I know of that support it at this time. RIPTerm is shareware
|
||
and can be downloaded from most BBS's. QmodemPro is a commercial product.
|
||
|
||
The two-letter abbreviations you see on the line below the names of
|
||
many of the bbs' in the list signify that they are members of one or
|
||
more networks that exchange or echo mail to each other in some organized
|
||
fashion.
|
||
|
||
|
||
ad = ADAnet, an international network dedicated to the handicapped
|
||
ae = 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
|
||
dd = DeadNet, 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
|
||
ms = MSI SupportNet
|
||
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
|
||
qu = QuadNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
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
|
||
sk = SeekNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
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
|
||
sx = SeXXXnet, an 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
|
||
tr = TrekNet, a national network for Star Trek fans
|
||
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
|
||
yr = YourNet, uncertain at press time
|
||
|