F I D O N E W S -- Vol.12 No.33 (14-Aug-1995)
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 Published by: |
| FidoNet BBS community | "FidoNews" BBS |
| _ | +1-519-570-4176 |
| / \ | |
| /|oo \ | |
| (_| /_) | |
| _`@/_ \ _ | |
| | | \ \\ | Editors: |
| | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 |
| |__U__| / \// | Sylvia MAXWEL 1:221/194 |
| _//|| _\ / | |
| (_/(_|(____/ | |
| (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. |
| | -- JOSEPH PULITZER |
+----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Submission address: editors 1:1/23 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MORE addresses: |
| |
| submissions=>
[email protected] |
| Don --
[email protected] |
| Sylvia
[email protected] |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| For information, copyrights, article submissions, |
| obtaining copies of fidonews or the internet gateway faq |
| please refer to the end of this file. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Table of Contents
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1. Editorial..................................................... 1
2. Articles...................................................... 2
Toys, Tools, and King Ludd.................................. 2
Making Cyberspace Safe...................................... 5
good news and funny for you, too............................ 6
HexOnExon................................................... 6
Proposal: Change FidoNet to Enternet....................... 8
3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 9
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Editorial
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FidoNews 12-33 Page: 2 14 Aug 1995
Freedom of Perception = Freedom of Expression?
While waiting in line to spend the contents of my wallet on some cat
litter and a soda pop, my eyes strayed to the magazine shelf near
the check-out counter, and my feet followed them, slightly. The
day's heat caused escalation of impatience and inclination towards
distractions.
A small, blonde boy on roller blades sucking a pink slush stick
who was clearly not distracted form his personal goals darted
in front of me to the cash register. He smugly but not
condescendingly explained that "SHE stepped out of line".
I spent a considered expanse of time thereafter worrying, that i had
not stepped to the very back of the line in applause for this boy's
brazen self assertion, and wondering if i was becoming some kind of
wierdo for thinking so much about children, before deciding that what
I had not done hadn't mattered,
anyway,
The moral of this story is that if you step out of line, angels
will put you in your place, if you let them.
---ooo e y e W a n t c A K e ooo---
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Articles
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Toys, Tools, and King Ludd.
By Langton Goldfinch, SysOp of 1:396/17, Psychotherapist in New
Orleans, La.
[email protected]
Article is an analytic review of "The Net", a movie.
No, I'm not proposing another Mardi Gras parade. King Ludd was
the mythical "leader" of a movement in England during the early
1800's. Workers put out of work by the early mechanical looms
took vengeance on the machinery. They believed in destroying the
tools but not people. Successful, and popular, the government
finally crushed them with tools of their own. "Luddite" now means
those opposed to modern inventions often destroying them in the
name of humanity.
Now my thoughts about the Luddites got stimulated by the movie
"The Net." To save some of you some dollars better spent on
shareware registration, let me ruin the movie for you rather than
have it done by the film itself. Unless you salivate (as do I) at
Sandra Bullock, of course.
In the plot Sandra (whose movie name got erased from my memory)
is a computer whiz. Gee, talk about type casting. Her work is
done at home, filled with more computers than the local CompUSA.
Even her fireplace is a monitor running a burning log program (no
sound of crackling, maybe v1.2?). She has no actual life, even
order's take out Pizza with her modem. Her own mother has
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 3 14 Aug 1995
developed Alzheimer's to avoid identifying her. The only other
human in the "real" world who knows her is her ex-shrink. This
guy, played by the oh so Analytic Dennis Miller, has of course
had an affair with her. Gee, 20 years of practice, and no Sandras
ever on my couch! An aside, but my mentor once told me it was
O.K. to have sex with my patients, provided I had sex with all of
them. Talk about prevention!
Anyway Sandra gets her identity wiped out and replaced by the
evil Luddites. (Thought I wasn't going to tie this together,
eh?). Not that this seems a total tragedy mind you. Of course she
somehow, with no identity, credit cards, or proof of who she is,
manages to get the fanciest laptop and stay at decent hotels.
Movies, gee! The bad guys find it easy to kill all their other
problem folks. With Sandra they go about using computers and the
wonders of mega databases and the InterNet to make her over into
another person. They kill the shrink with computers managing to
change prescriptions at Walgreen's and the local Hospital. Gee,
these evil new machines. That the shrink should die as a
derivation of having violated his professional code seems fair.
Now of course the bad guys in the movie aren't really Luddites.
The bad guys are the same old bad guys in every Western I ever
saw, or Eastern, for that matter: Big business tycoons taking
over the world with a few psychopaths on their payroll to do the
dirty work. The deaths are clever. One guy commits suicide upon
discovering he has AIDS (phoney medical database). Only later
does the script let us know the plan depended on his being
homophobic. Maybe this is a sure cure for homophobia? Copying the
movie "Watermelon Man" where a racist wakes up black?
Anyhow, the bad guys are smarter than governments, other
businesses, and have ways of doing things near now miraculous.
They can track your terminal through several International Web
sites and can spread viruses into every major computer network in
the world. Why? Well who really understands hackers. For though
rich and powerful, the main enemies are computers and those who
play with them. It is the producers of this movie who are the
modern day Luddites, warning us about the sneaky incursions and
evil pervasiveness of the machines of Armageddon.
And our savior? This is the final faith to save you. The good guy
is our gal, Sandra. She manifests innocence while not quite a
virgin. She is non-social rather than inept. Yet not only a whiz
with computers, but in a pinch can drive a bus over 50 miles per
hour down the freeway (no that was her other movie). She manages
if not to save the world, at least her own persona. How? A heroic
tap on the "Esc" key saves the day! That's right, for those who
love old Greek "deus ex machina" solutions to impossible plot
tangles, we now have the "key." At least they could have used
"Ctrl Break"!
Now to continue in analytical mode.
Two kinds of people in the world, someone said: "Those who
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 4 14 Aug 1995
believe there are two kinds of people in the world and Those who
don't." Then those of us who believe there are more than two
kinds fall into which kind? Well never mind. Start with two
kinds you know about already:
C+ computer people and
-C non-computer people,
The above two are usually married to one another. Of course with
this movie the audience is limited. Bullock lovers' and C people.
Now I think that there is a genetic basis, a C+dna say,
determining whether one turns out to be a C+ or a -C type. This
gene is probably linked to the Y chromosome in some way, since by
far more men seem to have it than women. Take a look at the
average audience in the club, or in any penny arcade, for that
matter. But appearances are a wee bit deceptive, for as we all
know more women actually use computers than do men. Oh, you
didn't know that?
Well, walk into any office, are the desks with computers run by
men or women? If men are at the computer they are playing some
game. This is because of a simple classification error on my
part. You see, we must distinguish the C type people into genuine
C types, those to whom the computer is a toy; and crypto C types,
for whom it is a tool. This distinction is very easy to make.
If a person uses the computer because it is part of their job, or
uses and knows one program, say WP6.0, and has no interest or
idea in how to set anything up, or why it works even, then these
are Crypto C types, or toolers. To this person the computer is a
fancy typewriter, or a good sewing machine, or a fast copier, an
object that gets some task accomplished, in short a "tool". Don't
scoff, humans, and others chimpanzees, are superior because they
use tools. Superior to what, well, we drew the chart, so of
course we are at the top.
Now of course the default position you know. Pure C types know
that a computer is a toy. A toy can be mastered like a slinky, or
a Rubik cube, or dallied with late into the night as were ham
radios, tinkered with like cars, or marbles, or whatever. Now of
course some pure C types use computers in their work, or even
work on computers in their use. But every new gizmo, channel,
track, bit or byte, peaks their interest. The Crypto C type
cringes with an upgrade, many I know still using WordPerfect v
2.3 (oh?). Certainly DOS 3.1 and quite happy on their familiar
turf even if an 8088.
There is one further distinction, I call these Pseudo Pure C
types. Not quite Crypto, these are the Window's users. Of course
to the pure C type Windows can be a toy, and Win95 a supertoy I
guess. But Windows are to purists what new Cadillacs are to car
buffs. Fancy, nice to ride in (when they work), but who wants to
tinker with a new Cadillac?
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 5 14 Aug 1995
Now the refined among you will differentiate Deutero, Ortho, and
Meta C types, and who knows what other Greek peculiarities can be
found. I suspect a relationship to all this with psychological
types, you know, Introverts, Extroverts, Schizoids, and Bananas.
Let me end with one therapeutic (ie you can ignore this as well)
observation. Opposites do attract and marry each other. The trick
is not to convert the other (why bother to marry) but to learn to
live complimentary roles, and see if you can come to enjoy some
movie about covered bridges more than she did this one.
We finish with a quiz. Which member of the following "pairs" are
the C+ type?
1. Lone Ranger and Tonto
2. Abbott and Costello
3. Eleanor ad Franklin
4. Perry and Paul
5. Edith and Archie
6. Cain and Abel
7. Don Quixote and Sancho
8. Kirk and Spock
9. Thelma and Louise
10. Tarzan and Jane
Give yurself one point for each correct answer. My choices are
such that the C+ is the left name of odd numbers. Since this is
my quiz I must be right. Happy modeming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis W. Webb
Making Cyberspace Safe
-----------------------
ANGELS TO PATROL THE NET
The red-bereted Guardian Angels, a volunteer group formed in 1979 to
patrol the streets and subways of the Bronx, have created CyberAngels,
because "there is such a similar need on the Internet as there was in
New York when we started. There is a similar void where the police are
unwilling or unable to make it safe." CyberAngels will form organized
patrols to look around cyberspace for "suspicious activity" that might
indicate crimes against children or acts of fraud, hate and
pornography. (Atlanta Journal-Consititution 8/6/95 H7)
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 6 14 Aug 1995
From: Blaine Garst <Blaine_Garst>
good news and funny for you, too.
JUDGE RULES ON E-MAIL PRIVACY CASE
TULSA, OKLA -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled on a case that
many legal experts believe clearly delineates the e-mail privacy
rights of computer users in the workplace. Judge Stan Musing declared
that employees have a right to expect that their employers will
refrain from monitoring e-mail messages transmitted on company
systems. The case went to court after programmer Augustus Lindsey's
supervisor monitored his e-mail and intercepted a message from
Lindsey to a colleague. The message read: "That little sex kitten has
been driving me wild. She's moaning and begging for it every minute.
Last night I was afraid someone would hear, and we'd be thrown out of
the building. But don't worry -- all is arranged. Wednesday she gets
the knife". Lindsey's supervisor alerted authorities, suspecting that
a crime was in the making. Lindsey was arrested on the spot and spent
an uncomfortable night discussing the situation with the police.
However, he was released in the morning, just in time to get his
female cat to the vet for spaying. Lindsey sued his boss for invasion
of privacy and sought punitive damages as well.
- Origin: Net 109 Fidonet<->Internet gateway (1:109/41.0)
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HexOnExon
SOME RESPONSES TO THE RECENTLY PURPORTED SCABBAGE:
[ This compilation is EDITED! It is NOT IN IT's ENTIREITY! Please
direct all nasty and bad but interesting reactions to Madam Emilia
(Sylvia Maxwell) at 1:221/194]
- - - o o o 000 o o o - - -
This is from Carol at
[email protected]. Please respond to that address
and not this message source.
My congratulations to the ILF for the hilarious revision of the MGM
movie Hackers home page. Is this the first known instance of
electronic graffiti on the Web, by any chance? Also--just curious,
why is the movie The Net superior to Hackers? (I haven't seen
Hackers yet--and maybe I shouldn't, given the dissing on the home
page.) Carol
- - - o o o 000 o o o - - -
Hey, I just got some mail letting me know that the hackers home page
got worked over by the ILF. It's at
www.digiplanet.com/hackers/index.html and I have yet to check it
out.. doesn't work well on my 386 sx laptop.
- - - o o o 000 o o o - - -
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 7 14 Aug 1995
Jack Devlin wrote... > Hah. You fools installed Gatekeeper,
thinking it would protect you from the more evil denizens of
cyberspace. But no. We, The Praetorians, have been forced to
prove our worth to the lesser mortals at MGM/UA.
[...]
>
>
http://www.digiplanet.com/hackers/index.html
- - - o o o 000 o o o - - -
REAL HACKERS VANDALIZE WEB SITE
By Yardena Arar
Daily News Staff Writer
[Photo of altered WWW picture with caption: "A World Wide Web site
for the movie 'Hackers' was not viewed kindly by some real-life
hackers who defaced the promotion."]
...[repeat stuff and glorification of those with bucks invested
generally deleted for brevity according to intense editorial
biases -mdm em]
UA parent Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer learned of the cyberspace vandalism
when a reporter called to inquire about some strange graphics and
startling text on the month-old page teasing the film, due for
release Sept. 15.
A picture of the film's co-stars had been defaced with computer
crayon scribbles.
Much of the copy had been changed. For example, the line "This
is going to be an entertaining, fun promotional site for a movie"
was replaced by "This is going to be a lame, cheesy promotional site
for a movie."
"Click here for a video preview of 'Hackers'" had been replaced
by "Click here for a Big Waste of Bandwidth." And next to the credit
"Created by Digital Planet," was the claim "Hacked by ILF" --
followed by "Go see 'The Net' instead of this dog."
Also included were links to web sites for Defcon, the recently
concluded hacker convention in Las Vegas, and other hacker
hangouts...
The "Hackers" page is located at
http://www.digiplanet.com/hackers/index.html
- - - o o o 000 o o o - - -
Hah. You fools installed Gatekeeper, thinking it would protect you
from the more evil denizens of cyberspace. But no. We, The
Praetorians, have been forced to prove our worth to the lesser
mortals at MGM/UA.
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 8 14 Aug 1995
They ignored our screenplay for the movie 'Praetorians', choosing
instead to call it 'Hackers' and base it upon some adolescent
compulsive masturbators who hold not one-tenth of our supreme skills
in their puny hands. Regrettably I was forced to fake my death at
the hands of Sandra Bullock, but now I have wreaked revenge upon
those who doubted my technique (which, incidentally, is very good)
as an independant contractor for the Internet Liberation Front
(ILF). While they offer no medical or dental insurance schemes,
they supply me with the neccessary ub3rt00lz to bust root on your
puny boxes. GreatCircle, I urinate upon your firewall. Sidewinder,
I defecate in your general direction.
Oh, to the point. To prove to the movie-going chimps that my
technique is supremely advanced, I have taken cybercontrol of
MGM/UA's so called 'home-page' for the 'movie' (and I use the term
loosely) HACKERS, a cinematic abortion riding the wave of
cyberriffic techno-thriller uber-gen-x flicks.
http://www.digiplanet.com/hackers/index.html
Point your puny webtools in this direction for confirmation of my k-rad
ubertechnique(tm). Beware, this is only the beginning...
Jack Devlin, ex-Praetorian, current ILF contractor.
---End of transmission---
Hex on Exon
Free Mitnick.
Fashion Rules Nature
Rules Fahsion
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Ed Ridgley (1:3613/14)
Proposal: Change FidoNet to Enternet
Hello Editor!
This is just a thought since I get strange looks and smurking
chuckles from the word FidoNet. I propose to change the word FidoNet
to Enternet (since the Enter key is used so much on the computer).
This would make sense because of the diversity of BBSs in the world,
i.e., Christianity, Programming, Disabilities, etc.
At the very least, it would give BBSs the prestige they deserve
without sounding like a dog.
Please, no flames on this. It's just a proposal, not a mandate.
Don't get me wrong, I love FidoNet and all it has to offer and I
don't intend to quit FidoNet if this change is not made or even
FidoNews 12-33 Page: 9 14 Aug 1995
considered.
Ed Ridgley
Sysop, THE disABILITY NETWORK BBS (1:3613/14)
========================================================================
Fidonews Information
========================================================================
------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ----------------
Editors: Donald Tees, Sylvia Maxwell
Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell,
Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar
Tom Jennings
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FidoNews 12-33 Page: 10 14 Aug 1995
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' ' disgreement is actually necessary,
or we'd all have to get in fights
or semethin to amuse ourselves,,
and create the requisite chaos."
-Tom Jennings
-- END
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