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TextFiles Community (infosec.pub)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by BADROBOT@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/textfiles@lemmy.dbzer0.com
 
 

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2
 
 
  • OINKs -- one income, no kids
  • DINKs -- double income, no kids
  • PINKs -- private income, no kids
  • LINCs -- low income, nine cats
  • NINKs -- no income, nine kids
  • DUDs -- demographically undesirable divorcee
  • PODs -- punks on dope
  • YAMs -- young assholes on mopeds
  • SLIFs -- still living in the fifties
  • SLITS -- still living in the sixties
  • SHITs -- suburban heterosexuals in town to swing
  • CANTs -- corporate animals, no talent
  • SIMPs -- sexually inactive male professionals
  • MIDGETs -- mentally inferior divorced guys expecting terrific sex
  • TOADs -- tennis-obsessed advanced-degree holders
  • RUGs -- rich ugly guys
  • DRUGs -- dumb rich ugly guys
  • SACs -- sixties acid casualties
  • SIPs -- single-income pot smokers
  • DORKs -- damned overpaid Republican know-it-alls
  • FDAs -- former drug abusers
  • YANKs -- young assholes, no kids
  • NERDs -- nervous evangelicals, recently defrocked
  • SOBs -- son of the boss
  • CPAs -- car phone assholes
  • WIGGs -- women into gay guys
  • BICEPs -- bisexual college-educated professionals
  • AWOLs -- always working-out at lunch time
  • SLIMEs -- single lawyers into money and exercise
  • RAMBOs -- right-wingers afraid of Mexicans, blacks and Orientals
3
 
 
  • Subject: CIA & the Media
  • Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy.jfk,alt.journalism,alt.journalism.criticism
  • Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
  • Summary: (empty)
  • Keywords: (empty)

Here's just a snippet from Carl Bernstein's famous 1977 article entitled "The CIA & The Media" from Rolling Stone, 10/20/77. Anyone with access to a library should try to find this - it's a truly breakthrough piece - 16 pages long in the reprint!

BEGIN SNIPPET:

In 1953, Joseph Alsop, then one of America's leading syndicated columnists, went to the Philippines to cover an election. He did not go because he was asked to do so by his syndicate. He did not go because he was asked to do so by the newspapers that printed his column. He went at the request of the CIA.

Alsop is one of more than 400 American journalists who in the past 25 years have secretly carried out assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency according to documents on file at CIA headquarters. Some of these journalists' relationships with the Agency were tacit; some were explicit. There was cooperation, accommodation and overlap. Journalists provided a full range of clandestine services -- from simple intelligence-gathering to serving as go-betweens with spies in Communist countries. Reporters shared their notebooks with the CIA. Editors shared their staffs. Some of the journalists were Pulitzer Prize winners, distinguished reporters who considered themselves ambassadors without portfolio for their country. Most were less exalted: foreign correspondents who found that their association with the Agency helped their work; stringers and freelancers who were as interested in the derring-do of the spy business as in filing articles; and, the smallest category, full-time CIA employees masquerading as journalists abroad. In many instances, CIA documents show, journalists were engaged to perform tasks for the CIA with the consent of the managements of America's leading news organizations.

The history of the CIA's involvement with the American press continues to be shrouded by an official policy of obfuscation and deception for the following principal reasons:

  • The use of journalists has been among the most productive means of intelligence-gathering employed by the CIA. Although the agency has cut back sharply on the use of reporters since 1973 (primarily as a result of pressure from the media), some journalists are still posted abroad.

  • Further investigation into the matter, CIA officials say, would inevitably reveal a series of embarrassing relationships in the 1950's and 1960's with some of the most powerful organizations and individuals in American journalism.

Among the executives who lent their cooperation to the Agency were William Paley of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Henry Luce of Time Inc., Arthur Hays Sulzberger of the New York Times, Barry Bingham Sr. of the Louisville Courier-Journal, and James Copley of the Copley News Services. Other organizations which cooperated with the CIA include the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald and the old Saturday Evening Post and New York Herald-Tribune.

By far the most valuable of these associations, according to CIA officials, have been with the New York Times, CBS and Time Inc.

[...]

Appropriately, the CIA uses the term 'reporting' to describe much of what cooperating journalists did for the Agency. "We would ask them, 'Will you do us a favor?'" said a senior CIA official. "'We understand you're going to be in Yugoslavia. Have they paved all the streets? Where did you see planes? Were there any signs of military presence? How many Soviets did you see? If you happen to meet a Soviet, get his name and spell it right....Can you set up a meeting for us? Or arrange a message?'" Many CIA officials regarded these helpful journalists as operatives: the journalists tended to see themselves as trusted friends of the Agency who performed occasional favors -- usually without pay -- in the national interest.

[...]

Two of the Agency's most valuable relationships in the 1960's, according to CIA officials, were with reporters who covered Latin America -- Jerry O'Leary of the Washington Star and Hal Hendrix of Miami News, a Pulitzer Prize winner who became a high official of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation. Hendrix was extremely helpful to the Agency in providing information about individuals in Miami's Cuban exile community.


Like I said - a great article!

A note about Hendrix - he was the one who Seth Kantor, reporting on the JFK assassination, was told to call for 'background' on Oswald after Oswald's arrest. Hendrix, from Miami, had all the info on Oswald's pro-Castro leafleting activities in New Orleans, details about Oswald's defection to the Soviet Union, etc.

Only years later did Kantor realize the significance of a guy like Hendrix, CIA, having so much info on Oswald so soon after the assassination.

4
 
 
  • When freezing soup stock, pour it into loaf pans, freeze, and then remove and wrap in freezer paper or plastic bags. The blocks will take up less space in the freezer and you'll have your pans to use.
  • Save leftover pie crust for a cheese stick snack. Roll out left- over pie crust, then cut into strips. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in oven.
  • Prevent lumps when cooking hot cereal by starting with cold water. The texture will be smoother.
  • Put flour in your freezer or refrigerator to keep from getting bugs in it.
  • Save money by shredding your own cheese. Buy cheese in bulk pieces and shred it yourself.
  • Keep cereal longer by storing it in your refrigerator.
  • Here is some instruction on how to recycle cooking fat and to feed birds at the same time. While cooking, pour off excess cooking fat into an empty coffee can. For every cup of fat, you'll need 1/2 cup bird seed. Slowly remelt fat and add seed. After stirring the combination together, put into paper cups and refrigerate. When mixture is hard, remove paper cups and tie string around mixture. Now you are ready to hang it in your trees and watch the different birds eat.
  • Does your salt shaker get plugged up? To prevent this put 5 to 10 grains of rice inside the shaker.
  • Add a few peppercorns to your pepper shaker to keep holes from plugging and for a fresher ground pepper taste.
  • While broiling food, to avoid smoke add a cup of water to the bottom of broiling pan before putting into oven. The water will absorb the smoke and grease.
  • To prevent food from sticking in a new frying pan, boil some vinegar in the pan before using.
  • For a pleasant smelling kitchen, combine a few teaspoons of sugar and cinnamon in an empty pie tin and slow simmer on stove.
  • Simmer vinegar in a small pan while cooking vegetables that leave unpleasant odor.
  • While cooking spaghetti, noodles or rice, add a little cooking oil to the water to prevent water from boiling over.
  • Keep salt near stove in case of a grease fire. Salt will drown flames and help soak up the grease. Works great on the inside of your oven for food that boils over. Sprinkle salt on the food to keep if from smoking.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher near the kitchen for any fire that can't be contained quickly.
  • To cook hamburgers in a hurry: when shaping the burger, poke a hole in the middle. The center will cook quicker and the holes will disappear while cooking.
  • Make hamburgers on a cookie sheet, freeze, then store in plastic bags until ready to use.
  • Spread foods that stick together when freezing (berries, peas, etc.) out on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. When frozen, place in a freezer bag, label, and put back in the freezer.
  • Freeze foods quicker in your freezer by placing frozen food on top.
  • For a different taste in pancakes, make with fruit-flavored yogurt instead of milk.
  • When baking a cake and you don't have a toothpick to test it, use a piece of uncooked spaghetti.
  • Remove cakes from pans easily by lining the cake pans with wax paper. Grease and use flour as normal then insert wax paper.
  • When icing a cake, dust a little corn starch on the cake first. This will keep the icing from running off the cake.
  • Store cheese in a glass jar to keep it from getting moldy.
  • Freeze bacon in small portions by placing strips between waxed paper that has been accordion-pleated. Wrap in freezer wrap and freeze.
  • Beat egg whites in glass or metal bowls, not plastic. Plastic bowls can prevent whites from whipping, as they tend to retain grease.
  • Eggs warmed to room temperature will beat to a greater volume.
  • When sauteing with butter, add a small amount of oil to the butter. The combination will prevent the butter from burning.
  • If you peel more potatoes than you need, cover the extra potatoes with cold water (immersed completely) and add a few drops of vinegar to the water. Refrigerate and they'll keep for several days.
  • Marinade meat in beer for a few hours if you're out of wine.
  • If browning meat in a microwave, brush with either soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. This will improve the taste and appearance.
  • Add coarsely chopped carrots to peanut butter. It will make the peanut butter crunchier and add a little extra nutrition to your sandwich.
  • Cheese and meat sandwiches are easier to cut if cheese is placed under the meat.
  • Use a pizza cutter to cut homemade bar cookies for a smoother edge.
  • Use leftover pumpkin pie filling to make a pumpkin pudding dessert. Place cupcake liner in a muffin tin, fill with leftover pumpkin filling and a few chopped nuts. Bake it the same time with the pie.
  • Fill an icing bag by placing the pointed end of the bag in a tall ice tea glass. Icing bag should be easily filled this way.
  • When decorating a cake, use a toothpick to trace the message or design you want. Then frost the outlines.
  • Use an empty mustard squeeze bottle filled with colored frosting for decorating cakes and cupcakes.
  • Use a plastic cutting board instead of a wooden one. Wood cutting boards can harbor bacteria.
  • When making soup, make extra and freeze for a later meal. It doesn't take much more time to make double and you'll have a second meal.
  • Date all frozen food so you'll be able to see what needs to be used first.
  • Freeze left over tea in ice cube trays. You can use this the next time you have ice tea.
  • Spices should be stored in cool dark places. Write the purchase date on the bottom of cans or bottles.
  • Remove peach skins with a potato peeler.
  • Tomatoes will ripen more quickly if placed in a plastic or brown bag. Place bag out of direct sunlight.
  • Lettuce and celery will keep longer in your refrigerator if stored in paper bags instead of cellophane. Don't remove leaves until ready to use.
  • Remove carrot tops before placing in the refrigerator. The tops will drain moisture and the carrots will become limp.
  • Rid bugs in leafy vegetables by soaking them in cold water. Add a few tablespoons of salt or vinegar to the water and let soak for about ten minutes.
  • To clean your grill easily, coat it with vegetable oil before cooking food, and then clean as soon as it has cooled.
  • When cooking over an open fire, coat the underside of the pans with shaving cream or liquid detergent. Pans should clean up a lot easier.
  • On the inside of a cupboard door, hang useful information. This could be calorie chart, cooking equivalents, etc.
  • Save time grocery shopping by doing your's early in the morning or late in the evening. The stores are less crowded during these times.
  • Stores usually have the best selections the days that the stores ads come out.
  • Early morning shoppers can save money on marked-down produce and breads.
  • Another way to preserve recipe cards is to store them in flip-top photo albums. You won't even have to remove them while using your favorite recipe.
  • To keep spills and splatters off cookbooks, after finding the recipe you what to use, slide the open cookbook into a clear, large plastic bag. You'll be able to use the recipe and keep the cookbook clean.
  • Here's a few tips for brown sugar:
  • If it's hard as a rock and you need it in a hurry, simply grate what you need with a hand grater.
  • Brown sugar can be softened by placing a slice of soft bread in the package and closing tightly. In a couple hours, the sugar should be soft again.
  • You also can put brown sugar and a cup of water next to it in a covered pan. Turn your oven on low and put in the oven for a while.
  • For cookies, you can combine the brown sugar and water from the recipe and put it in the microwave for a few seconds. This will dissolve any lumps.
  • Would you like to chop onions without crying? Try these hints.
  • Refrigerate or freeze onions for fifteen minutes before chopping.
  • Run cold water over onions while peeling.
  • If you cut the root end of the onion off last you should shed fewer tears.
  • While chopping, periodically rinse hands under cold water.
  • Remove onion smell from your hands by wetting hands, then sprinkle with salt. Rub hands then rinse and the onion smell should be gone.
5
 
 

An 84-year-old retired beverage distributor claimed recently that he has had the original Coca-Cola formula for almost 40 years.

Lee Williams wrote in to Dallas Morning News columnist Maryln Schwartz, after she had written about the new Coke in her column. Williams said he was given the formula in 1948, when he had a sales route for the Dr. Pepper Company.

A pharmacist named John Reed told him that he used to make his own syrup for the cola because he had been given the original recipe. Reed said he had gotten the recipe from an ingredient salesman who wanted to sell him the ingredients for the syrup. He then pulled the formula from a file marked "1898" and let Williams make a copy of it.

If it's true, this is your big chance to make up a batch of "The Real Thing" yourself. Here's the recipe:

  • 30 pounds of sugar
  • 2 gallons of water
  • 2 pints of lime juice
  • 4 ounces of citrate of caffeine
  • 2 ounces of citric acid
  • 1 ounce of extract of vanilla
  • 6 drams (3/4 ounce) of fluid extract of cola
  • 6 drams of fluid extract of coca

Don't forget to mix with carbonated water before you drink it, like any fountain drink. If you try it, let us know how it comes out.

Warning: Drink at your own risk.

(If they haven't proved that any of these ingredients causes cancer yet, I'm sure it's just a matter of time.)

According to the Coca-Cola Company, the formula has never been given out. But who knows? This could be the biggest leak ever...

6
 
 
                              
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                  """"'        ch1x0r
7
 
 
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              ,/_____/----;
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      snd (______(-.____)
8
 
 

[NOTE: THIS MATERIAL IS HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL AND UNSUBSTANTIATED]

According to well-informed U.S. intelligence sources, Alternative 3 is a plan to colonize the planet Mars with a cross-section of persons from all major areas of human knowledge and culture. This project has been ongoing and under development for many years. The public discussion of a manned mission to Mars distracts from claims of well-placed sources that we have already HAD manned Missions to Mars.

A moon base dubbed Luna was sighted and filmed on the far side of the moon by the Apollo Astronauts. A mining operation using Very Large Machines has also been sighted there. Luna is a joint United States, Russian and Alien base.

A craft code-named Aurora allegedly exists at Area 51 (Dreamland) in Nevada which makes regular trips into space. It is a onestage TAV (trans- atmospheric vehicle) which can take off from the ground using a 7 mile long runway, go into high orbit and return on its own power, landing on the same runway. Atomic-powered alien craft are flown at Area S-4 in Nevada. Our pilots have made interplanetary voyages in these craft and have already been to the Moon, Mars and other planets.

With the government's advance knowledge of what's actually on Mars, it's no wonder that NASA and other agencies are slow to discuss the "face" and other structures seen on Mars.

Is the foregoing all true? I don't know, I wasn't there. But the people who DO know are now speaking up -- because what you are reading is most likely just the "tip of the iceberg" of what is really going on with our Manned Missions -and our presence in space.

9
 
 
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Anarchy Anonamyus (I think)

Hacking your school network or any lame NOVELL (tm) network...

FORWARD All this Information contained in this file is for informational and educational purposes ONLY !!! The writers,Recagnized Dist. Sites and all other distributers,and or 3rd 2nd and 1st party and dealers take NO responsibility in the actions of ANYONE who tries to use this info..

HACKING NETWORKS ok, ANYONE with half a brain can hack a School Network...I did it when I was 8...that was cool...anyways one way to start is if your school has School-wide networking, that makes it SOOO much easier to hack because you won't have to get into the computer room...most schools lock the computer rooms so either you logon from a school wide networked terminal or you BREAK IN !!!! oh well, once you get on the terminal there are several things you can do:

  1. "Flip a screen"
  2. change grades
  3. Accsess dos...

But remeber to NOT LOGON AS YOUR NAME OR YOUR TERMINAL NUMBER, because there is a log or someone might be watching on another terminal(s)...use another name or if it asks for your terminal number use another one...(pref. someone is using so they take the fall)...

  1. the easiest thing to do is send a message hold CTRL and press ESC then a little menu will pop up, select send a message, then choose your victem from the list....when the little box comes up hold CTRL ENTER until the box fills up with little symbols (all the same) then you let go of CTRL ENTER and just hit enter....if your victem is in a App. that's designed for NetWare then there screen will blank...or they are in a menu it will work.... it pisses them off BIG TIME !!!

  2. that is the easiest thing to do...if your school computer "experts" are dips then they will allow teachers to put grading info on the network, if not well you can SERIOUSLY screw up the network...but anyways login as TEACHER thats it !!! that does it no passwords nothing... !! from there you can do almost ANYTHING like delete items...

  3. Ok now for the GOOOOD stuff...Dos...easy logon as ANYONE or any station to get a TEACHER in trouble then logon as TEACHER....anyways when it says "please wait" now you goto work....hold CTRL BREAK keep hitting it as much as you can until it says "Terminate batch job (y/n)?" then type y... ok your in dos...alright look EVERYWHERE !!! try typing console that should do it ! from there you can down the server !!!

More to come from AA on hacking nets... -Mystery Hacker

10
 
 

New cars use computers to store and remember malfunctions that occur. These are displayed in the flashing sequences in the instrument cluster. A typical sequence of instructions follows:

Locate the C3 diagnostic connector (also called the "ALCL"). It is usually under the dash on the drivers side. On the Ponitac Fiero, however, it is located in the console between the seats. Short the 'A' & 'B' positions of the diagnostic conector ('B' is ground), then turn the ignition key on but do not start the engine.

CHECK ENGINE OR SERVICE ENGINE SOON light on dash will flash out the number 12 ( flash - pause - flash flash ) which means the self diagnostic mode is working. This will be repeated 3 times. Any trouble codes the computer (called the Electronic Control Module or ECM) has stored will then be flashed out ( for example: code 23 is ( flash flash - pause - flash flash flash ). If more then one code has been stored, they will be flashed out in order, each repeated 3 times. Look up the code in the following chart to find the faulty circuit or component.

NOTE: Do not automatically replace a component without first checking its wiring and connectors. Also, it is good practice to test the component further using a digital volt/ohm meter as described in the vehicle's service manual. Remove the A to B short and turn off the ignition. After the repairs, clear the trouble codes from the computor's memory by disconnecting the fuse marked 'ECM' for at least 10 seconds.

C3 TROUBLE CODES

  • 12 - Normal code with ignition on and engine off. Indicates no distributor reference pulse to ECM. Not stored in memory.
  • 13 - Oxygen sensor or it circuit
  • 14 - Coolant Temperature Sensor circuit shorted.
  • 15 - Coolant Temperature Sensor circuit open.
  • 21 - Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) or its circuit.
  • 22 - Throttle Position Sensor circuit voltage low due to grounded circuit or faulty adjustment of TPS.
  • 23 - Mixture Control (MC) Solenoid circuit open or grounded.
  • 24 - Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) or its circuit
  • 32 - Baromteric Pressure Sensor circuit voltage low.
  • 34 - Vacuum Sensor or Manifold Absolute Pressure (MAP) circuit.
  • 35 - Idle Speed Control (SC) Switch circuit shorted.
  • 41 - No distributor reference pulse to the ECM. Unlike code 12, this will be stored in the ECM.
  • 42 - Electronic Spark Timing (EST) bypass circuit, or EST circuit open or grounded.
  • 43 - Electronic Spark Control retard signal for too long a time.
  • 44 - Lean exhaust
  • 45 - Rich exhaust
  • 51 - Prom (programmed read only memory) calibration unit faulty or improperly installed in ECM.
  • 53 - Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve vacuum sensor has received improper vacuum signal.
  • 54 - Shorted Mixture Control Solenoid circuit and/or faulty ECM.
  • 55 - Grounded Vref (terminal 21), high Oxygen Sensor circuit sensor voltage, or faulty ECM.
11
 
 

U.S. Woman's Months of Horror ... C.I.A. stole my brain - for bizarre electronic experiment By Reginald Damien.

Secret government agents are zapping and robbing the brains and minds of ordinary Americans.

So says a respectable, middle-aged New England businesswoman, who claims she's a guinea-pig victim of a bizarre electronic brainwashing experiment.

Dorothy Burdick's mind-boggling allegation -- which has direct links to CIA involvement - is made in a recent prestigious scientific journal.

And she claims that other unsuspecting Americans are being zapped and brainwashed by fiendish government sci-fi techniques.

"Some people might think that's nuts, but they've forgotten the government's long history of experimenting on its citizens," says Mrs. Burdick.

She gave as examples the spraying of an unknown substance into the New York Subway tunnels and the more recent charge by a member of the Canadian Parliament that a CIA-financed psychiatrist tried to brainwash her.

Mrs. Burdick -- not her real name -- said that the first hint that something was amiss came when she was making love to her husband. The words "Dorothy, you're being programmed," suddenly popped into her head. She burst into tears.

Her concerned husband suggested that she see a psychiatrist which she did, to no avail. Strange, unwanted thoughts continued to surface in her mind despite the psychiatrist's efforts to stop them.

She said that she then checked with her brother who she identified only as a scientist doing research on the H-bomb at M.I.T.

He told her about the top secret government brainwashing program and said she was one of the people being zapped by laser in an experiment in mind control.

According to Burdick's new book, Such Things Are Known, a laser-telescope located at an Air Force base near her Cape Cod, Massachusetts home is scanning her house and analyzing the electrical impulses given off by her brain.

"In fact, I'm sure that the computer can decode my brain impulses just as telegraphers decode Morse code," she said.

"For example, dot/dot/dot/dash/dash/dash/dot/dot/dot in Morse code means SOS, or help.

"Likewise, scientists have learned that dot/dot in my head means Dorothy. Now that they know the code, they're shooting dots into my head and programming my thoughts.

"It wouldn't at all surprise me," a high placed member of a European intelligence service said.

"We know the Russians have been using radio waves to control the minds of their citizens. Only recently we had a huge intelligence breakthrough when some Soviet scientists lent one of the cruder models of a mind control device to an American veterans hospital. Quite stupidly, they sent along an operating manual, which clearly specified its use as a mind control device.

"We know that the Soviets have been beaming highly suspicious radio waves at the West and I've been involved in several high level discussions during which the various means of counteracting Soviet mind control programs were discussed.

"The most compelling course of action suggested at one of those meetings was that the West must first learn how the snoops are doing it before we can learn how to counteract it.

"There is no better way to devise a countermeasure to a new weapon than by learning exactly how the enemy's system works. And to do that one must actually attempt to do the same things things the enemy is doing -- which, in this case, quite frankly, is to attempt to control the minds of people.

"So I'm not in the least surprised to learn that our American colleagues are doing this sort of thing. It is, after all, a matter of self-defense."

Mrs. Burdick has adopted her own method of self-defense against the mind-zapping she claims she's experiencing.

She wears a coat with tin cans attached to it, and a hat filled with playing marbles.

National Examiner. August 9, 1983.

12
 
 
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                                                                              * ***
                                                          ***********         * ** *
                                                          *  ***.    *****   * **  *
                                                           *   *.      *  *******  *          *
                                                           *   *.      *  . .  ******         *
                                                            *  *.      *  . .   *  * **       *
                                                             **.      *   . .  *   *   ***   **
                                                              *. .   *    . .  *   *   . .*  **
                                                              *. .  *    . .   *   *   . . *** *
                                                             *. .  *     . .  *    *   . .  ** *
                                                             *. .**      . .  *    *   . . *** *
                                                            *. **    ******************* . *** *
                                                           **** .    . ****.      *     ****** *
                                                          *. . .   . . *  *.     *       .  .***
                                                         *. . . .  . . *  *.     *       .  .  ****
                                                        *. . . . . . . * *. .   *        .  .  *   ***
                                                       *. . . .  . . . * *. .  *         .  .   *     **
                                                      ***************. **. .  *         . . .   *       **
                                                     *         * *   ****. . *       .  . . . .  *        *
                                               ***********    * *      *. .**.       .  . . . .  *        .*
                                                *****.    *******      *.** .        .  . . . .   *       .*
                                                *   *.      *  . **** ***. .  .  .  .  . .  . . . *     . .*
                                                *   *.      *  . .   *. . .  .  .   .  . .  . . . *     . .*
                                                *  *. .     *  . .  *. . .   . .   .  .  . . . .   *    . .*
                                                 * *. .    *   . . *. . .   .  .  .  .  .  . . . . *     . .*
                                                 **. .    *   . . *. . .   .  .************. . . .  *  . . .*
                                                 *. . . **    . .*. . . *******  *   * ********. . .*. . . .*
                                                 *. . **      . ********        *   *  ***    **** . * . . .*
                                                *. .**        .**               *  *   ***    *   **.* . . .*
                                               ***** . .     *                  *  *   ****    *    ** . . .*
                                               *. . . .****************        *   *  **** *   *      ** . .*
                                              *. . . . .****.          ****** *   *   ****  *  *     ** *. .*
                                             *. .  . . . . .*.             * *******  *** *  * *    *  * * .*
                                            *****************.             *    .   *******  **    *   * * .*
                                      ********         *    *. .          *     .    .  * *****   *     * *.*
                                        ***** ******   *    *. .          *     .    .  *  *  *****     * *.*
                                            *.      *****   *. .         *      .    .   * *   *  **     * *
                                 ************.       *   ****. .         *    .  .   .   *  *   *   ***  * *
                                  *****.    *.      *   . .*. .         *     .  .    .  *  *   *      ***  *
                                   *  *.   *.       *   . .*. . .      *   .  .  .    .   *  *   *       .******
                                   * *.    *.      *    . *. .  .     **   .  .  .    .   *  *    *      .******
                                   **. .   *. .    *    . *. . .     *  .  .  .  . . ..   *   *   *      .*   *
                                   *. .   *. .    *    . *. .  .    *  .   .  .  . . ..   *   *    *     .** *
                                  *. . .  *. .   *   . . *. .  .   *.  .  .  .  .  . .. .  *   * . **    .* *
                                 *. . .  *. .  **  . .  *. .  .  ** .  .  .  .  . .  .. .  *   * . *.* . .***
                                *. . . . *. . *    . . **********  .  .  .   .  . . ... .  * . *  . *.*. .* *
                               *. . . . *. .**.    . .*. .  .   .  .  . .   .   . . ... .  * . ** . *.*. .* *
                              *.*********.** .   . . *. .  .   .  .  .  .  .   .  . ... . .* . *.* . *.* .*  *
                         ********       ** . .   . .*. .  .  ***************** . . .... . . * .*.* . *. *.*  *
                          ****.  *******. . .  . .. *. ******        *    *   *******.. . . * .*.*  . *. **  *
                          *  *.       *. . .  . .  ****             *    *      **** ** . . * . *.* . *. **   *
                           * *.      *. . .  .  .**. .              *    *      ****   ***  **. *.* . *. .*   *
                           **.       *. . .  . **.. .              *    *       ****      ****. *. * .*. . *  *
                           **.      *. .**************            *     *       ****        **. *. * .*.  . *  *
                           *. .    *. .   *****.      *************    *       ****         * ***. .*. *. ..*  *
                          *. .    *.***********.            *  .   *********   ****         * * *. .*. *. . .*  *
                          *. .   **           *.            *  .           .*******         * * *. .****. . .*  *
                          *. .  *             *.            *  .            . .   ******    * * *. . * *. . ..* *
                         *. ************     *.            *   .          . . .         ***** .**. .  **. . . .* *
                         *. .****.      **** *. .         *   .           . . .             * .**. .  **. . . .* *
                         *. .*. *.      *   **. .        *    .           . . .             * .** . . **. . .. .* *
                        *. . .* *.      *    *. .       *     .           . . .             * .** . . .*. . . ..* *
                        *. . .* *.     *    *. .        *     .           . . .             * ..* . . .*. . . . .* *
                       *. . .  **.     *    *. . .     *   . . .       . . . . .            * ..* . . .*. . . . .* *
                      *. . . . *. .   *     *. . .    *    . . .       . . . . .            * ..* . . .*. . .  . .**
                     *. . . . .*. .  *     *. . .    *     . . .       . . . . .          . * ..* . . .*. . .  . .* *
                    *. . . . . *. . *      *. . .   *      . . .       . . . . .          . * ..* . . .*. . .  . .* *
                   *.***********. . *     *. . .   *    . . . . .   . . . . . . .         . * ..* . . .*. . . . . .* *
                  * *          *. .*.     *. . . .*     . . . . .   . . . . . . .         . * ..* . . .*. . . . . .* *
             ************      *. * .    *. . . **      . . . . .   . . . . . . .         . * ..* . . .*. . . . . .* *
               *****.    ******. * . .   *. . **.       . . . . .   . . . . . . .       . .* . .* . . .*. . . . . .* *
                   *.         *.*. . .  *. .** . .   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      . .* . .* . . *. . .  . . .* *
                  *.         *** . . .  *.** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      . .* . .* . . *. . .  . . .*  *
                  *.         *. . . .  ***. . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      . .* . .* . . *. . .  .  . .* *
                  *.        *. . . .  *. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .     . .* . .* . . *. . .  .  . .* *
                 *..        *. . . .  *. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   . .* . .* . . *. . .  .  . .*  *
                 *. .      *. . . . .*. . . . . .****************** . . . . . . . . . . . *. . *. . . *. . .  .  . .*  *
                 *. .      *. . . . .*. . .****** *      *       * ******** . . . . . . . *. . *. . .*. . .****  . .*  *
                 *. .     *. . . . .*. ****       *      *       *        ******* . . . . *. . *. . .*. .**    * . .*  *
                *. .     *.        *  *          *      *       *         *****  ***     * . . *. . .*. *.*     *. .*  *
                *. .    *.     *******           *      *       *         *****   * ***  * . .* . . *. * . *     * .*  *
               *. .     *. ****   *             *      *        *        *****    *    *** . .* . . *.*. . **     *.*  *
               *. . .  *.**      *           ***********************     *****   *      *. . .* . . ** . . * *     **  *
              *. . .  ***      * ************        *  .         . ***********  *      *. . .* . . *. . . * *      *   *
              *. . . **   ********.                  *  .         .       ..   ******   *. . *. . .* . . . * *      *   *  **
             *. . .**   *********. .                 *   .       .         ..        *** . . *. .******. . * *       *  * **
             *. . *              *. .                *   ..      .         ...         * . . *.**.**.  * . * *       *  ***
            *. ********************. .               *   ..         .      ...         * . . **. .** *  *. * *       ****
           *. . .*****.           *. . .             *   ..         .       ...       *. . .*. . * * *   * * *      *** *
           *. . . . . *.          **. . .            *    ..        .       ...       *. . .*. .*. * *    **  *  **** **
          *. . . . . . *.         * *. . .          *     ..        .     . ...      * . . * . .*. * *     *  ****** **
         *. . . ********.         * *. . . .        *     ..        .     . ...      * .**** . * . * *     * ****** **
         *******        *.        *  *. . . .      *      ...       .     . ...     * **  * ***. . * *     **** ** **
   **************       *.        *  *. . . . .    *      ...       .     . ....    **. . *   ** . * *   **** *** **
    *********************. .      *  *. . . . .   *     .  .. .      .    . ....   *  . .*   *  *. * * ****  * * **
      * *. . *. .********. .     *    *. . . . . *       . ... .   . . .  . ....  *   . * . *    **  ****   * * **
      *  *..*. . *.  *. .*. .    *    *. . . . . *       . ... .   . . .  . ....  * . . * . *    ******   ** * **
       * ****. . *. *. . *. .    *    *. . . . . *       . ... .   . . .  . .... *  . .*. .*     *****  ** ** **
       * *  *. . *. *. . *. .   *     *. . . . *         . ... . . . . .  . ....*   . * . *    ********* * * **
       *  *  *****. *. . *. . . *      *. . . .*.        . ... . . . . .  . ....*   . * . *  ***** ***  * * * *
        * *       *.*. .  *. . *    .  *. . . * .      . . ... . . . . .  . ...*.   .*. .*.**** *  *** * * * *
        *  *      ****. . *. . *    .  *. . .*. .      . . ... . . . . .  . ..*.. . * . ****** * ****** * * *
         * *     *  * *. .*. .*.     . *.  .*. . .     . . ... . . .. .  . ..*... .*. .**** * * ** *** * * *
         * *     * * * ** *. * .     .  *. * . . .     . . ... . . .. .  . .*.... * .****  * * * * **** * *
         * *    *  * * * ****. . .   .  *.*. . . . . . . . ... . .************...*.**** . * ** * * *** * *
          * *   * *  * * **. . . .   .  ** . . . . . . . ...******  ******    ******* . .* * * * * **** *
          * *  *  * *  * **. . . . . .  *. . . . . . . .**** *  *   ******************. * *  * * * *** *
          *  * * *  * *  **. . . . ******. . . . . . ***     * *   ***********************   * * * * ***
           * **  *  * * * *. .***** *   *. . . . .***       * * **************************** * * **  **
           * **  * *  * * *. *  * * *   *. . . .**          * ***************         *********  **  **
           *  * *  *  * *  **  * * *   *. . .****          *********         ******** ********** *    *
            *** *  * *  *  *   * * *   *. .** * *      **********   ****************** **********
            ** ** *  *  *  *   * * *  *. ** * * *  ***********   ***********ISU******* **********
             * *  *  * *   *  * * *   ***  * * ************   *********************** ** *******
             * *  * *  *  *  * * *   **    * ************  ************************* ***** ****
            * *** * *  *  *  * * *   *   ************    *************************** ******* **
            * *  *  *  *  * * * *   * ************   ****************************** **********
            * ** *  *  *  * * * ************      ********************************* **********
            * * *** *  * ***************    ************************************** **********
            * * *** **************      ****************************************** *********
            ****************      ************************************************ *********
            *               ****************************************************** ********
            ********************************************************************* *********
            ********************************************************************* *********
             ******************************************************************** ****  **
             ******************************************************************** ***   ** ***
***      *****************************************************  *** ************* **     ** * ***
********      ********************************* ********** ****    *****************       ***********************    *******
               ******** ***************** ***    ******             ***** *********     *************************************
******                   **************                              ***  *******        *******************              ***
*************             ***********                 *****                *****
             ************                   ************                       *       *******            ***********       *
        ********************************************************                   ******************************************
 *********                         ***********************************          **********************
****                         ******************        **********************              ********
                   **********************            *********                       ***********
        ******************************
     ******************************                                   *************                                        **
   *****************************                      **************         ******************                    **********
***************************               ************************         **************************************************
*************************               ***************                              ****************************************
********************                                                                        ******************************
*************                 ***************************                                                  ******************
*****                                        ****************************                                               *****
                                                         **********************************                               ***
                                                                         ****************************************************
               ******************                                                   *****************************************
13
 
 
  • Date: 10 September 1981 1500-EDT (Thursday)
  • From: Mike Kazar at CMU-10A (C410MK50)
  • To: John.Jnestor at CMU-10A (N750JN23)
  • cc: Connie Gormley at CMU-10A, jfj, info-cobol
  • Re: Help!

  • Date: 10 September 1981 0418-EDT (Thursday)
  • From: John.Jnestor at CMU-10A (N750JN23)
  • To: Mike.Kazar at CMU-10A
  • Subject: Help!
  • CC: connie gormley at CMU-10A
  • Message-Id: <10Sep81 041838 JN23@CMU-10A>
  • Origin: N750JN23 at CMU-10A; 10 Sep 1981 0420-EDT

Mike, I hate to ask you this but I am desperately trying to finish writing my Master's thesis but can't stay awake. Do you really use tea intravenously? Does it work? -- John


Yes, all the time. I used to use Constant Comment loose tea, but it turns out that it is worth the expense to get the stuff in bags. The people at Mass General were starting to look at me funny when I would stop by every other day complaining about my leg (or sometimes even brain) getting numb. The first time they operated and removed a clump of tea, they gave me a look that would wilt a watermelon.

Frankly, this is only a desperation manoeuver. Iced tea got me through topology and quantum mechanics at the same time, but my hands didn't stop shaking for about three months after I was done with that term. I also spent a lot of time in the emergency room of Mass General, and on the whole, I probably lost 20% of my "extra" time in the hospital. However, I did graduate.

There are several tips about how much sugar to add to avoid glucose shock, and other random details that I don't have time to type in now. Check with me in person for the details.

Even now, I can't watch those Lipton iced tea commercials without getting a case of the shivers. -- Cheers, Mike


  • Date: 8 May 1981 14:26 edt
  • From: York.Multics at MIT-Multics (William M. York)
  • To: sipb
  • Re: Kazar's iced tea story long

Here is Kazar's own version of the iced tea story. I received as mail a month or so ago, but never got around to disseminating it. Enjoy, and keep those legends alive!

Well, here goes the canonical ice tea story. Amazingly enough, it is even true. Furthermore Bill, I think that you are an unwitting participant in it. Anyway, here goes:

First, the cast of characters:

  • Michael Kazar; the drug addict himself.
  • Alanna Connors; the addict's neighbor
  • Carol Novitsky; a neighbor from further down the hall.
  • Charles Hoffman; a naive frosh
  • The SIPB; a bunch of rumor mongers

Well, at some point during the summer before my senior year, Carol stopped by to rave about some weird new tea that she had tried that was quite high in caffeine. I have the distinct impression it was more caffeine than anything else, as a matter of fact. She said that the stuff would wake her up faster than anything she had ever tried. It was called Morning Thunder Tea. I have seen it in the supermarket even here in Pittsburgh.

I had at the time been using iced tea as my favorite source of caffeine, since it was also summertime and I have found that iced tea is also an excellent coolant. So when Carol mentioned that she found that Morning Thunder was excellent stuff, I decided to spin a tale. I said that no doubt Morning Thunder was excellent stuff and was virtually pure caffeine, but her problem was that she was taking it ORALLY. This was of course dilluting the stuff terribly. What I did, I told her, was to simply take this iced tea that I had, and shoot it up directly. Although it was quite hard on the system, it had the advantage that you could literally go for days after such a shot. It required a fair amount of sugar too, to get the right effect, since the sugar would of course help keep your blood sugar level high. Lastly, it is sometimes necessary to keep a continual flow of the stuff in, and so you would take the gallon jug of iced tea and mount it upside down above your head and keep the stuff flowing right into a vein. This could enable you to keep going for days on end without any problems, but when you finally cut off, you would crash like nobody's business.

Well, I thought that this was a perfectly worthless story, but Carol was basically eating it up. One can basically tell if one is being believed or not, and although skeptical, what I mostly saw on her face was shock, since this was clearly a pretty crazy thing to do, even by our hall's standards. "Unfortunately" Alanna was also in the room and she thought this was quite funny. Quite funny indeed is an understatement, she actually fell on the floor laughing. This gave it away to Carol, who took one look at Alanna on the floor and decided this was ridiculous.

I had, at this point stopped by the SIPB and related the above story. I do not know exactly to whom I did so, but that doesn't really matter. It included Dan Weinreb, I believ, or that is how I have come to know the rest of this, though the exact names of the people in the SIPB involved I only know from hearsay. The concept is that several months after the above story occurred, some folks on my hall (including Charles Hoffman) were eating at Colleen's. As usual, there were also several people from the SIPB there. I was not one of them. As I heard it later, Moon or someone was griping about the cold tea they had served, mumbling something about iced tea. Then Dan said that maybe they should "shoot it like Kazar". The folks at the nearby table from my hall heard this, and amazingly enough said "maybe it really happened".

Later that evening, Hoffman came back to the hall and asked me about this story: did I really shoot iced tea? Alanna was around again, but she headed straight for her room to avoid cracking up again. I was on my own. Doing my best to keep a straight face, I explained how I had given it up now since it was so incredibly damaging to the body, but that it sure did work like a charm when things were really desperate. I recommended that they not use loose tea, since it could cause massive blood clots, and that there were certain things to do with the compositoin of the stuff that were just to complex to explain, so that they should check with me before trying it out. It is not clear that he believed me. He was with someone else at the time, and I seem to recall one of them was sure that I was full of shit and the other was not exactly sure, and seemed to be wondering if indeed "that could explain it".

That's basically the story. It no doubt is somewhat twisted with time, but I still remember the looks on the people's faces, or at least I think I do.

Hoffman is probably able to tell part of it, and Carol probably knows about half of it too (though the other half). Perhaps Wechsler does too, I am not sure.


  • ACW@MIT-AI 05/08/81 21:21:25 Re: Kazar's iced tea story long
  • To: SIPB at MIT-MC

Wechsler only knows of this tale 1.5th hand. He was in his room (next door on the other side from Alanna) and heard Ms. Connors lose it completely (a sound not unlike a Bawden cackle played at double speed) and got the rest of the story later. -- Me

14
 
 

Telenet is the largest Packet Switching network, that I know of at this present time, I could waste valuable buffer space explaining what packet switching is and what its uses are ect...so for more information read "Packet Switching (tomorrow's communications today) by Roy D. Rosner. It is quite indepth and one of the books I cherish in my "legal" Telecomm library.

DEFINITION of GTE TELENET: The packet switching subsidiary of General Telephone and Electronics. It provides nationwide common user data communications via packet switching.

Information on GTE TELENET: The GTE Telenet commercial packet switched network was developed as a commercial venture of many of the same principals who developed ARPANET. GTE Telenet first became in 1979.

OPERATION: Telenets network operation and internal protocals evolved from the ARPANET experience , with additional cababilitys built into each of the switching nods. The network is mostly a ciruit bases packet switching protocol, that does meet the requirments of the CCITT X.25 protocol at the user interface. In addition, Telenet also provides customized user interfaces to meet the need of the individual users. It also provides emulation interfaces.

USER ACCESS: User access to the network is through one of the three clases of telenet central offices, such as the one in San Fran, support user access speeds up to 56k bps is a Class I. Class II offices, such as the one in Spokane,Wa provide connection speeds up to 9600 bps. Class III offices support rates up to 1200 bps, such as the one in tucson,arizona. User access can be made to Public Dialin ports, private dial in ports, or fixed ports dedicated full time for a single user. Users can implement X.25 compatable software in there host computer or they can just use the T-net provided interface processors to provide network service. Terminal Clusters can be accessed to the network very effciently by use of Telenet access controllers placed at the customers residece or business,ect..

Telenet Dialups: To find the local Telenet dialup for your area just call WATS to 800-TEL-ENET and ask them for it but remember to watch out "Every thing you do on telenet is saved on Mega tape for up to 5 years, and they have installed number identification since December 1987,

WATS TELENET DIALUPS....

  • (800) 424-9494 300/1200 BPS
  • (800) 238-0631 2400 & MPE

These wats will change in aug. 88 so if you would like the new ones leave my E-Mail on Lunitics Labs (415) 278-7421

What to do one you have your POTS dialup: Remember to do any scanning on telenet you need a POTS dialup not a WATS, the WATS dialup is mainly used for Telemail or GTE MAIL., or SPRINT HP's Call your local dial up and you should see something that says TELENET 617 18m, or whatevr...just hit a few times. and you should see something that looks like this.

@

at the "@" prompt type in NPA XXX..for now just use your area code...

like this....( this is a Network User Address or NUA)

@ 415 333

it will then either connect you, or say "Collect Connection Refused", because you have not used an NUI, more on NUI's later...

you will see one of the following:

  1. call connected ....
  2. Remote Procedure Error 11 b6
  3. Remote Procedure Error 11 e2
  4. Not Reachable 05 e6
  5. not reachable 05 db
  6. Not operating ....
  7. illegal address 03 80
  8. Busy 01 00 .....
  9. enhanced network services unavalible at this time please try again 05 d8
  10. illegal address 03 ba
  11. rejecting 00 7e
  12. illegal address 03 42
  13. remote procedure error 11 31
  14. Refused collect connection 19 00 .....
  15. not reachable 05 ed
  16. not responding 0d f0

if the call is connected you will find an interesting computer system, or whatever..

What is an NUI and how do you use it.. An NUI or Network User Id is mostly used for connecting to things that give you the "Refused collect connection" error. I always have an NUI in use when I am scanning

at the @ promt type:

@ ID USERID

it will come up with a PASS= promt, so then you enter the password I have a listing of about 80 or so NUI's and they usually dont die , so here is a few....

ID  SIMPCNOE
PASS= 071034

ID FINLAY
PASS= 004461

NUA listing of recent things Scanned by DOC telecom:

 NUA              SYSTEM TYPE            SPECIAL NOTES
--------------- -----------------------  ----------------------------------
 804 35           ?
 804 43           PRIME                    PRIMENET
 303 38           PRIME                    PRIMENET 21.0.3.C1 SL
 804 60           ?
 713 436                                   CONNECTS
 713 450                                   CONNECTS
 713 454                                   CONNECTS
 713 462                                   CONNECTS
 713 431                                   CONNECTS
 612 442         ?
 415 333         AOS/VS 7.56
 415 334         AOS/VS 7.56
 206 20          HP 3000
 206 30          HP 3000
 206 32          VAX                       MICRO VMS V4.7
 206 35                                    CONCURRECT COMPUTER CORP
 206 38          AOS/VS 7.56
 206 42          AOS/VS 7.56
 206 44          AOS/VS 7.56
 206 40          PRIME                     PRIMENET 20.2.4
 206 53                                    CONNECTS
 206 65          PRIME                     PRIMENET 20.1.1D OAD
 206 72          DIFFRENT KINDS            UNIV. OF WASHINGTON
 212 137         PRIME                     PRIMENET 21.0.3.R7.PTC.3 NY60
 909 46
 303 65                                    COMPUTER SHARING SYSTEM
 212 32                                    CIDIADVICE CENTER
 303 23          PRIME
 212 112                                   VM/370 ONLINE
 212 131                                   VM/370 ONLINE
 909 400
 909 401
 909 403
 909 404
 909 406
 909 407
 909 409
 909 502
 909 508         PRIME
 909 600
 909 615         PRIME
 909 617         PRIME
 212 20                                    "ENTER ID"
 212 21                                    "ENTER ID"
 909 810
 909 800
 909 801
 909 802
 909 805
 909 811
 909 815
 909 818
 909 819
 415 37           HP 3000
 617 622          UNIX                      MEDIA LABS...<didnt scan this>
 214 71           PRIME                     PRIMENET FB.3.3 UUCB
 212 146                                    OFFICE INFO SERVICE
 415 20                                     DIALOG
 213 35                                     MARKETRUN RESERCH AND SALES
 909 95           PRIME                     TELENET NEWS SEWRVICE
 305 22           HP 3000                   CIERRA COMPUTER
 201 25           DEC                       NJIT ELECTRONIC INFO EXCHANGE
 515 30                                     LEXIS/NEXIS
 201 67                                     WARNER BROTHERS SYSTEMS
 201 68                                     WARNER BROTHERS SYSTEMS
 212 28           OUTDIAL
 909 12           PRIME
 909 13                                     CONNECTS
 909 51                                     CONNECTS
 909 52                                     CONNECTS
 909 54                                     CONNECTS
 909 58                                     CONNECTS
 909 26           PRIME
 909 38
 909 39           PRIME
 909 49
 909 55
 909 777                                    CONNECTS
 909 65
 909 63
 909 53
 909 56
 909 60
 909 62
15
 
 

by Aaron Priven

This is a little text file for all of the novices out there like myself who have wandered in on the world of computing eager for knowledge but who have found very little. This is a table of the ASCII codes. "What? you ask? The ASCII codes? Why that's easy. 32 is space, and 33 is the exclamation point, and 34 is the double quote..." All true, except that the code starts at 0. Well, I imagine that all of you have heard of "NUL"s or null characters, and probably "NAK"s (which are used in Xmodem Checksum protocol) but what are the other mysterious codes between 0 and 32?

Well, friends, this is your opportunity to find out. Because I am going to tell you. Now don't get the idea that I have been in the computer business since 1956 and was on the committee that invented the ASCII codes. I wasn't born till 15 years after that and I got interested in computers two years ago. I simply stumbled on this very interesting table in the VisiFile manual (a very bad program marketed by the late lamented VisiCorp that came with my computer) that not only included the number and two- or three-letter mnemonic (a fancy "computerish" word for name) but what the codes were actually intended to do! (Yes, it sounds too good to be true.) So I decided to gift you all with this table.

Oh, if you think this is stealing their manual material, for one thing the ASCII codes are far from copyrighted. And VisiCorp is but a small part of data in the computer-industry's (read-only?) memory.

And heeeeeeeere's Tabley:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CODE NUMBER   MNEMONIC  WHAT THE HECK IT DOES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00            NUL       Null character (nothing)
01            SOH       Start heading
02            STX       Start of text
03            ETX       End of text
04            EOT       End transmission
05            ENQ       Enquiry
06            ACK       Acknowledge (We heard you and yes.) See NAK
07            BEL       Bell (BEEEEEEP!)
08            BS        Backspace
09            HT        Horizontal tab
10            LF        Line feed
11            VT        Vertical tab
12            FF        Form feed (clear screen)
13            CR        Carriage return (enter)
14            SO        Shift-out
15            SI        Shift-in
16            DLE       Data link escape (I don't know what this is either)
17            DC1       Device control #1(maybe they ran out of things to do?)
18            DC2       Device control #2
19            DC3       Device control #3
20            DC4       Device control #4
21            NAK       Negative acknowledge (We heard you, but no.) See ACK
22            SYN       Synchronous idle (let's sit around doing nothing)
23            ETB       End transmission blocks (whatever that means)
24            CAN       Cancel (Whoa, Nellie!)
25            EM        End medium (kill that conjurer!)
26            SS        Special sequence
27            ESC       Escape
28            FS        File separator
29            GS        Group separator
30            RS        Record separator
31            US        Unit separator
32-126        -- Normal characters --
127           DEL       Delete
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The parts in parentheses are my own little comments, or explanations. I still don't know what some of them (the codes) mean. The other thing one must remember is that these were originally for teletypes and not computers, so that way "Synchronous idle" and the "Acknowledge" family make more sense. SYN means that someone doesn't want to do anything just yet. ACK and NAK are in response to a question. ACK means "Yes, we heard you, and the answer is yes." NAK means "Yes, we heard you, but the answer is no." Presumably if the questioner recieves anything else then the questioner means "What?"

Other ones that make sense to me but might not to other people: ENQ was more than likely the thing people sent when they wanted an ACK or NAK. BEL is a bell because electronic speakers on teletypes were not common. VT probably meant "Go to the next vertical tab row" just as a normal tab means "Go to the next tab column." FF means to go to the next page; because there are no pages on a video screen it is interpreted to mean "Clear the screen." I'm not sure what SI and SO are supposed to do. I doubt if people would have bothered with other typefaces or compressed type on the old teletypes. DCx probably means they had four characters to fill so they put in something meaningless like "Device controls." "End medium" is a complete mystery to me. SS is of course for codes relating to things they hadn't thought of at the ASCII committee. FS,RS,US,and GS I should think would be for a database, but they didn't put databases on teletypes did they? And why they made DEL all the way back in the end when they could have just eliminated DC4 or something is beyond me.

Aaron Priven - If you like this text file, please send 10 cents to the above address.

Aaron Priven, 540 Sylvan Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403-3214, U.S.A.

Foriegn currency accepted!

16
 
 

It seems as if everyone who gets a modem and calls bulletin boards toys with the idea of running his own BBS at some time. The plain truth is that bulletin boards come and go with alarming regularity. A few stick around, but for every one that reaches its second birthday, five will appear and vanish. Here are a few simple tips to insure that your effort at running at bulletin board places you in the majority.

PINCH PENNIES - You spent thousands on a computer. It's silly to spend more than $1.98 for a BBS program. You might even find one for free. After all, if cheap is good, free must be better. Be sure to shop for a rock-bottom price on a modem, too. It doesn't matter if no one ever heard of that brand before...they will before you are through.

SCHIZOPHRENIA IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY - Keep 'em guessing. Try at least a dozen different BBS program...after you officially open your system. That will keep the callers on their toes. You wouldn't want to be predictable. Change things around constant- ly...menus, screens, the flow from section to section. You really don't like it when callers use logon scripts anyway.

SPEAKING OF BEING PREDICTABLE - Make your board part time. Change the hours frequently. Part of the adventure of calling a BBS is finding out what hours it operates. Pick strange ones: noon to 3 pm Tuesday and Thursday, 6 am to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Midnight to 6 am weekends, except national holidays and the third Tuesday in September.

DON'T WASTE MONEY ON A SECOND PHONE LINE - You don't need it for a part time board. You meet such interesting people who call at 3 a.m. looking for a modem tone. You did want to meet interest- ing people, didn't you?

TAKE THE BBS DOWN WHENEVER THE NOTION STRIKES YOU - After all, it is your computer. So what if you want to play Tetris at 8 pm. The callers can just listen to a busy signal for a while.

BE RUDE TO YOUR CALLERS - They're all schmucks who don't know anything. You don't have to be polite to them. Do your best Don Rickles imitation when they ask questions. Call them names and make fun of them because they don't know all about protocols and modems and such. After all, you know everything about them... don't you? Dump them in mid-call because they take too long to read the menus and messages...or just because you want to use the computer.

MAKE IT A DELIGHTFUL MAZE - Make your menus so complex that a PhD couldn't find his way around your BBS. Hide the files in obscure corners and give the commands strange names. While you're at it, build in some "black holes" to really confound the users. Then complain bitterly if people just hang up instead of logging off properly.

Follow these simple rules and I can guarantee you will join the vast majority of BBSs that fade into the sunset within months or even weeks of starting up. Now, obviously, these are not serious tips. Quite the opposite is true. There is much more to running a BBS than just slapping a program and a modem on your computer and waiting for the phone to ring. Let's look instead at some positive suggestions to help make your efforts successful.

IT PAYS TO BUY QUALITY - Ever wondered why that free software is free? Could it be because it is so bad the author couldn't get anyone to pay for it? How about that generic, "bargain" modem. Why is it so cheap? Old technology? Inferior parts? Poor workmanship? Want to bet on how long it will last? Good soft- ware can make the difference between a dream and a nightmare when it comes to being a SysOp. Same thing for reliable hardware. You DID spend thousands for the computer...so spend a hundred or so for decent, reliable software and protect that investment. It won't do much for the reputation of a new BBS if it is constantly off-line for various malfunctions.

CHANGE IS OK, BUT IT MUST BE FOR A REASON - Callers like change, but they also like the familiar. Make changes slowly and delib- erately. If radical changes are unavoidable, warn your callers ahead of time. Make sure you are truly ready before you open your system to the world. Callers get discouraged when they have to log in as new users 4 times in 4 weeks because you keep exper- imenting with new programs. Most of them won't complain, they'll just quit calling.

KEEP IT SIMPLE - Incredibly complex BBSs appeal mostly to the "hacker" types. Are these the people you want on your computer? Most folks want a BBS that is simple and logical, with commands that make sense and are easily remembered. That still leaves plenty of room for creativity and originality.

BE ORIGINAL - OK, you have your brand new BBS up. It's plain, vanilla RBBS software, right out of the distribution files. They even had those neat screens and menus in there all ready to go. Now you sit back and wait for the callers to ooh and aah over your lovely system. Don't hold your breath. Everyone got tired of those screens long ago. Come up with something fresh. Call distant BBSs and get ideas. Don't steal whole screens intact unless the SysOp has packaged them for distribution. Even then, make a few changes to make them your very own. This is one of the best ways to demonstrate to callers that there really is something special about your BBS.

SHOULD YOUR BBS HAVE A "THEME?" - Maybe. That's the best answer I can give. Some theme and special purpose BBSs are very suc- cessful, but the world probably doesn't need another BBS based on Dungeons & Dragons. If you are going to give your system a theme, make sure it is one that will be interesting to most callers.

GIVE THE CALLERS WHAT THEY WANT - within reason. Listen to what your users have to say about the system. ASK them what they like and don't like. If the majority of them hate a particular fea- ture, get rid of it. If most of them want something you don't have, try to get it. Remember, they have choices. There are plenty of other modems out there waiting to answer the phone.

MAKE IT AVAILABLE AS ADVERTISED - part time boards rarely suc- ceed. Some stay around through sheer inertia...just because it's too much trouble to take them down. Hardly anyone calls these boards for long...especially if the operating hours are bizarre and irregular. If it must be part time, make it regular. 24 hours is always best. Frankly, if you can't make the commitment to a separate phone line, you really aren't ready to run a BBS. The same goes for using the computer yourself...you promised it would be available at certain hours. Unless there is a real emergency, you aren't living up to a commitment unless you have it on-line for the promised hours.

TREAT YOUR CALLERS LIKE FRIENDS AND WELCOME GUESTS - After all, YOU invited these people into your home! It's true, some callers are brainless twits. There have always been people like that and there always will be. But remember, for every jerk that calls, there are 9 or 10 really nice, interesting people. Concentrate on the good folks and ignore the clowns...sooner or later they will get tired and go away.

THINK ABOUT THE KIND OF BBS YOU LIKE TO CALL - Your callers probably like the same things. Analyze the other BBSs you call. What do you like about each? What do you dislike? Do you feel welcome on some and like an intruder on others? Why? How will someone else feel after calling your board? Will they want to call again?

HAVE PATIENCE - Be patient while your BBS builds a following with the callers. It may take months before the traffic is at the level you anticipated. Be patient too with inexperienced users. Help them learn instead of harassing them. Did you appreciate sarcasm and wisecracks when you asked "dumb" questions as a beginner? Everyone is a beginner sometime.

Keep these tips in mind and you will find that your BBS grows and succeeds while countless others come and go. Why? Because you treat callers with respect and consideration! Because you make them feel welcome. Because you really care about what they like and dislike. Because you put yourself in their place and look at the situation as they do.

Does all of this sound like a lot of work? You're right. It takes a lot of effort to run a popular and successful BBS. But the rewards of meeting new people, making new friends, seeing other points of view, make it all worthwhile.

17
 
 

by The Mentor on 1/8/86

Another one got caught today, It's all over the papers. "Teenager Arrested in Computer Crime Scandal", "Hacker arrested after Bank Tampering"... Damn kids. They're all alike.

But did you, in your three-piece psychology and 1950's technobrain, ever take a look behind the eyes of a hacker? did you ever wonder what made him tick, what forces shaped him, what may have molded him?

I am a hacker. Enter my world. Mine is a world that begins with school... I'm smarter than most of the other kids, this crap they teach us bores me... Come on... Ain't Got All Day!! Damn underachiever. They're all alike.

I'm in junior high or high school. I've listened to the teachers explain for the fifteenth time how to reduce a fraction. I understand it. "No Ms. Smith, I didn't show my work. I did it in my head..." Damn kid. Probably copied it. They're all alike.

I made a discovery today. I found a computer. Wait a xecond, this is cool. It does what I want it to. if it makes a mistake, it's because I screwed it up. Not Because it doesn't like me... Or feels threatend by me... Or thinks I'm a smart ass... Or doesn't like teaching and shouldn't be here... Damn kid. All he does is play games. They're all alike.

And then it happened... a door opened to a world... rushing through the phone line like junk through an addict's veins, an electronic impulse is sent out, a refuge from the day-to-day incompetencies is sought... a board is found. "this is it... this is wwhere I belong..."

I know everyone herre... even if I've never met them, never talked to them, may never hear from them again... I know you all... Damn kid. tying up the phone line again. They're all alike... Come on... Ain't Got All Day!!

You bet your ass we're all alike... we've been spoon-fed baby food at school when we hungered for steak... the bits of meat that you did let slip through were prechewed and tasteless. We've been dominated by sadist, or ignored by the apathetic. The few that had something to teach us found us willing pupils, but those few are like drops of water in the desert.

This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons, and you call us criminals. we explore... and you call us criminals. We seek after knoledge... and you call us criminals. We exist without skin color, without nationality, without religous bias... and you call us criminals. You build atomic bombs, you wage wars, you murder, cheat, and lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals.

Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not what they look like. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me for. Come on... Ain't Got All Day!!

I am a hacker, and this is my manifesto. You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all... after all, we're all alike. +++The Mentor+++ Racketeers

In deference to the author, I've not changed any of his punctuation. I have put a space between each paragraph for easier reading. I hope no one will take a fence in my doings. I found this letter in "The newsletter #33" A publication of The Denver Gamers Association. I will not sign this letter because my name is known little and I will like it to stay that way.

18
1
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by BADROBOT@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/textfiles@lemmy.dbzer0.com
 
 
  1. Never admit you have no idea what you're talking about.
  2. Never have a good word to say about anyone else but yourself.
  3. Join every group that will let you join. After a few weeks have passed, quit & claim they aren't good enough to merit your prescence.
  4. Always shift the blame to someone else. "It's not my fault" should become 2nd nature to you.
  5. Always have nasty things to say about your so called friends behind their backs.
  6. Hate as many people as possible.
  7. Start as many rag wars as humanly possible. When your up against intelligent people (As on Adventurers Tavern, 1982-1986. RIP), and losing your end of the war. Say "This is stupid and childish, even if I did start it", and stop posting.
  8. When someone becomes pushy and openly challenges your lack of knowledge about something. Say "I know the answer, but you're not elite enough, so I can't tell you".
  9. If anyone still dares to question you then threaten them with tough things like getting someone to turn their phones off, or charge 10 billion toilets on their mothers credit card. (It doesn't matter whether or not you actually know how to do this, or know anyone else who will do it for you. This is a favorite tactic of ELITE!@ phreak groups like L0D!!@#1!.) If all else fails began chanting "Cable throw, Cable throw, Cable throw" or if you are a pirate: make a fright- ening rag page on them in your next Copya crack. [Warning: Be sure to only use this on a fellow ELITE!@#1! phreak, pirate or equivalent ignorant person. Anyone else will laugh at you & tell you to fuck off. Only adding to the questioning of your massive eliteness.]
  10. Make as big a fool of yourself as is possible. Display your ignorance and stupidity in a manner that will make itself noticible to the modem community at large. If you are a aspiring elite pirate, get your name on as many copya cracks as fast as possible. Or if you are a up and coming elite phreak, start up your own little world (or join someone else who has already done this, such as LOD), refuse to see anyones viewpoint but your own, & declare yourselves mega-elite.

Remember: When in doubt, repeat to yourself the sacred chant: "I am elite, I can't be wrong, I am elite, I am always right and know everything", repeat until your confidense is restored (Humming, or accompanyment by a choir, is optional).

Also be certain to rag on anyone who displays any kind of knowledge about anything, and is not currently ELITE!@# If he's not elite, he can't be right. After all, everyone in the universe cares about the "elite hierarchy!", its what makes the world go around!@#21!!!!

[National Enlightener!]

  • 4 yr. old boy is the anti-christ.
  • Robert Woodhead (Co-Author of Wizardry for the Apple) suggests that all pirates be flogged to death, and recommends that their parents use birth control next time.
  • Aliens from the planet z0d abduct Mrs. Glop, force her to participate in a heated 56 way orgy, then dump her into her backyard.
  • King Blotto talks to newsweek for the 93rd time in 2 weeks. Ms. Blarf the secretary finally tells him the shattering truth that they don't care anymore. Blotto is now sending his up to the minute exposes' to Young Miss magazine & Bingo news around the world.
  • 19 yr. old boy goes on a spree and kills 98. When questioned by authorities, his response: "I was bored"
  • Lord Digital & Mr. Xerox buy an island in the carribean and found a new religion, with themselves declared as the gods. Prospective initiates must prove their worth by boot tracing a protected copy of 1 of the Phantom Access disks, while making AUM sounds & signing away all their wordly wealth.
  • Water is a deadly toxin. Report on page 938.
  • Group of NJ wiz kids use mental telepathy and a micromodem to re-arrange the orbit of US. Satelites. "I've never seen nothin' like it" declares computer authority, Sheriff Ima Fool. The U.S.S.R. expresses interest in hiring the offenders.
  • Is your dog really an alien from outer space? take the quiz on page 437 and find out.
  • Conference on piracy and it's effects on computer companies. Part 11932 of an ongoing tirade of threats, suggest ions, counter-threats, and all around stupidity. [Sorry this story has been cancelled since our ex-reporter fell asleep during the opening comments.]
  • Are YOU really an alien from outer space? take the quiz on page 438 and find out.
  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
  $ Betty Crocker Home Cooking Book 1 $
  $$$$$$=> Typed By Lex Luthor <=$$$$$$
  $=> Copied From BC Home Cooking 1 <=$
  $$$$$$$$$$=> Uploaded by <=$$$$$$$$$$
  $                                   $
  $$$$$$$$$$=> Lex Luthor! <=$$$$$$$$$$
  $$$$$=> & The Legion of Doom! <=$$$$$
  $L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$L0D$
  $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Buy land on Alpha Centuri. Avoid the rush on this soon to be, prime real estate. Details on page 230.

All this and much much more! only in: [ELITE NEWS WEEKLY!]

"I can't be wrong... I'm elite!"

We gratefully acknowledge all mentioned parties, for being the way they are. & express our most sincere apologies to Young Miss (TM) magazine, for having the audacity to suggest they would stoop so low, as to printing commentary from King Blotoe.


Editor Note: It should be obvious this is satirical text, dont take it seriously ^_^ LOL

19
 
 

To all who dare --

What is a BLACK BOX? A BLACK BOX is a device that is hooked up to your fone that fixes your fone so that when you get a call, the caller doesn't get charged for the call. This is good for calls up to 1/2 hour, after 1/2 hour the Fone Co. gets suspicious, and then you can guess what happens.

What this little beauty does is keep the line voltage from dropping to 10v when you answer your fone. The line is insted kept at 36v and it will make the fone think that it is still ringing while your talking. The reason for the 1/2 hour time limit is that the Fone CO. thinks that something is wrong after 1/2 an hour of ringing.

All parts are available Radio Shack. Using the least possible parts and arangement, the cost is $0.98 !!!! And that is parts for two of them! Talk about a deal! If you want to splurge then you can get a small PC board, and a switch. There are two schematics for this box, one is for most normal fones. The second one is for fones that don't work with the first. It was made for use with a Bell Trimline touch tone fone.

Schematic 1 for most fones LED ON: BOX ON

FROM >--------------------GREEN->  TO
LINE >--!   1.8k  LED  !---RED--> FONE
        !--/\/\/\--!>--!
        !              !
        ------>/<-------
              SPST

Parts:

  • 1 1.8k 1/2 watt resistor
  • 1 1.5v LED
  • 1 SPST switch

You may just have two wires which you connect together for the switch.

Schematic 2 for all fones LED ON: BOX OFF

FROM >---------------GREEN->  TO
LINE >-------      ---RED--> FONE
            !  LED !
         -->/<--!>--
         !         !
         ---/\/\/---
             1.8k

Parts:

  • 1 2 watt resistor
  • 1 1.5v LED
  • 1 DPST switch

Here is the PC board layout that I recommend using. It is neat and is very easy to hook up.

   Schematic #1        Schematic #2

  **************     ****************
  *            *     *  -------     *
  * --<LED>--- *     *  !     !     *
  * !        ! *     *  ! <SWITCH>  *
  * RESISTOR ! *     *  ! !      !  *
  *        ! ! *     *  ! !      /  *
  * -------- ! *     *  ! !      \  *
  * !        ! *     *  ! <LED>! /  *
  * --SWITCH-- *     *  !      ! \  *
  *  !      !  *     *  !      ! /  *
L *  !      !  * F L *  !      ! !  * F
I>RED-      -RED>O I>RED-      ---RED>O
N>-----GREEN---->N N>-----GREEN------>N
E * h          * E E *              * E
  **************     ****************

Once you have hooked up all the parts, you must figure out what set of wires go to the line and which go to the fone. This is because of the fact that LED's must be put in, in a certain direction. Depending on which way you put the LED is what controls what wires are for the line & fone.

How to find out: Hook up the box in one direction using one set offor line and the other for fone.

  • NOTE For Model I switch should be OFF.
  • NOTE For Model ][ switch should be set to side connecting the led.

Once you have hooked it up, then pick up the fone and see if the LED is on. If it is, the LED will be lit. If is doesn't light then switch the wires and try again. Once you know which are which then label them. NOTE - If neither directions worked then your lable the switch in its current position as BOX ON.

How to use it: The purpose of this box is not to poeple who call you so it would make sence that it can only be used to receive! calls. When the box is ON then you may only recieve calls. Your fone will ring like normal and the LED on the box will flash. If you answer the fone now, then the LED will light and the caller will not be charged. Hang up the fone after you are done talking like normal. You will not be able to get a dial-tone or call when the box is on, so turn the box OFF for normal calls. I don't recommend that you leave it on all the time, as you don't want it to answer when Ma Bell calls!

20
 
 

First off, I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I cannot be objective in these notes. These are observations, but they are from;

  1. A Sysop
  2. A user of 8BBS, the greatest BBS ever evolved.
  3. A boy ... who's become a boyish programmer.
  4. An old timer....1977 was when I first started using BBS systems.
  5. The author of a BBS system.

If you're expecting objectivity, then don't bother reading on. I have a rather unique perspective on the entire BBS scene. I've been around since close to the beginning, and I'm wondering what has happened. Have BBS's gone the way of CB? Is the entire system in a slump? Is there anything wrong at all?

I'm going to try to present these questions and show how things have changed...for the better, and for the worst.

HISTORY: A long time ago, in a city far-far away, two men had an insight. Ward Christensen and Randy Suess wanted a way to leave notes and messages to their programmer/engineer friends. Back then, modems were used by field-engineers and some high-level executives to talk to their companies computers. A 300 baud modem was extremely fast, as most people were using 110 baud TeleTypes. Ward and Randy devloped the concept of the BBS. They called it CBBS, for "Computer Bulletin Board System." CBBS was the first of its kind. It was an enormous program written in 8080 assmebly language. By our standards today, it was kludgy and bug-ridden, but back then it was heavenly. Users could enter messages and read messages... that was about it.

CBBS was a wonderful concept, but it was localized to the Chicago area. Ward and Randy were the only ones who were running the program. Then Bill Blue came along and wrote ABBS, which was designed to "emulate" the CBBS system. I feel it was ABBS, rather than CBBS which made the real breakthrough. While ABBS was much less powerful, and more difficult to use, it could be run on a "universal" machine: --The Apple ][--

Anyone with an Apple ][ and a D.C. Hayes MM][ modem could run ABBS. This program could be installed in a matter of minutes, and anyone could have their own bulletin board system. Soon after the release of ABBS, several other BBS programs (for various computers) soon followed. ABBS was the king for many years, just because there were more ABBS systems than any other BBS program available.

It is this time that I would like to refer to as the "Golden age of the BBS." It wasn't as golden as you might think. Most Sysops would come home every evening from work to find that their BBS had crashed because of yet another bug. Even back then, user's logged in under false names and left obscene messages.

The one point that made that age golden was the users. Without users, a BBS is just a program. With users, it gains a personality, and if I may be metaphysical, a soul. The users MAKE the BBS. A Sysop may have the greatest BBS program in the world, but without active users, he just has a computer wasting line-current.

LIFE IN THE "GOLDEN AGE":

  • A user would think nothing of spending his Saturday helping "The Sysop" find an intermittant bug in the BBS program.
  • A user would not only answer his or HER mail, but also butt into other people's conversations and throw in his/her two cents worth.
  • A user would suggest improvements to make the system easier to use.
  • A Sysop would care for his BBS like a baby. He'd spend 2 hours each night writing messages and playing with modifications to the program.
  • A Sysop would NOT restrict conversation to one particular topic...such as CP/M software.
  • A Sysop would tolerate kids who were just learning how to use modems. He'd even give them a hand getting things working.
  • A Sysop would [on his own preference] dilligently weed out obscene or "pseudo-illegal" messages, -- or -- promote them as he saw fit.
  • Users would start clubs, such as the well known "Gabber Gang" and later the infamous "Phone Phriekers" who figured so prominently into BBS history.
  • The government didn't try to restrict BBS users. It was just "us" against tyranny (at that time "Ma Bell"). Although most users did not approve of "Phone Phrieking", everyone talked about it, and was interested in it for curiosity sake if nothing else. [Hard to believe, but true.]
  • Uploading and downloading of programs did not exist.
  • BBS's were few and far between. When I wrote the OxGate, the two closest other CP/M based machines were Kelly Smith in Simi Valley (375 miles away), and "Jim C" in Larkspur (100 miles away). People tended to congregate on the local system.

WHAT HAS KILLED BBS SYSTEMS:

  1. Program uploading and downloading. People just get their programs and leave.
  2. The technical clique's retaliation against "gabbers" who just used the systems for personal communication.
  3. Too many BBS systems in one area. BBS's are still alive and healthy in low-density areas.
  4. The loss of "anonimity" among BBS users. The BBS used to be the place to escape. Where no one had to be "themselves." Users such as "James Bond" and "Captain Scarlet" were given free reign to vent their fantasies. Today, most systems do not allow false names so they can keep track of users.
  5. The anti-hacker movement. More and more people today think the word "hacker" means "phone phriek/computer crasher." All it ever meant was "great programmer." You would feel proud if someone labeled you a "hacker."
  6. The press' ignorance of the BBS community. By trying to make a scandal out of all of it, they ruined a great form of communication. In particular, the magazine "InfoWorld" has done more harm to the BBS community than other press organization. While they actively TRIED to HELP the community, they have caused more harm in their mis-reporting of info.
  7. Sysop's ignorance. Quite frankly, the average quality of "Sysop" has dropped. Sysop's are (on the whole) less active and less responsive than 5 years ago. More and more of them are technically incompetent, they couldn't fix a bug if it bit them in the nose.

All of these problems are inter-related. We can't solve any of them until all of them are solved. From my descriptions it should be obvious that the "golden age" certainly wasn't all gold. People like "James Bond" and "Sam Daniels" had to be stopped, but the pendulum has swung too far to the opposite side.

These observations are very general. I've noticed this swing, and it has taken place on 95% of all of the system's I've called across America. It's sad that these problems have stabbed us in the back, but it's not too late to try and bring about a change. I don't have the answers, but maybe these observations will prompt thought into this death of a virtual "art form" of communication.

There is one possible solution to this problem... the acceptance of children again. For too long we've been kicking off kids (both phyiscal and "kids at heart"). They've been disruptive, and caused fights galore. Many have even tried to crash the systems they used.

"If there's any hope, it lies with the proles." -- George Orwell, 1984

Perhaps the thing to do is call a few local Commodore and Apple boards and let the users know that they're just as welcome on your super-fancy 100mb 2400 baud RCP/M system as any of your so- called "serious users" . . . "serious users" who can't even bring themselves to answer their own mail. Saddening.