Hacker Chronicles 2 (Alt)/The_Hacker_Chronicles_Volume_II-CD1.iso/cud3/cud308b.txt

Text File | 1992-08-18 | 6.9 KB | 143 lines

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From: Ah, Sordid
Subject: From the Mailbag
Date: March 12, 1991

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***  CuD #3.08: File 2 of 6: From the Mailbag                    ***
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Subject: SWBell PUC ruling a bad precedent.
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 91 16:11:22 CST
From: [e-mail] (Peter da Silva)

> From: Visualize Whirled Peas <[e-mail]>
> Subject: Sounds good... court ruling on BBS in SW Bell

The associated ruling is *not* a good precedent for future cases or law,
because it establishes that the phone company can charge based on the type
of information shipped over a phone line, rather than on the usage
patterns, whether the customer is running a business, or one of the
established bases for discriminating between customers.

With the phone companies trying to get into the information provider
business this is a bad precedent indeed. I understand that Hirsch and co
had other concerns, but we're all going to have to watch the various PUCs
like a hawk for references to this. Don't let it become an accepted
practice, or the future may see BBSes charged out of existence while the
phone companies push videotext services like Prodigy or SWBell's
"Sourceline".
--
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  [e-mail]
[phone].  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"

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From:        [e-mail]
Subject:     Re: QUick quesiton
Date:        09 Mar 91  13:04:32 gmt

Hi, I'm a 2nd year postgrad doing a PhD on the rise of the computer
security industry, system break-ins, browsing and viruses.

1. Would any of you be prepared to answer a questionnaire with the
possibility of a more in-depth e-mail discussion if you are amenable to it?

2. Is there anyone out there in The Netherlands or Germany who would be
prepared to brave a face-to-face interview with me. I was planning to go to
those countries in 3-4 weeks time  and possibly again in the summer.
Obviously, I would also be keen to interview anyone in the U.K. at any
time.

ALL RESPONSES ETC. WILL BE TREATED WITH THE UTMOST CONFIDENCE AND ANY
FINDINGS WILL ONLY BE USED FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES AND NEVER WITHOUT THE
PRIOR CONSENT OF THE SUBJECT. I CAN SUPPLY BONA FIDES OF MY ACADEMIC STATUS
IF REQUESTED.

Thanks very much in advance,

Paul A. Taylor Department of Politics, Edinburgh University.

P.S. I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO *BOTH* SIDES OF THE SECURITY DEBATE.

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From: [e-mail]
Subject: Civil Disobedience" and Freedom in the 90's
Date: Sun, 20 Jan 91 19:54:47 CST

Our freedoms today  are being rapidly  eaten up.   The RICO laws and
Operation Sundevil are examples of this.  Eric Postpischil
([e-mail])  has  written  a  very good article  giving
examples of  our  rights and  how  the government is observing them  in this
the 200th  anniversary of the Bill of Rights.

But I will not  dwell on what is  going wrong; I  think that many of you
already know that we live in a  near-police state and those of  you who
don't  are quite the  optimists.  Many people  are complaining  about these
rights and  their loss, yet no one seems to be doing anything.  On the
RipCo, I was commended for  my bravery for writing  a letter to  my Senator.
There is nothing brave about this.  What is  brave is actively protesting,
such  as  those who  are  currently protesting the War in Iraq, or, even
more brave, those  who are trying to make their views on abortion known,
from lying in the paths of potential  abortions, to simply marching on the
capitol.

We in  the Electronic  Frontier  have no  such  people.  Most people in the
Electronic  Frontier are people who  WANT something done, but are  not
willing to  go about doing  it.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a
prime example.   The EFF has  done quite  a  bit for  Freedom in  the
Electronic Frontier, but it is just waiting, waiting for change to come
about slowly by  petitioning the legislator.   This is  very slow, and by
the time that works, it will be out of date.  I had thought that  what the
EFF was doing  was good  enough, until I read  "Civil Disobedience" by Henry
David  Thoreau.  Then I realized that more must be done.  One person can
make a difference, and we are many.  We do not have to wait until we
convince the majority, says Thoreau, all we have to do is do what we feel is
right, and change will come about.

Thoreau,  because  he  did  not  want  to  pledge   his allegiance to the
State,  did not pay his  poll tax for  six years.  He did  not like the
actions  of the government,  so therefore did not want to support them with
his money.  (The actions at  that time  were  the Mexican-American  War, and
slavery.)   He  did not  wait  until his  petitions  to  his legislators
were   answered,  they   are  sluggish.      He constituted a "majority of
one."

Something must be done to protect our freedoms in  this nation.  We have  a
great code  in our Bill  of Rights.   We must protect that.  That  is our
obligation as citizens  and patriots.  Current actions are  very slow, and
more MUST  be done.

"Civil Disobedience" can be obtained at the CuD archive at
[e-mail],  ftp.cs.widener.edu, or  by archive  server at
[e-mail].  Read it.

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From: Rambo Pacifist
Subject: Computers, Movies, Media, and Madness
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 91 21:28:21 PST

Bob Izenberg's summary of bad computer flix reminded of a few others. Who
can forget that giant system in the tv show The Prisoner? Anybody ever see
that system, that probably didn't have the capacity of a 386 s/x, actually
DO anything? And what about the computer banks in all those B-movies? Lots
of lights with some poor schlub sitting in front of them--what are all
those lights for? They're all designed alike. Wonder if AT&T owns the
proprietary source code for the set design.  There is a merciful god,
because I've forgotten the name of the flick where the computer falls in
love with some kid and tries to subvert his romance with a real-life
bimbette who prances around with mindless dialogue and rice-pudding for
brains--the sad thing is, it's not intended to be so mindless.  And anybody
remember the Lost in Space computer? But my favorite all time computer is
from Bad Science--I'm typing this during a thunder storm hoping something
will get zapped and it will clone another Rachel Ward. With my luck, tho,
I'd get a coupla' Unix.

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