F I D O N E W S -- Vol.11 No.22 (30-May-1994) +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | A newsletter of the | ISSN 1198-4589 | | FidoNet BBS community | Published by: | | _ | | | / \ | "FidoNews" BBS | | /|oo \ | +1-519-570-4176 1:1/23 | | (_| /_) | | | _`@/_ \ _ | Editors: | | | | \ \\ | Sylvia Maxwell 1:221/194 | | | (*) | \ )) | Donald Tees 1:221/192 | | |__U__| / \// | Tim Pozar 1:125/555 | | _//|| _\ / | | | (_/(_|(____/ | | | (jm) | Newspapers should have no friends. | | | -- JOSEPH PULITZER | +----------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Submission address: editors 1:1/23 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Internet addresses: | | | | Sylvia -- max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Donald -- donald@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | | Tim -- pozar@kumr.lns.com | | Both Don & Sylvia (submission address) | | editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | For information, copyrights, article submissions, | | obtaining copies and other boring but important details, | | please refer to the end of this file. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== 1. Editorial..................................................... 2 2. Articles...................................................... 2 BOP(rocedures version 1.05) - NOTICE OF VOTE................ 2 Proposal for shrinking the nodelist......................... 4 Eeek! They're after me!.................................... 4 Practice Random Kindness & Senseless Acts of Beauty......... 6 AIRGUN Echo Enters Zone 2!.................................. 8 NEW Handyman Echo!.......................................... 8 GRAPHICAL_BBS............................................... 9 MooseChat: Canada's Noblest Chat Echo!...................... 10 FidoNews.................................................... 11 Dear Madam Emilia........................................... 12 HACK - Hackers on Planet Earth!............................. 13 POLICING THE NEW MEDIA --................................... 15 3. Fidonews Information.......................................... 22 FidoNews 11-22 Page: 2 30 May 1994 ======================================================================== Editorial ======================================================================== The hotly debated BOP5 is coming up for a vote! This should be interesting. The fidonet node# for Paradox where BBS-PR15.zip can be found is 1:3822/1. BBS-PR15.zip is the Public Relations for Sysops file which is being re-written as indicated in our last snooze. Some of you have expressed concern that FidoNews is being over-run by internet stuff. Personally, i don't see it that way. Lots of FidoNet people are internet users. Some "internet" issues, especially legal issues relating to privacy, encryption, and censorship are also FidoNet issues. Lots of legal and political systems have not yet developed methods for applying definitions of things like "press bans" to computer net communications, so our response to fledgeling interactions between nets and social institutions wanting to cope with us are important. It might be nice if legal systems would continue to ignore BBS's, but they won't. Sometimes FidoNet users send articles with only their internet-style address attatched. I wish articles would be submitted with writers' Fidonet addresses attached where applicable, so FidoNetters can easily respond to writers. For any lovers of small fuzzies, Squish the cat is awaiting her new pussy playmate, to be named "Puppy". Puppy is only small and very cute. Sure, it is perverse to name a kitten "puppy". Oh well. ======================================================================== Articles ======================================================================== BOP(rocedures version 1.05) - NOTICE OF VOTE by Adrian Walker 1:153/752 ============== NOTICE OF VOTE ============== During March and April 1994, a draft revision of Backbone Operating Procedures (BOP) was prepared, and named version 1.05. On 6 May 1994, BOP_105.ARC was distributed in the BACKBONE files area, and discussion initiated amongst the RECs, and in the ZEC echo. Several amendments were included as a result of these discussions. The current revision on which the votes are being cast is BOP_105.015, dated 14 May 1994, again distributed as BOP_105.ARC in the BACKBONE files area. Paragraph 6 of the current Backbone Operating Procedure (BOP_103.TXT FidoNews 11-22 Page: 3 30 May 1994 dated 14 October 1991) details the revision process as follows: 6.0 Changes to this Document ============================= A change to this document may be proposed by any REC. Anyone else desiring to propose a change should find a REC who is willing to sponsor their proposal. If a second REC concurs with a proposal, the proposed change is voted on by all of the RECs. Notice of such a vote is posted both in the REC conference and in FidoNews, at least 14 days prior to the start of the voting period. The RECs are expected to assess the opinions of the members of their regions, and to vote accordingly. The voting period is 7 days. More than 50 percent of those voting must vote for a change for it to be accepted. On 9 May, it was moved by Adrian Walker (REC 17 - 1:153/752), that the proposed revision be put forward for voting by the RECs of Zone 1. On the same day, this motion was seconded by Bruce Bodger (REC 19 - 1:170/400). As a result, the proposed change must now be voted on by all the Zone 1 RECs. This notice of vote is also being posted in the REC echo. A VOTE OF ALL ZONE 1 REGIONAL ECHOMAIL COORDINATORS WILL BE HELD STARTING ON WEDNESDAY 15 JUNE 1994 AT 0000 UTC, AND ENDING ON 22 JUNE 1994 AT 0000 UTC. Votes will be cast by echomail message in the REC echo, by each of the Region Echomail Coordinators of Zone 1 as listed in the 1:1/21x entries of NODELIST.161 (10 June 1994) with "YES" or "NO" to the following statement: "I APPROVE OF THE REVISIONS TO BACKBONE OPERATING PROCEDURES AS SHOWN IN BOP_105.015, DATED 14 MAY 1994" ---OOO000OOO--- FidoNews 11-22 Page: 4 30 May 1994 Proposal for shrinking the nodelist By Coridon Henshaw of 1:250/820 After reading the articals in the previous Fidonews on the size of the nodelist and network stagnation, I decided to make a futile jesture by attempting to do something about it. The nodelist.126 is 2.6 megs in size. Come on people, that's utterly rediculus! What's even worse is the fact that a good portion of the wasted space in the 'list is inaproprate usage of flags. I prepose that all the standard flags be replaced with a small set of system condition and modem type flags. Modem flags: 2400 bps capability is implied by any high-speed flags. 96S Generic V32/V42B modem; no extra protocols 96H HST 9.6K + v32 + v42b 96C CompuCom 9.6K 14S Generic V32B/V42B modem; no extra protocols 14H HST 14.4K + HST 9.6K + v32B + v42b 16H HST 16.8K + HST 14.4K + v32b + v42b 16Z ZyXEL 16.8K + v32b + v42b 19H HST 19.2 + HST 16.8 + v32b + v42b 19Z ZyXEL 19.2K + ZyXEL 16.8K + v32b + v42b 28T V.32Terbo + v32b + v42b 28TH V.32Terbo + v32b + v42b + All HST protocols 28TZ V.32Terbo + v32b + v42b + All ZyXEL protocols FS V.fast + v32b + v42b FH V.fast + v32b + v42b + All HST protocols FZ V.fast + v32b + v42b + All ZyXEL protocols System flags: NCM System does not accept mail 24 hours a day H00001111 System oprating hours (UTC/GMT) 0000 = start, 1111=end L Listed nodes only M Mail only XA-XX [Maintains current meaning] Uxxx [Banned] Sure, this would break almost all software that uses the nodelist that was ever writen, but IMO, the net has been sitting still for way to long. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Eeek! They're after me! Love and war in Fidoland by Gary Gilmore FidoNews 11-22 Page: 5 30 May 1994 FidoNet 1:2410/10 & 1:2410/400 Well, I see someone has noticed the new proposed BOP. (Backbone Operating Proceedures) Someone named Steve Winter. Oh, why do I care? This is a person whos global despise has reached almost mythical preportions. Heck, I've even seen a tagline "Barney is to television what Steve Winter is to Fidonet!". Anyways... Winter raves on about "a handful of power freaks" that he seems to think have the sole purpose of tearing his grip from his bible (hate) echo, and cause mankind to spiral wildly down the slide to hell. What is this ungodly power that these hellspawn "power freaks" want? To quote from the BOP5 draft: 5) When such an excessive number of complaints about the conference or its Moderator are received by the RBCs that a majority of them vote to remove the conference from the Backbone. This is a bad idea? I can think of two moderators in fidonet that really -do- fit the "echo-nazi" description. I won't name them, but the initials SW and BG come to mind. "Iron-fisted" would be a kind description. I first ran into Mr. Winter on the old (old, old, old) PC Pursuit BBS, about 1984. We'd come to a collective agreement that all BBS ads there would be limited to one screenful. After many repeated "War & Peace"-sized ads for his system, I made a comment. The reply from him was that I was going to hell, I was a sinner, a homosexual, etc, etc. The usual rantings that many have endured from him. (My wife would be really surprised to hear I'm gay. Maybe I'm a lesbian in a mans' body? Praise Allah that Steve set me straight.) I can recall that Mr. Winter even attacked someone on the Binkley team. He didn't agree with them about their lifestyle (maybe they were gay, who knows, who cares), and proceeded to tell them that they should give up their program to someone "more decent". Gosh. What a good christian. I think the need for this proposed rule is clear. People like that, that run echos in the manner he does, NEED to be controlled. Why should -I-, as an NEC, have to carry the burden of shipping his world-wide message of hate and intolorance. Why should I help pass around echos where the slightest infraction (real or imagined) are dealt with like a judge in an Iranian courtroom. (Cut off his hands!) Why should people be treated like that? I'm one of the moderators of GUITAR, a backbone echo. We don't need to beat people with endless warnings. We don't quote our entire rule file in response to every infraction. (Thereby adding twice the bloat to the echo.) Sure, every moderator has his/her own style. Diplomacy is a major FidoNews 11-22 Page: 6 30 May 1994 requirement to deal with the human race, and many moderators either learn that, or turn into "echo-nazis". Too bad. I'm glad that Fido has realized the need to "tame" those that get out of hand. After all, Fidonet belongs to all of US. If that collective "US" doesn't like the way you operate, perhaps "US" shouldn't have to tote the spew around the world for you. I support the addition to BOP, with limits. (It should take a damn big amount of complaints before any action can be taken, fr'instance.) Could it be that the real reason this rule scares Winter so much is that he knows it'd take about 28 seconds for Fidonet to have an amazing number of complaints about him? His immense contempt for even the users of his echo shows in his writing. For instance: (Sorry, pardon the quotes) > I've watched as a handful of false christians tried to steal my > echo, [...] they stole their echo name from my echo [...] sleazed > it onto the backbone [...] how many whiners they can get [...] Perhaps he should learn to "live and let live" first. Stop attacking people "in the name of god!", and read his bible a little closer. (Especially the parts about "Love thy neighbor", etc.) Maybe the other moderators who have all the tact of Mussolini will also learn to relax a little. By and large, there's many great moderators in Fido. They know how to stem the tide of garbage without you even realizing it. Those guys get my salute, and the knowledge that I "stole" my brand of moderation from them. Thanks guys! You're the ones that make Fido fun. -Gary ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Practice Random Kindness & Senseless Acts of Beauty From: Matt Ion (1:153/7040.106) This anonymous article was taken from a computer network where it had been mailed out to all subscribers. Then I got a photocopy and now that I'm a mad modemmer, I'm reseeding the cycle. -- It's a crisp winter day in San Francisco. A woman in a red Honda, Christmas presents piled in the back, drives up to the Bay Bridge toll booth. "I'm paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me," she says with smile. One after another, the next six drivers arrive at the toll booth, dollars in hand, only to be told, "Some lady up ahead already paid your fare. Have a nice day." FidoNews 11-22 Page: 7 30 May 1994 The woman in the Honda, it turned out had read something on an index card taped to a friend's refrigerator: "Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty." The phrase seemed to leap out at her and she copied it down. Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase spray-painted on a warehouse wall a hundred miles from her home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. "I thought it was incredibly beautiful," she said, explaining why she's taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, "like a message from above." Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the wall for his seventh graders, one of whom was the daughter of a local columnist. The columnist put it in the paper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn't know where it came from or what it really meant. Two days later, she heard from Anne Herbert. Tall, blonde and forty, Herbert lives in Marin, one of the country's ten richest counties, where she house-sits, takes odd jobs and gets by. It was in a Sausalito restaurant that Herbert jotted the phrase down on a paper place mat, after turning it around in her mind for days. "That's wonderful!" said a man sitting nearby, and he copied it down carefully on his own place mat. "Here's the idea," Herbert says. "Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly." Her own fantasies include: 1) breaking into depressing-looking schools to paint the classrooms, 2) leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor parts of town, 3) slipping money into a proud old woman's purse. Says Herbert, "Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can" Now the phrase is spreading, on bumper stickers, on walls, at the bottom of letters and business cards. And as it spreads, so does a vision of guerrilla goodness. In Portland, Oregon, a man might plunk a coin into a stranger's meter just in time. In Patterson, New Jersey, a dozen people with pails and mops and tulip bulbs might descend on a rundown house and clean it from top to bottom while the frail elderly owners look on, dazed and smiling. In Chicago, a teenage boy may be shovelling off the driveway when the impulse strikes. What the hell, nobody's looking, he thinks, and shovels the neighbor's driveway too. It's positive anarchy, disorder, a sweet disturbance. A woman in Boston writes "Merry Christmas" to the tellers on the backs of her checks. A man in St. Louis, whose car has just been rear-ended by a young woman, waves her away, saying, "It's just a scratch. Don't worry." Senseless acts of beauty spread: a man plants daffodils along the road way, his shirt billowing in the breeze from passing cars. In Seattle, a man appoints himself a one-man vigilante sanitation service and roams the concrete hills collecting litter in a supermarket cart. In Atlanta, a man scrubs graffiti from a green park bench. FidoNews 11-22 Page: 8 30 May 1994 They say you can't smile without cheering yourself up a little -- likewise, you can't commit a random act of kindness without feeling as if your own troubles have been lightened if only because the world has become a slightly better place. And you can't be a recipient without feeling sa shock, a pleasant jolt. If you were one of those rush-hour drivers who found your bridge fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Wave someone on in the intersection? Smile at a tired clerk? Or something larger, greater? Like all revolutions, guerrilla goodness begins slowly, with a single act. Let it be yours. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AIRGUN Echo Enters Zone 2! AIRGUN CROSSES THE ATLANTIC!! _____________________________ AIRGUN, the FidoNet Computer Message Conference devoted to all facets of Airguns and Airgunning, has now crossed the Atlantic Ocean. AIRGUN originates on the AirPower Information Systems BBS in Lansdowne, Pa. For the last two years, AIRGUN has been distributed onhundreds of other Bulletin Board Systems throughout the U.S.A. and Canada allowing airgunners virtual local phone call access to a foruum where ideas may be exchanged and all airgun related topics may be discussed. Now, Jim Henry, system operator of AirPower Systems, (610) 259-2193, in cooperation with Andy Taylor, sysop of the Penske BBS, of Kidderminster, U.K., 011-44-562-744858, announce successful implementation of a plan to distribute AIRGUN across the Atlantic Ocean and throughout the United Kingdom. The gateway system for the AIRGUN feed will be the SIX FIVE 8's BBS, 011-44-273-688888 in Brighton, U.K., operated by Ralph Davey.-Ralph is Net Echo Coordinator for his area and will distribute it to several systems in his network, Net 441. From there it is fed to Net 253 and Andy Taylor's Penske BBS. Andy and other well known British airgunners are expected to be online soon. To read or participate in the AIRGUN echo, log on to any FidoNet BBS and inquire of the sysop if he carries AIRGUN, as do several hundred other BBS systems. If your local BBS does not carry AIRGUN, ask your sysop to please do so. For more information, contact Jim Henry (U.S.A.) at 1:273/408 or Andy Taylor (U.K.) at 2:253/608. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW Handyman Echo! by Mike Griffin Handyman and Woodworkers Echo FidoNews 11-22 Page: 9 30 May 1994 Looking for a Woodworking Echo? Want to talk about that new power tool you just bought? Wanna swap some ideas on woodworking projects and crafts? Wanna talk about that deck you have been meaning to build? Need some tips on electrical, plumbing or carpentry? I am proud to announce the HANDYMAN echo available now! The echo will consist of all topics including home repair, woodworking, remodeling, plumbing, electrical, project design and planning, general tips, powertools and anything related to the HANDYMAN. This is an excellent place to swap those plans you drew up on the computer with someone else who might have just what you're looking for. We will cover from the smallest scroll saw cuts to building your dream home. Get tips from people who work in these fields everyday. Share your knowledge with the weekend do-it-yourselfer's. If you would like to carry this echo please contact the following person for feed info via NETMAIL. Dust off those tools and let's get crankin'. Contact: Mike Griffin 1:106/5 The Unnecessary Habit BBS Echotag: HANDYMAN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GRAPHICAL_BBS Drew Dunn 1:202/1804 I'm writing to let you know about a new echo that is originating from my system here in San Diego, CA, USA. There has been a procession of Graphical BBS's entering the online world lately and, until now, nowhere for a sysop or prospective sysop to turn to get the big picture of what was available. GRAPHICAL_BBS is a new echo devoted to the discussion and temperate comparison of any graphically based BBS software available. Whether it's RIP, Roboboard/FX, Darkstar or any of the new graphical formats, GRAPHICAL_BBS is the place to find support. Currently, several BBS authors and distributors use this echo as a means of providing support and information to their users. GRAPHICAL_BBS is a place to get away from the flames and hype of single minded BBS echos. Everyone is invited to pick up this echo from 1:202/1804. It's currently gated into Darknet, the Darkstar support echo. For more information, FREQ G_BBS.ZIP! Thanks! Drew FidoNews 11-22 Page: 10 30 May 1994 postmaster@parafx.esnet.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MooseChat: Canada's Noblest Chat Echo! Paul J. Henry, 1:221/279@fidonet Greetings fellow Moose Lovers, What is MooseChat? Well, it's the international chat echo for MooseNet. What's MooseNet? Well, MooseNet is the FTN network dedicated to Nature's Noblest creature, the Moose! MooseNet isn't very large (yet!), so we use FidoNet to transfer the mail. If you've got a Fi-Doe address, you can have a MooseChat Feed! What will I find in MooseChat? If it has anything to do with the Moose, Meese, Canadian humour, Canada, the Canadian Outback, or anything like that, then it belongs in MooseChat. Oh, and if you just feel like being silly, you can do that too! [lately we've been discussing delectable swamp-moss recipes for the calorie-counting moose...] Rumour has it that the likes of Saddam Hussein, and George Bush (remember him?) frequent the echo. And just in case you're tempted to bash a moose, remember that The Bit Police are always watching. So, if you're a Bob & Doug fan, an Ordinary Canadian, or an American that knows how to spell colour with a 'u', MooseChat is for you! Said John Komooski: JK>> I do enjoy MooseChat. It's every bit as light and fluffy as JK>> Z1_ELECTION, yet with a healthy dose of ludicrous tossed in that JK>> makes you lick your lips and go to the fridge for more. Said MooseWeek: 'Our antlers were a'buzz with the excitement!' Said BullWinkle J. Moose: 'Hey Rocky! Watch me pull an echofeed outta my hat!' Don't hesitate! Drop into your local carrier of MooseChat, and have a brew on us. Feeds and policy documents may be obtained from: Paul Henry, 1:221/279.0, Westover ON Bill Cassidy, 1:249/1.0, Kingston ON Jim Whitelaw, 1:342/42.0 Edmonton AB Vern Faulkner, 1:340/44, Victoria BC * new feed * Jim Roberts, 1:266/25, Springside NJ * new feed * MooseChat is also a Region12 echo, and is available from 1:12/12 (or any connected NEC in Region12). There are 20 some-odd systems posting in FidoNews 11-22 Page: 11 30 May 1994 the area presently, but there could be more! Don't be left out of what could be the greatest innovation in Moose-consciousness since the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. May the Great Moose be with you. -= * =- MooseNet, MooseChat, and "Antlers pointing across the Globe!", are trademarks of Dave "Snuggleb*nnies" Slonosky & "Wild" Bill Cassidy. Copyright(c) 1990. Used with permission. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- FidoNews Robert Byrd 1:221/950 Well... it's not often that an issue of the Snooze causes me to generate enough energy to actually sit down and write something back, but issue 'b21' finally did it... Madame Emilia pointed out, in a humorous and timely fashion, some of the differences between FidoNet and InterNet, while at the same time pointing out a basic truth... those people who have the real power in FidoNet are those who quietly go about their tasks without worrying about whether or not they have some fancy position or name to go with it. In our net, there are a great many fine people who make this net run as smoothly as it does. Some of them have official positions, and some do not. One of the people I respect quite a lot recently lost an election in the net. But instead of going off to sulk in a corner, or worse, start a 'flame-fluff-war', he did everything he could to help the net continue to grow and work well. It is because of people who work together that our net runs as smoothly as it does. Mail flows in an organized fashion and usually get where it is going without to many FidoBurps. On to Italy then... Holy shit! I never would have believed such a thing possible in a large country in this day and age! That such a thing could happen makes me shiver right down to my keyboard. While probably the most passive person I know, the thought of police coming here to take my equipment away brings up thoughts that are too disquieting to contemplate. I am sure I would react to such a thing in less than an unpleasant way. Enough on this subject; it sickens my heart to dwell on it. And then... there is Steve Winter... while I think that most people I know don't think much of Steve and are tired of listening to him and his ideas, I think that he is correct to be alarmed this time. Too much power in the hands of too few people is a scary idea. Who the hell do these people think they are to say what can and cannot be carried on the backbone? FidoNews 11-22 Page: 12 30 May 1994 Echo mail is like any other medium in as much as the same universal truth still holds true... ---> IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T LOOK AT IT! <-- Geezus... this is probably one of the few things in the known universe that really get my dander up. On the brighter side... I *loved* the article 'On the Subject of Fluff'! This is the kind of article that is a joy to read. Good tongue-in-cheek humor is just what the Doctor prescribes to bring us back to reality. I think there are far too many people that take life, Fido and the rest of it all too seriously. To those people, I say... relax, it's only life, and you'll never get out of it alive. And finally... Brock Meeks. While I appreciate the fact that Mr. Meeks is being sued, Tom really didn't tell us _exactly_ what for. While I am mostly satisfied that Tom wouldn't lead us down the garden path, I would still like to know what Mr. Meeks did that was bad enough to be sued to libel for. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Madam Emilia Q: There was an article in the last snooze about Brock Meeks, a wire artist who competes with traditional press, who was busted for libel, apparently. Should i wonder what he wrote to get himself busted? A: no. Q: Hypothetically, why should a NEC have to carry backbone material which offends her? For example, what if a rabid left-winger did not want to carry a right-wing religious echo, even if it were on the backbone? Should she complain? A: Hypothetically, she shouldn't be a NEC unless she wants to help get the mail around. NECs stick their own out. That's why we love them. Q: How do you get anything done while being so impractical? Sure, you can be an idealist. You don't have to get any mail around. If someone keeps sending me hate literature in net-mail, what should i do? A: Get a twit philtre and eliminate them. Q: But.. why should I have to spend hours writing utilities just so i don't have to read hate mail? If people repeatedly make harassing telephone calls, the phone company will cut them off. FidoNews 11-22 Page: 13 30 May 1994 Why can't i get their mail access cut? A: hmmm. This is tough. How much do you value tolerance? If someone attacks you, what can you do? Q: Get a *BIG* gun. A: I guess you're not writing from Canada, or you are a member of a military or police organization, or you like hunting. What would you do with that big gun? Q: Rig it so it blew soap bubbles into their computer. A: And what would that accomplish? Q: It would get me more interesting hate mail. A: That is not funny. Q: - - - o o o O O O o o o h - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HACK - Hackers on Planet Earth! _/_\_ |___| |_| (_)\ \./^\./ | \ \ !!!!! \ \ | | _______ \ \_.\./.___ | *****| \. __ \ _____ |***** *| | | | | * **| ________ | ******| ________| _|__ | |**** | |........| |** ****| |::::::::| (_____/ __|___**| |........| |***** | |.. ... | | |. . ..|*| |........| | * *** | |.... . | | | .... | |______ |.. ... |_|* |======|_|======/ \|. .. .|*| ## # | |..|^^^^^^|| *| # # | : :: | |..... |_|__ # #| |..| /--\ ||* | ## # |:: : /""""""""""""\ .... | . .| # | _____| | |##| || | @ | | ### | [] | ()|~~~|_____ """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" H A C K E R S O N P L A N E T E A R T H ! ==================================================================== * T h e F i r s t U. S. H a c k e r C o n g r e s s * Come together in the summer of 1994 to celebrate the hacker world and the tenth anniversary of 2600 Magazine. We will have speakers and demonstrations from around the globe, a collection of films and rare videos on hacking, and our very own network between all of us and the outside world! FidoNews 11-22 Page: 14 30 May 1994 This is an opportunity to feel the real magic of hacking instead of hearing about how we're about to destroy the world in some cheap tabloid or on the news during sweeps week. Government propaganda and corporate doublespeak have finally met their match! If you want to help put together this historic event, contact us by telephone at (516) 751-2600, through the mail at H.O.P.E., PO Box 848, Middle Island, NY 11953, on the Internet at 2600@well.sf.ca.us. We need ideas, people, technology, and karma. H.O.P.E. - August 13th and 14th at the Hotel Pennsylvania, right in the middle of bustling New York City (Seventh Avenue and 34th Street, right across the street from Penn Station). We've rented out the entire top floor (except for the mysterious NYNEX office). Special rates of $99 a night are available from the hotel (double rooms, four can probably fit easily). Cheaper places are also available as is nearly anything else. This is New York City, after all. Admission to the conference is $20 for the entire weekend if you preregister, $25 at the door, regardless of whether you stay for two days or five minutes. We encourage you to bring a computer so you can tie into our giant Ethernet and add to the fun. We hope you try to hack root on the system we'll be running - all attendees will get accounts with prizes for the penetrators. Dancing and merchandising in the halls Cellular phone workshop Celebration of the Clipper Chip (not) Hacker videos from all over the world Surveillance demos Hacker legends from around the globe It's not Woodstock - It's The Future Many more details are on the way. Information sources: 2600 Magazine The Hacker Quarterly Summer 1994 edition Off The Hook Wednesdays, 10:00 pm WBAI 99.5 FM New York City FidoNews 11-22 Page: 15 30 May 1994 2600 Voice BBS 516-473-2626 alt.2600 on the Internet and random bits of text like this ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ eye WEEKLY May 19 1994 Toronto's arts newspaper ...free every Thursday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COVER STORY COVER STORY POLICING THE NEW MEDIA -- INTERNET USERS HAVE THEIR LIBERTY THREATENED AS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES BLUNDER ABOUT TRYING (AND FAILING) TO ENFORCE THE HOMOLKA PRESS BAN by K.K. CAMPBELL Karla Homolka was sentenced to 12 years for manslaughter in the deaths of two teenage girls. The ban on publishing details of her trial was imposed to insure husband Paul Teale a fair trial. But Teale's lawyer opposes the ban. Homolka's trial has stopped being the story -- the story has become the ban itself. There's been nothing new to report about the trial for months, but the story keeps coming back because _the ban_ keeps making headlines. Every time the ban causes a magazine to be dramatically pulled from store shelves, every time the ban causes cops to barge into a student's life with unfounded allegations, every time a university censors or snoops out private information, the Homolka case is dragged back into the headlines. Once there, details are rehashed and new ban-breaking potential results. It's a vicious circle from which the attorney-general's office is desperately trying to extricate itself. It's no coincidence Teale's trial was suddenly moved forward. Indeed, the attorney-general seems ready to let police operate with a free hand against Ontarians -- as one university student found out the hard way. 'ABDUL' SCREWS UP It began with one of the all-time great gaffes in Internet history. Late last Jan. 31, 21-year-old Toronto student "Abdul" (not his real name) arrived home to his basement apartment from FidoNews 11-22 Page: 16 30 May 1994 night classes. After a quick bite, he checked his Internet account for e-mail. To his delight, he found a copy of the revised Karla Homolka computer file in his mailbox -- hot-off-the-CPU from a London, Ont., university student. The file was due to be released the next day to the infamous Internet newsgroup alt.fan.karla- homolka. Abdul, the uncrowned prince of the Homolka-Internet underground, got an advance copy. The file contains a whack of rumors and grisly details about Homolka's secrecy-shrouded quickie-trial last July. Internet convention calls the computer file an "FAQ" -- a collection of answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" about a topic. This topic just happens to be the oh-so-controversial Homolka murder trial and the ban surrounding it. The Homolka FAQ is found wherever computers and Canadians interact. It has undoubtedly been read by tens of thousands of citizens to date. But none of those readers know the identities of the authors, underground computer activists -- only their mysterious aliases: "Abdul, the Electronic Gordon Domm" (abdul@io.com), "Lt Starbuck" (an54835@anon.penet.fi), and "Neal the Trial Ban-Breaker" (an52708@anon.penet.fi). By 2 a.m., after four hours online, Abdul is ready for sleep. But not before he sends the new FAQ to Toronto's major news outlets -- three daily papers and three TV stations. He has e- mail addresses for each. "I was trying to send the FAQ through an e-mail system in Finland that lets the sender remain completely anonymous," Abdul now recalls. "But it kept bouncing back to me unreceived." Eyes red, Abdul finally decided to send the FAQ through a local fax service. "I sent it, and went to bed. I didn't think anything of it." Major mistake: Abdul, perhaps overtired, instructed the fax service to send a copy to the six media outlets -- as well as a copy to Premier Bob Rae and another to Attorney-General Marion Boyd. Fatal mistake: Abdul left the real names of Lt Starbuck and himself on the document. Next morn, sleepy-eyed civil servants found the hefty document awaiting them. The attorney-general's office refuses to comment on its reaction, but suffice to say the shit began shunting through government plumbing -- only to emerge three weeks later directly on the head of Lt Starbuck at London's University of Western Ontario. BATTLE STARBUCK FidoNews 11-22 Page: 17 30 May 1994 On Feb. 22, Starbuck, 25, came home from school to find a message waiting: Western's computer and network security officer Reg Quinton wanted him to call. Starbuck did. He was told his Internet account was frozen. He was to meet with London police the next day. Police?! Mind racing, Starbuck hurried to his home computer. He not only deleted anything remotely related to Homolka from his hard drive but "shredded" it via Norton computer utilities. It was an operation to make any politician proud. (Though Starbuck is known to the university and OPP, he requests eye not use his real name, but rather his alias "Lt. Starbuck" -- his favorite character from the TV show Battlestar Galactica.) It seems the attorney-general had notified the OPP, who had passed a copy of the FAQ with Starbuck's real name on it to Detective Sergeant Sandy Wright of the London police. Wright approached Quinton. "I asked what the police wanted done," Quinton (reggers@julian.uwo.ca) told eye. "They wanted the student's account shut down and to meet with him in person. Fine." Quinton called in colleague Dave Martin, who administrates Starbuck's account. No warrant, no subpoena, no problem. The next afternoon, Starbuck death-marched himself over to Quinton's office in the Natural Science Centre. Quinton, Martin and Wright awaited with grim faces. "During the two-hour interrogation, the police showed me the document Abdul sent the attorney-general," Starbuck recalls. "I stared at it in disbelief, whispering to myself, 'Oh shit.' " It was Game Over. Worse still, the police seemed to think Starbuck himself had sent it because of the way e-mail readers save mail. Not understanding what they were looking at, authorities figured Starbuck had faxed it to them, with his real name, in some moment of stratospheric chutzpah. Cornered and terrified, Starbuck vowed to tell everything -- including the real name of Abdul. Wright asked Starbuck to open his Internet account. He complied -- nothing "incriminating" there anyway, his strict policy was to keep no Homolka files in school accounts. Wright said he'd have to inspect Starbuck's home computer. Starbuck explained everything was gone, shredded, but Wright insisted he had to see for himself. (Inexplicably, he set that appointment for the next day -- he found nothing.) WHY ME? Wright informed Starbuck criminal charges still hung over his FidoNews 11-22 Page: 18 30 May 1994 head. But as long as he stayed clear of Homolka-mongering and remained cooperative, charges would probably not be laid. On Feb. 28, Starbuck had his university account restored. For the next three weeks, he forwarded incoming private e-mail from Abdul to Quinton -- including a list of about 50 people who received updates of the FAQ. There were five more Western Internet addresses. One was Wayne Smith (wlsmith@valve.heart.rri.uwo.ca). Smith would publicly complain on Usenet about the whole Western-LPD investigation: "What they are calling co-operation here is intimidation. It's like the old police state mentality: if you have nothing to hide, why won't you take this lie detector test when we ask?" Starbuck says intimidation was a factor. "I cooperated with Quinton for weeks after the event for the sole reason that I was very afraid I'd get charged if I didn't." Back in Toronto, Abdul was blissfully ignorant of the events in motion in London. He noticed Starbuck didn't seem to answer his e-mail any more. Ironically, it was Wayne Smith's public post just quoted above that alerted him to the momumental gaffe he'd made. He quickly prepared for the police. After all, he was far, far more active than Starbuck had ever been on his best day. But the knock never came on Abdul's door. Which still bewilders Starbuck. "There's no rhyme nor reason to it at all. If they're cracking down, why aren't they cracking down anywhere else? Why me? I just edited a computer file. I got sucked into this whole stupid affair and really feel bruised and battered by it." Abdul believes Starbuck was targeted because Western computer administrators were spineless: "When the police knocked on Quinton's door, it's clear Quinton said, 'Come on in, guys!' " Another source close to the case put it this way: "The LPD asked Starbuck to bend over -- and Quinton applied the vaseline." The police would definitely need a warrant to peek at Abdul's home computer. And then the issue would erupt into the headlines again. CHARGED WITH POSSESSION On March 28, Quinton wrote an "open letter" to the Internet community --which he says was on the "recommendation of the local police." This letter, apparently carrying police sanction, claims mere possession of the FAQ is a crime. "My understanding is the LPD (and OPP and others) are of the opinion that... to be in possession of such material is to be in FidoNews 11-22 Page: 19 30 May 1994 violation of the publication ban," Quinton wrote. And such a breach could result in police getting a warrant and seizing entire computer systems. When eye called the LPD's Wright, he repeated this official line, though without the same righteous passion Quinton seems imbued with. Wright said the OPP told him possession of the file constituted a breach of the ban. But OPP Detective Inspector Frank Ryder told eye he doesn't know for certain. He only passes information about possible breaches of the trial ban along to local police departments. "It's their investigation, there is no central OPP investigation," Ryder said. So eye called the attorney-general. Spokeswoman Barbara Krever said she couldn't comment on whether possession of the FAQ was a breach of the ban. In fact, the attorney-general has consistently refused to help Ontarians understand exactly where the Internet fits within the ban. People are left to operate in uncharted territory and law enforcement authorities blunder about, unsure themselves. Meanwhile university students have academic careers, if not their very liberty, threatened. Criminal lawyer Eddie Greenspan has gone on record saying he does not believe the Internet's Homolka-infotrade breaches the ban. He said accessing Internet files defeats the purpose of the ban but doesn't break the ban. "I don't see anything criminally wrong here," he told eye. Greenspan notes the confusion stems from people thinking the ban applies to details of the trial. The ban concerns publishing that information. Simply cruising out on the Internet and grabbing a copy of the Homolka FAQ is not a breach of the ban; nor is holding it in a university computer account. "If it comes between Greenspan and Boyd, Ontario's first non- lawyer attorney-general, I'll take Eddie's opinion every time," Abdul says. Abdul believes courts in the future are going to have to specifically mention the Internet -- "or, if they clue in, they will realize bans are obsolete, it's time to change the system to reflect technology." But how many judges have ever confronted a login? Do they understand the raw power of it? Do they understand how it circumvents all censorious power structures? Former Supreme Court judge William Estey said something similar in an April 21 speech: bans in high-profile cases should cease because they just don't work any more. Estey blamed the proximity of the U.S. news media. The Internet compounds the problem exponentially. He said jurors must be trusted to do their jobs -- that is, be exposed to various information and not let it affect their legal judgment. FidoNews 11-22 Page: 20 30 May 1994 "The courts can't clamp information any more," Abdul says. "Judge Kovacs stopped the mainstream press, but we aren't the mainstream press -- we are the new media." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COVER STORY -- SIDEBAR 1 SIDEBAR 1 -- COVER STORY UNIVERSITIES AND POLICE by K.K. CAMPBELL University of Western Ontario's computer security officer Reg Quinton told eye he isn't interested in discussing whether the Homolka FAQ is legal or not -- if the police say it's illegal, that's good enough for him. But Ontario authorities, from the attorney-general on down, are painfully confused about how Karla, the ban and the Internet relate. Yet here we have Western's security officer saying quite bluntly he doesn't care. He will cooperate with police for fear his computers will be confiscated if he doesn't. Quinton's open letter of March 28 addresses Western students: "If you think the University is going to protect your 'right' to break the law, you are sadly mistaken. The law applies here just as much as elsewhere. You don't have a right to violate the publication ban -- don't expect any sympathy or support if you do." Since no one knows how the law applies, Quinton's actually saying: "If you think the University is going to protect you against the police, regardless if they are right or wrong, you are sadly mistaken." Carl M. Kadie (kadie@hal.cs.uiuc.edu), founder of the Internet's Computers and Academic Freedom newsletter, thinks Quinton's position is dangerous -- though he understands university computer staff confusion. Computer administrators have no history of standing up to the police or the state. Librarians, on the other hand, have decades of precedent in demanding subpoenas and warrants when authority comes calling. Computer administrators lack this training and tradition. Karen Adams, executive director of the Canadian Library Association, told eye a librarian would probably have demanded a warrant before revealing if Lt. Starbuck even had an account at a library. Kadie says that computer administrators desperately need to develop similar ethics. "Just as a professional librarian would have been less likely than the computer system administrators to turn over personal information to the police, so professional FidoNews 11-22 Page: 21 30 May 1994 reporters are less likely than students under the gun to disclose sources to the authorities," Kadie told eye. "The promise of the information superhighway is that we all become librarians and reporters. The danger right now is most people don't understand the responsibilities that come with their new roles." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COVER STORY -- SIDEBAR 2 SIDEBAR 2 -- COVER STORY KARLA AND THE BOYS by K.K. CAMPBELL Lt. Starbuck remains extremely reluctant about dealing with media. When contacted by eye, after his opening shock at having been called at home, his reaction was to refuse an interview. But he decided to talk only so the story isn't told exclusively by "others." "When I got caught with my pants down, my first worry was criminal charges," he told eye. "My second worry was media coverage, with myself being hailed as some sort of Martyr for Free Speech. What was done to me may indeed be wrong and illegal, but I have no interest in becoming a Gord Domm on the Internet -- besides, Abdul already is and he's still very very active." Starbuck and Abdul have never spoke directly, only through e- mail. Abdul sighs at Starbuck's unbridled hatred for him now. "He has a point. And I've apologized many times. Every time I write a public letter, I apologize again. I know I screwed up and he's suffered." "Abdul says it was an accident," Starbuck says. "I believe him. I also believe he is an idiot." Abdul is not Arabic, by the way -- he's Irish. He picked the alias Abdul in honor of an underground comedy tape by a Hamilton individual who used the named "Abdul" in making a series of crank calls to unsuspecting people. "I was searching for an alias when it struck me the Homolka FAQ is like the Abdul tape -- passed around from person to person, with absolutely no official distribution." Abdul says his activism issues from more than prurient interest. "At some point, someone has to test how Internet will operate in Canada. If we force the issue onto the public agenda now, the less chance do we have of the Internet being censored and regulated out of existence." His net address is abdul@io.com -- not to be confused with FidoNews 11-22 Page: 22 30 May 1994 io.org, which is Toronto's Internex Online. Io.com is Illuminati Online, in Austin, Texas. It's a game company that was raided by the U.S. Secret Service in its over-zealous war with "hackers," so the company is very aware of the damage computer-illiterate cops may cause in its computer bungling. Abdul was given an operational base in Texas. Many people believe he's a Texan. But he lives in Toronto and only works on a Texas computer. Let's just wait for the legal system to grapple with that -- the concept of where one "is" when in cyberspace. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Retransmit freely in cyberspace Author holds standard copyright Full issue of eye available in archive at gopher.io.org or ftp.io.org eye@io.org " Break the Gutenberg Lock..." 416-971-8421 -- Stanton McCandlish * mech@eff.org * Electronic Frontier Found. OnlineActivist FOR MORE INFO, E-MAIL TO: INFO@EFF.ORG ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================== Fidonews Information ======================================================================== ------- FIDONEWS MASTHEAD AND CONTACT INFORMATION ---------------- Editors: Sylvia Maxwell, Donald Tees Editors Emeritii: Thom Henderson, Dale Lovell, Vince Perriello, Tim Pozar Tom Jennings "FidoNews" BBS FidoNet 1:1/23 BBS +1-519-570-4176, 300/1200/2400/14400/V.32bis/HST(DS) Internet addresses: Don & Sylvia (submission address) editor@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Sylvia -- max@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Donald -- donald@exlibris.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca Tim -- pozar@kumr.lns.com (Postal Service mailing address) FidoNews 128 Church St. Kitchener, Ontario Canada N2H 2S4 Voice: (519) 570-3137 Published weekly by and for the members of the FidoNet international amateur electronic mail system. 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