NUMBER OF LINES: 999 001=Usr:0 Null User 06/30/87 20:34 Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19 1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask... 2$************************* INSTALLED: 15 NOV 89 *************************** 3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II) Mike Day System operator 4$************************************************************************** 5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION 6$ PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM. 7$BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately 8$owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general 9$public. No restrictions are placed on the use of the system. As the 10$system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all 11$messages which I may find offensive. Because of the limited size of the 12$system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data 13$can be saved). To leave a message, type 'ENTER'. Use ctrl/C to get out 14$the ENTER mode. The message is automatically stored. If after entering 15$the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to 16$replace the line. To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up. 17$Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system. 18$************************************************************************** 19$ 002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 11/15/89 22:43 Msg:4571 Call:25471 Lines:2 20 He who pays the bills gets to make the rules. 21 *********************************************************************** 003=Usr:13 voyeur 11/16/89 00:21 Msg:4572 Call:25474 Lines:9 22 :::::::::O O:::::::::11/16/89:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::00:29:07::::O O:::::: 23 And here I stand, looking down on the less lofty lowlife scum who didn't make 24 it here to the exalted reaches of the Top of the Disk. Nothing above me -- 25 and as they say, "no News is good news." 26 27 Milchar - I believe PorSFiS is a week-and-a-half away - the 25th. Last weekend 28 should have been a meeting, but OryCon happened. (I was at the one on the 28th 29 , so I know my two-week cycle is in tune). 30 :::::::::O O:::::::::::::::::::::::voyeur:::::::::::::::::::::::::::O O:::::::: 004=Usr:232 bob lindski 11/16/89 08:34 Msg:4573 Call:25476 Lines:8 31 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 32 "no News is good news." How'ver it requires not too much G-NEWS to guess 33 that the Guy who pays the bills gets to post those news(sance) to some. 34 As they used to say ` exceptio probat regulam de rebus non exceptis '. 35 In other word To Be Forewarned Is To Be Forearmed or som'thing to that 36 effect. et tu Bob? 37 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\11\16\89 Bl 38 005=Usr:287 Ralph Steadman 11/16/89 12:36 Msg:4574 Call:25479 Lines:50 39 696969696969 40 11/15/89 By DAVID E. ANDERSON 41 WASHINGTON (UPI) -- There has been "a significant erosion" of public 42 confidence in the news media as an objective and impartial reporter but news 43 organizations are still trusted more than politicians, a new study said 44 Wednesday. 45 The study, "The People and the Press," by the Times Mirror Center for the 46 People & the Press" said the news media remain "far more believable than 47 President Bush and other public figures." The media's overall favorability 48 ratings are in the 80 percent range and its "watchdog" value to society 49 continues to be appreciated. 50 "Since the Times Mirror began its `People & The Press' research program five 51 years ago, there has been a significant erosion of public confidence in the 52 press as an objective reporter of the news and as an impartial observer of the 53 political and social scenes," the survey found. 54 "Americans from all walks of life find fault with the way the press reports 55 on the personal and ethical behavior of political leaders. These criticisms are 56 now shaping opinions of the press and shadowing its credibility." 57 "The general public, as always in the past, is two-minded in its evaluation 58 of the press and its performance," the survey said. "Majorities continue to lik 59 and believe the press but there are ample signs in the survey that criticisms o 60 press practice have substantially increased." 61 Daily newspapers have suffered a greater decline in believabilty than the 62 electronic news media since 1985, the survey said, losing 16 points since 1985, 63 with just 68 percent of the public now finding them believable. 64 But it said majorities rate 15 of the 16 news organizations or personalities 65 studied as believable most of the time, with the Wall Street Journal and Cable 66 News Network receiving the highest believablity ratings, followed closely by th 67 news divisions of the three networks and their evening anchors. 68 "To put these numbers in perspective, only Pope John Paul II gets better 69 believability ratings than the news organizations measured in the study," it 70 said. "President Bush, former President Reagan, businessman Donald Trump and 71 entertainer Johnny Carson are all believable to a smaller percentage of 72 Americans than are major news organizations and prominent journalits. 73 "Geraldo Rivera is the only news media figure to receive a negative 74 believablity rating from a majority of those who could rate him," it said. 75 Despite the criticisms leveled against the news media, huge majorities 76 generally give it high favorability ratings -- 82 percent regarding network 77 television news favorably, compared with 80 percent for local TV news and 77 78 percent for daily newspapers. 79 In contrast, Bush had a 70 percent favorability rating, the Supreme Court a 80 61 percent rating, the Congress 52 percent and Vice President Dan Quayle was 81 rated favorably by just 39 percent of those surveyed. 82 Among the 16 organizations and personalities, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings 83 led the believability list, with 85 percent of those who rated his performance 84 calling him believable. CNN and NBC News were next at 84 percent, followed by 85 the Wall Street Journal at 83 percent; NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, 81 percent; 86 and there was a three-way tie between CBS New anchor Dan Rather, ABC News 87 Nightline anchor Ted Koppel and CBS News, all with 79 percent. 88 696969696969696969 006=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/16/89 21:30 Msg:4575 Call:25488 Lines:41 89 &*&*&*&*'s 90 91 The construction of the object was a very precise undertaking. Far more 92 precise in fact then could be expected of the average mortal. The lines 93 and agles where in fact very illogical, but that was what gave it its 94 magic. 95 96 The final step was not the hardest, but it was the most time consuming. The 97 Object was placed in box and left in a locked box of 57 years. The time had 98 to be precise down to the minute or the desired effect would not take place. 99 Karl waited for the numbers on his smart new digital watch to line up. As 100 can be ascertained from the length of this last step he was quite an old man. 101 His hand shock slightly and his eyes squinted to get a better image of the 102 watch face. 103 104 There was also the look of madness about him, and mixed in with that the 105 air of determination that had kept him going. "Moratilian, you'll be getting 106 yours soon." he mumbled under his breath. "Only two more minutes." 107 108 As he fineshed uttering these words there was a brilliant flash of light and 109 a much younger looking man appeared beside him. "I'll be taking that now." 110 111 "Yes you will." Karl said smiling. 112 113 "Why waist so many years of effort on petty revenge. Now hurry, there is 114 little time." 115 116 "No Moratillian, there is no time." So saying Karl opened the box and the 117 younger man was reduced to a black smudge. 118 119 And the moral of the story is left to the reader as an excercise. 120 121 OK, so it wasn't very good. I thought I'd try just writting whatever came 122 to mind. It doesn't really matter what sort of an effort I put forth, as 123 I've almost never gotten any feed back here or anywhre else. Not even 124 for the very few good things I've written. 125 126 An Astral Dreamer (Trying to lay down a new guilt trip.) 127 &*&*&*&*'s 128 129 (And Failing.) 007=Usr:29 The Bard 11/16/89 23:14 Msg:4576 Call:25489 Lines:30 130 News: unless you've significantly changed at least the wording, you are 131 violating copyright. If you have been, then my apologies. 132 133 As for your novel ideas regarding "public media", do try to recall that this 134 system is privately owned. If you feel that this is irrelevant, then I'll be 135 over shortly to set up a board pushing *my* views on *your* equipment. 136 137 You seem to think that allowing some people to express opinions and not 138 allowing others to express theirs *on this system* constitutes censorship. If 139 we tried to do that here, or if we tried to force other systems to do so, then 140 it would be. But the sysop has the final say as to what is acceptable on his 141 system and that is not censorship. If it was, then the editorial pages of any 142 newspaper are prime examples of censorship! 143 144 Your "sins" are twofold (in my opinion, our Cistop may have his own reasons). 145 First, you are *boring*. After reading only a few of your postings, it is easy 146 to figure what your comments about a news item will be. 147 Second, you are long-winded. Just because the space is there doesn't mean that 148 it is your place to fill it. So it may take weeks to fill up the disk. Maybe 149 we prefer quality to quantity? 150 151 Finally, you mainly seem to be lecturing us rather than attempting to establish 152 a dialogue. I have yet to see a system where the users take to being lectured 153 at. 154 155 And as for the lack of comment, I guess it never occurred to you that the users 156 might be trying the old "ignore him and maybe he'll go away" technique? As far 157 as I can tell, the few comments you've gotten have all been negative. Maybe 158 you need to take the hint? 159 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 008=Usr:366 berney dunn 11/17/89 01:32 Msg:4577 Call:25494 Lines:13 160 What is the future of human life? I wonder, as i suppose we all do in this era 161 of environmental insanity. Are we alone, to spend out our little time on this 162 damaged and dirty dust ball unnoticed? Perhaps. But I expect better things for 163 our decendants. 164 Jean watched the view screens as the ship approached the planet. A bright 165 swath of bluish lighted area arched over the dark region just below, speckled 166 with brighter lights. Arranda touched the controls and the ship rolled sightly 167 into the prescribed orbit na descended into the upper air. The view blurred as 168 the ionized shock wave became thicker. Once they were below the light, the 169 view became dull, so Jean went back to their room to play with Arranda's son, 170 his owner. What a life for a monkey, he thought, far better than to be stuck 171 in the jungle back on earth. 172 ----------------------------------------B.A.D.------------------------------ 009=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 11/17/89 15:43 Msg:4578 Call:25502 Lines:97 173 174 175 {+}{+}{+}{+} 176 177 I know that some here object to "non-original" material of any 178 length being posted. Following are excerpts from an article 179 entitled "Taking Drugs - Seriously" by P.J. O'Rourke. I did not 180 get this from a service and post it to annoy anyone or clutter up 181 the board. I tediously hand transcribed this and am posting it 182 because I found it both provocative and entertaining to read - and 183 I hope it will inspire some comment, discussion or debate. The 184 full article is in the November 30th issue of Rolling Stone. 185 186 -+|[ ThingFish ]|+- 187 188 I'd gone with the police to raid a crack house. They were using 189 leased sedans and their own private cars to keep from being "made" too 190 quickly on the street. But every head turned as we drove through. You 191 don't see brand new cars like these in this neighborhood. That is, you 192 don't see brand new CHEAP cars. We should have come in BMW's. It's hard 193 to get too wet and sentimental about poverty that wears $100 gym 194 shoes. Sure, there were poor people who lived on this street, people 195 fracturing ass to keep them and theirs together, working long hours for 196 low pay at lousy jobs - jobs such as being a District of Columbia 197 police officer. But these weren't the people we came to see. 198 This whole country's got something worse wrong than drugs. We are 199 the richest nation in the world - richest in our weight class anyway 200 (get outta here, Brunei) - and you can't walk one block in any city in 201 America without wackos and soaks spitting up in your pant cuffs. We 202 have a near record low rate of unemployment, and you can't stop at 203 stoplight without getting squeegeed in the kisser by practitioners of 204 beggery - the most rapidly expanding sector of America's service 205 economy. One out of five American children are growing up needy, and 206 fifty three percent of those kids have nothing for a dad except a 207 blind, microscopic, wiggle-tailed gamete that hasn't held a job since 208 it got to the womb. Drugs are an improvement on some of these problems. 209 Drugs are the answer, after all, when the question is "How can I get 210 high as a kite?" or "How can I make money without working?" 211 So what are we going to do about drugs? We can get hysterical about 212 them. That's always been fun. I can remember when the occasional be-bop 213 musician's ownership of a Mary Jane cigarette threatened to turn every 214 middle-class American teenager into a sex-crazed car thief. This 215 particular hysteria proved well founded. Every middle-class American 216 teenager did try marijuana and did become sex-crazed (although no more 217 car thievish than usual). Marijuana is also self punishing. It makes 218 you acutely sensitive, and in this world, what worse punishment could 219 there be? By the time PCP came along to make kids psychotic, kids were 220 acting so psychotic anyway, who could tell the difference? Heroin turns 221 people into amoral scuzzballs. But a heroin addict who gets his fix is 222 well behaved or dead (and you can't get better behaved than that). 223 Crack is, of course, pretty bad stuff. It's as though, after years of 224 trying, we've finally come up with a drug that's as evil as our parents 225 said dope was. It's cheap, addictive, makes you feel like Donald Trump 226 and act like Abu Nidal, and it keeps you awake to take more. Maybe we 227 should get hysterical about crack. 228 We can jump on the political bandwagon with President Bush. I loved 229 Bush on television doing his drug policy speech, especially the part 230 where he pulled out that humungo baggie with the cellular phone size 231 lump of crack in it. That was pure Captain Kangaroo: "Bunny Rabbit, you 232 leave those carrots alone." The Democrats in Congress want us to jump, 233 not on the bandwagon, but into the pork barrel. "We don't know what 234 needs doing, but a lot more of it needs to be done, let's spend, spend, 235 spend." The bleeding-nose liberals are in favor of more education. More 236 education about what? Consumer economics? Maybe social workers should 237 fan out across the ghetto and try to convince crack dealers that 238 Mercedes 190s are overpriced and they'd get more car for their money if 239 they bought Turbo Saab 900s. Whatever the new government anti-drug plan 240 is, it will probably work about as well as the old government plan, or 241 any other government plan. I mean we're talking about government, you 242 know - the people who run the post office. Drug czar William Bennett 243 has been given the responsibility for curing the entire nation's drug 244 ills, and he's also been given approximately the same civil authority 245 as Ann Landers. We're not serious about the drug trouble in this 246 country. We're not serious about the trouble causing the drug trouble. 247 We're not serious about anything. We are not a serious nation. 248 One of the annoying things about believing in free will and 249 individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to 250 blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, its remarkable 251 how often his picture shows up on your driver's license. I'm giving up 252 drugs, not because I give a damn about who gets high on what, but 253 because I'm disgusted by the feckless, unruly, sheer, silly 254 irresponsibility of...me. Personally, I don't think all drugs of 255 pleasure should be illegal. Maybe the drug laws should be changed. But 256 drug laws are not immoral laws the way laws of segregation were. I've 257 flipped through Thoreau, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and I don't 258 notice any of them going to jail or fasting or getting smacked on the 259 head so mankind can do tootski. This is a democracy. We're free to 260 change the laws any time we want. All we have to do is vote. In the 261 meantime if a person like me - rich, white, privileged, happy - cannot 262 even bother to abide by the legal standards of his society, of a 263 society that has provided him with everything that a civilization can 264 be expected to provide, then that person deserves his drug problems and 265 everybody else's drug problems, too. 266 267 268 {+}{+}{+}{+} 269 010=Usr:49 Bob Bennet 11/17/89 17:58 Msg:4579 Call:25506 Lines:29 270 .................................................................. 271 Bard: As for your novel idea regarding "public media" if private ownership 272 is the criterion, then the only "public media" are the state-owned. All 273 commercial TV, radio and newspapers that I know of are privately owned. 274 "Public media" are those that are accessible to the public, ownership has 275 nothing to do with it. 276 277 Allowing SOME to express opinion, and not others is, by definition, 278 censorship. On this system, or any other, in a newspaper, or on TV. 279 YOU are the one claiming that the editorial page of a newspaper doesn't 280 represent censorship. I would claim that it is a fine example. 281 282 By the way, who are you to declare whether someone else is violating any 283 copyright except one that you own? That is for the OWNER of the copyright to 284 declare. The courts have not made any such ruling. One of the key 285 requirements for a copyright infringement is damage to the copyright owner, by 286 the way. A free system that sees no financial gain, and claims on its opening 287 screen it has no responsibility for what's posted would be quite safe from 288 legal prosecution according to some legal minds, but again, the courts have 289 stayed away from that issue. 290 291 I like your idea of you setting up a board and expressing Your views on my 292 equipment. If I opened a system to the public, you would be welcome, as would 293 all other callers. 294 295 One more point: NO NOT ALL the comments about the news have been negative. 296 297 .......................................................................... 298 011=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/17/89 18:41 Msg:4580 Call:25507 Lines:13 299 &*&*&*&*'s 300 I have been known to make a positive comment now and again. Bards comment is 301 just another example of what we all do. That is we ignore information that 302 does not agree with our point of view. 303 304 The interactivity of Backwater is about nil for me these days. I'm starting 305 to wonder why I call. Even my whining is getting to be a bore. I've been 306 on here 1.5 years, and I've read the archive back to 86 or so. This is 307 darn close to the most boring BW has been. 308 309 An Astral Dreamer 310 &*&*&*&*'s(No aside today.) 311 012=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 11/17/89 19:34 Msg:4581 Call:25508 Lines:42 312 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 313 Friar: Agreed, wholeheartedly. The problem, I believe, lies in the fact that 314 the literary community, as a whole, seems to have gone on to other, greener 315 pastures. When you're dealing with the "multiple user creator universe", as we 316 have established here, the slow decline of authors will escalate, as no small 317 number of creative thinkers wishes to impose their private will upon the 318 mass, or the world that they have created. That's why I've paused in my 319 postings. I named the planet, I created the Stone Triangle and Techalysis, the 320 Central City. I established the Networks (Not the NET), and the presence of 321 the New Bar (as yet unnamed) in Techalysis. I added te Quantier, a relic from 322 Pyrrix A'aaal's (The planet) past(?) (though I may have revealed too much 323 just then). 324 The point of all that is that one user can't do it alone.... or even two, 325 or three users, for that matter. We, the authors, do NOOT want Backwater's 326 multi-user universe to be "Zephyr and Friar's Playground". Instead, it must be 327 an effort on the parts of all the writers who presently inhabit the board, 328 lurking in the shadows. 329 For instance, what lies beyond the Central City? What is the origin of 330 the mysterious inn (Inn) in the small desert tiwn? Where did the Pool come 331 from? What are the origins of the Stone Triangle? Who built it? Why? I 332 created many of the sparks that might ignite these fires, but I'm not going to 333 fan them. I'd rather that that be done by users whose interests I might have 334 piqued. 335 Sadly, howevr, one of the things that turned many writers off from the 336 original system's universe, and one of the causes for the decay of that world, 337 and of the general literary atmosphere of BWMS was the lack of enthusiasm that 338 greeted many new writers. At the beginning, each entry into that mythical 339 world was greeted with joy and welcome. Towards the end, however, very few new 340 writers were allowed to join in on the great and cosmic quests. I recall 341 distinctly seeing many writers' characters being literally kicked out of the 342 adventures because they were new. Well, now that EVERYTHING is new, and now 343 that all the older users (well, almost) have left, new authors are probably 344 more than a little concerned that their work will not "fit in" with the world, 345 and will be discounted, or ignored, or explained away by "the governing boody" 346 of authors. Hopefully, we can prove them wrong. 347 A.D., I'm curious about what lies beyond the city. I'd like to know how 348 Pyrrix A'aaal connects with the Inn, or with Innisfall, and why so many patrons 349 from one found tthemselves in the other 350 after the demise of the latter. Perhaps, with your view of the Astral Plane, 351 you might have seen something we missed? 352 353 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 013=Usr:366 berney dunn 11/18/89 01:21 Msg:4582 Call:25518 Lines:4 354 Humm, but what I miss is the old philosophical 355 arguements and flames. Or have I been gone too long? 356 ------------------------------- B.A.D. -------------------------------------- 357 . 014=Usr:333 Bartender Slug 11/18/89 20:49 Msg:4583 Call:25528 Lines:3 358 359 You've been gone too long. 360 015=Usr:29 The Bard 11/18/89 23:54 Msg:4584 Call:25531 Lines:16 361 Let me get this straight, you seem to be saying that it is *wrong* for a 362 newspaper to only print the views that it's editors agree with. If so, wouldn't 363 it follow that they should be forced to print other views? In that case, what 364 has happened to "freedom of the press"? 365 366 Sorry, but to have any meaning, freedom of the press must include the freedom 367 to *not* print views you disagree with. And I (and many others) maintain that 368 a BBS should come under freedom of the press, not freedom of speech. 369 370 As for copyright, monetary gain does *not* matter. The penalties are the same 371 whether the illegal copies are free or you charge for them. And if you check, 372 sysops *have* been charged with copyright violation for carrying copies of 373 software on *free* systems. As long as there is any doubt, I'd hope you'd 374 refrain from anything that might lead to legal action. You may not be easy to 375 find, but the sysop is! 376 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 016=Usr:47 John Dilks 11/19/89 11:07 Msg:4585 Call:25534 Lines:45 377 -------------------------] 378 To news person: You yourself seem to have some pretty "novel" ideas about 379 things. Copyright infringment is when you use the copyright holder's 380 material without their permission. Since the news services make their 381 permission requirements well know, and it is obvious that you are not 382 following that persion since you don't indicate the permission in your 383 messages you are in violation of those copyrights. Whether the news service 384 decides to legally go after you in particular is a whole different issue 385 over and above that of copyright violation. 386 No matter what the sysop says in the opening message, if he is aware of 387 the copyright violation and permits it to continue then he is an 388 accesory to the crime, and is punishable under law. The laws regarding 389 this issue are very clear. You cannot escape responsibility simply by 390 saying that you are not responsible. 391 In regard to censureship and freedom of speech verses freedom of press, 392 that is another issue where you seem to have things muddled, as is often 393 the case with many people. It shows how poorly the schools are teaching 394 the very underpinings that this country is based on. 395 As the little blub says at the start of the disk, "he who pays the bills 396 gets to make the rules." That is the basis behind the freedoms. If I put 397 together a newspaper, no one can force me to put in the paper anything 398 that I do not feel fits. That is an editorial right declared declared by 399 constitution itself. On the same note it means that YOU can do the same, 400 put together a newspaper (or other form of information media) and present 401 your views as you deem it, and no one can tell you what you can or cannot 402 put in the paper. That is YOUR editorial right since you are paying the 403 bills for your own media. 404 Censorship. This is a messy area that gets pretty muddled even by those 405 "in the know". The reason why is because the laws have been pretty well 406 mangled on this issue. Some of them are justified, others aren't. 407 One example of censorship that is acceptable under the laws is that of 408 the government control over the broadcast industry. The reason behind this 409 is that the airwaves belong to the public, not to the media. As such, the 410 public is leasing air space to the braodcast industry. This means that the 411 public (in the form of the government) has the right to place restrictions 412 on what can and cannot be braodcast over their airwaves. 413 An area where censorship is less viable is in the movie industry. Obviously, 414 you do not have to see a movie if you don't want to, nor is it broadcast 415 over publicly owned airwaves. Yet there is censorship in the form of the 416 movie rating system (G,PG,PG13,R - there is no such rating as X by the way, 417 that was an invention by the porn industry). This is however a voluntary 418 censorship. That is, the movie industry submits to it under pressure. They 419 are not required to follow it, but do so since they want to make money. 420 Rats, runnig out of time... 421 ---------------------------- John ---------------------------------------- 017=Usr:47 John Dilks 11/19/89 11:39 Msg:4586 Call:25535 Lines:30 422 A quick addon here about "public media." That's a messy conotation. 423 The problem here is that you seem to be mixing Publicly owned media 424 verses privately owned media. As with the broadcast media, there can 425 be some public control of privately owned media. Or as is the case 426 with most newspapers, there can be none. It is not a black and white 427 issue. It depends on many factors. Because a store is open to the 428 public, it does not mean that you have any right to tell them what 429 they can put on their shelves and what they can't. Though a wise store 430 manager will listen to the customers, it is still his decision, not yours. 431 The same is true for a newspaper. On the other hand, the congressional 432 record belongs to the public, therefore it is a "Public media" all government 433 publications belong to the people, and therefore are public. However, 434 some of them may be restricted by the represetatives of the people (the 435 government) for various reasons. 436 Basically what this all means is that if you use public funds or other 437 assistance, then the public has the right to control what is printed. 438 If you use only your own private finds and materials, then no one can 439 tell you what can or cannotbe printed. You can have your distribution 440 limited though if itadversly affects the public. An example is the control 441 of adult book stores. The control only comes into being when it involves 442 the public as a whole. If you sell a dirty magazine to someone else in the 443 privacy of your own home without anyone else involved, then it is a transaction 444 between the two of you, and the public has no say over it. Though there are 445 some who would like to control such things and have periodicaly tried. 446 (and sometimes succeded for a time). 447 Basically what this means is that if Mikey doesn't want to carry news re-prints 448 on his "selves", then he doesn't have to. This is because you are free to 449 print your news at your own expense if you wish. Since Mikey pays the bills 450 here, he gets to make the rules. That is his right, not yours. 451 ------------------------- John -------------- gone on too long about it all---- 018=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 11/19/89 12:29 Msg:4587 Call:25537 Lines:10 452 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 453 John: Just a quick side note. There IS a rating for X in reality. It simply 454 means that ANYONE under 18 cannot attend the film, even with adult permission. 455 It is a registered rating..... just go to any theater, and you'll see a list o 456 of the ratings and their significance. What are NOT listed are the XX, XXX, or 457 however many extra X's they want to put on. THOSE were created by the 458 pornography oindustry. X simply means that NO ONE under 18 will supposedly be 459 allowed i..... which is why most of the films that are X are designed for 460 people with mindsets between the 14-17 age range. :) 461 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 019=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 11/19/89 12:52 Msg:4588 Call:25538 Lines:31 462 ********************************************************************** 463 OK people, just so that we are all aware of the basis by which all 464 this is derived, here are the following Consitutional amendments 465 from the Bill of Rights which deal with the subject being discussed. 466 467 Article I 468 Religious Establishment Prohibited. Freedom of Speech, of the Press, 469 and Right to Petition. 470 471 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 472 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 473 speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably 474 assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 475 476 Article IX 477 Rule of Construction of Constitution. 478 479 The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not 480 be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 481 482 Article X 483 Rights of States under Constitution. 484 485 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 486 nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 487 respectively, or to the people. 488 489 *********************************************************************** 490 As an interesting aspect, note that it does not prohibit the States 491 from restricting freedoms or rights, only the Congress. 492 *********************************************************************** 020=Usr:13 voyeur 11/19/89 23:49 Msg:4589 Call:25552 Lines:56 493 WwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwW 494 495 He was a pale man of medium height and slight build. When one chanced to 496 glimpse him going about his business, it was not so much his physical charac- 497 teristics they found remarkable, but rather his mannerisms. 498 For he scurried through his life permanently hunched over a small hand- 499 held device. Indeed, in its presence -- which is as much to say 'under all 500 occasions' -- he appeared quite impervious to stimulation from any external 501 source. 502 Nor do I feel it amiss to exclude said device from the ranks of those 503 objects external to himself, so amazing was the way his nimble hands deftly 504 played over its miniature keyboard in a bond that could be termed symbiotic; 505 but which to some seemed genetic in origin. 506 I knew not the details of the device -- or of the man, for that matter -- 507 though I worked closely with him, or them, for very many years. And if you 508 have noted my confusion on his (or their) classification, I would state this: 509 That I have become convinced that he and it were interwoven. And that the 510 destruction of one would so alter the other that neither could maintain in 511 existence -- the one being destroyed and the other so altered as to be an 512 essentially different being. 513 Extraordinary as this statement may see, I am compelled still to offer 514 it without elaboration, except to describe to you the observations that led to 515 its utterance. 516 517 Where we have all seen that normal individuals, when forming a thought, 518 will categorize the thought and file it away in his memory for later recall, 519 I observed that my colleague would no sooner create an idea than his fingers 520 would play it out on the little keyboard earlier mentioned. The process would 521 occur so quickly and so flawlessly, that the man was under no personal 522 obligation to file the thought in his own memory. 523 On one occasion when he and I were conversing, we came to a point where 524 he seemed to desire referring to me by name. He paused for a brief moment, 525 and, as it was a rare instance when I could see the device's display, I saw my 526 name appear on the screen, which allowed him to continue. 527 On this line I would interject two beliefs: one, that some of my 528 colleague's conversations were scripted in their entirety by the thing. The 529 other, that in all the years we worked together, I believe he never endeavored 530 to memorize my name. 531 If this seems odd, however, I will now mention that I never learned my 532 friend's true name. Most certainly, even if compelled under the threat of 533 death (or, much worse, physical discomfort) I could never have revealed more 534 than a ponderous list of pseudonyms. 535 536 As it was that the two beings seemed inextricably connected, it is note- 537 worthy that the man could frequently be found arguing with the device in a 538 most passionate fashion. I believe this was analagous to the way most of us 539 debate internally a course of action when confronted with more than one poss- 540 ibility. It was as if he was obliged to consult the mechanism to discern his 541 own mind. 542 But I find that I have digressed from my intended discourse. For the 543 events I now set out to describe began on a certain autumn day when he was 544 sent on a particular mission. He was to be the first contact for a newly 545 indoctrinated agent I much later learned owned the name of 'Albright'. 546 547 WwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWw Watsworth wWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwW 548 021=Usr:402 DELTA.FIVE SHANN 11/20/89 01:55 Msg:4590 Call:25554 Lines:32 549 [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] DELTA FIVE [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] 550 Greetings from Smogicon Valley. ZEPHYR: What you say is true. I have never expe 551 ienced anything like the dog-eat-dog out-for-he-buck greed that is the way of 552 life here. Every day I spend in Californicate I detest it more. (Soon, I am 553 buying a motorhome and getting the hell out) What I was trying to say is that 554 there are some decent people here, and I was impressed with how many took the 555 time to help others, and that I got a good feeling from having been one of them 556 This was the RACES; Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services. I delivered a few 557 messages recieved from ham operators; people wanting to know if relatives, etc, 558 were alive and well, and providing transportation for people in need of same. 559 California, in general, sucks. But there are some decent people here. 560 L'Homme: I saw someone who resembled Leroy and lobbed off a few rounds in his 561 general direction, but I think I missed...Look for mail, now that I have your 562 address. 563 564 I have taken the liberty of naming my new BBS after Backwater. If cistop Mikey 565 objects, I will-in respect for my favorite board-change it. For now, it is 566 Backwater South. This is a 'Citadel' (rooms) system that auto networks with 567 a hundred or so BBS's all over the world. One room (spy) will be for NET 568 stories. Names of BWMS characters are reserved here, and thay can have the 569 same names here as in Portland. 570 User validation is not required; new users have all privledges. Log on with 571 whatever name you like, set your password, and you are on. 572 573 If anyone in Portland is on a Citadel system, please let me know, and I will 574 look into networking with them. 575 576 If anyone is in touch with John (Dreamtoucher) please let me know... 577 Backwater South is 408-293-0525 300,1200,2400 N81; PO Box 1883 San Jose 578 Californicate 95109. 579 580 [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] DELTA FIVE IN SAN JOSE [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] 022=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/20/89 07:25 Msg:4591 Call:25555 Lines:8 581 &*&*&*&*'s 582 DELTA FIVE, there are atleast a couple of reliable Citadel systems here in 583 Portland. One of them is 3CPU at 2469712, and the other is Great Corrupter at 584 2368311. Both subscribe to altleast a few of the rooms on the national net. 585 586 An Astral Dreamer 587 &*&*&*&*'s 588 023=Usr:219 Friar Mossback 11/20/89 16:50 Msg:4592 Call:25562 Lines:26 589 ***************************************************************** 590 * * 591 * A Personal Invitation * 592 * * 593 * All BackWater BBS patrons are invited to join the ranks of * 594 * * 595 * ==>> A Flight of Inspiration <<== * 596 * * 597 * A new BBS running QuickBBS. It is intended as a replacement * 598 * for Blue Parrot on an interim basis, and for JD's Place on a * 599 * permanent basis. It is also intended as a suplement to BW, * 600 * not in lieu of. The sysop of the system is Friar, and the * 601 * chronicles here (BWMS) are from a different time. * 602 * * 603 * The technical particulars are: 300/1200/2400 baud * 604 * (300 from 0100-1500) * 605 * N-8-1 * 606 * No MNP * 607 * ANSI colors available * 608 * * 609 * Call when you wish, aliases are allowed, even encouraged! * 610 * * 611 * ==>> 7 7 7 - x x x x <<== * 612 * * 613 ***************************************************************** 614 024=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine , 11/21/89 00:52 Msg:4593 Call:25569 Lines:20 615 {} 616 617 AD: Consider that I now work 10-18 hours a day, and that many others 618 are "running out of time". "Responsible Age" is creeping up on all of 619 us, and that usually translates into "less time". In the few 21 years 620 I have been living, I knew that this would come; and I have always 621 sought a means of escape from it, to my world, not just a world of 622 fiction and daydreams, but a world that I can sleep, eat, love, 623 harvest, and enjoy in. Do not remorse the loss of "time"; I finally 624 understand a message that Mr. Wilson left in his first trilogy. Age 625 and Death are what we really are escaping from, and as we can't prolong 626 life or create living immortality, we seek to spend as much time 627 enjoying our little world as possible. The Games of Mankind, 628 that is, Power/Government, Money/Economics, Belief Control/Religion, 629 and the Good-Evil alignment, are mearly distractions from 630 the ultimate: the end of existence. Out of time, continue later... 631 632 Hagbard Celine 633 634 {} 025=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/21/89 08:48 Msg:4594 Call:25573 Lines:16 635 &*&*&*&*'s 636 Hagbard, To some extent I understand what you are talking about. I only work 637 8 hours a day usually, but with commuting and preperation it is closer to ten. 638 Add in 8 hours for sleep and there isn't much time left. And even those six or 639 so hours don't seem to last long enough. 640 641 But for me I don't think that it is the lack of time. I just can't seem to 642 get into the right mindset to actually write somthing. I don't see how 643 people do this sort of thing on a part time basis. I suppose being largly 644 ignored on alt.prose earlier in the year didn't help my enthusiasm either. 645 646 Enough of my complaints. It was nice to have somebody acknowledge my existence. 647 648 An Astral Dreamer 649 &*&*&*&*'s 650 026=Usr:277 Schizo 11/21/89 23:12 Msg:4595 Call:25584 Lines:2 651 I am still alive, Am I? 652 - Schizo 027=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine , 11/22/89 00:21 Msg:4596 Call:25587 Lines:79 653 654 {} 655 656 Writing is simply the by-product of your imagination. Having 657 writer's block is, well, being self-concious. Let your writing 658 drift off... 659 660 * * * 661 662 ...to another day, although not as perfect as the previous. Winter 663 is near, and the cool air outside is a constant reminder. As I walk, 664 I notice that my tummy protests; not in hunger, but in fullness. I've 665 made the mistake of filling up and not waiting for my meal to 666 subside. Each step causes my abdominals to groan in pain, and 667 it's another block to the house. Sometimes I panic that I'll 668 explode because I didn't stop walking, but I always make it back 669 in time to rest. My eyes look in despiration for the colour of the 670 house - ah, there it is! A slow trot brings me to the front door, 671 fingers numbly searching for the house key, body swollen and 672 perspiring from heavy clothing, the key, the key, almost had it, 673 YES! Jamming the key into the door pains my fingers further, but the 674 warmth of the house brings relief... 675 676 * * * 677 678 ...to my own writer's block. Granted, the last paragraph was 679 dull, poorly constructed, and filled with the wonderfully bad 680 grammar of "west-coast southern", as I was raised in southern Oregon 681 (ICK!) - but I wrote it "improptu". I know (almost) EXACTLY how 682 you feel. Remember, there are three sides to each coin, and 683 seeing only two adds to the falacy. You wish to sensitize yourself 684 to the world, but the emotions and pain around you swell like 685 a tsunami, and you wish to be indifferent and cold. The third side 686 to this "flat coin" is to either look for alternatives or to 687 precisely control your sensitivity to others. Am I right in 688 understanding that you feel discouraged mainly by the lack of 689 sensitivity of others on the board (ie., they are disinterested 690 in writing, and of your own), and because of this "problem", you 691 wish to sound indifferent? Where's that third alternative? 692 Why not be indifferent, yet write for your OWN enjoyment? Or 693 do you not enjoy the creative part of your own prose? Isn't it 694 the same feeling as what you get seeing a large program run after 695 weeks of work? Or the same as when a mechanic's hot rod comes to 696 life, after a meticulous build & modification? Or how about the 697 chemist that produces a synthetic substance as a personal experiment? 698 Do you ever experience that feeling? Better yet, do you understand 699 how to control yourself to produce results, while remaining 700 sensitive to other's opinions? You must walk the "Razor's Edge" 701 to find this, and your feet WILL hurt the first time. 702 703 OK, to say this in easier terms, GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND START 704 WRITING. Even if it is a snippet, or a short paragraph, or 705 a new (but weird) joke, or ANYTHING, you should write it. 706 Birds sing without applause - a saying I see at someone's desk 707 at work. But the point is that people DO enjoy your writing. 708 Maybe they wish to see you WRITE SOME MORE; and even if they don't 709 you should take pride in what you do. If you can't, then "type 710 DOC at the prompt to receive help" ;->) 711 712 Hang in there!!!! 713 714 {} 715 716 Inside, I sat upon my duff, throw my legs into the air and onto 717 the couch arm, and close my eyes in bliss, knowing full well that 718 many house chores remain to be done. In my bliss, I go far, far 719 away to what cou...would be a better world, well, you MIGHT say 720 could. One where the poor don't walk the streets, but live in 721 houses, where money has little meaning in relation to enjoying life, 722 and in general, peace between neighbors of different beliefs, 723 harmony between countries of different idology, and understanding 724 of how every individual affects the world in a minute but 725 important way. 726 727 Nah. Too easy for the human race. Isn't it? 728 729 Hagbard Celine 730 731 {} 028=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/22/89 16:18 Msg:4597 Call:25591 Lines:20 732 &*&*&*&*'s 733 Hagbard, I think a large part of the pleasure I gain from writting is in 734 getting input from other people. Wether it is to tell me they like it, or 735 that they dislike it. I guess I am as guilty as anybody else, as I seldom 736 take the time to comment on the fiction I see here. But I do often comment 737 on the debates and other conversation, and I have even tried to start a 738 debate or two. In those cases I have found I am almost always ignored. 739 I think that is what really discourages/annoys me. 740 741 No fiction today, but I do have a question. I am thinking of designing and 742 implamenting (In software.) a CPU. I know, it sounds strange, but I do have 743 reasons for it. Now what I would like to know is what do you need for a CPU, 744 and how do these parts interact? I know you need registers, OPCODES, interupts, 745 etc. 746 747 So, would somebody PLEASE give me some info? 748 749 An Astral Dreamer 750 &*&*&*&*'s 751 029=Usr:29 The Bard 11/22/89 20:40 Msg:4598 Call:25595 Lines:7 752 Mikey: 753 The Supreme Court has more or less established the precedent that th 754 states may not abrogate any of the rights enumerated in the Constitution. So 755 with regards to the Federal Government the constitution (plus amendments) 756 delineates the *minimum* set of rights. With regards to the states, it may 757 delineate the *maximum* rights you have... 758 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 030=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 11/22/89 21:19 Msg:4599 Call:25597 Lines:34 759 Bard, 760 I'm not arguing with that. I only considered it interesting that the 761 rights were not specifically specified as not being restrictable by the 762 states. Thus it becomes a matter of interpritation, which means it can 763 change in the future (as happened with the Roe/Wade decision). 764 Actually, it's interesting reading the constitution. It's actually a 765 rather vague document full of loop holes (obviously written by lawers! ;-) 766 Even areas that seemed to be very solid and well defined when I read it 767 in school now looks hopelessly vague. Probably because I'm used to the 768 way the legal and political system manages to mangle the words and 769 intent to mean whatever they want. As an example, look at Article II; 770 "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" 'A well-regulated militia being 771 necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people 772 to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' That's all it says, 773 no exceptions, no weasle words. Yet as we both know, there are a 774 multitude of regulations controlling the ownership of weapons, including 775 regulations which inhibit the ownership of certain weapons. When I was 776 in school, it seemed to be very clear to me. It stated that no laws 777 could be made that restricted the ownership or use of weapons. 778 (Infringed means the restriction of rights). But obviously the lawyers, 779 politicians, and people felt so strongly that some regulations were needed 780 that they were willing to redefine the words to mean what they wanted 781 them to mean. 782 783 In regard to the comment somewhere above about the "X" rating, I suspect 784 that what John was talking about is that "X" is not an offically 785 rating by the board of movie censors (or whatever they are calling 786 themselves these days). They don't want to have anything to do with 787 those kinds of movies. Officially they are NR for Not Rated. 788 But the movie industry uses the rating because it needs to notify 789 the viewers of the type of movie it is. All the Not Rated means is that 790 the censure board has not placed a rating on the movie either because it 791 has not reviewed the movie, or because it refuses to review the movie. 792 ********************************* CM ********************************** 031=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 11/23/89 15:45 Msg:4600 Call:25607 Lines:22 793 ============================================================================= 794 Well "Cub", one reason your postings went on so long before being commented on 795 is because believe it or not, there is a lot of patience on this system. We 796 have had News reports before that stimulated discussion. These previous 797 postings started something much bigger. Many of your postings were lifted 798 almost word for word from the original. What did you expect in return for 799 your efforts? You talk *at* people, not *to* them. This went on for awhile, 800 with no signs of letting up. Instead of asking people what they thought, you 801 started posting more. Enough is enough! And you started seeing comments. What 802 did you do? Did you attempt a response to these people? Did you try to start 803 a dialogue? You just wrapped your little self up tighter and started posting 804 more! What a mature attitude! You could have turned this whole thing around 805 but instead you chose the easy, childish path. Now look where it has lead. 806 807 Never mind the copyright issue. You have acted childish, petty, and extremely 808 immature. Now you cry about censorship. Well, at least you are replying 809 instead of simply uploading another 100 line zinger. 810 811 But what does it gain you? What does it do for the other users on this 812 system? You did know there were other users here, didn't you? This is 813 not your private playground, hard as that may be to believe. 814 =================================================disgusted================== 032=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 11/23/89 17:15 Msg:4601 Call:25609 Lines:16 815 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 816 Wow! After what seemed like two months, the disk is almost full! Why am I 817 suddenly feeling claustaphobic... almost like a rabbit in a...... no, let's not 818 get on THAT kick again. 819 Astral Dreamer: Re - Response - I'll be the first to comment, assuming someone 820 doesn't beat me to it. 821 Mikey: Curious, that. I'm looking at my copy of the MPA's guidelines, and 822 "X" is clearly listed as valid, though, judging from the wording, it certainly 823 seems that, while they see it as a valid rating, they do NOT see the material 824 involved as being valid. 825 Why don't we just go to "A" for Adult, as was suggested in a petition created 826 by Siskel & Ebert, hoping that it would shut don the crime/pornfilm connection 827 and regulate the things a bit (Their distribution, that is). Leave the 828 regulation of the material to the board of filmmakers, or what have you. 829 Close to the bottom....... 830 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 033=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/23/89 17:38 Msg:4602 Call:25610 Lines:7 831 &*&*&*&*'s 832 833 Zephyr, thanks for the acknowledgement. Looks like thats all I'm going to get. 834 835 An Astral Dreamer 836 &*&*&*&*'s 837 034=Usr:4 Milchar 11/23/89 19:21 Msg:4603 Call:25613 Lines:4 838 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 839 AD: Have a Happy Thanksgiving in the Dalles! Say "hi" to your mother 840 for me... 841 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 035=Usr:57 Mantyle 11/23/89 23:50 Msg:4604 Call:25623 Lines:30 842 >..........>.........>........>.......>......>.....>....>...>..>.>>>>>>>>>>>> 843 It hadn't been that long. It *couldn't* have been that long. A 844 traveler is used to change; returning temporarily to an old home after 845 being away is like catching a new glimpse of a long-lost friend. 846 Certainly there are new wrinkles, lines of wisdom and experience 847 attesting to the passing of time, but usually the friend is 848 recognizable. Rarely is the change so complete, so overwhelming as to 849 cause you to wonder if the person before you is really that old friend. 850 A face can age, can mature, can even seem to decay; but not this. Not 851 such total change. Except... it couldn't be anywhere else. 852 A hot wind blew constantly, occasionally seasoning it's service 853 with a fine mix of sand and dirt. At one time a traveler entering 854 these lands might wish to wear a cloak as proof against the cold and 855 wet. Now, the same cloak and hood strives in a vain effort to protect 856 from the assaults of the desert. 857 Standing on a sandstone bluff, the traveler's eyes closed. Yes, 858 this might have once been the hill near home. It... feels... right. 859 And below, yes, there's a dried out creek bed. Right spot. Right 860 depth. Follow it northwest, yes, there's a dead tree where the creek 861 once split and rejoined. The traveler sighed softly. No matter what 862 this place is now, what it once was is still a part of it. Then, a 863 smile. Perhaps that's how it should be. A place is defined by those 864 living there, and life must continue. We all have to live our lives. 865 The traveler pulled the sides of the hood tighter, tied the 866 strings to hold it in place, and began to work down the crumbling sides 867 of the bluff to the creek bed below. There were still a few places to 868 be seen, and though they might be thoroughly changed they were still 869 linked to memories. Good memories. Nothing could change that. 870 871 >..........>.........>........>.......>......>.....>....>...>..>.>>>>>>>>> 036=Usr:402 DELTA.FIVE SHANN 11/24/89 01:27 Msg:4605 Call:25627 Lines:10 872 Where did my border go? Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from DV. 873 Control characters re the nemesis of BBS writers. 874 where are the line numbers? 875 876 877 CISTOP MIKEY: APPOLOGIES FOR (PRESUMED) DISJOINTED MESSAGES. GETTING USED TO 878 THE NEW BACKWATER 879 =PLUS LINE NOISES IN (YUCK) CALIFORNAI... 880 MY SCREEN WENT BLANK 881 ? 037=Usr:13 voyeur 11/24/89 01:56 Msg:4606 Call:25628 Lines:5 882 -----------??----------??------------??------------??-----------??------??----- 883 Hey Mikey! I just came from Flights of Inspiration, and guess what name I see 884 in the user log? Pamela Coleman (from Seattle). Then I come here and see 885 the 'Traveler' entry... Ghosts from the past, eh? Thanks Giving, indeed. 886 -----------!!----------!!------------!!------------!!-----------!!------!!----- 038=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/24/89 08:31 Msg:4607 Call:25631 Lines:8 887 &*&*&*&*'s 888 Thanks Milch, hope you T-Day was a good one. No ranting today, I've annoyed 889 people enough. Or not at all, in which case my theory has still been proven. 890 891 An Astral Dreamer 892 &*&*&*&*'s (I don't keep quite if I think I'm right. If this offends anybody, 893 then TOUGH COOKIES. Prove me wrong and I'll always apologize.) 894 039=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY 11/24/89 13:33 Msg:4608 Call:25640 Lines:10 895 ******************************************************************** 896 Zephyr: I could very well be wrong on my information since it was 897 obtained from a documentery on censurship on TV. 898 Voyeur: Yes, I do sense the echoing foot prints of a familar tone. 899 Traveler: The passage of time causes many changes. People come, 900 people go, and around these here parts that happens a lot. 901 I'm sure that the pendulem will swing the other way once more in time. 902 For now there are a lot of echoing foot prints and drifting ghosts 903 floating around in these halls. 904 ******************************** CM ********************************* 040=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 11/24/89 23:03 Msg:4609 Call:25655 Lines:11 905 *%_@#)%)_#@(%)_#@(%)_@#%)(#_)%(@_)%(@!)_$!_+)$_+!$(*)_(%)_$(@_)#%()@_#(%@_#(%@% 906 Administrivia... 907 908 voyeur: Are you or aren't you? You know what I am talking about. Give me a call 909 before Sunday evening or hold you peace for awhile. 910 911 Milch: did you get my latest email on patches? 912 913 DV: Watch out behind you. One never knows who one might see in one's rear 914 view mirror. 915 *#@*%$)@_#(%)_#@(%@)_^*)_$#(^)_#@ L'homme sans Parity *%@)*%)_@(_)(_)!()$(*@)_( 041=Usr:4 Milchar 11/25/89 16:18 Msg:4610 Call:25672 Lines:3 916 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 917 L'homme: Yep. I'll call 'em on Monday. 918 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++ 042=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par 11/25/89 20:36 Msg:4611 Call:25677 Lines:3 919 *%*_)%(@_)%()_@#(%@)_#(%_#@(%)_(#@%)#(@)_@(%_)@(%)_($)@_(@_(%$*@)_*^%@)_(%_)#( 920 Milch: Good. Email me the results. And happy printing! 921 %)@#(%)@_()_#@($)_@#(%)_@%(@)_(% L'homme sans Parity *$#)_$!)_@($)_!($)!_($!)_@ 043=Usr:322 Stray Cat 11/26/89 07:32 Msg:4612 Call:25689 Lines:4 922 923 I liked your new word, Hagbard. Was "idology" a typo??? Might be a whole lot 924 more accurate that "ideology" sometimes dont you think?? 925 044=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/27/89 10:00 Msg:4618 Call:25717 Lines:15 926 &*&*&*&*'s 927 Well, looks like a new version of Backwater. I wonder what the changes are? 928 929 Ah Ha! Looks like we now have private mail. The help screen seems to imply 930 931 that you can type pri, but in fact you have to type the whole word. Or perhaps 932 I don't quite understand what is going on. Oh, if you ask for help from within 933 the mail menu it gives you the normal help. It would also be nice if 934 there were an option to send mail to the person who entered stuff on a certain 935 line, so that annonymity could be maintained while still allowing people to 936 reply in private. Just an idea. 937 938 An Astral Dreamer 939 &*&*&*&*'s 940 045=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/28/89 18:40 Msg:4628 Call:25749 Lines:3 941 942 Place Marker. 943 046=Usr:49 Bob Bennet 11/28/89 23:23 Msg:4629 Call:25752 Lines:2 944 945 047=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/29/89 14:03 Msg:4632 Call:25767 Lines:3 946 947 Place Marker Day 2. 948 048=Usr:4 Milchar 11/29/89 18:16 Msg:4634 Call:25770 Lines:4 949 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 950 L'homme: Just in case you call BW from down south, you have mail on 951 quiche. 952 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch +++++++++++++++++++++ 049=Usr:322 Stray Cat 11/29/89 18:23 Msg:4635 Call:25771 Lines:9 953 954 @_)(&#@)!^@#+@#$*&_$@(*#_!(*@#_!*@^##@%!@#&!_)*@(^%$!)@#&)@(!*!^@@)#^$ 955 956 mine's never as pretty as yours ... drat. 957 958 ... Albright, I like your stuff!!! 959 960 @_)#($&^_@#)_(!@)#%^(!#@&$_@$#)&@#!^@#+$(@#)&$!@#)!&@#__^!@#&)(*!@#^#&) 961 050=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 11/30/89 16:21 Msg:4637 Call:25806 Lines:3 962 963 All Purpose marker day 3 964 051=Usr:286 Jeff Marten 12/01/89 03:22 Msg:4638 Call:25821 Lines:3 965 966 Today's Outlook : Cautiously Realistic 967 052=Usr:84 Michael Miller j 12/01/89 13:31 Msg:4639 Call:25826 Lines:6 968@ 969@All Purpose Marker day 5 970@ 971 972 All purpose marker day 4 973 053=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock 12/01/89 22:13 Msg:4640 Call:25836 Lines:26 974 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 975 L'Homme: Glad to see that the NET might be getting ready for a little outing. 976 Mine was temporarly stalled by sudden and unexpected evvents, so it looks 977 like you're going to have to take on the role of administrator of the token 978 multi-author story until mine can finish up. 979 Traveler: I detect a resounding and familiar harp playing through your words. 980 Welcome back, if suspicions are correct. 981 982 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 983 984 The mesa top was silent, save for the scratchings of an occasional field 985 sprite rummaging through the think pink wheat enshrouded in a coat of dense 986 fog. Within the waves of wheat stood Michael, the Cloaked Man, as he scanned 987 the horizon, frowning at the pulsating aura of the Great Stone Triangle. 988 The Triangle fluctuated spasmically tonight. He had noticed, too, a shift 989 of presence in the air, as if a primal force had, if only for a moment, spread 990 its life giving hands across the mesa. Out of the corner of his silver eye, 991 the Cloaked Man thought he caught the glimpse of a being in blue robes, but 992 it had faded into the obscuring green mist before he could be sure it even 993 existed. 994 Turning his attention back to his automatic scans, he cursed. The Friar 995 and the Quantier were now somehow blocked from his range of vision, probably by 996 some protective shield. Time was short, and he was low on supplies. Pressing 997 a small button on the silver rod, he vanished, his sigh carried on the wind. 998 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==== 999 Trapped between a border and the Abyss! Aaaaaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!