lost one's mind. Or not to have a mind at all. How true that is."* -- Vice President Dan Quayle (winning friends while peaking to the United Negro College Fund) ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) Copyright (C) 1993 by Greg Chartrand. All rights reserved. (2) NSFnet backbone project (3) 155 megabit (4) high speed data transfer (5) Network Access Points (NAP's) (6) NSF sponsored super computer centers (7) The contractor providing the NAP's. (8) The contractor to provide the backbone telecommunications services (9) The Existing internet, regional, state, and other networks (10) NSF plans to provide interim funding for NSF regionals to connect to the NAP's. State networks and other government agencies are on their own. (11) The existing NSFnet will be turned off at some point after the new "arrangement" is in place. (12) The Very High Speed Backbone Service (VBNS) is reserved for applications and purposes where a demonstrated need for high speed/capacity transmission is needed. (13) NSF will require approval. (14) NSF does not wish to clog the VBNS with low speed aggregate traffic unless additions are made to the network. 70 MPH = 45 MBS. (15) The NSF expects commercial providers like AT&T, MCI to put networking between NAP's. Most of the existing NSFnet traffic would go over these commercial networks which would have to be paid for by the users. (16) The usefulness of super computer systems has been grossly reduced by the technological advances associated with very powerful Unix work stations. Super computers fill a diminishing niche in science and industry. (17) NSF is looking for potential users that can use more than one super computer center and use the VBNS to make the application work. Applications of this nature are a bit obscure. (18) There are no specifications for commercial providers. (19) NSF super computer centers are no longer funded by NSF so they compete for commercial and non-commercial business. (20) NSF is asking the NSF super computer centers to develop demonstration applications which show how the network might be used. These applications would demonstrate, and not necessarly do anything useful. (21) The major telecommunications suppliers will be selling similar services this year without the complications of the NAP's. The NAP's primary function would allow communications between commercial vendors which would be very useful, but it is unclear if the telecommunications suppliers will "buy" into this concept. Lingo ***** This glossary is only a tiny subset of all of the various terms and other things that people regularly use on The Net. For a more complete (and more entertaining) reference, get a copy of "The New Hacker's Dictionary", which is based on a VERY large text file called the Jargon File, edited by Eric Raymond . It is available from the MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142; its ISBN number is `0-262-68069-6'. The up-to-date version of the Jargon File "The on-line hacker Jargon File, version 3.0, 29 July 1993", is kept on various FTP servers (e.g. from `ftp.gnu.ai.mit.edu' as file `/pub/gnu/jarg300.txt.gz'). `:-)': This odd symbol is one of the ways a person can portray "mood" in the very flat medium of computers--by using "smilies." This is `metacommunication', and there are literally hundreds of them, from the obvious to the obscure. This particular example expresses "happiness." Don't see it? Tilt your head to the left 90 degrees. Smilies are also used to denote sarcasm. ASCII: Has two meanings. ASCII is a universal computer code for English letters and characters. Computers store all information as binary numbers. In ASCII, the letter "A" is stored as 1000001, whether the computer is made by IBM, Apple or Commodore. ASCII also refers to a method, or protocol, for copying files from one computer to another over a network, in which neither computer checks for any errors that might have been caused by static or other problems. ANSI: Computers use several different methods for deciding how to put information on your screen and how your keyboard interacts with the screen. ANSI is one of these "terminal emulation" methods. Although most popular on PC-based bulletin-board systems, it can also be found on some Net sites. To use it properly, you will first have to turn it on, or enable it, in your communications software. ARPANet: A predecessor of the Internet. Started in 1969 with funds from the Defense Department's Advanced Projects Research Agency. Backbone: A high-speed network that connects several powerful computers. In the U.S., the backbone of the Internet is often considered the NSFNet, a government funded link between a handful of supercomputer sites across the country. Baud: The speed at which modems transfer data. One baud is roughly equal to one bit per second. It takes eight bits to make up one letter or character. Modems rarely transfer data at exactly the same speed as their listed baud rate because of static or computer problems. More expensive modems use systems, such as Microcom Network Protocol (MNP), which can correct for these errors or which "compress" data to speed up transmission. BITNet: Another, academically oriented, international computer network, which uses a different set of computer instructions to move data. It is easily accessible to Internet users through e-mail, and provides a large number of conferences and databases. Its name comes from "Because It's Time." Bounce: What your e-mail does when it cannot get to its recipient - it bounces back to you. Command line: On Unix host systems, this is where you tell the machine what you want it to do, by entering commands. Communications software: A program that tells a modem how to work. Daemon: An otherwise harmless Unix program that normally works out of sight of the user. On the Internet, you'll most likely encounter it only when your e-mail is not delivered to your recipient - you'll get back your original message plus an ugly message from a "mailer daemon." Distribution: A way to limit where your Usenet postings go. Handy for such things as "for sale" messages or discussions of regional politics. Domain: The last part of an Internet address, such as "news.com." Dot: When you want to impress the net veterans you meet at parties, say "dot" instead of "period," for example: "My address is john at site dot domain dot com." Dot file: A file on a Unix public-access system that alters the way you or your messages interact with that system. For example, your .login file contains various parameters for such things as the text editor you get when you send a message. When you do an ls command, these files do not appear in the directory listing; do `ls -a' to list them. Down: When a public-access site runs into technical trouble, and you can no longer gain access to it, it's down. Download: Copy a file from a host system to your computer. There are several different methods, or protocols, for downloading files, most of which periodically check the file as it is being copied to ensure no information is inadvertently destroyed or damaged during the process. Some, such as XMODEM, only let you download one file at a time. Others, such as batch-YMODEM and ZMODEM, let you type in the names of several files at once, which are then automatically downloaded. EMACS: From Editing MACroS. A standard Unix text editor that beginners hate, and hackers adore. E-mail: Electronic mail - a way to send a private message to somebody else on the Net. Used as both noun and verb. Emoticon: A smiley. See `:-)'. F2F: Face to Face. When you actually meet those people you been corresponding with/flaming. FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions. A compilation of answers to these. Many Usenet newsgroups have these files, which are posted once a month or so for beginners. FYI: For Your Interest. Film at 11: One reaction to an overwrought argument: "Imminent death of the Net predicted. Film at 11." Finger: An Internet program that lets you get some bit of information about another user, provided they have first created a `.plan' file. Flame: Online yelling and/or ranting directed at somebody else. Often results in flame wars, which occasionally turn into holy wars (*Note Flame Wars to Killfiles::). Followup: A Usenet posting that is a response to an earlier message. Foo/foobar: A sort of online algebraic place holder, for example: "If you want to know when another site is run by a for-profit company, look for an address in the form of ." Fortune cookie: An inane/witty/profund comment that can be found around the net. Freeware: Software that doesn't cost anything. FTP: File-transfer Protocol. A system for transferring files across the Net. Get a life: What to say to somebody who has, perhaps, been spending a wee bit too much time in front of a computer. GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. A format developed in the mid-1980s by CompuServe for use in photo-quality graphics images. Now commonly used everywhere online. GNU: Gnu's Not Unix. A project of the Free Software Foundation to write a free version of the Unix operating system. Handshake: Two modems trying to connect first do this to agree on how to transfer data. Hang: When a modem fails to hang up. Holy war: Arguments that involve certain basic tenets of faith, about which one cannot disagree without setting one of these off. For example: IBM PCs are inherently superior to Macintoshes. Host system: A public-access site; provides Net access to people outside the research and government community. IMHO: In My Humble Opinion. Internet: A worldwide system for linking smaller computer networks together. Networks connected through the Internet use a particular set of communications standards to communicate, known as TCP/IP. Killfile: A file that lets you filter Usenet postings to some extent, by excluding messages on certain topics or from certain people. Log on/log in: Connect to a host system or public-access site. Log off: Disconnect from a host system. Lurk: Read messages in a Usenet newsgroup without ever saying anything. Mailing list: Essentially a conference in which messages are delivered right to your mailbox, instead of to a Usenet newsgroup. You get on these by sending a message to a specific e-mail address, which is often that of a computer that automates the process. MIME: Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions. A currently (1993) heavily developing extension of the Internet mail protocol, that enables sending of 8 bit e-mail messages, e.g. to support extended character sets, voice mail, FAX images, etc. Read `comp.mail.mime' if you want to keep up with new developments. MOTSS: Members of the Same Sex. Gays and Lesbians online. Originally an acronym used in the 1980 federal census. Net.god: One who has been online since the beginning, who knows all and who has done it all. Net.personality: Somebody sufficiently opinionated/flaky/with plenty of time on his hands to regularly post in dozens of different Usenet newsgroups, whose presence is known to thousands of people. Net.police: Derogatory term for those who would impose their standards on other users of the Net. Often used in vigorous flame wars (in which it occasionally mutates to Net.nazis). Netiquette: A set of common-sense guidelines for not annoying others. Network: A communications system that links two or more computers. It can be as simple as a cable strung between two computers a few feet apart or as complex as hundreds of thousands of computers around the world linked through fiber optic cables, phone lines and satellites. Newbie: Somebody new to the Net. Often used derogatorily by net.veterans who have forgotten that, they, too, were once newbies who did not innately know the answer to everything. Newsgroup: A Usenet conference. NIC: Network Information Center. As close as an Internet- style network gets to a hub; it's usually where you'll find information about that particular network. NREN: National Research and Education Network. The future of the U.S. part of the Internet. Said to be 50 times faster than currently (1993). NSA line eater: The more aware/paranoid Net users believe that the National Security Agency has a super-powerful computer assigned to reading everything posted on the Net. They will jokingly (?) refer to this line eater in their postings. NSF: National Science Foundation. Funds the NSFNet, the backbone of the Internet in the U.S. Offline: When your computer is not connected to a host system or the Net, you are offline. Online: When your computer is connected to an online service, bulletin-board system or public-access site. Ping: A program that can trace the route a message takes from your site to another site. .plan file: A file that lists anything you want others on the Net to know about you. You place it in your home directory on your public-access site. Then, anybody who fingers (*Note Finger: Telnet,) you, will get to see this file. Post: To compose a message for a Usenet newsgroup and then send it out for others to see. Postmaster: The person to contact at a particular site to ask for information about the site or complain about one of his/her user's behavior. Protocol: The method used to transfer a file between a host system and your computer. There are several types, such as Kermit, YMODEM and ZMODEM. Prompt: When the host system asks you to do something and waits for you to respond. For example, if you see "login:" it means type your user name. README: Files found on FTP sites that explain what is in a given FTP directory or which provide other useful information (such as how to use FTP). Real Soon Now: A vague term used to describe when something will actually happen. RFC: Request for Comments. A series of documents that describe various technical aspects of the Internet. ROTFL: Rolling on the Floor Laughing. How to respond to a particularly funny comment. ROT13: A simple way to encode bad jokes, movie reviews that give away the ending, pornography, etc. Essentially, each letter in a message is replace by the letter 13 spaces away from it in the alphabet. There are online decoders to read these; nn has one built in. RTFM: Read the, uh, you know, Manual. Often used in flames against people who ask computer-related questions that could be easily answered with a few minutes with a manual. More politely: RTM. Screen capture: A part of your communications software that opens a file on your computer and saves to it whatever scrolls past on the screen while connected to a host system. Server: A computer that can distribute information or files automatically in response to specifically worded e-mail requests. Shareware: Software that is freely available on the Net, but which, if you like and use it, you should send in the fee requested by the author, whose name and address will be found in a file distributed with the software. .sig file: Sometimes, `.signature' file. A file that, when placed in your home directory on your public-access site, will automatically be appended to every Usenet posting you write. .sig quote: A profound/witty/quizzical/whatever quote that you include in your `.sig' file. Signal-to-noise ratio: The amount of useful information to be found in a given Usenet newsgroup. Often used derogatorily, for example: "the signal-to-noise ratio in this newsgroup is pretty low." Snail mail: Mail that comes through a slot in your front door. Sysadmin/Sysop: The system administrator/system operator; the person who runs a host system. TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch. TLA: Three Letter Acronym, such as IBM, DEC, etc. TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The particular system for transferring information over a computer network that is at the heart of the Internet. Telnet: A program that lets you connect to other computers on the Internet. Terminal emulation: There are several methods for determining how your keystrokes and screen interact with a public-access site's operating system. Most communications programs offer a choice of "emulations" that let you mimic the keyboard that would normally be attached directly to the host-system computer. UUCP: Unix-to-Unix CoPy. A method for transferring Usenet postings and e-mail that requires far fewer net resources than TCP/IP, but which can result in considerably slower transfer times. Upload: Copy a file from your computer to a host system. User name: On most host systems, the first time you connect you are asked to supply a one-word user name. This can be any combination of letters and numbers. VT100: Another terminal-emulation system. Supported by many communications program, it is the most common one in use on the Net. VT102 is a newer version. *"It's is not, it isn't ain't, and it's it's, not its, if you mean it is. If you don't, it's its. Then too, it's hers. It isn't her's. It isn't our's either. It's ours, and likewise yours and theirs."* -- Oxford University Press, "Edpress News" Dear Emily Postnews ******************* By *Brad Templeton* (1) The following is available as file `/pub/usenet/ news.answers/emily-postnews/ part1' on `rtfm.mit.edu'. The last changes were made on 30 Nov 91 by Brad Templeton. NOTE: this is intended to be satirical. If you do not recognize it as such, consult a doctor or professional comedian. The recommendations in this article should recognized for what they are - admonitions about what NOT to do. "Dear Emily Postnews" *Ms Emily Postnews*, foremost authority on proper net behaviour, gives her advice on how to act on the net. * Dear Miss Postnews: How long should my signature be? - A: Dear Verbose: Please try and make your signature as long as you can. It's much more important than your article, of course, so try to have more lines of signature than actual text. Try to include a large graphic made of ASCII characters, plus lots of cute quotes and slogans. People will never tire of reading these pearls of wisdom again and again, and you will soon become personally associated with the joy each reader feels at seeing yet another delightful repeat of your signature. Be sure as well to include a complete map of USENET with each signature, to show how anybody can get mail to you from any site in the world. Be sure to include Internet gateways as well. Also tell people on your own site how to mail to you. Give independent addresses for Internet, UUCP, and BITNET, even if they're all the same. Aside from your reply address, include your full name, company and organization. It's just common courtesy - after all, in some newsreaders people have to type an *entire* keystroke to go back to the top of your article to see this information in the header. By all means include your phone number and street address in every single article. People are always responding to usenet articles with phone calls and letters. It would be silly to go to the extra trouble of including this information only in articles that need a response by conventional channels! * Dear Emily: Today I posted an article and forgot to include my signature. What should I do? - A: Dear Forgetful: Rush to your terminal right away and post an article that says, "Oops, I forgot to post my signature with that last article. Here it is." Since most people will have forgotten your earlier article, (particularly since it dared to be so boring as to not have a nice, juicy signature) this will remind them of it. Besides, people care much more about the signature anyway. See the previous letter for more important details. Also, be sure to include your signature TWICE in each article. That way you're sure people will read it. * Dear Ms. Postnews: I couldn't get mail through to somebody on another site. What should I do? - A: Dear Eager: No problem, just post your message to a group that a lot of people read. Say, "This is for John Smith. I couldn't get mail through so I'm posting it. All others please ignore." This way tens of thousands of people will spend a few seconds scanning over and ignoring your article, using up over 16 man-hours their collective time, but you will be saved the terrible trouble of checking through Usenet maps or looking for alternate routes. Just think, if you couldn't distribute your message to 30,000 other computers, you might actually have to (gasp) call directory assistance for 60 cents, or even phone the person. This can cost as much as a few DOLLARS (!) for a 5 minute call! And certainly it's better to spend 10 to 20 dollars of other people's money distributing the message then for you to have to waste $9 on an overnight letter, or even 29 cents on a stamp! Don't forget. The world will end if your message doesn't get through, so post it as many places as you can. * Q: What about a test message? A: It is important, when testing, to test the entire net. Never test merely a subnet distribution when the whole net can be done. Also put "please ignore" on your test messages, since we all know that everybody always skips a message with a line like that. Don't use a subject like "My sex is female but I demand to be addressed as male." because such articles are read in depth by all USEnauts. * Q: Somebody just posted that Roman Polanski directed Star Wars. What should I do? A: Post the correct answer at once! We can't have people go on believing that! Very good of you to spot this. You'll probably be the only one to make the correction, so post as soon as you can. No time to lose, so certainly don't wait a day, or check to see if somebody else has made the correction. And it's not good enough to send the message by mail. Since you're the only one who really knows that it was Francis Coppola, you have to inform the whole net right away! * Q: I read an article that said, "reply by mail, I'll summarize." What should I do? A: Post your response to the whole net. That request applies only to dumb people who don't have something interesting to say. Your postings are much more worthwhile than other people's, so it would be a waste to reply by mail. * Q: I collected replies to an article I wrote, and now it's time to summarize. What should I do? A: Simply concatenate all the articles together into a big file and post that. On USENET, this is known as a summary. It lets people read all the replies without annoying newsreaders getting in the way. Do the same when summarizing a vote. * Q: I saw a long article that I wish to rebut carefully, what should I do? A: Include the entire text with your article, particularly the signature, and include your comments closely packed between the lines. Be sure to post, and not mail, even though your article looks like a reply to the original. Everybody *loves* to read those long point-by-point debates, especially when they evolve into name-calling and lots of "Is too!" - "Is not!" - "Is too, twizot!" exchanges. Be sure to follow-up everything, and never let another person get in the last word on a net debate. Why, if people let other people have the last word, then discussions would actually stop! Remember, other net readers aren't nearly as clever as you, and if somebody posts something wrong, the readers can't possibly realize that on their own without your elucidations. If somebody gets insulting in their net postings, the best response is to get right down to their level and fire a return salvo. When I read one net person make an insulting attack on another, I always immediately take it as gospel unless a rebuttal is posted. It never makes me think less of the insulter, so it's your duty to respond. * Q: How can I choose what groups to post in? A: Pick as many as you can, so that you get the widest audience. After all, the net exists to give you an audience. Ignore those who suggest you should only use groups where you think the article is highly appropriate. Pick all groups where anybody might even be slightly interested. Always make sure followups go to all the groups. In the rare event that you post a followup which contains something original, make sure you expand the list of groups. Never include a "Followup-to:" line in the header, since some people might miss part of the valuable discussion in the fringe groups. * Q: How about an example? A: Ok. Let's say you want to report that Gretzky has been traded from the Oilers to the Kings. Now right away you might think `rec.sport.hockey' would be enough. WRONG. Many more people might be interested. This is a big trade! Since it's a NEWS article, it belongs in the `news.*' hierarchy as well. If you are a news admin, or there is one on your machine, try `news.admin'. If not, use `news.misc'. The Oilers are probably interested in geology, so try `sci.geo.fluids'. He is a big star, so post to `sci.astro', and `sci.space' because they are also interested in stars. And of course `comp.dcom.telecom' because he was born in the birthplace of the telephone. And because he's Canadian, post to `soc.culture.Ontario.southwestern'. But that group doesn't exist, so cross-post to `news.groups' suggesting it should be created. With this many groups of interest, your article will be quite bizarre, so post to `talk.bizarre' as well. (And post to `comp.std.mumps', since they hardly get any articles there, and a "comp" group will propagate your article further.) You may also find it is more fun to post the article once in each group. If you list all the newsgroups in the same article, some newsreaders will only show the the article to the reader once! Don't tolerate this. * Q: How do I create a newsgroup? A: The easiest way goes something like `inews -C newgroup ...', and while that will stir up lots of conversation about your new newsgroup, it might not be enough. First post a message in news.groups describing the group. This is a "call for discussion." (If you see a call for discussion, immediately post a one line message saying that you like or dislike the group.) When proposing the group, pick a name with a TLA (three-letter acronym) that will be understood only by "in" readers of the group. After the call for discussion, post the call for flames, followed by a call for arguments about the name and a call for run-on puns. Eventually make a call for "votes." USENET is a democracy, so voters can now all post their votes to ensure they get to all 30,000 machines instead of just the person counting. Every few days post a long summary of all the votes so that people can complain about bad mailers and double votes. It means you'll be more popular and get lots of mail. At the end of 21 days you can post the vote results so that people can argue about all the technical violations of the guidelines you made. Blame them on the moderator-of-the-week for news.announce.newgroups. Then your group might be created. To liven up discussion, choose a good cross-match for your hierarchy and group. For example, comp.race.formula1 or soc.vlsi.design would be good group names. If you want your group created quickly, include an interesting word like "sex" or "activism." To avoid limiting discussion, make the name as broad as possible, and don't forget that TLA. If possible, count votes from a leaf site with a once-a-week polled connection to botswanavax. Schedule the vote during your relay site's head crash if possible. Under no circumstances use the trial group method, because it eliminates the discussion, flame, pun, voting and guideline-violation accusation phases, thus taking all the fun out of it. To create an ALT group, simply issue the creation command. Then issue an rmgroup and some more newgroup messages to save other netters the trouble of doing that part. * Q: I cant spell worth a dam. I hope your going too tell me what to do? A: Don't worry about how your articles look. Remember it's the message that counts, not the way it's presented. Ignore the fact that sloppy spelling in a purely written forum sends out the same silent messages that soiled clothing would when addressing an audience. Q: How should I pick a subject for my articles? A: Keep it short and meaningless. That way people will be forced to actually read your article to find out what's in it. This means a bigger audience for you, and we all know that's what the net is for. If you do a followup, be sure and keep the same subject, even if it's totally meaningless and not part of the same discussion. If you don't, you won't catch all the people who are looking for stuff on the original topic, and that means less audience for you. * Q: What sort of tone should I take in my article? A: Be as outrageous as possible. If you don't say outlandish things, and fill your article with libelous insults of net people, you may not stick out enough in the flood of articles to get a response. The more insane your posting looks, the more likely it is that you'll get lots of followups. The net is here, after all, so that you can get lots of attention. If your article is polite, reasoned and to the point, you may only get mailed replies. Yuck! * Q: The posting software suggested I had too long a signature and too many lines of included text in my article. What's the best course? A: Such restrictions were put in the software for no reason at all, so don't even try to figure out why they might apply to your article. Turns out most people search the net to find nice articles that consist of the complete text of an earlier article plus a few lines. In order to help these people, fill your article with dummy original lines to get past the restrictions. Everybody will thank you for it. For your signature, I know it's tough, but you will have to read it in with the editor. Do this twice to make sure it's firmly in there. By the way, to show your support for the free distribution of information, be sure to include a copyright message forbidding transmission of your article to sites whose USENET politics you don't like. Also, if you do have a lot of free time and want to trim down the text in your article, be sure to delete some of the attribution lines so that it looks like the original author of - say - a plea for world peace actually wrote the followup calling for the nuking of Bermuda. * Q: They just announced on the radio that the United States has invaded Iraq. Should I post? A: Of course. The net can reach people in as few as 3 to 5 days. It's the perfect way to inform people about such news events long after the broadcast networks have covered them. As you are probably the only person to have heard the news on the radio, be sure to post as soon as you can. * Q: I have this great joke. You see, these three strings walk into a bar... A: Oh dear. Don't spoil it for me. Submit it to rec.humor, and post it to the moderator of `rec.humor.funny' at the same time. I'm sure he's never seen that joke. * Q: What computer should I buy? An Atari ST or an Amiga? A: Cross post that question to the Atari and Amiga groups. It's an interesting and novel question that I am sure they would love to investigate in those groups. There is no need to read the groups in advance or examine the "frequently asked question" lists to see if the topic has already been dealt with. In fact, you don't need to read the group at all, and you can tell people that in your query. * Q: What about other important questions? How should I know when to post? A: Always post them. It would be a big waste of your time to find a knowledgeable user in one of the groups and ask through private mail if the topic has already come up. Much easier to bother thousands of people with the same question. * Q: Somebody just posted a query to the net, and I want to get the answer too. What should I do? A: Immediately post a following, including the complete text of the query. At the bottom add, "Me too!" If somebody else has done this, follow up their article and add "Me three," or whatever number is appropriate. Don't forget your full signature. After all, if you just mail the original poster and ask for a copy of the answers, you will simply clutter the poster's mailbox, and save people who do answer the question the joyful duty of noting all the "me (n)s" and sending off all the multiple copies. * Q: What is the measure of a worthwhile group? A: Why, it's Volume, Volume, Volume. Any group that has lots of noise in it must be good. Remember, the higher the volume of material in a group, the higher percentage of useful, factual and insightful articles you will find. In fact, if a group can't demonstrate a high enough volume, it should be deleted from the net. * Q: Emily, I'm having a serious disagreement with somebody on the net. I tried complaints to his sysadmin, organizing mail campaigns, called for his removal from the net and phoning his employer to get him fired. Everybody laughed at me. What can I do? A: Go to the daily papers. Most modern reporters are top-notch computer experts who will understand the net, and your problems, perfectly. They will print careful, reasoned stories without any errors at all, and surely represent the situation properly to the public. The public will also all act wisely, as they are also fully cognizant of the subtle nature of net society. Papers never sensationalize or distort, so be sure to point out things like racism and sexism wherever they might exist. Be sure as well that they understand that all things on the net, particularly insults, are meant literally. Link what transpires on the net to the causes of the Holocaust, if possible. If regular papers won't take the story, go to a tabloid paper - they are always interested in good stories. By arranging all this free publicity for the net, you'll become very well known. People on the net will wait in eager anticipation for your every posting, and refer to you constantly. You'll get more mail than you ever dreamed possible - the ultimate in net success. * Q: What does foobar stand for? A: It stands for you, dear. *"News articles are separated into divisions called newsgroups. Each division is supposed to limit itself to a single topic, and the name of the group is supposed to give you some idea as to the content of the group. These groups are then organized into hierarchies of related topics. Usenet Network News started out with just two hierarchies, mod and net. The mod hierarchy had those groups that had a person as the moderator to edit and control the information. The net hierarchy handled all other groups. With the release of B News and its ability to have any single group be moderated or open, the great renaming was undertaken."* -- Weinstein (1992) ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) Copyright (C) 1991 by Brad Templeton. All rights reserved. ĺFF InformatioĐ *************** General Information About the Electronic Frontier FoundatioĐ ============================================================ *The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)* was founded in July of 1990 to ensure that the principles embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are protected as new communications technologies emerge. From the beginning, EFF has worked to shape our nation's communications infrastructure and the policies that govern it in order to maintain and enhance First Amendment, privacy and other democratic values. We believe that our overriding public goal must be the creation of Electronic Democracy, so our work focuses on the establishment of: * new laws that protect citizens' basic Constitutional rights as they use new communications technologies, * a policy of common carriage requirements for all network providers so that all speech, no matter how controversial, will be carried without discrimination, * a National Public Network where voice, data and video services are accessible to all citizens on an equitable and affordable basis, and * a diversity of communities that enable all citizens to have a voice in the information age. Information Infrastructure -------------------------- EFF's Open Platform Proposal advocates that the nation's telecommunications infrastructure providers offer affordable, widely available transmission of voice, data and video information. The telecommunications infrastructure must promote broad access and enable citizens to receive and publish a diversity of information. In addition, a competitive environment must be ensured to preserve the core principles of common carriage, universal service and open standards. In the near term, EFF supports the implementation of services such as ISDN and ADSL, currently available digital technologies, for sending voice, data and video at reasonable cost to consumers. EFF supports federal funding to promote the development of network tools and applications that will make the Internet and the NREN easier to use. Although the NREN will be made up of services from commercial providers, government also has a vital role to play in making grants to institutions that cannot afford to pay for Internet connectivity. Civil Liberties --------------- EFF has been working to ensure that common carrier principles are upheld in the information age. Common carrier principles require that network providers carry all speech, regardless of its controversial content. Common carriers must also provide all speakers and information providers with equal, nondiscriminatory access to the network. EFF chairs the Digital Security and Privacy Working Group, a coalition of over 50 organizations-from computer software and hardware firms, telecommunications and energy companies to civil liberties advocates-that work on sound privacy policies in telecommunications. For example, the group has worked to oppose the FBI's Digital Telephony proposal and government-mandated encryption policies. EFF is working to convince Congress that all measures supporting broader public access to information should be enacted into law. EFF supports an Electronic Freedom of Information Act and other legislation to make information more accessible to citizens in electronic formats. EFF supports both legal and technical means to enhance privacy in communications. We, therefore, advocate all measures that ensure the public's right to use the most effective encryption technologies available. Legal Services -------------- EFF sponsors legal cases where users' online civil liberties have been violated. The Steve Jackson Games case, decided in March of 1993, established privacy protections for electronic publishers and users of electronic mail. We continue to monitor the online community for legal actions that merit EFF support. EFF provides a free telephone hotline for members of the online community who have questions regarding their legal rights. Members of EFF's staff and board speak to law enforcement organizations, state attorney bar associations and university classes on the work th