Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 23:05:52 -0600
From: crispen@NETSQUIRREL.COM
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Subject: TOURBUS -- 26 MAR 1998 -- CNET'S TEN LAWS / MORE URBAN LEGENDS

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     TODAY'S TOURBUS STOPS:   CNET'S TEN LAWS / MORE URBAN LEGENDS
     TODAY'S ADDRESSES:
        CNET's "Ten Laws the Net Needs"
           http://cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Laws10/
        Mining Company's Urban Legend Site
           http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/

Howdy, y'all!  On March 31st I will be stepping down as the Internet
Training Materials Specialist for the Internet Network Information
Center (the InterNIC) at Network Solutions.  How does this affect you
or TOURBUS?  It doesn't.  :)

In fact, the only thing that will change will be my email address.
Instead of being crispen@internic.net, my email address will now be
crispen@netsquirrel.com (and a few alert TOURBUS riders will recognize
that I have been using the netsquirrel address in my signature for the
past couple of months).

Why am I leaving the InterNIC?  Well, I want to stay in Tuscaloosa a
little while longer and actually finish my degree.  And, now that the
cooperative agreement between Network Solutions and the National
Science Foundation is set to expire, the funding that supported my
position will no longer exist.  :(

Don't fret, though.  This means that I will now have plenty of free
time to actually write that Web workshop I have been promising to
write since 1994.  And it also means that I can continue to complain
about being a poor college student, something that I have grown quite
accustomed to doing.  :)

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And now, on with the show ...

-------------------------------
CNET's "Ten Laws the Net Needs"

-------------------------------

The folks at CNET (http://www.cnet.com/) have adopted a "if you can't
beat 'em, join 'em" attitude when it comes to Internet legislation
(and Internet laws).  Accordingly, CNET has drafted a list of ten
Internet laws that they would like to see introduced,

     proposals dealing with real issues like the proliferation of
     spam, the invasion of online privacy, and yes, the too-easy
     access to pornography. Some of our ideas match bills Congress is
     already considering; others address problems that Washington
     hasn't thought of yet.

     [quoted from http://cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Laws10/]

To tell the truth, I'm not quite certain that CNET intends or even
desires to see all of their laws implemented.  In fact, I'm willing to
bet that a lot of netizens probably don't agree with all of CNET's
proposals.  My guess is that CNET just wants us to think about and
discuss the legal issues that the Internet will face in the immediate
future.

I'm always in support of thinking and talking (although my recent
phone bill shows that I do much more of the latter than the former),
so our first TOURBUS stop is at CNET's "Ten Laws the Net Needs" page:

     http://cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Laws10/

Each page in this series of Web pages introduces a particular Internet
issue and provides some background information that attempts to
support CNET's position on this issue.  Each page also contains, in a
yellowish box on the right-hand side of the page, a one-sentence
summary of CNET's position on that particular issue.  These summaries
include statements such as

     "All Web sites devoted to the sale of sexually explicit content
     should live in a newly created top-level domain, for example, an
     .xxx domain"

and

     "Any Web site should be able to link to any other address on the
     Web, without asking for permission or seeking a license"

And

     "No owner of a Web address should be able to sell or give that
     address to another party, unless it's transferred as part of the
     sale of a business."

As I said earlier, I'm willing to bet that a lot of netizens probably
don't agree with all of CNET's proposals.  The folks at CNET seem to
realize this too, because at the bottom of every one of these
statements is a place where you can vote on whether you agree or
disagree with CNET's position.

Once you cast your vote, the page will reload, and inside the
yellowish box you'll see a graphical representation of how many
netizens agree or disagree with each of CNET's proposals.  To go on to
the next proposal, just look for the link at the bottom right-hand
corner of this new page (you'll have to scroll down to see it).

I'm a little disappointed that CNET didn't provide a forum where
people could voice their opinions beyond a simple "I agree" or "I
disagree."  Still, while I don't fully agree with all of CNET's
proposed laws, I think their "Ten Laws the Net Needs" pages are a
worthwhile read, especially if you are new to the Net and aren't fully
up to speed on the controversy surrounding ongoing Internet issues such as
pornography, spamming, and domain name speculation.


-----------------------
SOME MORE URBAN LEGENDS
-----------------------

Alert TOURBUS rider and all-around good guy David Emery
 recently informed me of the
following hoax that has been making its way around the Net:

     OK FRIENDS I HAD TO CALL AOL TODAY ABOUT A PROBLEM I WAS HAVING
     AND I ASKED ABOUT THE LETTERS I HAD BEEN RECIEVING ABOUT A
     BLINKING BUDDY CHAT INVITE THAT WOULD COME UP ON YOUR SCREEN,  IT
     WILL BE BLINKING.  AOL TOLD ME TODAY THEY ARE TROJAN HORSE
     PROGRAMS THAT CAN STEAL YOUR PASSWORD.  THEY ADVISED ME TO NOT
     TOUCH IT,  DONT TRY TO CANCEL IT,  DONT RESPOND TO IT IN ANYWAY,
     YOU ARE TO SHUT YOUR COMPUTER OFF IMMEDIATLY.  THEN SIGN BACK ON
     AND GO TO KEYWORD AND TYPE IN PASSWORD AND CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD,
     IF IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD THEN IT HAS BEEN
     STOLEN AND YOU SHOULD CALL AOL IMMEDIATLY.

For the record, the "blinking buddy chat" warning is a complete and
total hoax.  David Emery's Urban Legends Web page at the Mining
Company [http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/] explains this and many
other Internet hoaxes in depth.  In fact, David called AOL and
discovered that

     Tatiana Gau, America Online's Vice President in charge of
     Integrity Assurance, has confirmed that the warning, as written,
     is a hoax. "Blinking buddy chat invites are not Trojan Horse
     programs," she stated on March 18. "You can cancel buddy chat
     invites and nothing will happen to your computer. It is
     completely unnecessary to turn off your computer."

     [Quoted from
     http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa031898.htm]

AOL isn't the only victim of Net hoaxes this week.  Another hoax
(which I think we talked about a few weeks ago) targets athletic shoe
and apparel maker Nike, saying that

     Nike started a program to help make fields and playgrounds for
     the underprivileged from old tennis shoes.  All YOU have to do is
     send in your old tennis shoes (NO MATTER WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE)
     with a piece of paper that has your name and address on it, and
     Nike will send you a brand new pair back FREE OF COST!!!  The
     tennis shoes you send DO NOT have to be Nike.  Just as long as
     they are tennis shoes. It really is a worthwhile project, and
     it's helping a lot of young kids.

Unfortunately, it is _NOT_ a worthwhile project.  It is yet another hoax.
According to Nike,

     Internet users who are receiving and responding to e-mail
     messages purportedly from Nike are the unwitting victims of a
     hoax. Several variations are being spread across cyber-space, all
     claiming offers that seem too good to be true. They aren't.

Nike goes on to state that there are currently two hoaxes that you should
watch out for.

     One of the hoax variations gives an invalid email address at
     Nike.  E-mails sent to this address receive an automatic response
     informing the sender that he/she has been the victim of a hoax.
     Another variation alleges Nike will send back a new pair of shoes
     for every old pair sent to the company for recycling. Nike

     reiterates that all such offers did not originate with Nike and
     are false.

     [quoted from http://207.87.4.130/s_release.html]

That's it for this week.  Have a safe and happy weekend, and I'll talk
to you next week!  :)

     TODAY'S TOURBUS STOPS:   CNET'S TEN LAWS / MORE URBAN LEGENDS
     TODAY'S ADDRESSES:
        CNET's "Ten Laws the Net Needs"
           http://cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Laws10/
        Mining Company's Urban Legend Site
           http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/

--------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY
--------------------------------

SEAL (Noun).  The horizontal board at the bottom of a window.
Usage: "Mercy sakes, Bubba ... y'all need to paint them seals!"

YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE OLD SOUTHERN WORDS OF THE DAY ON THE SOUTHERN
WORD HOMEPAGE AT http://www.brigadoon.com/~crispen/word.html

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            .~~~.  ))
  (\__/)  .'     )  ))       Patrick Douglas Crispen
  /o o  \/     .~
 {o_,    \    {      **NEW** crispen@netsquirrel.com **NEW**
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  _(    (   )_.'               Warning: squirrels.
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