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 This post contains inline ASCII graphics that look best in a monospace font like Courier. Text-to-speech readers should turn off punctuation now. ________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ ___ / | / | | / | \ | YOUR COMPUTER CAN MAKE MONEY WHILE YOU SLEEP / | \ |_________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / |______|----\ | Exciting New Home Business reviewed in Tourbus Feb. 11 |//////| | | Low startup cost, Fully automated. |//////| | | For information, call 800-552-7814 or 901-751-8800 |//////| | | http://alice.net -OR- rbsinfo@alice.net |//////| | \________________________________________________________|______|____| / \ / \ / \ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ 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. :) ***---------------------- TRY SOMETHING NEW --------------------*** See What Your PC Can Do At Intel's Connected PC. http://www.connectedpc.com/cpc/cpc.htm?iid_itm1TB07F26 ***---------------------------------------------------------------*** ***---------- TOO BUSY WORKING TO FIND A JOB ONLINE? -----------*** Introducing EmployMAIL - Get FREE targeted job ads in your email. Tell us your desired job, location, salary, & other helpful data. Get started today at: http://www.skillsearch.com/emitb.html ***---------------------------------------------------------------*** 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 Emeryrecently 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 =--------------------------------------------------------------------= For info on my book "Atlas for the Information Superhighway" Visit http://www.brigadoon.com/~crispen/atlas.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- =====================[ TOURBUS Rider Information ]=================== The Internet TOURBUS - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-98, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM PROMOTE your business on the Internet TOURBUS. Reach over 80,000 people in a Net-friendly way. Our sponsors say "It works!" Make it work for you - contact BobRankin@MHV.net for details. Editors: Reprint TOURBUS in your publication for free - Ask me how. Send this copy to 3 friends and tell them to hop on the Bus! ===================================================================== .~~~. )) (\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen /o o \/ .~ {o_, \ { **NEW** crispen@netsquirrel.com **NEW** / , , ) \ http://www.netsquirrel.com/ `~ '-' \ } )) _( ( )_.' Warning: squirrels. '---..{____}
|
|