~*
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                       System Status: November 30, 1992

                       Amassed masses, I say onto thee:
                       ________________________________

       After a lotta work getting Vox to take off, thing's are finally happen-
  ing, which is fuckin' wonderful.  What this means is, when something is bro-
  ken, instead of spending 3 weeks trying to hold it together with  willpower,
  tricks  and  a  lotta solder; we can get a new thingamajig that does what we
  need.  It also means that a lot of dis-believers are getting off our  backs,
  since  we've  proven that MindVox IS a financially viable enterprise, and we
  do not have to spend our time pursuing that all-so-seductive corporate mark-
  et,  and  waste energy and effort selling SLIP feeds to Dog-Food manufactur-
  ers.

       Some things are not quite where we want them to be, and we suspect they
  never  will  be, because constant enhancement is on the agenda.  As of right
  now, since our monthly bills are no longer coming out of our  pockets,  this
  situation  makes  it possible for us to invest in additional hardware to add
  to Vox, and continue to grow and support the increasingly  large  membership
  --  all  of  this means even more work than before, so please have patience.
  None of us are being paid anything, and aren't going to  even  see  anything
  back  from what has been a considerable financial investment, for at least a
  year and a half.  Last but not least most of the people who work on Vox, are
  doing  other  things  like going to school, or working someplace less fun in
  the hopes of turning MindVox into something which they can eventually devote
  their complete attention to.

       For all this, we are overwhelming happy, it means that we are  succeed-
  ing  in doing something that we really want to be doing.  The reason this is
  possible, is because enough of us have belief in the possibilities that  Cy-
  berspace presents . . .

       So we're here, and something really cool is happening  --   we're  get-
  ting  a lot of media attention, a huge influx of new members, and are becom-
  ing established as one of THE places to be.  While this is  all  very  cool,
  it's  not  really the point . . . MindVox presents one of the very few nexus
  points within the Matrix where Cyberspace collides with The Real World,  and
  there  is  a  transfer  of energy; IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.  There are reporters,
  journalists, film makers, musicians, writers, editors, club owners, program-
  mers, designers . . . people from every creative field imaginable here.  And
  they're here because they share an interest in what's happening.

       What that "something" is, has yet to be defined, but it's going  to  be
  the  spark that weaves together all these talents and abilities and forms of
  expression, into the virtual tapestry of cyberspace and defines the cultural
  boundaries of an entire movement.

       And it is taking form NOW . . . and  HERE.   And  you  know  something,
  *YOU* are here, and it's already NOW; and many of you ARE taking part.

       But you know . . . this isn't Television, there aren't SOME OF  US  who
  are  the  chosen  few,  while  the rest of you sit around and either go "gee
  that's neat," or "you assholes, I could do that better..."  to cop  a  line:
  JUST  DO  IT!   Get  up off your ass and take part, if you have something to
  offer, something to say, abilities or talents that you want to express -- go
  for  it.   Because if you don't, then someday in the not too distant future,
  you're gonna be 40something or 50something, working in  a  grist-mill  main-
  taining  Objective-COBOL  programs,  getting drunk someplace saying "Yeah, I
  coulda done it much better than those guys" and instead of pushing back  the
  boundaries  of what is possible, you're gonna be using Virtual Reality as an
  escape for the life you never gave yourself the chance to live.

       Look, whether you think that this is it, or  you've  lived  a  thousand
  times,  or  the flying saucers erased your memory and set you down on Planet
  Earth as an interstellar spy . . . you're here now, you are alive, so  LIVE.
  There  are  remarkably  few repercussions here; you are as real or unreal as
  you choose to be, you can only be judged by what you choose to present,  and
  you're  gonna find that almost everyone will welcome you with open arms.  If
  someone feels compelled to treat you badly, it's a much  greater  reflection
  on their own pain or fear, than it is on anything you've said or done.

       In short, if ANYBODY puts you down, or has anything negative to say  to
  you; fuck 'em.  Who are they anyway?  If you've always wanted to write, then
  don't waste 5 years in creative writing 1001, or submit to 50  different  e-
  zines  and editors; give it to MONDO, or if you hate Mondo, send it to Wired
  or bOING bOING; if you want to express yourself in any way imaginable: don't
  spend your time thinking that you could do it better than whomever, DO IT!

       There is absolutely no point in focusing on the short-comings of  other
  people,  they're always gonna be there, so what -- focus on YOUR OWN talents
  and abilities, and have faith in yourself.  Entire movements are defined  by
  a  handful  of  people, it takes no more than 80, 90 . . . 100 people to re-
  define the very nature of reality.  A sizeable percentage  of  those  people
  are  making  their home here; BE ONE OF THEM instead of watching it all hap-
  pen.

       TAKE PART, don't just watch the universe scroll by . . .


  Peace, Light & "attitude problems" =)

      Patrick / digital@phantom.com
