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               ___________________________________________________
              |                                                   |
              |      =/> [F]requently [A]sked [Q]uestions <\=     |
              |                                                   |
              |      Revision Level: 2.43  /  Valid: 05/01/94     |
              |___________________________________________________|
              (c) Copyright 1994, Phantom Access Technologies, Inc.


 "A beautifully designed venue, the best  4-Star accommodations in CyberSpace!"
                                   -- Mondo 2000, Users's Guide to the New Edge


  This document contains a abbreviated overview of the MindVox system.  It  is
  relatively  brief  and  touches  upon some of the basic features that can be
  found online, as well as answering the  more  common  questions  that  we're
  asked on a regular basis through the use of FEEDBACK.

       If you find that what we're doing is of interest to you,  then  we  en-
  courage  you to login to Vox using the GUEST account and take a look around.
  There are many additional texts available giving much greater  detail  about
  what  MindVox has to offer; ranging from background information about how it
  all began, to plans for future expansion and where we're heading.

       If you prefer to do your browsing offline, there  are  also  compressed
  files that can be downloaded, and unpacked using any one of a number of com-
  mon archiver and de-archiver programs that exist on MSDOS, Macintosh, Amiga,
  and Unix-based platforms.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				  VOX ON VOX
				  ----------

       The original impetus that spurred us to work towards  creating  MindVox
  has been written and re-written some three dozen times during the last year.
  And every person doing the writing comes away with a  perspective  upon  us,
  that ties in with whatever publication or station that the story is destined
  for.  Since we seem to be hitting our stride and making the journey from the
  ethereal and electronic to the tangible and touchable, where you can pick up
  a magazine and have someone tell you what Mindvox is; with somewhat surpris-
  ing  regularity  --  it's  become difficult to set up the delineating points
  where what we are begins and ends.

       At first glance it may seem likely, even obvious,  that  a  person  who
  finds their way here after hearing about us in FORBES, THE NEW YORKER or the
  WALL ST. JOURNAL, is looking for something completely  different  than  what
  might  bring  a  reader of ROLLING STONE, WIRED, or MONDO to our gates . . .
  except, it never really works out that way.  As we've  discovered,  some  of
  the most authoritarian curmudgeons with opinions set-in-stone, come packaged
  in 20 year old bodies, while at the same time a lot of very open minded  in-
  dividuals  are  coming  to  the  realization  that  life isn't over at 40 or
  50something, and there are a limitless variety of experiences to be explored
  if  you have an opportunity to take off the mask you wear out there, in phy-
  sical reality . . . because ultimately none of it has much of anything to do
  with  whatever  role you have chosen to play; or fallen into.  Because here,
  you become your thoughts, your dreams, even upon occasion, your ideals.

       To answer the question as well as possible. . . MindVox is a  PLACE,  a
  community that thrives at the crossroads of the pervasive everywhere that is
  CyberSpace.  The residents who make their home here come from all  walks  of
  life,  a  multitude  of  backgrounds,  ages, cities, states, and continents.
  What motivates them to come here is as varied as the individuals themselves,
  and as common as the simple human need for companionship.

        -       -       -       -       -       -       -       -       -

       Okay, that's nice; before we get too far into this document let me take
  a moment to point out that we're very aware that some of the grumpier people
  reading these words are thinking "What the hell are you talking about???   I
  thought  this  was  an  Internet  site -- I just want to read alt.pets.chia,
  write angry letters to @whitehouse.gov and download the latest revision lev-
  el  of  every  piece  of software ever written to run under MSDOS.  Can I do
  that or what?!?!?!!?"  So moving right along we'll go  for  a  spin  through
  some  of  the  features  available online, a short tour of the hardware, and
  finish it up with the price structure and answer some  of  the  most  common
  questions we receive from people who aren't quite sure what's going on.

        -       -       -       -       -       -       -       -       -

		-=/[ MindVox - Overview of System Features ]/=-

  A partial listing of the services and options available to Members follows:

			       ACCESSING MINDVOX
			       -----------------

  MindVox is reachable through a variety of access points; the one you  select
  will  most  likely depend upon your geographic location and the availability
  of network access points near you.

  From a system perspective, it makes no difference how you connect  with  us,
  and  you  may switch options as often as you desire.  The only limitation is
  that you can only be logged in ONCE; regardless of your point of origin,  no
  multiple logins using the same account are permitted.

  The simplest method of connecting to Vox is if you are within our  immediate
  calling  area.  MindVox is physically situated in New York City, and a local
  call from both the 212 and 718 area codes.  At present we have 96 local dial
  in lines and expand these as needed.

      Our local hunt group in New York City (212/718) can be reached at:

                      300/1200/2400-bps  +1 212 989-4141
                      96/14.4/16.8/19.2  +1 212 989-1550
                      Hayes V.FC 28,800  +1 212 645-8065

  We are also "live" on the Internet, making MindVox available from  over  one
  million (1,000,000) machines situated around the world, simply by typing:

			      telnet phantom.com

  If your nameserver cannot locate us for any reason, you can connect directly
  to our IP number by typing:
 		             
                              telnet  198.67.3.2

  Finally, if you are making a long-distance call to  access  MindVox  through
  our local dial-up numbers, you have various options available that allow you
  to save money on your long distance phone bills.  The simplest of these that
  we  recommend  is a service called PC-Pursuit which provides low-cost, flat-
  rate DATA connections from almost any area code.

  To obtain further information about opening an account with  them,  call  +1
  800/736-1130 and ask to speak with a PC Pursuit representative.

  Phantom Access Technologies, Inc., is in no way associated with  PC  Pursuit
  and whatever arrangements or billing methods you make use of will be handled
  separately from MindVox

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				 SYSTEM DESIGN
				 -------------

  MindVox is comprised of a number of machines or "servers" as they're called.
  Each  part  of  our  network is tuned to a specific series of tasks that its
  been configured to perform best.  Our flexible network architecture  enables
  us  to  easily  upgrade  and  expand the system as faster technology becomes
  available and our needs increase.  This design also provides a  high  degree
  of fault-tolerance and system stability, enabling MindVox to continue opera-
  tion even when there is a hardware failure or system problem  on  individual
  or multiple component(s) of our network.

  While highly useful -- and surely, incredibly exciting to read about --  all
  of  this  is  transparent from a Member's point of view.  From a client per-
  spective you are presented with a  single  congruous  whole,  featuring  our
  powerful,  yet simple-to-use Unix "wrapper" called VOICES.  Voices is a con-
  tinuously evolving user environment that  presents  you  with  a  tremendous
  amount  of flexibility and control, while providing a comfortable layer over
  the native operating system that Vox runs on.  This allows you to  make  use
  of  Unix  functionality without needing to master shell programming, command
  line syntax, or a variety of confusing and often conflicting  query  formats
  for obscure programs.

  Although Voices is extremely configurable and full-featured -- to the extent
  that  persons  who are familiar with Unix, may launch Unix applications from
  within its shell -- the main priority is to provide a very simple-to-use and
  intuitive  overlay, that allows even novices to make full use of MindVox al-
  most immediately, without reading any help files or syntax guidelines.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				  THE FORUMS
				  ----------

  Vox features an extended and constantly growing  list  of  its  own  Forums.
  These  are  not  echoed,  or available on any other system; they span a wide
  range of subjects, including many sensitive topics that are not openly  dis-
  cussed or supported anywhere else.  We neither allow, nor encourage illegal,
  disruptive, or unethical conduct on the system, however anything up to  that
  point is welcome.

  The conferences are designed to promote and facilitate easily accessible in-
  formation  and idea interchange, and to provide a unique gathering place for
  a variety of individuals and experts in a sizeable  cross-section  of  their
  fields.   The  moderators of the various conferences, come from all over the
  world, and have backgrounds as diverse as rock  musicians,  actors,  politi-
  cians,  agents  of  various  law-enforcement  branches of the US government,
  journalists, writers, film-makers, research-scientists, academics,  sociolo-
  gists, criminologists, past and present-day hackers, and of course; 3Jane.

  Cyberspace and Cyberpunk oriented publications such as WIRED and MONDO  2000
  also host their own conferences online and allow direct interaction with the
  people involved with putting together the magazines, giving you  the  oppor-
  tunity  to let your views and opinions be heard in print.  Vox is one of the
  few places on earth where there are very direct ties from the ethereal  all-
  ness  of the electronic, to the more tangible present-day realities of print
  and television media.

  In addition to all this, Forums will also occasionally contain people  talk-
  ing  to  one  another  and  having  fun;  although this practice is strongly
  discouraged.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

			      INTERNET CONNECTION
			      -------------------

  Mindvox has a direct-wired high-speed  link  into  the  commercial  Internet
  backbone called CIX.  This means that our professional members are permitted
  to make use of their network connections for business purposes, a possibili-
  ty  not  available  on  most Internet sites; since many of them obtain their
  network links through the strictly NON-COMMERCIAL NFSnet -- however,  please
  note  that  when  you or your data, travels through the NFSnet backbone, you
  MUST comply with its fair use regulations.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				ELECTRONIC MAIL
				---------------
  All MindVox accounts come with a secure, personal mail address that provides
  only as much information about your name and location, as you choose to dis-
  close.  You will receive a mailbox in the format of:

                                member@phantom.com

  Since Vox is "live" mail is not batched in any way, or queued via uucp;  in-
  stead  it  is  directly  and  instantly transmitted using the SMTP protocol.
  This means that barring network difficulties along the way --  such  as  the
  temporary  un- availability of a host used for routing -- your mail will ar-
  rive within a few seconds, from anywhere in the world.  Conversely  you  may
  send  mail  to  any Internet or uucp (!bang path) addressible destination on
  earth, as well as the following networks which are not a part of the  Inter-
  net, but provide "gateways" to their clients:

	     America Online   Applelink      ATTMail       BitNet
	     Bix              Compu$erve     Delphi        EasyNet
             EuNet            FidoNet        GEnie         Janet
             Junet            MCIMail        PeaceNet      Prodigy (any minute)

           Additional gateways are  opened as they become available.

  Finally, in addition to individual mail, all members of  MindVox  are  given
  the  ability  to create and maintain personal mailing lists and alias files,
  as well as being able to subscribe to a tremendous  variety  of  public  and
  private mailing lists that are available on an increasingly large numbers of
  topics.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				  USENET NEWS
				  -----------

  We carry a complete Usenet Newsfeed, containing a selection  of  over  6,500
  active  newsgroups.  The Usenet is the world's largest and most densely con-
  nected network, reaching an audience of  over  twelve  million  (12,000,000)
  people and an average of 6 million daily readers.  Over 75 megabytes of News
  comes into MindVox every 24 hours, at the rate of approximately 6  new  mes-
  sages  per  second.   From  the time it arrives, news is kept online and ar-
  chived for a period of two weeks (14 days earth time).

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				FILE TRANSFERS
				--------------

  We feature a cross-section of software for the PC, Amiga, Mac, Unix,  Apple,
  and  NeXT  platforms, as well as a sizeable collection of buffers, articles,
  and text from the computer underground, dating all the way back to the  late
  70's  and the very first online computer bulletin boards ever to exist.  Our
  local Archives are housed on dual 1.7gigabyte disks and provide most of  the
  current  utilities  and  programs that are USEFUL and regularly requested or
  used.  We do not attempt to archive every program  ever  created  for  every
  platform  under  the  sun; if you're arriving here from a PCboard or similar
  background, the way things work on Vox is a little different.

  Instead of physically mounting gigabytes of  junk,  Vox  provides  a  direct
  gateway through the use of "mirrors" which reflect links to other sites, who
  in turn mirror still more sites, allowing any member of  MindVox  to  access
  hundreds  of thousands of gigabytes of software that can be found on servers
  all over the planet.  The Archives are in fact the largest distributed  col-
  lection of programs, files, articles, and papers that exist on earth.

  When a program is not physically present or directly  mirrored  in  the  Ar-
  chives,  you  can still make use of the FTP or FSP protocols to download the
  programs you desire from any  one  of  several  hundred  thousand  publicly-
  accessible hosts worldwide.

  To facilitate uploads and downloads from your system to ours,  Vox  provides
  all the usual protocols that are supported by any modern terminal or commun-
  ications program, including Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, and Kermit, as  well  as
  Trans;  although,  honestly, to our knowledge maybe one person ever, using a
  C64 and hiding in a bomb shelter in Idaho, has ever used -- much less  heard
  of -- Trans.  Yet, there it is . . .

  Since we fully realize that a day doesn't pass  where  a  remarkably  gifted
  person  with a questionable hold on reality, somewhere in Kansas or Tokyo or
  someplace that isn't HERE, doesn't spend hours hunched over  a  compiler  in
  some  dimly  lit  room, drinking too much Jolt and PLOTTING to CHANGE EVERY-
  THING by creating *THE* best-ever, most incredible transfer  protocol  ESPE-
  CIALLY  FOR transferring JPG's and any game that is at least 4 years old; we
  here at Vox just want to let you know that if you want to spend vast amounts
  of time trying to complicate things that work, we're right behind you, after
  all where would Unix be without people who thought this way.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				NETWORK TRAVEL
				--------------

  Vox supports the telnet protocol, as well as offshoots such as tn3270, and a
  lightbar  driven,  hypertext  edition of the standard telnet program, called
  HYTELNET.  This allows you to travel to any other node that is connected  to
  the Internet.  There are of course additional methods of contacting machines
  such as rlogin, ftp, fsp, etc, telnet is simply the most common and flexible
  application developed and used for this purpose.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

			      INFORMATION SYSTEMS
			      -------------------

  MindVox supports all the latest information gathering tools that are  avail-
  able on the net, including such applications as Gopher, Archie, Whois, World
  Wide Web, and WAIS.  Features of this nature are constantly  added  as  they
  become  available  and the applications themselves enhanced as new revisions
  are created and made accessible.

  If you do not understand how to use these packages, or the  concepts  behind
  them,  there  are  a variety of texts, papers and guides available online in
  the Archives, including the full text of the first edition of  Zen  and  the
  Art of the Internet.  To obtain even greater information, any bookstore with
  a reasonable computer section will contain several books on the topic,  such
  as Ed Krol's excellent book, titled:  WHOLE EARTH GUIDE TO THE INTERNET.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

			     REAL-TIME CONFERENCES
			     ---------------------

  Vox hosts a variety of its own internal real-time "chat" areas, as  well  as
  providing  gateways  into a several international distributed chat networks.
  Most of these networks are not controlled by any single  governing  body  or
  situated  on  any  specific  machine or group of machines.  The sections, or
  channels can range from very tame, to complete anarchy.   Since  it  is  not
  possible  to  consistently exert control over any particular area of the net
  for a perceptible length of time, what you find in any given place can  vary
  tremendously  from  hour to hour -- with massive upheavals and changes some-
  times taking place over the course of a few days.

	      Some of the networks which are accessible include:

			IRC / (International Relay Chat)
			--------------------------------

  The IRC network is presently the single largest distributed chat network  on
  earth.   It  dwarfs  such  commercial nets as Compu$erve and spans the world
  over a series of "servers" which pass traffic back and forth.  At any  given
  time there are an average of 1,500+ people online, and several hundred chan-
  nels to choose from.

  IRC is also home to a great deal of  experimentation  with  "doorways"  into
  other services, roving Robots and Cyborgs which can range from simple guides
  and providers of information, to full-fledged experiments in AI.

  MindVox provides access to several different CLIENTS (or  "front-ends")  for
  IRC, as well as supporting our own Server and a plethora of Robots and Auto-
  matons and Twilight-Zone Operators.

			   ICB / (International CB)
			   ------------------------

  ICB is a smaller more experimental network which is hosted on  a  series  of
  machines that has not yet been echoed around the world.  It averages several
  hundred people online at once and features a  limited-by-design,  more  con-
  trolled  environment,  which is much less prone to anarchy than the sweeping
  mass of IRC.

			    DDIAL / (Diversi Dial)
			    ----------------------

  Diversi-Dial was one of the first distributed networks to ever exist.   Hav-
  ing  its  origins  in 1984 as a multi-user program to connect multiple phone
  lines into a single Apple ][ computer and many Novation Apple-Cat modems, it
  was the first functioning microcomputer multi-user chat system.

  At its peak DDIAL's stretched across the world and had the ability  to  LINK
  to each other, creating a very simple example of the paradigm that IRC would
  adopt many years later.

  DDIAL was eventually ported to the IBM PC family of machines which  resulted
  in several thousand such systems in the late 80's.

  As of this writing there are roughly a dozen remaining  DDIAL's  running  on
  Apple  computers,  Novation has long since gone Chapter 11, Bill Basham (the
  author of DDIAL) has gone back to being a full-time doctor, and one slightly
  disturbed  person  in  the Phantom Access Group has written the world's only
  version of DDIAL that will run on Unix based machines and allow T1  connect-
  ed, distributed sites with gigabytes of disk and thousands of users, to hook
  into Pig's Knuckle Idaho's very own 7 line DDIAL running at a  blazing  fast
  300  baud.   Why this was done is a question best left to mental health pro-
  fessionals.

  It serves no useful purpose whatsoever, except providing people with a  very
  strange  rush  to  realize  that  you  can  use  one  phone line to dock the
  equivalent of a starship to a tiny, obsolete machine -- that many of us grew
  up  with and spent thousands of hours sitting in front of -- running at 1mHz
  somewhere out there in the middle of nowhere.  Cool mahn . . .

			      Talk (nTalk, yTalk)
			      -------------------

  Talk and all its variants provide one-to-one access to conference with other
  people either locally on Vox, or across the networks at the other end of the
  world.

				     Phone
				     -----

  Phone is an extension of the Talk protocol that allows  multiple  people  to
  take part in a localized or distributed mini-conference wherein many parties
  can all chat with each other at the same time and set up a sort of "personal
  conference."

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  Additionally, experimental networks such as CLOVER and 4M are  available  at
  various times for testing purposes.  As these systems and others, evolve and
  become more stable they will be made available on  a  more  permanent  basis
  from within MindVox.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

			      ONLINE SIMULATIONS
			      ------------------

  Vox has a variety of games and simulations available  online.   These  range
  from  rather simple single-players games with one or two hour playtimes, all
  the way to extremely detailed and realistic  multi-player  simulations  that
  present  ongoing campaigns and universes with evolving storylines, political
  systems, and landscapes being imagined into existence as play progresses.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				CUSTOM FEATURES
				---------------

  Inasmuch as we like to think of ourselves as absolutely spiffy and the  epi-
  tomy  of  full-bodied  robustness, we realize that perhaps someone out there
  reading these words right now is shaking their head in sadness and thinking,
  "...it all sounded so promising, how could they leave out the Fun with Silly
  Putty forum, and the BARBIE DOLLS THROUGHOUT THE AGES Archive area."   Well,
  it's  probably  because  we  forgot  -- or you're just really weird and into
  stuff nobody else cares about.  Be that as it may, we tend to be  a  shining
  beacon  calling  out to people JUST LIKE YOU, only different; so if you want
  something that you don't see online, well TELL US, TALK TO US, turn off  the
  TV  and  communicate.  Chances are that our relationship will be much better
  and you'll find the best kind of true happiness and joy that money  can  buy
  without a drug dealer.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

				 THE HARDWARE
				 ------------

  The MindVox system operates within the Phantom domain, a  sub-net  comprised
  of  various  RISC and CISC based hardware.  Whatever their individual archi-
  tecture happens to be, all the machines are Unix-based and set up as a  dis-
  tributed network, wherein each machine is tuned to a specific purpose it has
  been configured to handle best.

  If the none of the following makes a great deal of sense  to  you  --  don't
  worry  about it too much.  There's no quiz later and the information is only
  provided for the benefit of those few propeller-heads who spend  their  days
  living  in the land of Xinu and are curious about what toys are available in
  the virtual kingdom.

            -=/[ Humming away behind the Magical Curtain we have: ]/=-

  A collection of SUN SparcStation and  SparcSERVER   machines,  spanning  the
  gamut from a thoroughly obsolete SS1+; to three SparcStation2's, two of them
  making use of the POWER uP clock-doubler chips by Weitek; moving  up  to  an
  SS10/51  which is the  main MindVox machine; and ending   with a SparcSERVER
  which looks  like a big metal tower roughly the size of a  refrigerator  and
  draws  about  as  much  power as everything else in the office combined.  It
  also makes a remarkably un-musical, loud humming sound that makes any furni-
  ture,  equipment, or people, within a radius of about 10 feet, vibrate along
  with it.  On the positive side, it's really zippy.

  All the toys that come  from  SUN  are  running  SunOS  4.1.3  with  various
  patches, kernel modifications, and bandages, supplied and applied as needed.
  The low-end machines have 32mb RAM, the mid-range 64MB, and the Servers have
  256MB available.  All machines on the network can be booted in a stand-alone
  mode, to allow for hot-swapping, and emergency cut-overs  in  the  event  of
  media failure.

  A NeXT Turbo, equipped with 64MB of RAM, and  running  version  3.1  of  the
  NeXTSTEP  OS over Mach.  It's black, sleek, and very easy on the eyes.  It's
  also the major  focal  point  of  every  reporter,  media  dude,  and  stray
  passerby's  awareness; when any of these people happen to wander through our
  offices in search of fame, fortune, or something interesting to do for a few
  hours.   It really is too bad that NeXT's hardware division fall down and go
  boom; it's an extremely cool machine and far more interesting to sit down in
  front of than just about anything short of an SGI Indigo^2.

  A perpetually growing assortment of SCSI and SCSI-2 disks, which form a com-
  mon  "pool"  that  various  machines  make use of via NFS and lots of little
  pointers scattered all over the place, providing MindVox with a little  over
  15 gigabytes of storage at this time.

  A Datawheel that makes use of HP 8 gigabyte DAT tapes, and provides a simple
  means  of  automated  network backup, which requires no system downtime, and
  gives us easy access to any given piece of data that may need restoration or
  reconstruction due to system, or client error.

  Two CDroms; a QICtape device; lots of monitors all over the place,  some  of
  them really big and color and pretty to look at, and a few sorta fuzzy, ugly
  greyish ones that emit high levels of radiation and are connected to servers
  which  nobody  ever sits in front of anyway; rounding it all out are a whole
  bunch of disk drives of various shapes, sizes, weights, colors and origins.

  About half a dozen machines of various makes (Mac, 386, 486,  Amiga),  which
  are  hooked  up through our ethernet so that we can send junk back and forth
  without having to format stacks of disks and actually make use of any of the
  afore-mentioned disk drives.

  Roughly half a dozen additional machines are SLIPed into  the  PAN  network.
  These  are  usually  private  sites  belonging  to  staff members or MindVox
  clients who have made arrangements to set them up.

  Connecting all of this to the outside world is a Leased-line T1  connection,
  going  through  a Cisco router, and some kind of csu/dsu which is sitting on
  top of the router but I don't think anybody has ever bothered to examine the
  not-so-fine print on it and figure out who made it.

  We are currently wired for up to 256 local access dial-in lines;  at present
  96  of  these are active, with about 4-6 new lines going live every month on
  average.  At present there are 16 low speed dial-ups available, as  well  as
  80 high speed modems capable of speeds ranging from 9600-28,800bps.

  With our current set-up we are capable of  comfortably  supporting  approxi-
  mately  250 simultaneous users, and if everybody is well behaved and doesn't
  push, shove or have a need to spawn 20 copies of Emacs, we  can  tweak  that
  figure  up to around 350 users (although by then the load average is hitting
  5.0 on all machines).  Remember what we said about incomprehensible  gibber-
  ish at the start of this information file and don't worry about it too much.
  Basically we're one of the largest publicly accessible Internet sites on the
  planet and can support a whole buncha people all at once.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

                        BILLING POLICIES & PAYMENT PLANS
                        --------------------------------

  As MindVox has made the journey from some 200 Members during our very  early
  Alpha and Beta testing stage, where a normal day might consist of the VOICES
  layer crashing 5 times, followed by the newsfeed  dying,  and  our  terminal
  server deciding that it didn't like 9600 bps modems; to its present incarna-
  tion as a stable and reliable distributed network with a  T1  connection  to
  the  Internet,  banks of high speed (9600-19.2K) modems, and a userbase that
  hovers around the 4,000+ mark as this text is written.  It's become increas-
  ingly  apparent  to  us  that  our  membership  is comprised of an extremely
  diverse group of individuals.

       Over this gradual process of change and expansion the membership of Vox
  has  basically  fallen  into  two  main  groups:  the original core group of
  Members that made their home on MindVox out of a desire to play a more  cen-
  tral role in guiding and shaping the evolution of our experiment.  This is a
  long way of saying that they're here because Vox means  something  to  them;
  having  invested  hundreds  or thousands of hours of their time online here,
  during phases when many of the current features either did not exist at all,
  or  if  present,  their  functionality  was  --  at best -- highly irregular
  (ahem), and realistically there was nothing much here EXCEPT for our commun-
  ity.  They  came here   to witness the birth of a nexus point  in Cyberspace
  and establish their presence within its domain, and remain through our  con-
  tinual  metamorphosis  because it has become home.  They are also the single
  reason that MindVox was able to exist in the first place, and  grow  to  the
  level we have reached so quickly.

       While this was -- and realistically still IS  --  the  reason  that  we
  started  MindVox  and  continue to devote a sizeable portion of our personal
  time to it; this first group has been joined by an increasingly  large  con-
  tingent  of  individuals who may enjoy partaking in the Forums and exploring
  the benefits of Vox, but whose more immediate concern is making use  of  the
  plethora  of  Internet tools and services that are available online.  Vox or
  no Vox, they want to use telnet to travel to  other  sites,  download  files
  through  ftp,  cruise  online libraries through archie, wais, or www, and in
  general make use of the tremendous flexibility of online  communications  to
  enhance their professional or personal goals.

       The current PLANS have evolved in response to the demands and  comments
  of  our membership and are designed to encourage active participation within
  MindVox, allowing those who would like to make use of  the  services  avail-
  able,  to do so at an extremely reasonable price, while at the same time not
  penalizing the individuals who comprise the core of our community,  and  are
  more  than  just patrons.  If you cannot find a PLAN type that seems to suit
  your individual desires, feel free to leave FEEDBACK and let us know how  we
  may better accommodate you.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

                -=/[ MindVox / [ACCOUNT TYPES] / Overview ]/=-
  ______ _____________ _________________ ___________________________ _________ 
 |      |             |                 |                           |         |
 | Plan | Price/Month | Start-Up Fee(s) |        Access Type        | Storage |
 |______|_____________|_________________|___________________________|_________|
 |      |             |                 |                           |         |
 |  1.  |  [$ 10.00]  | *** No Fees *** | Non-Interactive / MindVox |  2[MB]  |
 |______|_____________|_________________|___________________________|_________|
 |      |             |                 |                           |         |
 |  2.  |  [$ 10.00]  | *** No Fees *** | Non-Interactive / Usenet  |  2[MB]  |
 |______|_____________|_________________|___________________________|_________|
 |      |             |                 |                           |         |
 |  3.  |  [$ 17.50]  | *** No Fees *** | FULL ACCESS  Vox/Internet |  2[MB]  |
 |______|_____________|_________________|___________________________|_________|
 |      |             |                 |                           |         |
 |  4.  |  [$ 17.50]  | One Time: [$40] |  *UNLIMITED* Full Access  |  5[MB]  |
 |______|_____________|_________________|___________________________|_________|

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

                         THE PLANS - DETAILED SUMMARIES
                         ------------------------------

       -=/[ PLAN 1  --  MindVox ONLY Membership / ($10.00 Per Month) ]/=-

   =/> Accounts may also be Pre-Paid  for ONE (1) Year at a rate of: $100 <\=

  Plan 1 accounts are usually utilized by people who telnet into MindVox  from
  other  sites throughout the world.  The individuals who make use of this op-
  tion already have access to Internet services such as mail,  FTP,  IRC,  the
  ability  to  read News, and various other options.  With this in mind Plan 1
  is designed to give you access to all of MindVox's  SITE-SPECIFIC  features,
  without  making  you pay for redundant services that you already have access
  to elsewhere.
                                    Features
                                    --------

  -=]) Access to all public MindVox Forums.

  -=]) Internet accessible Mailbox

  -=]) Partial access to online Games and Simulations.

  -=]) Access to local, non-distributed CHAT areas.

                                  Limitations
                                  -----------

  NO Interactive or "live" Services are available, including ftp, irc, telnet.

  NO access to the MindVox Archives section.

  No Usenet access.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

       -=/[ Plan 2  --  Usenet ONLY Membership / ($10.00 Per Month) ]/=-

   =/> Accounts may also be Pre-Paid  for ONE (1) Year at a rate of: $100 <\=

  Plan 2 accounts are designed for some of our local clientele  whose  primary
  interest  in  the  MindVox system is as an easy-to-use gateway to the global
  connectivity of the  Usenet.   Our  VOICES  software  provides  you  with  a
  simple-to-use,  yet  powerful  interface that sits on top of Unix and allows
  you to make use of services without enduring the sharp  learning  curve  and
  frustration  of  attempting  to figure out arcane and incompatible Unix pro-
  grams.

  Our more advanced users are given the opportunity make use of the full spec-
  trum  of  Unix tools and applications from within the VOICES layer; allowing
  easy customization of your individual environment to  suit  your  experience
  level.

                                    Features
                                    --------

  -=]) Full Usenet newsfeed with over 6,000 active groups (55-60MB  a  day  of
       News)

  -=]) Internet accessible Mailbox

  -=]) Partial access to online Games and Simulations.

  -=]) Access to local, non-distributed CHAT areas.

                                  Limitations
                                  -----------

  NO Interactive or "live" Services are available, including ftp, irc, telnet.

  NO access to the MindVox Archives section.

  No access to the MindVox Forums.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

          -=/[ Plan 3  --  ACCESS ALL AREAS / ($17.50 Per Month) ]/=-

   =/> Accounts may also be Pre-Paid  for ONE (1) Year at a rate of: $150 <\=

                                    Overview
                                    --------

  You want it all, everything!  Combines all the features of  MindVox  in  one
  easy to digest, low-calorie, fat-free package that gives you complete access
  to everything that exists on MindVox.

  You get the mystique of Vox, where you can cavort in a beautiful virtual en-
  vironment  populated by a stellar collection of people who get thrown off of
  every other system in Cyberspace; those in attendance include  some  of  the
  luminaries  of Cyberpunk literature; the dregs of the art world; out of work
  movie people who will offer you glamorous jobs for no pay;  ex-hackers  from
  LOD,  KOS, and a dozen other affiliations, who played as major role in shap-
  ing the development of Cyberspace over the last  decade;  government  people
  from all kinds of neat three-letter acronyms who have put quite a few of the
  afore-mentioned crowd through the processes of our delightful legal  system;
  lawyers and legislators who want to discuss the deep inner meaning and truth
  behind what the hackers did, what the government does, and what it all real-
  ly  means  anyway;  people  who take too many drugs and then write about it;
  people who can't stand people who take drugs; a bunch of reporters, journal-
  ists, and media people, all gathered here to watch what all the other groups
  are doing; if all this wasn't enough  there's also Elvis & Wired -- together 
  again, almost, for the first time.

                                    Features
                                    --------

  -=]) Access to all public MindVox Forums.

  -=]) Full Usenet newsfeed with over 6,000 active groups (55-60MB  a  day  of
       News)

  -=]) Full Access to the MindVox Archives.

  -=]) Internet addressible Mailbox.

  -=]) Complete access to single and multi-player  online  Games  and  Simula-
       tions.

  -=]) Full access to local non-distributed CHAT areas.

  -=]) Access to global and  international,  fully-distributed  chat  networks
       such as IRC and ICB.

  -=]) The full spectrum of live, interactive services such as:

          =/> FTP

          =/> FSP

          =/> Telnet

          =/> Hytelnet

          =/> TN3270

          =/> Gopher

          =/> Talk and nTalk

          =/> Archie

          =/> WAIS

          =/> WWW

                                  Limitations
                                  -----------

  The sole limitation that exists on Plan 3 accounts, pertains to Members  who
  login  to MindVox through the local dialups in NYC.  You are given UNLIMITED
  use of the MindVox Forums, Usenet News message bases, Mail for personal use,
  and  NON-INTERACTIVE  services.   However,  you  are limited to 60 hours per
  month (2 hours per day) of INTERACTIVE service; after a cumulative 60  hours
  have  passed, your account begins to accrue charges at a rate of $1 per hour
  connect time.

  Interactive services are defined as Ftp, Telnet, IRC, ICB,  Archie,  Gopher,
  Multi-Player  Simulations, and Archive Downloads.  You will be notified once
  you have reached the 60 hour limit and your account has  begun  accumulating
  hourly charges.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  THIS LIMITATION DOES NOT APPLY TO MEMBERS WHO TELNET INTO MINDVOX AND DO NOT
  TAKE  UP  PHONE LINES.  IF YOU ARE PHYSICALLY LOCAL TO VOX, BUT TELNET TO US
  THROUGH A UNIVERSITY, OR OTHER SITE, THESE CHARGES ALSO DO NOT APPLY TO YOU.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  The time limits and subsequent hourly charges will effect only a very  small
  percentage  of  Members,  and  exist solely to deter people from logging in,
  entering IRC or telnetting to some site, and then leaving  processes  idled,
  sometimes  for DAYS at a time.  This is extremely rude, and when enough peo-
  ple do this, all the local dial-ups get continuously clogged by  individuals
  who are doing NOTHING except leaving their inactive sessions online.

  ONCE AGAIN, THIS *DOES NOT* EFFECT YOU IF YOU ARE TELNETTING INTO VOX, since
  you are not using any phone lines, and when you idle a process from a telnet
  session, you do nothing  more  than  take  up  an  infinitesimal  amount  of
  bandwidth and CPU time, which is not really applicable to system performance
  or response time.  Since we have no particular desire to penalize people for
  problems  that they do not create, telnet sessions are not subject to the 60
  hour time limit.

  Local Callers, please remember:  this time limit  pertains  ONLY  to  "live"
  services,  you  still  have  unlimited  use  of all Forums (MindVox only and
  Usenet) and Mail, and you are welcome to take part as often as  you  desire;
  the  clock is not "ticking" when you're reading or writing messages, it only
  applies to INTERACTIVE sessions such as Ftp, IRC, Telnet, etc . . .

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

                              Disk Storage Charges
                              --------------------

  Each account -- irrespective of plan type -- is allotted two megabytes (2MB)
  of  disk  space.   Additional  online storage is billed at a rate  of $2 per
  megabyte, per month, pro-rated.  What this means is that we  really  DO  NOT
  want  you to use MindVox as an online storage chest where you leave a lot of
  junk laying around.  On average, 2 megabytes is eight times the storage that
  most  of our Members make us of.  If you need to temporarily keep additional
  material online, as long as it does exceed 5MB for a  period longer than  48
  hours, you will NOT be charged.

  This means that if you need to store up to 5MB of files in your home  direc-
  tory,  you  may  do  so  at no additional cost for a period of 2 days, after
  which time you will be billed in full.  If you need to download a very large
  source  code  distribution  --  such as the MIT X Windows release, or Linux;
  then you should first check to make sure that it is not in the Archives  al-
  ready,  and  then  you  might  want to place it into the publicly accessible
  /temp(orary) file area.  You are not  responsible  for  materials  that  are
  stored in this section, however any files or programs that are left here may
  be removed without notice at  any  time  that  an  automated  daemon  --  or
  overly-alert  system  administrator  on  too much caffeine -- decides that a
  partition is running low on disk space.

  This is a lengthy way of saying that in the past when  we  did  not  enforce
  disk  quota limits we had a few too many people who thought it was all right
  to store the BSDI distribution online, along with personal reference  copies
  of  every  mailing list on the planet that they were ever on.  When anywhere
  from 20-50 people are keeping HOME  directories  that  hover  between  40-65
  megabytes, it becomes impossible for us to allocate disk storage partitions,
  or make automated tape backups.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

 -=/[ Plan 4 -- Gold Membership / ($17.50 Per Month) [One Time $40 Startup ]/=-

   =/> Accounts may also be Pre-Paid  for ONE (1) Year at a rate of: $150 <\=

  Plan 4 accounts -- the MindVox Gold Membership -- are functionally identical
  to  the  previously detailed Plan 3's.  Which is to say, these accounts pro-
  vide you with full access to everything online.  The main difference is that
  after  paying  a one time $40.00 fee, you are provided with UNLIMITED online
  time from a local dial-up, and given a personal file space of 5 megabytes.

  It is STRONGLY suggested that prospective members DO NOT start their journey
  on  Vox  with  a  Plan  4.  If you feel this type of account would suit your
  needs the best, its probably a very good idea to login as a Plan 3  account,
  which  provides  you  with IDENTICAL access and gives you the opportunity to
  look around, and see if you are going to be spending a sufficient amount  of
  your online existence here to warrant the initiation fee.

  The usual 2 hours per day allocated to members, is 400% more time then  most
  people  will make use of on a daily basis.  The only people who benefit from
  a Plan 4, are the minority (currently scaled at roughly 4-5% of our  member-
  ship)  who  spend an average of 5 hours or more, online every day.  The ini-
  tiation fees are used to purchase additional lines and capacity as  the  si-
  tuation  warrants,  so  that  we may continue providing all our members with
  whatever level of service they need, at a flat  rate,  without  encountering
  busy  signals or experiencing degradation of service due to excessive system
  load or line congestion.

  You may upgrade a Plan 3 account to Plan 4, at any time, simply  by  leaving
  FEEDBACK and stating your desire to do so.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

                        -=/[ Paying for an Account ]/=-

                                  Credit Cards
                                  ------------

  The easiest way to become a Member is by using your Visa  or  MasterCard  to
  make  your  payment.   There  is no processing fee, no deposit required, and
  your account is activated within one business day.

  By signing up with your credit card, you agree to  be  billed  automatically
  every month, until you choose to terminate your membership. 

                                 Direct Billing
                                 --------------

  If you wish to be billed directly, there is a $15 dollar processing fee  re-
  quired  to  open  your  account.   This fee serves as a non-interest bearing
  deposit, which your total outstanding charges cannot exceed, until you  have
  either made payment, or selected to have your deposit increased.

  You can choose to pre-pay any amount you desire, for as much online time you
  wish  to  purchase  in  advance.  At any time that your account is within $5
  dollars of reaching your maximum deposit level, MindVox  will  automatically
  notify you that you need to make a payment soon.

  Your account will be validated as soon as we receive  your  money  order  or
  when your check clears our bank.  We will not active your account until pay-
  ment is received, and we will NOT send you a reminder.

  If your account is ever terminated, your deposit will be applied against any
  outstanding  balance,  and  the remainder refunded to you within 15 business
  days.

                   Direct Billing - Outside of United States
                   -----------------------------------------

  We realize that many of our Members are connecting  to  MindVox  from  other
  countries and it's our desire to make things as simple as possible for you.

  If you reside in a country that has convertible  currency,  we  will  accept
  checks  or  money orders in your native currency, with an added $5 surcharge
  for any orders under $50 US dollars.

  People with EuroChecks or checks with a "wahrung" section, please  use  your
  native currency.

  You will receive an invoice detailing the translation from your  currency  >
  to US Dollars > to your final timeslice on MindVox.


  Make checks and money orders, payable to:

		       Phantom Access Technologies, Inc.

  Payments must be mailed to:

		       Phantom Access Technologies, Inc.
			175 Fifth Avenue,  Suite:  2614
			      New York, NY 10010

  Payments must also include:

			      [ Your   Login  ID ]
			      [ Your Full   Name ]
			      [ Your Telephone # ]

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

              PROFESSIONAL & BUSINESS CLIENTS - INTERNET SERVICES
              ---------------------------------------------------

  Although our primary focus is the MindVox system, we are  also  equipped  to
  offer  a  full  range  of services that allow those who need them to connect
  their individual, corporate, hobby, or commercial systems into the Internet.
  These options have many gradations in speed and flexibility, limited only by
  what you desire, and the type of operating  system  you  are  using  on  the
  machine in question.

  As a rule of thumb *MOST* MSDOS based systems have "doors" or programs, that
  enable  you to receive Internet style mail, and Usenet news; however you are
  limited to batched services such as UUCP, and CANNOT make use  of  real-time
  options  like NNTP, SMTP, and most TCP/IP services like telnet, ftp, and the
  like.  These are  limitations  created  by  MSDOS,  and  partially  overcome
  through  the  evolution  of  stable and reliable programs that allow a basic
  level of connectivity for DOS bases BBS and personal Mail systems --  howev-
  er,  if  you need a "full" or "live" Internet site, we would STRONGLY recom-
  mend obtaining a Unix based system for this connection.

  If you require help in selecting and purchasing hardware, software, routers,
  bridges,  terminal  servers,  or  need general assistance in setting up your
  site, we have varying degrees of help available depending on  what  services
  you  need from us; and the amount of free-time we happen to have.  Basically
  we'll be happy to hold your hand to the point where your system  is  up  and
  running, and can direct you to any one of half a dozen very reliable consul-
  tants who can assist you in keeping your site online and running smoothly if
  you  need  help with this.  We can provide any level of connectivity you may
  need, but CANNOT administer or service your system for you.

       -=/[ Some of the Internet/Usenet Services Available, Include: ]/=-

    -=]) Personal and Corporate UUCP feeds for Mail and News.

    -=]) MX'ing for your Mail System.

    -=]) Running DNS and helping you set up your own Domain.

    -=]) SLIP and PPP Feeds.

    -=]) 56kbit and Fractional-T1 Leased-Line direct connections.

    -=]) Private, Corporate or Organizational Online Conference and Mail 
         Systems  which we service for you, while you select who receives what 
         type of access to the information you desire to distribute on an open 
         or closed basis.

    -=]) BBS Services for MSDOS-Based Systems, providing Mail, News, and 
         FTPMail.


<-]) In the very near future we will also be offering POPmail, and Offline Mail    
     and News Readers to our clients.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  We could go on at this point and list off 500  different  combinations,  but
  its  probably  more reasonable to say that we are extremely flexible in this
  regard, and happy to work with you towards whatever  specific  goal  you  or
  your corporation have in mind.

  To pursue any of this further, you can call our office during  normal  busi-
  ness  hours  (Noon  to  Midnight  on  weekdays),  leave  us a message on our
  voicemail system, or if you already have access to email  you  can  send  an
  electronic message to postmaster@phantom.com.

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  For additional information consult the other entries in the online INFO sec-
  tion; send mail to: system@phantom.com, or feel free to make contact with us 
  at:

		       Phantom Access Technologies, Inc.
			175 Fifth Avenue,  Suite:  2614
			      New York, NY 10010

                              (+1 800 - MindVox)

			   Voice: +1 212 / 989-2418
			   (Fax): +1 212 / 989-8648


      Our local hunt group in New York City (212/718) can be reached at:

                      300/1200/2400-bps  +1 212 989-4141
                      96/14.4/16.8/19.2  +1 212 989-1550
                      Hayes V.FC 28,800  +1 212 645-8065

	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

  MindVox operates on a principle similar to RADAR, but is stable, like a  PC-
  type  set-up, it doesn't FLY out of anything.  Do not be alarmed.    -- A.D. 

