NUMBER OF LINES: 999
001=Usr:0 Null User         06/30/87 20:34  Msg:0 Call:0 Lines:19
  1$If you are in need of help, you need but ask...
  2$************************* INSTALLED: 15 NOV 89 ***************************
  3$Welcome to BWMS II (BackWater Message System II)  Mike Day System operator
  4$**************************************************************************
  5$GENERAL DISCLAIMER: BWMS II IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INFORMATION
  6$                    PLACED ON THIS SYSTEM.
  7$BWMS II was created as an electronic bill board. BWMS II is a privately 
  8$owned and operated system which is currently open for use by the general
  9$public.  No restrictions are placed on the use of the system.  As the
 10$system is privately owned, I retain the right to remove any and all
 11$messages which I may find offensive.  Because of the limited size of the
 12$system, it will be periodically purged of messages (only 999 lines of data
 13$can be saved).  To leave a message, type 'ENTER'.  Use ctrl/C to get out
 14$the ENTER mode.  The message is automatically stored.  If after entering
 15$the message you find you made a mistake, use the replace command to
 16$replace the line.  To exit from the system, type 'BYE' then hang up.
 17$Type 'HELP' to see other commands that are available on the system.
 18$**************************************************************************
 19$ 
002=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY      11/15/89 22:43  Msg:4571 Call:25471 Lines:2
 20 He who pays the bills gets to make the rules.
 21 ***********************************************************************
003=Usr:13 voyeur            11/16/89 00:21  Msg:4572 Call:25474 Lines:9
 22 :::::::::O O:::::::::11/16/89:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::00:29:07::::O O::::::
 23 And here I stand, looking down on the less lofty lowlife scum who didn't make
 24 it here to the exalted reaches of the Top of the Disk.  Nothing above me --
 25 and as they say, "no News is good news."
 26  
 27 Milchar - I believe PorSFiS is a week-and-a-half away - the 25th.  Last weekend
 28 should have been a meeting, but OryCon happened.  (I was at the one on the 28th
 29 , so I know my two-week cycle is in tune).
 30 :::::::::O O:::::::::::::::::::::::voyeur:::::::::::::::::::::::::::O O::::::::
004=Usr:232 bob lindski       11/16/89 08:34  Msg:4573 Call:25476 Lines:8
 31 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 32 "no News is good news."  How'ver it requires not too much G-NEWS to guess
 33 that the Guy who pays the bills gets to post those news(sance) to some.
 34 As they used to say ` exceptio probat regulam de rebus non exceptis '.
 35 In other word To Be Forewarned Is To Be Forearmed or som'thing to that
 36 effect.                                et tu  Bob?
 37 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\11\16\89 Bl
 38  
005=Usr:287 Ralph Steadman    11/16/89 12:36  Msg:4574 Call:25479 Lines:50
 39 696969696969                                                                   
 40 11/15/89 By DAVID E. ANDERSON
 41     WASHINGTON (UPI) -- There has been "a significant erosion" of public
 42 confidence in the news media as an objective and impartial reporter but news
 43 organizations are still trusted more than politicians, a new study said
 44 Wednesday.
 45    The study, "The People and the Press," by the Times Mirror Center for the
 46 People & the Press" said the news media remain "far more believable than
 47 President Bush and other public figures." The media's overall favorability
 48 ratings are in the 80 percent range and its "watchdog" value to society
 49 continues to be appreciated.
 50    "Since the Times Mirror began its `People & The Press' research program five
 51 years ago, there has been a significant erosion of public confidence in the
 52 press as an objective reporter of the news and as an impartial observer of the
 53 political and social scenes," the survey found.
 54    "Americans from all walks of life find fault with the way the press reports
 55 on the personal and ethical behavior of political leaders. These criticisms are
 56 now shaping opinions of the press and shadowing its credibility."
 57    "The general public, as always in the past, is two-minded in its evaluation
 58 of the press and its performance," the survey said. "Majorities continue to lik
 59 and believe the press but there are ample signs in the survey that criticisms o
 60 press practice have substantially increased."
 61    Daily newspapers have suffered a greater decline in believabilty than the
 62 electronic news media since 1985, the survey said, losing 16 points since 1985,
 63 with just 68 percent of the public now finding them believable.
 64    But it said majorities rate 15 of the 16 news organizations or personalities
 65 studied as believable most of the time, with the Wall Street Journal and Cable
 66 News Network receiving the highest believablity ratings, followed closely by th
 67 news divisions of the three networks and their evening anchors.
 68    "To put these numbers in perspective, only Pope John Paul II gets better
 69 believability ratings than the news organizations measured in the study," it
 70 said. "President Bush, former President Reagan, businessman Donald Trump and
 71 entertainer Johnny Carson are all believable to a smaller percentage of
 72 Americans than are major news organizations and prominent journalits.
 73    "Geraldo Rivera is the only news media figure to receive a negative
 74 believablity rating from a majority of those who could rate him," it said.
 75    Despite the criticisms leveled against the news media, huge majorities
 76 generally give it high favorability ratings -- 82 percent regarding network
 77 television news favorably, compared with 80 percent for local TV news and 77
 78 percent for daily newspapers.
 79    In contrast, Bush had a 70 percent favorability rating, the Supreme Court a
 80 61 percent rating, the Congress 52 percent and Vice President Dan Quayle was
 81 rated favorably by just 39 percent of those surveyed.
 82    Among the 16 organizations and personalities, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings
 83 led the believability list, with 85 percent of those who rated his performance
 84 calling him believable. CNN and NBC News were next at 84 percent, followed by
 85 the Wall Street Journal at 83 percent; NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, 81 percent;
 86 and there was a three-way tie between CBS New anchor Dan Rather, ABC News
 87 Nightline anchor Ted Koppel and CBS News, all with 79 percent.
 88 696969696969696969                                                             
006=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/16/89 21:30  Msg:4575 Call:25488 Lines:41
 89 &*&*&*&*'s
 90  
 91 The construction of the object was a very precise undertaking. Far more
 92 precise in fact then could be expected of the average mortal. The lines
 93 and agles where in fact very illogical, but that was what gave it its
 94 magic. 
 95  
 96 The final step was not the hardest, but it was the most time consuming. The
 97 Object was placed in box and left in a locked box of 57 years. The time had
 98 to be precise down to the minute or the desired effect would not take place.
 99 Karl waited for the numbers on his smart new digital watch to line up. As 
100 can be ascertained from the length of this last step he was quite an old man.
101 His hand shock slightly and his eyes squinted to get a better image of the 
102 watch face.
103  
104 There was also the look of madness about him, and mixed in with that the
105 air of determination that had kept him going. "Moratilian, you'll be getting
106 yours soon." he mumbled under his breath. "Only two more minutes."
107  
108 As he fineshed uttering these words there was a brilliant flash of light and
109 a much younger looking man appeared beside him. "I'll be taking that now."
110  
111 "Yes you will." Karl said smiling.
112  
113 "Why waist so many years of effort on petty revenge. Now hurry, there is 
114 little time."
115  
116 "No Moratillian, there is no time." So saying Karl opened the box and the
117 younger man was reduced to a black smudge. 
118  
119 And the moral of the story is left to the reader as an excercise.
120  
121 OK, so it wasn't very good. I thought I'd try just writting whatever came
122 to mind. It doesn't really matter what sort of an effort I put forth, as
123 I've almost never gotten any feed back here or anywhre else. Not even
124 for the very few good things I've written.
125  
126 An Astral Dreamer (Trying to lay down a new guilt trip.)
127 &*&*&*&*'s
128  
129 (And Failing.)
007=Usr:29 The Bard          11/16/89 23:14  Msg:4576 Call:25489 Lines:30
130 News: unless you've significantly changed at least the wording, you are 
131 violating copyright. If you have been, then my apologies.
132  
133 As for your novel ideas regarding "public media", do try to recall that this 
134 system is privately owned. If you feel that this is irrelevant, then I'll be 
135 over shortly to set up a board pushing *my* views on *your* equipment.
136  
137 You seem to think that allowing some people to express opinions and not 
138 allowing others to express theirs *on this system* constitutes censorship. If 
139 we tried to do that here, or if we tried to force other systems to do so, then
140 it would be. But the sysop has the final say as to what is acceptable on his
141 system and that is not censorship. If it was, then the editorial pages of any
142 newspaper are prime examples of censorship! 
143  
144 Your "sins" are twofold (in my opinion, our Cistop may have his own reasons).
145 First, you are *boring*. After reading only a few of your postings, it is easy
146 to figure what your comments about a news item will be. 
147 Second, you are long-winded. Just because the space is there doesn't mean that 
148 it is your place to fill it. So it may take weeks to fill up the disk. Maybe
149 we prefer quality to quantity?
150  
151 Finally, you mainly seem to be lecturing us rather than attempting to establish
152 a dialogue. I have yet to see a system where the users take to being lectured 
153 at.
154  
155 And as for the lack of comment, I guess it never occurred to you that the users
156 might be trying the old "ignore him and maybe he'll go away" technique? As far
157 as I can tell, the few comments you've gotten have all been negative. Maybe
158 you need to take the hint?
159 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
008=Usr:366 berney dunn       11/17/89 01:32  Msg:4577 Call:25494 Lines:13
160 What is the future of human life? I wonder, as i suppose we all do in this era
161 of environmental insanity. Are we alone, to spend out our little time on this
162 damaged and dirty dust ball unnoticed? Perhaps. But I expect better things for
163 our decendants.
164     Jean watched the view screens as the ship approached the planet. A bright
165 swath of bluish lighted area arched over the dark region just below, speckled
166 with brighter lights. Arranda touched the controls and the ship rolled sightly
167 into the prescribed orbit na descended into the upper air. The view blurred as
168 the ionized shock wave became thicker. Once they were below the light, the
169 view became dull, so Jean went back to their room to play with Arranda's son,
170 his owner. What a life for a monkey, he thought, far better than to be stuck
171 in the jungle back on earth.
172 ----------------------------------------B.A.D.------------------------------
009=Usr:286 Jeff Marten       11/17/89 15:43  Msg:4578 Call:25502 Lines:97
173  
174  
175 {+}{+}{+}{+}
176  
177      I know that some here object to "non-original" material of any
178      length being posted. Following are excerpts from an article
179      entitled "Taking Drugs - Seriously" by P.J. O'Rourke. I did not
180      get this from a service and post it to annoy anyone or clutter up
181      the board. I tediously hand transcribed this and am posting it
182      because I found it both provocative and entertaining to read - and
183      I hope it will inspire some comment, discussion or debate. The
184      full article is in the November 30th issue of Rolling Stone.
185  
186                               -+|[ ThingFish ]|+-
187  
188    I'd gone with the police to raid a crack house. They were using
189 leased sedans and their own private cars to keep from being "made" too
190 quickly on the street. But every head turned as we drove through. You
191 don't see brand new cars like these in this neighborhood. That is, you
192 don't see brand new CHEAP cars. We should have come in BMW's. It's hard
193 to get too wet and sentimental about poverty that wears $100 gym
194 shoes. Sure, there were poor people who lived on this street, people
195 fracturing ass to keep them and theirs together, working long hours for
196 low pay at lousy jobs - jobs such as being a District of Columbia
197 police officer.  But these weren't the people we came to see.
198    This whole country's got something worse wrong than drugs. We are
199 the richest nation in the world - richest in our weight class anyway
200 (get outta here, Brunei) - and you can't walk one block in any city in
201 America without wackos and soaks spitting up in your pant cuffs. We
202 have a near record low rate of unemployment, and you can't stop at
203 stoplight without getting squeegeed in the kisser by practitioners of
204 beggery - the most rapidly expanding sector of America's service
205 economy. One out of five American children are growing up needy, and
206 fifty three percent of those kids have nothing for a dad except a
207 blind, microscopic, wiggle-tailed gamete that hasn't held a job since
208 it got to the womb. Drugs are an improvement on some of these problems.
209 Drugs are the answer, after all, when the question is "How can I get
210 high as a kite?" or "How can I make money without working?"
211    So what are we going to do about drugs? We can get hysterical about
212 them. That's always been fun. I can remember when the occasional be-bop
213 musician's ownership of a Mary Jane cigarette threatened to turn every
214 middle-class American teenager into a sex-crazed car thief. This
215 particular hysteria proved well founded. Every middle-class American
216 teenager did try marijuana and did become sex-crazed (although no more
217 car thievish than usual). Marijuana is also self punishing. It makes
218 you acutely sensitive, and in this world, what worse punishment could
219 there be? By the time PCP came along to make kids psychotic, kids were
220 acting so psychotic anyway, who could tell the difference? Heroin turns
221 people into amoral scuzzballs. But a heroin addict who gets his fix is
222 well behaved or dead (and you can't get better behaved than that).
223 Crack is, of course, pretty bad stuff. It's as though, after years of
224 trying, we've finally come up with a drug that's as evil as our parents
225 said dope was. It's cheap, addictive, makes you feel like Donald Trump
226 and act like Abu Nidal, and it keeps you awake to take more. Maybe we
227 should get hysterical about crack.
228    We can jump on the political bandwagon with President Bush. I loved
229 Bush on television doing his drug policy speech, especially the part
230 where he pulled out that humungo baggie with the cellular phone size
231 lump of crack in it. That was pure Captain Kangaroo: "Bunny Rabbit, you
232 leave those carrots alone." The Democrats in Congress want us to jump,
233 not on the bandwagon, but into the pork barrel. "We don't know what
234 needs doing, but a lot more of it needs to be done, let's spend, spend,
235 spend." The bleeding-nose liberals are in favor of more education. More
236 education about what? Consumer economics? Maybe social workers should
237 fan out across the ghetto and try to convince crack dealers that
238 Mercedes 190s are overpriced and they'd get more car for their money if
239 they bought Turbo Saab 900s. Whatever the new government anti-drug plan
240 is, it will probably work about as well as the old government plan, or
241 any other government plan. I mean we're talking about government, you
242 know - the people who run the post office. Drug czar William Bennett
243 has been given the responsibility for curing the entire nation's drug
244 ills, and he's also been given approximately the same civil authority
245 as Ann Landers. We're not serious about the drug trouble in this
246 country. We're not serious about the trouble causing the drug trouble.
247 We're not serious about anything. We are not a serious nation.
248    One of the annoying things about believing in free will and
249 individual responsibility is the difficulty of finding somebody to
250 blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, its remarkable
251 how often his picture shows up on your driver's license. I'm giving up
252 drugs, not because I give a damn about who gets high on what, but
253 because I'm disgusted by the feckless, unruly, sheer, silly
254 irresponsibility of...me. Personally, I don't think all drugs of
255 pleasure should be illegal. Maybe the drug laws should be changed. But
256 drug laws are not immoral laws the way laws of segregation were. I've
257 flipped through Thoreau, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and I don't
258 notice any of them going to jail or fasting or getting smacked on the
259 head so mankind can do tootski. This is a democracy.  We're free to
260 change the laws any time we want.  All we have to do is vote.  In the
261 meantime if a person like me - rich, white, privileged, happy - cannot
262 even bother to abide by the legal standards of his society, of a
263 society that has provided him with everything that a civilization can
264 be expected to provide, then that person deserves his drug problems and
265 everybody else's drug problems, too.
266  
267  
268 {+}{+}{+}{+}
269  
010=Usr:49 Bob Bennet        11/17/89 17:58  Msg:4579 Call:25506 Lines:29
270 ..................................................................
271 Bard:   As for your novel idea regarding "public media"  if private ownership 
272 is the criterion, then the only "public media" are the state-owned.  All 
273 commercial TV, radio and newspapers that I know of are privately owned.  
274 "Public media" are those that are accessible to the public, ownership has 
275 nothing to do with it.  
276  
277 Allowing SOME to express opinion, and not others is, by definition, 
278 censorship.  On this system, or any other, in a newspaper, or on TV.
279 YOU are the one claiming that the editorial page of a newspaper doesn't 
280 represent censorship.  I would claim that it is a fine example.
281  
282 By the way, who are you to declare whether someone else is violating any 
283 copyright except one that you own?  That is for the OWNER of the copyright to 
284 declare.  The courts have not made any such ruling.  One of the key 
285 requirements for a copyright infringement is damage to the copyright owner, by 
286 the way.  A free system that sees no financial gain, and claims on its opening 
287 screen it has no responsibility for what's posted would be quite safe from
288 legal prosecution according to some legal minds, but again, the courts have 
289 stayed away from that issue.        
290  
291 I like your idea of you setting up a board and expressing Your views on my 
292 equipment.  If I opened a system to the public, you would be welcome, as would 
293 all other callers.       
294  
295 One more point:  NO NOT ALL the comments about the news have been negative.
296                                                                                
297 ..........................................................................
298                                                                             
011=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/17/89 18:41  Msg:4580 Call:25507 Lines:13
299 &*&*&*&*'s
300 I have been known to make a positive comment now and again. Bards comment is 
301 just another example of what we all do. That is we ignore information that
302 does not agree with our point of view.
303  
304 The interactivity of Backwater is about nil for me these days. I'm starting
305 to wonder why I call. Even my whining is getting to be a bore. I've been
306 on here 1.5 years, and I've read the archive back to 86 or so. This is 
307 darn close to the most boring BW has been.
308  
309 An Astral Dreamer
310 &*&*&*&*'s(No aside today.)
311  
012=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock   11/17/89 19:34  Msg:4581 Call:25508 Lines:42
312 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
313 Friar: Agreed, wholeheartedly.  The problem, I believe, lies in the fact that
314 the literary community, as a whole, seems to have gone on to other, greener
315 pastures.  When you're dealing with the "multiple user creator universe", as we
316 have established here, the slow decline of authors will escalate, as no small
317 number of creative thinkers wishes to   impose their private will upon the 
318 mass, or the world that they have created.  That's why I've paused in my 
319 postings.  I named the planet, I created the Stone Triangle and Techalysis, the
320 Central City.  I established the Networks (Not the NET), and the presence of 
321 the New Bar (as yet unnamed) in Techalysis.  I added te Quantier, a relic from
322 Pyrrix A'aaal's (The planet) past(?) (though I may have revealed too much 
323 just then).  
324      The point of all that is that one user can't do it alone.... or even two,
325 or three users, for that matter.  We, the authors, do NOOT want Backwater's
326 multi-user universe to be "Zephyr and Friar's Playground".  Instead, it must be
327 an effort on the parts of all the writers who presently inhabit the board,
328 lurking in the shadows.  
329      For instance, what lies beyond the Central City?  What is the origin of
330 the mysterious inn (Inn) in the small   desert tiwn?  Where did the Pool come 
331 from?  What are the origins of the Stone Triangle?  Who built it?  Why?  I
332 created many of the sparks that might ignite these fires, but I'm not going to 
333 fan them.  I'd rather that that be done by users whose interests I might have
334 piqued.
335      Sadly, howevr, one of the things that turned many writers off from the
336 original system's universe, and one of the causes for the decay of that world,
337 and of the general literary atmosphere of BWMS was the lack of enthusiasm that
338 greeted many new writers.  At the beginning, each entry into that mythical 
339 world was greeted with joy and welcome.  Towards the end, however, very few new
340 writers were allowed to join in on the  great and cosmic quests.  I recall
341 distinctly seeing many writers' characters being literally kicked out of the 
342 adventures because they were new.  Well, now that EVERYTHING is new, and now
343 that all the older users (well, almost) have left, new authors are probably
344 more than a little concerned that their work will not "fit in" with the world,
345 and will be discounted, or ignored, or  explained away by "the governing boody"
346 of authors.  Hopefully, we can prove them wrong.
347      A.D., I'm curious about what lies  beyond the city.  I'd like to know how
348 Pyrrix A'aaal connects with the Inn, or with Innisfall, and why so many patrons
349 from one found tthemselves in the other
350 after the demise of the latter.  Perhaps, with your view of the Astral Plane,
351 you might have seen something we missed?
352  
353 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
013=Usr:366 berney dunn       11/18/89 01:21  Msg:4582 Call:25518 Lines:4
354 Humm, but what I miss is the old philosophical 
355 arguements and flames. Or have I been gone too long?
356 ------------------------------- B.A.D. --------------------------------------
357 .
014=Usr:333 Bartender Slug    11/18/89 20:49  Msg:4583 Call:25528 Lines:3
358  
359 You've been gone too long.
360  
015=Usr:29 The Bard          11/18/89 23:54  Msg:4584 Call:25531 Lines:16
361 Let me get this straight, you seem to be saying that it is *wrong* for a 
362 newspaper to only print the views that it's editors agree with. If so, wouldn't
363 it follow that they should be forced to print other views? In that case, what
364 has happened to "freedom of the press"?
365  
366 Sorry, but to have any meaning, freedom of the press must include the freedom
367 to *not* print views you disagree with. And I (and many others) maintain that 
368 a BBS should come under freedom of the press, not freedom of speech.
369  
370 As for copyright, monetary gain does *not* matter. The penalties are the same
371 whether the illegal copies are free or you charge for them. And if you check, 
372 sysops *have* been charged with copyright violation for carrying copies of
373 software on *free* systems. As long as there is any doubt, I'd hope you'd 
374 refrain from anything that might lead to legal action. You may not be easy to
375 find, but the sysop is! 
376 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
016=Usr:47 John Dilks        11/19/89 11:07  Msg:4585 Call:25534 Lines:45
377 -------------------------]
378 To news person: You yourself seem to have some pretty "novel" ideas about
379 things. Copyright infringment is when you use the copyright holder's 
380 material without their permission. Since the news services make their 
381 permission requirements well know, and it is obvious that you are not 
382 following that persion since you don't indicate the permission in your
383 messages you are in violation of those copyrights. Whether the news service 
384 decides to legally go after you in particular is a whole different issue
385 over and above that of copyright violation. 
386 No matter what the sysop says in the opening message, if he is aware of
387 the copyright violation and permits it to continue then he is an 
388 accesory to the crime, and is punishable under law. The laws regarding
389 this issue are very clear. You cannot escape responsibility simply by
390 saying that you are not responsible.
391 In regard to censureship and freedom of speech verses freedom of press,
392 that is another issue where you seem to have things muddled, as is often
393 the case with many people. It shows how poorly the schools are teaching
394 the very underpinings that this country is based on.
395 As the little blub says at the start of the disk, "he who pays the bills
396 gets to make the rules." That is the basis behind the freedoms. If I put
397 together a newspaper, no one can force me to put in the paper anything 
398 that I do not feel fits. That is an editorial right declared declared by 
399 constitution itself. On the same note it means that YOU can do the same,
400 put together a newspaper (or other form of information media) and present
401 your views as you deem it, and no one can tell you what you can or cannot
402 put in the paper. That is YOUR editorial right since you are paying the
403 bills for your own media. 
404 Censorship. This is a messy area that gets pretty muddled even by those
405 "in the know". The reason why is because the laws have been pretty well 
406 mangled on this issue. Some of them are justified, others aren't.
407 One example of censorship that is acceptable under the laws is that of
408 the government control over the broadcast industry. The reason behind this
409 is that the airwaves belong to the public, not to the media. As such, the
410 public is leasing air space to the braodcast industry. This means that the
411 public (in the form of the government) has the right to place restrictions
412 on what can and cannot be braodcast over their airwaves. 
413 An area where censorship is less viable is in the movie industry. Obviously,
414 you do not have to see a movie if you don't want to, nor is it broadcast
415 over publicly owned airwaves. Yet there is censorship in the form of the 
416 movie rating system (G,PG,PG13,R - there is no such rating as X by the way,
417 that was an invention by the porn industry). This is however a voluntary
418 censorship. That is, the movie industry submits to it under pressure. They
419 are not required to follow it, but do so since they want to make money.
420 Rats, runnig out of time...
421 ---------------------------- John ----------------------------------------
017=Usr:47 John Dilks        11/19/89 11:39  Msg:4586 Call:25535 Lines:30
422 A quick addon here about "public media." That's a messy conotation. 
423 The problem here is that you seem to be mixing Publicly owned media
424 verses privately owned media. As with the broadcast media, there can
425 be some public control of privately owned media. Or as is the case
426 with most newspapers, there can be none. It is not a black and white
427 issue. It depends on many factors. Because a store is open to the 
428 public, it does not mean that you have any right to tell them what 
429 they can put on their shelves and what they can't. Though a wise store
430 manager will listen to the customers, it is still his decision, not yours.
431 The same is true for a newspaper. On the other hand, the congressional
432 record belongs to the public, therefore it is a "Public media" all government
433 publications belong to the people, and therefore are public. However, 
434 some of them may be restricted by the represetatives of the people (the
435 government) for various reasons. 
436 Basically what this all means is that if you use public funds or other
437 assistance, then the public has the right to control what is printed.
438 If you use only your own private finds and materials, then no one can 
439 tell you what can or cannotbe printed. You can have your distribution
440 limited though if itadversly affects the public. An example is the control
441 of adult book stores. The control only comes into being when it involves
442 the public as a whole. If you sell a dirty magazine to someone else in the
443 privacy of your own home without anyone else involved, then it is a transaction
444 between the two of you, and the public has no say over it. Though there are
445 some who would like to control such things and have periodicaly tried.
446 (and sometimes succeded for a time).
447 Basically what this means is that if Mikey doesn't want to carry news re-prints
448 on his "selves", then he doesn't have to. This is because you are free to
449 print your news at your own expense if you wish. Since Mikey pays the bills
450 here, he gets to make the rules. That is his right, not yours.
451 ------------------------- John -------------- gone on too long about it all----
018=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock   11/19/89 12:29  Msg:4587 Call:25537 Lines:10
452 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
453 John: Just a quick side note.  There IS a rating for X in reality.  It simply
454 means that ANYONE under 18 cannot attend the film, even with adult permission.
455 It is a registered rating..... just go  to any theater, and you'll see a list o
456 of the ratings and their significance.  What are NOT listed are the XX, XXX, or
457 however many extra X's they want to put on.  THOSE were created by the 
458 pornography oindustry.  X simply means that NO ONE under 18 will supposedly be 
459 allowed i..... which is why most of the films that are X are designed for 
460 people with mindsets between the 14-17 age range. :)
461 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
019=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY      11/19/89 12:52  Msg:4588 Call:25538 Lines:31
462 **********************************************************************
463 OK people, just so that we are all aware of the basis by which all 
464 this is derived, here are the following Consitutional amendments 
465 from the Bill of Rights which deal with the subject being discussed. 
466  
467                               Article I
468 Religious Establishment Prohibited. Freedom of Speech, of the Press,
469    and Right to Petition.
470  
471      Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
472 or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
473 speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably 
474 assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
475  
476                              Article IX
477                Rule of Construction of Constitution.     
478  
479      The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not
480 be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
481  
482                              Article X
483                Rights of States under Constitution.
484  
485      The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
486 nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
487 respectively, or to the people.
488  
489 ***********************************************************************
490 As an interesting aspect, note that it does not prohibit the States
491 from restricting freedoms or rights, only the Congress.
492 ***********************************************************************
020=Usr:13 voyeur            11/19/89 23:49  Msg:4589 Call:25552 Lines:56
493 WwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwW
494                   
495     He was a pale man of medium height and slight build.  When one chanced to
496 glimpse him going about his business, it was not so much his physical charac-
497 teristics they found remarkable, but rather his mannerisms.
498      For he scurried through his life permanently hunched over a small hand-
499 held device.  Indeed, in its presence -- which is as much to say 'under all
500 occasions' -- he appeared quite impervious to stimulation from any external
501 source.
502      Nor do I feel it amiss to exclude said device from the ranks of those
503 objects external to himself, so amazing was the way his nimble hands deftly
504 played over its miniature keyboard in a bond that could be termed symbiotic;
505 but which to some seemed genetic in origin.
506      I knew not the details of the device -- or of the man, for that matter --
507 though I worked closely with him, or them, for very many years.  And if you
508 have noted my confusion on his (or their) classification, I would state this:
509 That I have become convinced that he and it were interwoven.  And that the
510 destruction of one would so alter the other that neither could maintain in
511 existence -- the one being destroyed and the other so altered as to be an
512 essentially different being.                   
513      Extraordinary as this statement may see, I am compelled still to offer
514 it without elaboration, except to describe to you the observations that led to
515 its utterance.
516                      
517      Where we have all seen that normal individuals, when forming a thought,
518 will categorize the thought and file it away in his memory for later recall,
519 I observed that my colleague would no sooner create an idea than his fingers
520 would play it out on the little keyboard earlier mentioned. The process would
521 occur so quickly and so flawlessly, that the man was under no personal
522 obligation to file the thought in his own memory.
523      On one occasion when he and I were conversing, we came to a point where
524 he seemed to desire referring to me by name.  He paused for a brief moment,
525 and, as it was a rare instance when I could see the device's display, I saw my
526 name appear on the screen, which allowed him to continue.
527      On this line I would interject two beliefs:  one, that some of my
528 colleague's conversations were scripted in their entirety by the thing.  The
529 other, that in all the years we worked together, I believe he never endeavored
530 to memorize my name.
531      If this seems odd, however, I will now mention that I never learned my
532 friend's true name.  Most certainly, even if compelled under the threat of
533 death (or, much worse, physical discomfort)  I could never have revealed more
534 than a ponderous list of pseudonyms.
535                     
536      As it was that the two beings seemed inextricably connected, it is note-
537 worthy that the man could frequently be found arguing with the device in a
538 most passionate fashion.  I believe this was analagous to the way most of us
539 debate internally a course of action when confronted with more than one poss-
540 ibility.  It was as if he was obliged to consult the mechanism to discern his
541 own mind.
542      But I find that I have digressed from my intended discourse.  For the
543 events I now set out to describe began on a certain autumn day when he was
544 sent on a particular mission.  He was to be the first contact for a newly
545 indoctrinated agent I much later learned owned the name of 'Albright'.
546                  
547 WwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWw Watsworth wWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwWwW
548  
021=Usr:402 DELTA.FIVE SHANN  11/20/89 01:55  Msg:4590 Call:25554 Lines:32
549 [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] DELTA FIVE [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*]
550 Greetings from Smogicon Valley. ZEPHYR: What you say is true. I have never expe
551 ienced anything like the dog-eat-dog out-for-he-buck greed that is the way of 
552 life here. Every day I spend in Californicate I detest it more. (Soon, I am
553 buying a motorhome and getting the hell out) What I was trying to say is that
554 there are some decent people here, and I was impressed with how many took the
555 time to help others, and that I got a good feeling from having been one of them
556 This was the RACES; Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services. I delivered a few
557 messages recieved from ham operators; people wanting to know if relatives, etc,
558 were alive and well, and providing transportation for people in need of same.
559 California, in general, sucks. But there are some decent people here.
560 L'Homme: I saw someone who resembled Leroy and lobbed off a few rounds in his
561 general direction, but I think I missed...Look for mail, now that I have your
562 address.
563  
564 I have taken the liberty of naming my new BBS after Backwater. If cistop Mikey
565 objects, I will-in respect for my favorite board-change it. For now, it is
566 Backwater South. This is a 'Citadel' (rooms) system that auto networks with
567 a hundred or so BBS's all over the world. One room (spy) will be for NET
568 stories. Names of BWMS characters are reserved here, and thay can have the
569 same names here as in Portland.
570 User validation is not required; new users have all privledges. Log on with
571 whatever name you like, set your password, and you are on.
572  
573 If anyone in Portland is on a Citadel system, please let me know, and I will
574 look into networking with them.
575  
576 If anyone is in touch with John (Dreamtoucher) please let me know...
577 Backwater South is 408-293-0525 300,1200,2400 N81; PO Box 1883 San Jose
578 Californicate 95109.
579  
580 [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] DELTA FIVE IN SAN JOSE [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*] [*=*]
022=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/20/89 07:25  Msg:4591 Call:25555 Lines:8
581 &*&*&*&*'s
582 DELTA FIVE, there are atleast a couple of reliable Citadel systems here in 
583 Portland. One of them is 3CPU at 2469712, and the other is Great Corrupter at
584 2368311. Both subscribe to altleast a few of the rooms on the national net.
585  
586 An Astral Dreamer
587 &*&*&*&*'s
588  
023=Usr:219 Friar Mossback    11/20/89 16:50  Msg:4592 Call:25562 Lines:26
589 *****************************************************************
590 *                                                               *
591 *                     A Personal Invitation                     *
592 *                                                               *
593 *   All BackWater BBS patrons are invited to join the ranks of  *
594 *                                                               *
595 *               ==>> A Flight of Inspiration <<==               *
596 *                                                               *
597 *  A new BBS running QuickBBS.  It is intended as a replacement *
598 *  for Blue Parrot on an interim basis, and for JD's Place on a *
599 *  permanent basis.  It is also intended as a suplement to BW,  *
600 *  not in lieu of.  The sysop of the system is Friar, and the   *
601 *  chronicles here (BWMS) are from a different time.            *
602 *                                                               *
603 *  The technical particulars are:  300/1200/2400 baud           *
604 *                                  (300 from 0100-1500)         *
605 *                                  N-8-1                        *
606 *                                  No MNP                       *
607 *                                  ANSI colors available        *
608 *                                                               *
609 *  Call when you wish, aliases are allowed, even encouraged!    *
610 *                                                               *
611 *                   ==>> 7 7 7 - x x x x <<==                   *
612 *                                                               *
613 *****************************************************************
614  
024=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine ,  11/21/89 00:52  Msg:4593 Call:25569 Lines:20
615 {}
616  
617    AD:  Consider that I now work 10-18 hours a day, and that many others
618 are "running out of time".  "Responsible Age" is creeping up on all of
619 us, and that usually translates into "less time".  In the few 21 years
620 I have been living, I knew that this would come; and I have always 
621 sought a means of escape from it, to my world, not just a world of
622 fiction and daydreams, but a world that I can sleep, eat, love,
623 harvest, and enjoy in.  Do not remorse the loss of "time"; I finally 
624 understand a message that Mr. Wilson left in his first trilogy.  Age
625 and Death are what we really are escaping from, and as we can't prolong
626 life or create living immortality, we seek to spend as much time 
627 enjoying our little world as possible.  The Games of Mankind,
628 that is, Power/Government, Money/Economics, Belief Control/Religion,
629 and the Good-Evil alignment, are mearly distractions from
630 the ultimate: the end of existence.  Out of time, continue later...
631  
632    Hagbard Celine
633  
634 {}
025=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/21/89 08:48  Msg:4594 Call:25573 Lines:16
635 &*&*&*&*'s
636 Hagbard, To some extent I understand what you are talking about. I only work
637 8 hours a day usually, but with commuting and preperation it is closer to ten.
638 Add in 8 hours for sleep and there isn't much time left. And even those six or 
639 so hours don't seem to last long enough.
640  
641 But for me I don't think that it is the lack of time.  I just can't seem to 
642 get into the right mindset to actually write somthing.  I don't see how
643 people do this sort of thing on a part time basis.  I suppose being largly
644 ignored on alt.prose earlier in the year didn't help my enthusiasm either.
645  
646 Enough of my complaints. It was nice to have somebody acknowledge my existence.
647  
648 An Astral Dreamer
649 &*&*&*&*'s
650  
026=Usr:277 Schizo            11/21/89 23:12  Msg:4595 Call:25584 Lines:2
651 I am still alive,  Am I?
652  - Schizo
027=Usr:498 Hagbard Celine ,  11/22/89 00:21  Msg:4596 Call:25587 Lines:79
653  
654 {}
655  
656    Writing is simply the by-product of your imagination.  Having
657 writer's block is, well, being self-concious.  Let your writing
658 drift off...
659  
660    * * *
661  
662    ...to another day, although not as perfect as the previous.  Winter
663 is near, and the cool air outside is a constant reminder.  As I walk,
664 I notice that my tummy protests; not in hunger, but in fullness.  I've
665 made the mistake of filling up and not waiting for my meal to
666 subside.  Each step causes my abdominals to groan in pain, and
667 it's another block to the house.  Sometimes I panic that I'll
668 explode because I didn't stop walking, but I always make it back
669 in time to rest.  My eyes look in despiration for the colour of the
670 house - ah, there it is!  A slow trot brings me to the front door,
671 fingers numbly searching for the house key, body swollen and
672 perspiring from heavy clothing, the key, the key, almost had it,
673 YES!  Jamming the key into the door pains my fingers further, but the
674 warmth of the house brings relief...
675  
676    * * *
677  
678    ...to my own writer's block.  Granted, the last paragraph was
679 dull, poorly constructed, and filled with the wonderfully bad
680 grammar of "west-coast southern", as I was raised in southern Oregon
681 (ICK!) - but I wrote it "improptu".  I know (almost) EXACTLY how
682 you feel.  Remember, there are three sides to each coin, and
683 seeing only two adds to the falacy.  You wish to sensitize yourself
684 to the world, but the emotions and pain around you swell like
685 a tsunami, and you wish to be indifferent and cold.  The third side
686 to this "flat coin" is to either look for alternatives or to
687 precisely control your sensitivity to others.  Am I right in
688 understanding that you feel discouraged mainly by the lack of 
689 sensitivity of others on the board (ie., they are disinterested
690 in writing, and of your own), and because of this "problem", you
691 wish to sound indifferent?  Where's that third alternative?
692 Why not be indifferent, yet write for your OWN enjoyment?  Or
693 do you not enjoy the creative part of your own prose?  Isn't it
694 the same feeling as what you get seeing a large program run after
695 weeks of work?  Or the same as when a mechanic's hot rod comes to
696 life, after a meticulous build & modification?  Or how about the
697 chemist that produces a synthetic substance as a personal experiment?
698 Do you ever experience that feeling?  Better yet, do you understand
699 how to control yourself to produce results, while remaining
700 sensitive to other's opinions?  You must walk the "Razor's Edge"
701 to find this, and your feet WILL hurt the first time.
702  
703    OK, to say this in easier terms, GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND START
704 WRITING.  Even if it is a snippet, or a short paragraph, or
705 a new (but weird) joke, or ANYTHING, you should write it.
706 Birds sing without applause - a saying I see at someone's desk
707 at work.  But the point is that people DO enjoy your writing.
708 Maybe they wish to see you WRITE SOME MORE; and even if they don't
709 you should take pride in what you do.  If you can't, then "type
710 DOC at the prompt to receive help" ;->)
711  
712    Hang in there!!!!
713  
714 {}
715  
716    Inside, I sat upon my duff, throw my legs into the air and onto
717 the couch arm, and close my eyes in bliss, knowing full well that
718 many house chores remain to be done.  In my bliss, I go far, far
719 away to what cou...would be a better world, well, you MIGHT say
720 could.  One where the poor don't walk the streets, but live in
721 houses, where money has little meaning in relation to enjoying life,
722 and in general, peace between neighbors of different beliefs,
723 harmony between countries of different idology, and understanding
724 of how every individual affects the world in a minute but
725 important way.
726  
727    Nah.  Too easy for the human race.  Isn't it?
728  
729    Hagbard Celine
730  
731 {}
028=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/22/89 16:18  Msg:4597 Call:25591 Lines:20
732 &*&*&*&*'s
733 Hagbard,  I think a large part of the pleasure I gain from writting is in 
734 getting input from other people.  Wether it is to tell me they like it, or
735 that they dislike it.  I guess I am as guilty as anybody else, as I seldom 
736 take the time to comment on the fiction I see here.  But I do often comment
737 on the debates and other conversation, and I have even tried to start a 
738 debate or two.  In those cases I have found I am almost always ignored.
739 I think that is what really discourages/annoys me.
740  
741 No fiction today, but I do have a question.  I am thinking of designing and 
742 implamenting (In software.) a CPU.  I know, it sounds strange, but I do have
743 reasons for it.  Now what I would like to know is what do you need for a CPU,
744 and how do these parts interact? I know you need registers, OPCODES, interupts,
745 etc.  
746  
747 So, would somebody PLEASE give me some info?
748  
749 An Astral Dreamer
750 &*&*&*&*'s
751  
029=Usr:29 The Bard          11/22/89 20:40  Msg:4598 Call:25595 Lines:7
752 Mikey:
753 	The Supreme Court has more or less established the precedent that th
754 states may not abrogate any of the rights enumerated in the Constitution. So 
755 with regards to the Federal Government the constitution (plus amendments) 
756 delineates the *minimum* set of rights. With regards to the states, it may 
757 delineate the *maximum* rights you have...
758 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~BARD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
030=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY      11/22/89 21:19  Msg:4599 Call:25597 Lines:34
759 Bard,
760   I'm not arguing with that. I only considered it interesting that the 
761 rights were not specifically specified as not being restrictable by the
762 states. Thus it becomes a matter of interpritation, which means it can
763 change in the future (as happened with the Roe/Wade decision). 
764 Actually, it's interesting reading the constitution. It's actually a
765 rather vague document full of loop holes (obviously written by lawers! ;-)
766 Even areas that seemed to be very solid and well defined when I read it
767 in school now looks hopelessly vague. Probably because I'm used to the
768 way the legal and political system manages to mangle the words and 
769 intent to mean whatever they want. As an example, look at Article II;
770 "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" 'A well-regulated militia being 
771 necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people
772 to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' That's all it says, 
773 no exceptions, no weasle words. Yet as we both know, there are a
774 multitude of regulations controlling the ownership of weapons, including
775 regulations which inhibit the ownership of certain weapons. When I was
776 in school, it seemed to be very clear to me. It stated that no laws 
777 could be made that restricted the ownership or use of weapons. 
778 (Infringed means the restriction of rights). But obviously the lawyers,
779 politicians, and people felt so strongly that some regulations were needed
780 that they were willing to redefine the words to mean what they wanted
781 them to mean. 
782  
783 In regard to the comment somewhere above about the "X" rating, I suspect 
784 that what John was talking about is that "X" is not an offically 
785 rating by the board of movie censors (or whatever they are calling 
786 themselves these days). They don't want to have anything to do with
787 those kinds of movies. Officially they are NR for Not Rated. 
788 But the movie industry uses the rating because it needs to notify
789 the viewers of the type of movie it is. All the Not Rated means is that
790 the censure board has not placed a rating on the movie either because it 
791 has not reviewed the movie, or because it refuses to review the movie.
792 ********************************* CM **********************************
031=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par  11/23/89 15:45  Msg:4600 Call:25607 Lines:22
793 =============================================================================
794 Well "Cub", one reason your postings went on so long before being commented on
795 is because believe it or not, there is a lot of patience on this system. We
796 have had News reports before that stimulated discussion. These previous
797 postings started something much bigger. Many of your postings were lifted
798 almost word for word from the original. What did you expect in return for
799 your efforts? You talk *at* people, not *to* them. This went on for awhile,
800 with no signs of letting up. Instead of asking people what they thought, you
801 started posting more. Enough is enough! And you started seeing comments. What
802 did you do? Did you attempt a response to these people? Did you try to start
803 a dialogue? You just wrapped your little self up tighter and started posting
804 more! What a mature attitude! You could have turned this whole thing around
805 but instead you chose the easy, childish path. Now look where it has lead.
806  
807 Never mind the copyright issue. You have acted childish, petty, and extremely
808 immature. Now you cry about censorship. Well, at least you are replying 
809 instead of simply uploading another 100 line zinger.
810  
811 But what does it gain you?  What does it do for the other users on this
812 system? You did know there were other users here, didn't you? This is
813 not your private playground, hard as that may be to believe.
814 =================================================disgusted==================
032=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock   11/23/89 17:15  Msg:4601 Call:25609 Lines:16
815 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
816 Wow!  After what seemed like two months, the disk is almost full!  Why am I
817 suddenly feeling claustaphobic... almost like a rabbit in a...... no, let's not
818 get on THAT kick again.
819 Astral Dreamer: Re - Response - I'll be the first to comment, assuming someone
820 doesn't beat me to it.
821 Mikey:  Curious, that.  I'm looking at  my copy of the MPA's guidelines, and 
822 "X" is clearly listed as valid, though, judging from the wording, it certainly
823 seems that, while they see it as a valid rating, they do NOT see the material
824 involved as being valid.
825 Why don't we just go to "A" for Adult,  as was suggested in a petition created
826 by Siskel & Ebert, hoping that it would shut don the crime/pornfilm connection
827 and regulate the things a bit (Their    distribution, that is).  Leave the 
828 regulation of the material to the board of filmmakers, or what have you.
829 Close to the bottom.......
830 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
033=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/23/89 17:38  Msg:4602 Call:25610 Lines:7
831 &*&*&*&*'s
832  
833 Zephyr, thanks for the acknowledgement.  Looks like thats all I'm going to get.
834  
835 An Astral Dreamer 
836 &*&*&*&*'s
837  
034=Usr:4 Milchar           11/23/89 19:21  Msg:4603 Call:25613 Lines:4
838 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
839 AD: Have a Happy Thanksgiving in the Dalles!  Say "hi" to your mother
840 for me...
841 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
035=Usr:57 Mantyle           11/23/89 23:50  Msg:4604 Call:25623 Lines:30
842 >..........>.........>........>.......>......>.....>....>...>..>.>>>>>>>>>>>>
843      It hadn't been that long.  It *couldn't* have been that long.  A 
844 traveler is used to change; returning temporarily to an old home after 
845 being away is like catching a new glimpse of a long-lost friend.  
846 Certainly there are new wrinkles, lines of wisdom and experience 
847 attesting to the passing of time, but usually the friend is 
848 recognizable.  Rarely is the change so complete, so overwhelming as to 
849 cause you to wonder if the person before you is really that old friend.  
850 A face can age, can mature, can even seem to decay; but not this. Not 
851 such total change.  Except... it couldn't be anywhere else.
852      A hot wind blew constantly, occasionally seasoning it's service 
853 with a fine mix of sand and dirt.  At one time a traveler entering 
854 these lands might wish to wear a cloak as proof against the cold and 
855 wet.  Now, the same cloak and hood strives in a vain effort to protect 
856 from the assaults of the desert.
857      Standing on a sandstone bluff, the traveler's eyes closed.  Yes, 
858 this might have once been the hill near home.  It... feels... right.  
859 And below, yes, there's a dried out creek bed.  Right spot.  Right 
860 depth.  Follow it northwest, yes, there's a dead tree where the creek 
861 once split and rejoined.  The traveler sighed softly.  No matter what 
862 this place is now, what it once was is still a part of it. Then, a 
863 smile.  Perhaps that's how it should be.  A place is defined by those 
864 living there, and life must continue.  We all have to live our lives.
865      The traveler pulled the sides of the hood tighter, tied the 
866 strings to hold it in place, and began to work down the crumbling sides 
867 of the bluff to the creek bed below.  There were still a few places to 
868 be seen, and though they might be thoroughly changed they were still 
869 linked to memories.  Good memories.  Nothing could change that.
870  
871 >..........>.........>........>.......>......>.....>....>...>..>.>>>>>>>>>
036=Usr:402 DELTA.FIVE SHANN  11/24/89 01:27  Msg:4605 Call:25627 Lines:10
872 Where did my border go? Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from DV.
873 Control characters re the nemesis of BBS writers. 
874 where are the line numbers?
875  
876  
877 CISTOP MIKEY: APPOLOGIES FOR (PRESUMED) DISJOINTED MESSAGES. GETTING USED TO
878 THE NEW BACKWATER 
879 =PLUS LINE NOISES IN (YUCK) CALIFORNAI...
880 MY SCREEN WENT BLANK
881 ?
037=Usr:13 voyeur            11/24/89 01:56  Msg:4606 Call:25628 Lines:5
882 -----------??----------??------------??------------??-----------??------??-----
883 Hey Mikey!  I just came from Flights of Inspiration, and guess what name I see
884 in the user log?  Pamela Coleman (from Seattle).  Then I come here and see
885 the 'Traveler' entry...  Ghosts from the past, eh?  Thanks Giving, indeed.
886 -----------!!----------!!------------!!------------!!-----------!!------!!-----
038=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/24/89 08:31  Msg:4607 Call:25631 Lines:8
887 &*&*&*&*'s
888 Thanks Milch, hope you T-Day was a good one. No ranting today, I've annoyed 
889 people enough.  Or not at all, in which case my theory has still been proven.
890  
891 An Astral Dreamer
892 &*&*&*&*'s (I don't keep quite if I think I'm right. If this offends anybody, 
893 then TOUGH COOKIES.  Prove me wrong and I'll always apologize.)
894  
039=Usr:1 CISTOP MIKEY      11/24/89 13:33  Msg:4608 Call:25640 Lines:10
895 ********************************************************************
896 Zephyr: I could very well be wrong on my information since it was
897 obtained from a documentery on censurship on TV.
898 Voyeur: Yes, I do sense the echoing foot prints of a familar tone.
899 Traveler: The passage of time causes many changes. People come,
900 people go, and around these here parts that happens a lot. 
901 I'm sure that the pendulem will swing the other way once more in time.
902 For now there are a lot of echoing foot prints and drifting ghosts
903 floating around in these halls. 
904 ******************************** CM *********************************
040=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par  11/24/89 23:03  Msg:4609 Call:25655 Lines:11
905 *%_@#)%)_#@(%)_#@(%)_@#%)(#_)%(@_)%(@!)_$!_+)$_+!$(*)_(%)_$(@_)#%()@_#(%@_#(%@%
906 Administrivia...
907  
908 voyeur: Are you or aren't you? You know what I am talking about. Give me a call
909 before Sunday evening or hold you peace for awhile.
910  
911 Milch: did you get my latest email on patches?
912  
913 DV: Watch out behind you. One never knows who one might see in one's rear
914 view mirror.
915 *#@*%$)@_#(%)_#@(%@)_^*)_$#(^)_#@ L'homme sans Parity *%@)*%)_@(_)(_)!()$(*@)_(
041=Usr:4 Milchar           11/25/89 16:18  Msg:4610 Call:25672 Lines:3
916 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
917 L'homme: Yep.  I'll call 'em on Monday.
918 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch ++++++++++++++++++
042=Usr:11 L'homme sans Par  11/25/89 20:36  Msg:4611 Call:25677 Lines:3
919 *%*_)%(@_)%()_@#(%@)_#(%_#@(%)_(#@%)#(@)_@(%_)@(%)_($)@_(@_(%$*@)_*^%@)_(%_)#(
920 Milch: Good. Email me the results. And happy printing!
921 %)@#(%)@_()_#@($)_@#(%)_@%(@)_(% L'homme sans Parity *$#)_$!)_@($)_!($)!_($!)_@
043=Usr:322 Stray Cat         11/26/89 07:32  Msg:4612 Call:25689 Lines:4
922  
923 I liked your new word, Hagbard.  Was "idology" a typo???  Might be a whole lot
924 more accurate that "ideology" sometimes dont you think??
925  
044=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/27/89 10:00  Msg:4618 Call:25717 Lines:15
926 &*&*&*&*'s
927 Well, looks like a new version of Backwater.  I wonder what the changes are?
928  
929 Ah Ha!  Looks like we now have private mail.  The help screen seems to imply
930  
931 that you can type pri, but in fact you have to type the whole word.  Or perhaps
932 I don't quite understand what is going on.  Oh, if you ask for help from within
933 the mail menu it gives you the normal help.  It would also be nice if
934 there were an option to send mail to the person who entered stuff on a certain
935 line, so that annonymity could be maintained while still allowing people to
936 reply in private.  Just an idea.
937  
938 An Astral Dreamer
939 &*&*&*&*'s
940  
045=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/28/89 18:40  Msg:4628 Call:25749 Lines:3
941  
942 Place Marker.  
943  
046=Usr:49 Bob Bennet        11/28/89 23:23  Msg:4629 Call:25752 Lines:2
944                                                                                
945                                                                                
047=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/29/89 14:03  Msg:4632 Call:25767 Lines:3
946  
947 Place Marker Day 2.
948  
048=Usr:4 Milchar           11/29/89 18:16  Msg:4634 Call:25770 Lines:4
949 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
950 L'homme: Just in case you call BW from down south, you have mail on
951 quiche.
952 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Milch +++++++++++++++++++++
049=Usr:322 Stray Cat         11/29/89 18:23  Msg:4635 Call:25771 Lines:9
953  
954 @_)(&#@)!^@#+@#$*&_$@(*#_!(*@#_!*@^##@%!@#&!_)*@(^%$!)@#&)@(!*!^@@)#^$
955  
956 mine's never as pretty as yours ... drat.  
957  
958 ... Albright, I like your stuff!!!  
959  
960 @_)#($&^_@#)_(!@)#%^(!#@&$_@$#)&@#!^@#+$(@#)&$!@#)!&@#__^!@#&)(*!@#^#&)
961  
050=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  11/30/89 16:21  Msg:4637 Call:25806 Lines:3
962  
963 All Purpose marker day 3
964  
051=Usr:286 Jeff Marten       12/01/89 03:22  Msg:4638 Call:25821 Lines:3
965  
966 Today's Outlook : Cautiously Realistic
967  
052=Usr:84 Michael Miller j  12/01/89 13:31  Msg:4639 Call:25826 Lines:6
968@ 
969@All Purpose Marker day 5
970@ 
971  
972 All purpose marker day 4
973  
053=Usr:368 Nemesis Warlock   12/01/89 22:13  Msg:4640 Call:25836 Lines:26
974 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
975 L'Homme:  Glad to see that the NET might be getting ready for a little outing.
976 Mine was temporarly stalled by sudden   and unexpected evvents, so it looks 
977 like you're going to have to take on the role of administrator of the token 
978 multi-author story until mine can finish up.
979 Traveler: I detect a resounding and familiar harp playing through your words.
980 Welcome back, if suspicions are correct.
981  
982 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
983  
984      The mesa top was silent, save for  the scratchings of an occasional field
985 sprite rummaging through the think pink wheat enshrouded in a coat of dense
986 fog.  Within the waves of wheat stood   Michael, the Cloaked Man, as he scanned
987 the horizon, frowning at the pulsating  aura of the Great Stone Triangle.
988      The Triangle fluctuated spasmically tonight.  He had noticed, too, a shift
989 of presence in the air, as if a primal  force had, if only for a moment, spread
990 its life giving hands across the mesa.  Out of the corner of his silver eye, 
991 the Cloaked Man thought he caught the   glimpse of a being in blue robes, but 
992 it had faded into the obscuring green   mist before he could be sure it even   
993 existed.
994      Turning his attention back to his  automatic scans, he cursed.  The Friar
995 and the Quantier were now somehow blocked from his range of vision, probably by
996 some protective shield.  Time was short, and he was low on supplies.  Pressing
997 a small button on the silver rod, he vanished, his sigh carried on the wind.
998 :::::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::==Zephyr::=====:::::=====:::::=====:::::====
999 Trapped between a border and the Abyss!  Aaaaaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
