Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rpi!rpi.edu!tale From: tale@pawl.rpi.edu (David C Lawrence) Newsgroups: comp.misc Subject: Re: Ten Commandments of Personal Computing Message-ID: Date: 15 Jul 89 17:39:47 GMT References: <12702@well.UUCP> Sender: usenet@rpi.edu Reply-To: tale@pawl.rpi.edu Distribution: comp Lines: 65 In-reply-to: gail@well.UUCP's message of 15 Jul 89 06:36:12 GMT In <12702@well.UUCP> gail@well.UUCP (Gail Gurman) writes: > From San Jose Mercury News, Sunday morning, July 2, 1989 > > THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF PERSONAL COMPUTING > by Paul Andrews > > III. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS ON BULLETIN BOARDS. > > This includes using phony names. In years of logging onto > electronic bulletin boards nationwide, I've never used a false > "handle" or someone else's identity. [...] Gads, I wish some people wouldn't get so uptight about other people's nicknames. My name is David Charles Lawrence, (518)273-5385, living at 76 1/2 13th St in Troy NY 12180. I've never ever tried to hide such information about myself, though I frequent some interactive conferencing systems as "Tale" and many people know me that way. Many people know me as "Dave". That isn't my given name either, just some socially-accepted contraction of it. Is it "false"? I don't much care if you think it is because the other information that is apparently desired is right at hand. When I get on a system and see a "Paul Andrews" how is that really any different from seeing "Sue D Nymme" or "Anon Y Mouse"? From where I sit, I've just got a name with which to associate some ideas. > IX. THOU SHALT NOT SNOOP IN THY NEIGHBOR'S FILES > > With the growing use of electronic mail and computers > connected in office networks, the issue of personal file integri- > ty is gaining attention. The policy here is good citizenship. > Would you open a letter addressed to someone else? Why should it > be any different with a personal computer file? Would I open a letter addressed to someone else? Overlooking odd circumstances (ie, mail to my dead grandfather), no. Why should it be any different with computer files? Because they aren't bloody mail! Ok, some of it is and I fully recognize that some people want to keep it private. Fine. The fact that I keep my Mail directory and the files is contains as world readable is merely a statement to the few members of society that happen to trip through it. I've only had to restrict access to one message recently because someone in his generosity to help me with a problem mailed me his password. This further illustrates the point though. Some one recently wanted me to help him with a problem he was having. I went to look at the file which was probably the source of the problem and found out I didn't have read access to it. It was just his bloody .rninit! No state secrets. No lurid stories. Just swiches to configure rn the way he likes to us it. Too many times I come up against this. Someone wants help with a problem he is having at login but I can't look at his login script without su'ing to do it. Someone else wanted help with her emacs initialization file and that was not easily accessed. I stumbled across some neat icons in a user's directory and couldn't look at them until I asked the person to permit them accordingly. She was much obliged and thought it was great that someone else wanted to see her artwork. If you've got something to hide, go ahead and hide it. Save yourself from the consequences. I am really opposed to this fellow telling me that I am practising immoral computer activity, though. Dave -- (setq mail '("tale@pawl.rpi.edu" "tale@itsgw.rpi.edu" "tale@rpitsmts.bitnet"))