Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!uwm.edu!bionet!ames!sgi!vjs@rhyolite.wpd.sgi.com
From: vjs@rhyolite.wpd.sgi.com (Vernon Schryver)
Newsgroups: news.admin
Subject: Re: Disaster Planning
Message-ID: <43718@sgi.sgi.com>
Date: 29 Oct 89 20:05:30 GMT
References: <103@farcomp.UUCP> <1195@atha.AthabascaU.CA> <89249@pyramid.pyramid.com>
Sender: vjs@rhyolite.wpd.sgi.com
Distribution: news
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 32


I do not know if sgi.com was marked "DEAD".  If it was, it was no more than
another expression of hysteria in the rest of the country.

Unilaterily breaking the network seems extremely irresponsible, and
depending on how you describe it, sounds like sabotage.  One would have
thought that those with direct UUCP links would be smart enough to take
responsible, individual action as needed.  Shutting off major mail
links such as pyramid probably contributed to the voice communications
problems.  ("Gee, Joe didn't respond to my email...I better call to see
what happened!")  One 60 second TB+ call between rutgers and pyramid might
well have prevented ten 5 minute calls between humans.

One should keep things in perspective and not confuse the little box with
reality.  Having your house collapse or your family killed would not be
minor, but for the vast majority of Bay Area residents, the direct effects
were trivial.  Secondary effects such as panic attacks during aftershocks
and the hysteria of the rest of the country which caused telephone problems
were much more important to almost all of us.

Perhaps "hysteria" is the wrong word.  Maybe it is nothing more than the
same goulish phenomenon as the traffic jam which happens on other side of
the divided highway from the accident.  Maybe it is just a desire to 
participate in earth shaking events.  In any case, it is not admirable.

When the Big One finally happens, I guess the rest of the country will have
to do something really impressive.  Maybe bomb Donner Pass?  Start the Big
War?

Vernon Schryver
Silicon Graphics
vjs@sgi.com