Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Mon, 24 Jun 91 8:33:16 cdt From: "McMahon,Brian D" Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Poor Abused Phreakers Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 485, Message 2 of 7 Lines: 43 According to ninjam@csd4.csd.uwm.edu, > A true Phreak is someone who is dedicated to learning about the phone > system, including not generally accessible proprietary information. Just what the Hell is so hard to understand here? Proprietary information is just that -- PROPRIETARY. Someone else's PROPERTY. It doesn't matter how curious you are, or how innocent your intentions, you have NO RIGHT to be screwing around with someone else's property without permission. This goes for intellectual property and electronic information every bit as much as for your TV set or toaster. Write this down. Memorize it. Nosing about where you're not permitted to be is wrong, wrong, wrong, and can land you in VERY deep kaka. There's nothing wrong with learning about systems; learning is a good thing. However, it's not a sole or overriding good. F'rinstance, I work for an educational institution. We encourage our students to learn about computers, but there have to be limits. If you decide you're curious about how the treasurer's database of financial aid info is set up, we have an obligation to prevent you from snooping, because others' rights to have confidential information protected overrides your urge to browse bits. To claim that satisfying your curiosity is more important that protecting others' rights is arrogance, pure and simple. Rights and responsibilities have to go hand in hand -- don't they TEACH that anymore? >By the way, this is an UNBIASED opinion, unlike the Moderator's ... Horse patooties. You bring your value system along as baggage just as much as Pat, I, and everyone else. Brian McMahon Grinnell College Computer Services Grinnell, Iowa 50112 USA Voice: +1 515 269 4901 Fax: +1 515 269 4936 [Moderator's Note: Not only will his snooping through the property of others eventually get him in deep trouble, it will bring him a whole hoard of defenders ready to blame the whole mess on the government or the TELECOM Moderator, or both! :) PAT]