Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcnc!gatech!usenet From: usenet@gatech.edu Newsgroups: news.announce.newusers Subject: Changes to Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Message-ID: <15774@gatech.gatech.edu> Date: Mon, 1-Jun-87 07:50:14 EDT Article-I.D.: gatech.15774 Posted: Mon Jun 1 07:50:14 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 2-Jun-87 07:07:27 EDT Expires: Sat, 11-Jul-87 07:50:12 EDT Sender: spaf@gatech.edu Lines: 111 Approved: spaf@gatech.EDU *** old/questions.n Sun May 3 16:11:45 1987 --- src/questions.n Sun May 31 18:34:13 1987 *************** *** 5,7 **** Original-from: jerry@eagle.UUCP (Jerry Schwarz) ! [Most recent change: 3 May 1987 by spaf@gatech.edu] --- 5,7 ---- Original-from: jerry@eagle.UUCP (Jerry Schwarz) ! [Most recent change: 31 May 1987 by spaf@gatech.edu & weemba@brahms.berkeley.edu] *************** *** 36,38 **** asking for the "comp center." Also, see the newsgroup ! comp.mail.map where maps of Usenet and the uucp network are posted regularly. --- 36,38 ---- asking for the "comp center." Also, see the newsgroup ! comp.mail.maps where maps of Usenet and the uucp network are posted regularly. *************** *** 74,76 **** ! The standard cypher used in rec.humor in called "rot13." Each letter is replaced by the letter 13 farther along in the alphabet --- 74,76 ---- ! The standard cypher used in rec.humor is called "rot13." Each letter is replaced by the letter 13 farther along in the alphabet *************** *** 237,239 **** appropriate gateways should be derivable from the postings in ! comp.mail.map. --- 237,239 ---- appropriate gateways should be derivable from the postings in ! comp.mail.maps. *************** *** 257,259 **** mail system running on my machine that will take advantage ! of the postings in comp.mail.map? (E.g., pathalias, smail, etc.) --- 257,259 ---- mail system running on my machine that will take advantage ! of the postings in comp.mail.maps? (E.g., pathalias, smail, etc.) *************** *** 266,281 **** ! 24. What are the lists of "NSA" food at the ends of some articles? ! Some posters suffering from excessive paranoia believe that the ! NSA (US National Security Agency) and/or other agencies monitor ! all Usenet and phone traffic and scans articles containing certain ! key words and phrases, thus monitoring for subversive activity. ! Some posters believe that including lists of words they judge as ! likely to trigger such a mechanism is going to add noise to the ! process, or perhaps flood the alleged monitors to the point where ! they will cease operation. Other posters have taken up this practice, either as an ambiguous form of political statement, or ! as an attempt at humor. ! The practice adds to the overall volume of "noise" on the net, and ! should be discouraged. --- 266,310 ---- ! 24. What is "food for the NSA line-eater"? ! This refers to the alleged scanning of all USENET traffic by the ! National Security Agency (and possibly other intelligence ! organizations) for interesting keywords. The "food" is believed ! to contain some of those keywords in the fond hope of overloading ! NSA's poor computers. A little thought should convince anyone ! that this is unlikely to occur. Other posters have taken up this practice, either as an ambiguous form of political statement, or ! as an attempt at humor. The bottom line is that excessive ! signatures in any form are discouraged, the joke has worn stale ! amongst long-time net readers, and there are specific newsgroups ! for the discussion of politics. ! 25. Does anyone know the {pinouts, schematics, switch settings, ! what does jumper J3 do} for widget X? ! ! These postings are almost always inappropriate unless the ! manufacturer has gone out of business or no longer supports the ! device. If neither of these is the case, you're likely to get a ! better and faster response by simply telephoning the ! manufacturer. ! ! 26. What's the point of all these copyrights? Don't copyrights only ! hold when you send in the appropriate forms to Washington? ! ! Some people are afraid that the forthcoming Stargate project or ! others will "steal" USENET articles, and they are trying to ! prevent this. This is probably a waste of time and bytes, but no ! one is sure of anything at the moment. Indeed, some people have ! become fearful about following up copyrighted articles, for fear ! of running afoul of some obscure copyright laws in New Zealand or ! Denmark or anywhere else in the world the net reaches. ! ! Just putting "Copyright by " secures a copyright. ! The additional phrase "All rights reserved" adds some ! international standing to the copyright claim. The pseudosymbol ! "(c)" looks nice, but it has no legal standing. Those extra forms ! to be filed with the Library of Congress put "teeth" into your ! claim in case of legal conflicts. See a lawyer if you want ! details--do NOT rely on the net. ! ! To be frank, USENET lives in a legal twilight zone and all bets ! are off until the courts have rendered some actual decisions.