Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!rpi!pawl16.pawl.rpi.edu!woody
From: woody@pawl.rpi.edu (Chris A. Widmann)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Looking for Computer Folklore
Summary: The good 'ole days!
Message-ID: <599@rpi.edu>
Date: 14 Feb 89 21:40:40 GMT
References: <293@cosi.UUCP> <7188@pucc.Princeton.EDU>
Sender: usenet@rpi.edu
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Lines: 36


   
	Quite a while back (approx 8 years) I was an 8th grader at a typical
suburban middle school. A few friends and I would venture I way up to the 
high school where we would learn Basic through a printing terminal (old DEC
with about 135 cols) that was hooked up to a 110 baud dedicated line to a 
time sharing system somewhere in Albany, NY.                  

        We always had trouble with another HS's tricks of erasing our files,
(the system was riddled with holes) and we constantly complained to the 
system administrator about it. He did nothing. We discussed the possibilities
or revenge upon that school, with our teacher, but he said, "NO".. So, this
erasal and complaining to the system administrator carried on for about another
month till they erased all our teacher's files...

        Our teacher, having enough complaints with the system administrator, 
decided that it had gone too far. He told us to take care of the problem. So,
being rather "conservative" we deleted one of their files (the biggest we
could find) and about 4 hours latter, the system administrator calls        
complaining about all the computer misuse we had been participating in. What
had happened, we had deleted the master file of all the combination locks
in that HS. They had no other copy, and nothing on hardcopy. Picture HS
janitors (sorry, custodial engineers) opening approximately 2000 combination
locks with keys to get the combo's...

        Well, the consequences of our actions weren't that humorous. The 
School district (after having seen War Games) pulled the lines in fear that
we might do something worse, and the other school pulled all it's systems in
fear of losing more data. Then our school went out and splurged on two 
Trash-80 Model 1's with 16K each, and a cassette drive,but that is 
another story.....
 
 Chris Widmann (Woody)               "It is a dog eat dog world out there
 Internet: woody@pawl.rpi.edu         and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear."
           woody@uruguay.acm.rpi.edu          
 WWIVnet : 1@5853