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              N   I   R   V   A   N   A   N   E   T   (tm)              
                      T h e   P h i l o s o p h y                       
ͼ

    As a system operator, it is easy to overlook the inherently
    tyrannical aspects of even the simplest computer. Conceived as
    manipulators of numbers, computers did not come into their own
    until they could sort and store large quantities of ordinary
    information.

    The largest user of computing power in the world today is the
    National Security Agency, or NSA. With a budget more than that of
    the FBI and the CIA combined, it is the job of the NSA to keep
    track of "threats to national security". These are the folks who
    intercepted that lovely little phone call that linked the bombing
    of a Disco in West Germany and Kaddafy. What do they do, really?
    three things: they gather, store, and collate information. They use
    computers to do it.

    It is not the mission of a Bulletin Board to be a small NSA, but
    the capability is there. On most boards throughout the nation,
    users are requested to input all kinds of information. Names, "Use
    REAL NAMES ONLY! NO HANDLES!" And phone numbers, "The system will
    call you back. Hang up now." Often other information as well. What
    kind of computer do you have? How old are you? Sex? SEXUAL
    ORIENTATION?(!) How long have you had a modem? Where do you live,
    WHAT'S YOUR ADDRESS? WHAT'S YOUR RACE? Amazing that anyone even
    logs onto any boards anywhere. Many folks lie. Even worse, many
    don't.

    Sysops do this to keep 'Undesirables' off of their boards. They
    examine this data and compare it to their image of an ideal user.
    Usually a upper middle class white male with an expensive IBM
    computer. They let most people on anyhow. But this stuff remains on
    file. Scared yet? You should be. The well-meaning system operators
    are trying to keep disruptive people off their boards. They don't
    want swearing or inane prattle. Striving for the ideal forum for
    communication, they try and weed out the misfits. Instead of
    promoting an exchange of ideas, they try to limit what ideas may be
    exchanged.

    And all this data remains on file. Chances are it will never be
    looked at again. But what if, someday, the board gets confiscated
    by the police for something that you had nothing to do with. Oops!
    You're a witness! Or worse, an accomplice. Maybe not. But who
    knows, and who wants to find out? "Bob" knows no computer system is
    secure. ANY data on ANY disk anywhere in the world should be
    considered PUBLIC information, and treated accordingly. The only
    truly secure computer is OFF.

    Don't let your own instincts make you into a fascist. An open
    system is a healthy system. Back in the olden golden days of the
    first multiuser operating system, people would pit their
    intelligence against the computer and crash it. Instead of beefing
    up the security, the programmers installed a new command, "crash".
    Now all you had to do was type 'crash', and the system would be
    brought to it's knees. Voila, the problem went away.

    Keep your system open and free. It's what computers are really good
    for anyhow -- all information to all people. There is no such thing
    as a bad fact, or a bad word. There never was. And that is the
    power that a system truly does have -- the power to exchange new
    and different information, and bring people together. If you give
    people this power, your system will grow.

    The only limit a Bulletin Board System has is time. If every user
    could use the system for only two seconds, the board would always
    be available. But such is not the case, and virtually every board
    in existence has some kind of time limit. Even download limits are,
    in essence, time limits.

    Don't cheat yourself my restricting the users! If a user really
    wants to get on, he will get on. Be lenient. If you can, be free.
    Give the user a gentle reminder. If you treat the people who use
    your computer like people, they will behave like people. Shackled
    and barred at every turn, they will misbehave and cause trouble at
    every turn.

    I have run two systems in the past. The first was rigidly
    structured, one hundred levels. Each level had greater time
    allotted to it, and more data could be accessed. People would
    participate just to get to a higher level, without even knowing
    what was available. I was inundated with level and time raise
    requests. Finally I shut the system down. "Too many losers," I
    said. "People who just take, take, take. Nobody could run a BBS
    today!" And indeed, they did just take, take, take. All they could,
    while they could.

    The next board I ran was different. One level. No validation.
    People would call up and have instant full access to the board.
    Often, these users would go totally bats. They would run to the
    files section and download all they could. They would read ALL the
    messages in one session, and then call back with another name. The
    second call was different, though. They would come and look, and
    download something, and read a message or two, and leave.

    Finally, after a couple of weeks, an amazing thing happened.
    Hopeless losers, people who usually spent all their time trying to
    download as much as they could, started to get into it. Many posted
    their first messages. And they even would upload. Why? They didn't
    have to. Those users had found a home, and you try to improve your
    home.

    Welcome home. Welcome to NIRVANAnet(tm).

    Dr. Strangelove
    Sysop, Just Say Yes
    San Francisco, CA
    November 15, 1989


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              N   I   R   V   A   N   A   N   E   T   (tm)              
                    H o w   I t   A l l   B e g a n                     
ͼ

    There were once three BBSes in the Bay Area with the same
    philosophy. Dr. Strangelove ran a board called Just Say Yes in San
    Francisco, Ratsnatcher ran Rat Head Systems in Berkeley, and I ran
    & the Temple of the Screaming Electron in Walnut Creek. We decided
    that since our message bases were very similar, our users tended to
    overlap, and we shared the same basic philosophy of how to run a
    BBS system, we decided to create NIRVANAnet(tm) so that our ideas
    could spread throughout the BBS community.

    Since that initial beginning, NIRVANAnet(tm) has grown to become
    one of the country's best and most infamous networks because of its
    open access policies and diverse subject matter.

    Interest in joining NIRVANAnet(tm) has been intense, but it was
    founded with the sole purpose of being a regional network. That is,
    it was designed to serve only the San Francisco Bay Area. This
    limitation on network size was done on purpose so that we could
    concentrate on the quality of the boards involved, address regional
    issues, and keep things small-scale and personal.

    Because of the enormous success of NIRVANAnet(tm), the sysops of
    the net have decided to open NIRVANAnet(tm) to the rest of the
    planet. The new, expanded NIRVANAnet(tm) will consist only of
    boards that offer OPEN ACCESS. This means that member boards must
    let anyone on and give them full access on the first call.

    If you're interested, read on...

    In a perfect world, Open Access means no registration, no
    validation, no complex new user questionnaires, no requirement for
    users to enter their real names, addresses, phone numbers,
    birthdays, gender, or other personal information, handles are
    allowed and encouraged, users are trusted, freedom of speech reigns
    supreme, knowledge is available to everyone, and no discrimination
    based on age, sex, race, religion, drug use, or mental stability.
    It also means that once a person is on-line they can immediately
    read and write messages, download files, play games, and use any
    other functions that the BBS provides.

    In short, OPEN.

    Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Many countries
    and states place restrictions upon free speech and free expression.
    Sysops who violate these restrictions can end up fined, imprisoned,
    or worse. Because of this governmental interference, sysops may be
    required by law to restrict information about sex to people over
    the age of 18 or 21, or in some areas, the information may not be
    provided at all. Some countries do not allow people to exchange
    information about explosives or weapons, in some jurisdictions you
    cannot discuss entry codes for getting into computer networks, and
    passing out credit card numbers is verboten just about everywhere.

    Since we don't want Sysops to end up in jail, it is permissable to
    restrict access to some areas or remove some types of information
    IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS. However,
    restrictions should be at the absolute minimum levels needed to be
    acceptable to the local authorities. For instance, if it is legal
    in your area to give access to erotic material by having users sign
    a document that says "I am over 18", then by no means should you be
    requiring them to send in photocopies of their driver's licenses.

    Just because computers are good at collecting data on people,
    doesn't mean that you have to collect data. Just because you have
    the power to be Big Brother doesn't mean that you should. Give
    people as much freedom as possible on your system.

    I could go on and on for days about the advantages of running an
    open system as opposed to a closed one, but I won't. If you run an
    open system, you KNOW why it's a better way. If you run a closed
    system, you're not going to be allowed to join NIRVANAnet(tm) so
    there's no point in arguing with you about it.

    NIRVANAnet(tm) does not force anyone to run their system a
    particular way, we just say that if you agree with these
    principles, we'll share a bunch of really cool echos and files with
    you. You and your users will get to read messages from freaks of
    all types on subjects from encryption to phone systems to movies to
    techo-jargon to music to sex. NIRVANAnet(tm) is designed to REWARD
    sysops who run open systems by giving them the most interesting and
    diverse messages and files on the planet.

    Hope to see you on NIRVANAnet(tm)!


     \\\///
     |-@@-|  Taipan Enigma
     |  > |  & the Temple of the Screaming Electron
     ( \/ )  Walnut Creek, California
      \__/   510/935-5845
       ||    March 11, 1994
