OT perhaps? Old vs New Internet (was Re: BBSs & PPP)

From: Sean 'Captain Napalm' Conner <spc_at_conman.org>
Date: Sun Nov 3 21:38:01 2002

It was thus said that the Great Tothwolf once stated:
>
> > I do remember using archie to locate programs available via FTP, and
> > even pulling one or two packages off Usenet but nowadays I find most of
> > the software on the web (via Google).
>
> Google & friends would be great, but many commercial (and increasing
> numbers of independent) websites use robots.txt to block crawlers such as
> Google from indexing their servers. This kinda defeats the purpose of
> those search engines, and means you still have to find stuff the hard way.

  Heh ... the number of commercial sites I visit can be counted on one
amputated hand. I tend to use software that I can get the source code for,
or write my own. I may be atypical in this reguard.

> > Which comes to you via the Internet, which is a local call. Imagine
> > if you had to dial long distance to participate? Or wait several days
> > for your message to propagate via UUCP/FIDO? Would it still be as
> > effective?
>
> It is a local call for most of us in the US, but on the other side of the
> pond, that isn't always the case. With FIDO, the small daily charges for
> telephone calls would certainly add up, but it is hard to say if they
> would be much more than what the average subscriber currently pays for
> dialup service. There would indeed be message lag, but that isn't always a
> problem. Even email and usenet have message lag, granted it is usually
> much shorter.

  Back in the early 90s I found out that what I considered a local call is
not necessarily what the phone companies call a local call. I went to visit
family in the Detroit area (Royal Oak) and I arranged access through some
system (Tymnet? It's been way too long for me to remember anymore) so that
I could get access to my college account in Florida. I only had to dial a
seven digit phone number (in Royal Oak) for access and to me, that meant the
phone call must have been local.

  I racked up over $100 in phone charges.

  Apparently, up there, a local call is restricted to those homes you can
see from your front porch. Down here it's any phone within a fifteen mile
radius.

  Of course down here the situation has gotten worse in other ways---Dade
County (Miami) and now Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) now require 10-digit
dialing (since both now have two area codes overlaid), but I live just north
of Broward County (Palm Beach County) and by just north, by like a mile. If
I'm dialing a number in the Broward area, it's hit or miss if I can dial
just seven digits, ten digits or 1 plus the area code plus the number.

  And then there was the time I tried dialing a Boca Raton number
(561---Palm Beach County) from Coral Springs (954---Broward) from a pay
phone (remember those?) Put the money in, dial seven digits. Sorry, must
dial a 1 or a 0, and the area code when dialing this number. Sigh. Try
again. Sorry, you do not need to dial a one or a zero or the area code when
dialing this number. Okay, try seven digits. Sorry, need ten. Try ten.
Sorry, need seven. Try 0. Operator can only give money back (as this
wasn't a HellSouth payphone). Try 00 to talk to a HellSouth operator.
Sorry, can't connect this call since this isn't a HellSouth phone.

  Oh, sorry. I started ranting there 8-)

  -spc (And the CEOs don't care---they got theirs so f**k you!)
Received on Sun Nov 03 2002 - 21:38:01 GMT