There were more than 50 text files there last we looked, but considering the human condition it's likely to grow. If you snag any of the files, remember: He who lives by the potato in the exhaust pipe will die by the potato in the exhaust pipe.
The surprise is that not all of the questions are as spicy as you might imagine. Yes, the word "virginity" pops up a fair number of times, but many players seem to be genuinely interested in one another, and oftentimes the questions lead to truly revelatory--sometimes even touching--answers.
Of course, if you don't want to reveal anything . . . well, secretive people probably shouldn't be on #truthdare in the first place. But if you get a sudden attack of cold feet, you can always opt for a dare. (Dares, rarely taken, are greeted with much excitement.)
Dares can either be "real-life," in which case the players take your word that the dare was fulfilled. Or a "net-dare" can be issued: Perhaps you'd be sent to the #limbaugh channel to take an extremely left-wing stand on something, or be sent to a busy channel to type in all caps. You get the idea.
Clearly you stand less of a risk of making an electronic fool of yourself by swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
The first issue of the Report was titled "How to Stay Sexy the Rest of Your Life"; the second issue, which came out in early January, was called: "Good Sex Is Good for You." More hot topics are sure to come. To join, send a message to sept4yu@ix.netcom.com and tell 'em you want to subscribe.
The Web catalog at http://www.onramp.net/imagemaker is replete with doggie-embossed items: quilts, postcards, boxer shorts (ha! get it?), lampshades, umbrellas, wine corks, tape dispensers, napkin rings--you get the picture. Funny, we thought it was cat lovers who go over the top like this. Anyway, pass the schnauzer salt shaker.
You can view them on-screen (just click on the thumbnail of the picture you want to see) or download your favorites and print them out. Baker's page will link you to other fractal-intensive sites as well, including several databases, the Interactive Fractal Server, and the Fractal Microscope, both of which let you zoom in on fractals. And Baker has put up a picture of his dog Joj. What more could you need? (Hey, Art, is that pronounced "Jahj?")
However it's pronounced, Baker's pages are an easy way to dazzle your senses--second only to taking a deep breath at a Grateful Dead concert.
The whole thing may well have been dismissed as a hoax except that the anonymous posts were canceled by an equally anonymous user, using technology similar to the Cancelmoose's.
Scientologists claim that the trade secrets are copyrighted and, thus, illegal to post. Some opponents to Scientology counterclaim that the secrets aren't secret at all because they already have been used as evidence in several court cases against the Church.
According to Helena Kobrin, legal counsel for the Church of Scientology (CoS) International, the CoS considers the newsgroup guilty of "the repeated postings of copyrighted Church materials," which is in violation of its property rights. The Church has approached the known posters several times, she said, but they haven't stopped.
Because of that, Kobrin said that the CoS has been "compelled to request cancellation of the newsgroup as a possible method of preventing such postings." Kobrin also claims that because Scientology is a registered trademark, its use in the newsgroup name is a trademark violation. (What does this mean, we wonder, for comp.sys.ibm.ps2 and alt.comics.batman?)
And the Church didn't stop there. Evidently one Scientologist went so far as to try to remove alt.religion.scientology from the entire Usenet. When that didn't work, Kobrin posted a message to alt.config claiming that the Scientology newsgroup was invalid for a number of reasons and should thus be removed.
In a note to us she wrote: "Our request is not made for the purpose of stopping the discussions on a.r.s. We are trying to deal with an anarchy created by some net users who trample on intellectual property rights . . . under the guise of the First Amendment. If anyone has other viable solutions for eliminating the violations of property rights, we'd be interested to know what they are."
But Scientology sure isn't helping its cause if it's behind the forged cancels of Usenet posts. And the Church might also learn one fact of Usenet life: If there's a topic that people want to discuss, they're going to discuss it, and no amount of electronic wrangling is going to change that fact.
So, no, the Top Ten mailing list has not returned, you can't get it, don't even bother trying. However, something which looks an awful lot like the Top Ten list is now available, and you can have it mailed to you each and every day by sending subscribe top-ten Your Name in the message body to listserv@clark.net.
Hopefully this one will stick around for a while. Although if it doesn't, we're sure you'll let us know.
The NSA is now funding research not only in cryptography, but in all areas of advanced mathmatics. If you'd like a circular describing these new research opportunities, just pick up your phone, call your mother, and ask for one.
CityLink has 51 links--all the states, plus the District of Columbia, but North Dakota and West Virginia are empty (we've always suspected as much). The other links connect to various resources (such as where to stay and eat) in cities from Huntsville and Mobile, Ala., to Cody, Wyo., (coming soon).
There's everything from the Wichita, Kan., Area Chamber of Commerce to a clickable map of Vermont and New Hampshire (is there a difference?). California's link features an explanation of the Richter Scale, and New York's has a guide to treating gunshot wounds. (All right, April Fools.) Regardless, CityLink is an easy and cheap way to see the states.
If it's fun and funky, controversial or just plain interesting, we want to know about it. Drop us a note at surf@mecklermedia.com, or send a carrier pigeon to Surfboard, 20 Ketchum St., Westport, CT 06880. We'll check it out.
Eric Berlin (eric@panix.com) is a New York-based freelance writer and playwright, author of "The Line That's Picked Up 1,000 Babes and How it Can Work for You." Andrew Kantor (ak@mecklermedia.com) spends his days as associate editor of Internet World. We don't know what he does after hours.
