Computer underground Digest Thu Aug 26 1993 Volume 5 : Issue 66 ISSN 1004-042X Editors: Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer (TK0JUT2@NIU.BITNET) Archivist: Brendan Kehoe Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala Ian Dickinson Copy Ediot: Etaoin Shrdlu, III CONTENTS, #5.66 (Aug 26 1993) File 1--SPECIAL ISSUES ON BIBLIOS AND RESOURCES File 2--Computerization & Controversy (Biblio Resource) File 3--40Hex is now a print magazine File 4--"In a Different Format" (Review of gender/comp thesis) File 5--"Smoking Dope on IRC--Play/Performance in Cyberspace" File 6--Classifying Grad Theses & Dissertations as "private?" File 7-- O'Reilly Internet Information Service File 8--"The Internet Letter"--Internet's First Commercial Digest Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are available at no cost electronically from tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu. The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-0303), fax (815-753-6302) or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL 60115. Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;" On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG; on the PC-EXEC BBS at (414) 789-4210; and on: Rune Stone BBS (IIRG WHQ) (203) 832-8441 NUP:Conspiracy; RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from 1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome. EUROPE: from the ComNet in LUXEMBOURG BBS (++352) 466893; In ITALY: Bits against the Empire BBS: +39-461-980493 ANONYMOUS FTP SITES: UNITED STATES: ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/cud etext.archive.umich.edu (141.211.164.18) in /pub/CuD/cud halcyon.com( 202.135.191.2) in /pub/mirror/cud aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud AUSTRALIA: ftp.ee.mu.oz.au (128.250.77.2) in /pub/text/CuD. EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/cud. (Finland) ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud (United Kingdom) COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts unless absolutely necessary. DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not violate copyright protections. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1993 23:12:45 CDT From: CuD Moderators Subject: File 1--SPECIAL ISSUES ON BIBLIOS AND RESOURCES CuD has been a bit remiss this year in running bibliographic items and research-related resources for scholars and others studying Techno/computer-culture. Over the next two weeks, we will run several special issues, beginning with this one, listing bibliographic items and summarizing resources that might be of interest to researchers. We will try to keep the bulk of the items confined to the special issues so that those who are not interested in such things can delete the entire issue. As some know, CuD also tries to keep track of student theses and dissertations related to computer culture. If you know of grad student works broadly related to computer culture, please let us know so that we can add them to our files and, on occasion, put folks in contact with each other. We're also interested in receiving copies of completes works (articles, conference papers, conference transcripts) that we can place in the ftp archives. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Aug 1993 15:17:11 -0700 From: Rob Kling Subject: File 2--Computerization & Controversy (Biblio Resource) Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices Charles Dunlop and Rob Kling (Editors) Univ. of Michigan - Flint Univ. of California - Irvine Many students, professionals, managers, and laymen are hungry for honest, probing discussions of the opportunities and problems of computerization. This anthology introduces some of the major social controversies about the computerization of society. It highlights some of the key value conflicts and social choices about computerization. It helps readers recognize the social pro-cesses that drive and shape computerization, and to understand the paradoxes and ironies of computerization Some of the controversies about computerization covered in this collection include: * the appropriateness of utopian and anti-utopian scenarios for understanding the future * whether computerization demonstrably improves the productivity of organizations * how computerization transforms work * how computerized systems can be designed with social principles in view * whether electronic mail facilitates the formation of new communities or undermines intimate interaction * whether computerization is likely to reduce privacy and personal freedom * the risks raised by computerized systems in health care * the ethical issues when computer science researchers accept military funding * the extent to which organizations, rather than "hackers," are significant perpetrators of computer abuse The authors include Paul Attewell, Carl Barus, Wendell Berry, James Beninger, John Bennett*, Alan Borning, Niels Bjorn-Anderson*, Chris Bullen*, Roger Clarke, Peter Denning, Pelle Ehn, Edward Feigenbaum, Linda Garcia, Suzanne Iacono, Jon Jacky*, Rob Kling, Kenneth Kraemer*, John Ladd, Kenneth Laudon, Pamela McCorduck, Jan Mouritsen, David Parnas, Judith Perrolle*, James Rule, John Sculley, John Shattuck, Brian Smith, Clifford Stoll, Lindsy Van Gelder, Fred Weingarten, Joseph Weizenbaum, and Terry Winograd. (*'d authors have contributed new essays for the book.) Each of the seven sections opens with a 20 page analytical essay which identifies major controversies and places the articles in the context of key questions and debates. These essays also point the reader to recent additional research and debate about the controversies. Published by Academic Press (Boston). 758 pp. 1991. $39.95 (North America) ISBN: 0-12-224356-0 Phone: 1-800-321-5068 Fax: 1-800-235-0256 See Below for Ordering Information 8/18/91 To Order Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices by Charles Dunlop and Rob Kling (Editors) In North America Individuals may purchase copies directly from Academic Press for $39.95 + tax and shipping by calling 1-800-321-5068, faxing 1-800-235-0256 or by writing to: Academic Press Ordering Academic Press Warehouse Order Dept. 465 S. Lincoln Troy, Missouri 63379 Faculty who offer courses about social issues in computing may order examination copies from Academic Press. Write on university letterhead or enclose a business card, and include the following information about your course: class name and number, department, # of students, books used in the past, adoption deadline. Send your requests for examination copies to: Amy Yodannis College and Commercial Sales Supervisor Academic Press 1250 Sixth Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 Tel: 619-699-6547 Fax: 619-699-6715 Outside North America Please contact your local Academic Press/Harcourt Brace Jovanovich office, including: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Ltd (Western Europe and UK) 24-28 Oval Rd. London NW1 7DX U.K. Telephone: 44-71-267-4466 Fax: 44-71-482-2293 Telex: 25775 ACPRESS G Cable: ACADINC LONDON NW1 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Group Pty, Ltd (Australia/New Zealand) Locked bag 16 Marrickville, NSW 2204 Australia Telephone: (01) 517-8999 Fax: (02) 517-2249 Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Japan Inc. Ichibancho Central Bldg 22-1 Ichibancho, Chiyoda Ku, Tokyo 102 Japan ------------------------------ Subject: File 3--40Hex is now a print magazine From: fortyhex (geoff heap) Date: Mon, 16 Aug 93 17:19:02 EDT 40Hex, the world's most popular underground virus magazine is now available in two versions -- the familiar online magazine and a new printed magazine. In the past two and a half years, 40Hex has become the most popular virus magazine in the underground. The new printed magazine (dubbed 40Hex Hardcopy) is intended for anyone who wishes to learn as much as they can about computer viruses -- from the source, the virus writers. Each issue will contain -- o A complete virus disassembly, fully commented in the 40Hex tradition, o Detailed programming articles, intended for those fluent in assembly, o Introductory articles intended to help those on all levels of ability, and o Interviews with virus writers and virus researchers. Also included is an editorial column, which will provide a forum for discussions about any virus related issue. Submissions from both sides of the argument are welcome, and will be given an equal voice. Subscriptions -- The price for 40Hex Hardcopy is $35 per year for individuals, $50 per year for corporations. The magazine is bimonthly (six issues per year). The online magazine is available free of charge from many privately operated BBSs. You may receive a disk with the latest issue from us for $5. Please send a note specifying whether you would like a 5 1/4 or a 3 1/2 inch disk. Correspondence -- Subscription requests should be addressed to Subscriptions 40Hex Magazine PO Box 252 New City, NY, 10956 Article submissions should be addressed to Articles 40Hex Magazine PO Box 252 New City, NY, 10956 Letters to the editors should be addressed to The Editors 40Hex Magazine PO Box 252 New City, NY, 10956 if you have access to internet E-Mail, you can send a note to fortyhex@mindvox.phantom.com note: manuscripts will not be returned to the sender unless they are accompanied by postage. All submissions must be marked "manuscript submitted for publication." The online magazine will still be published, and will remain separate from the new hardcopy magazine with no article overlap. +++ Leni Niles Co-Editor, 40Hex Hardcopy ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1993 00:58:08 -0400 (EDT) From: sabina@CNS.NYU.EDU(sabina) Subject: File 4--"In a Different Format" (Review of gender/comp thesis) Review of IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT: CONNECTING WOMEN, COMPUTERS, AND EDUCATION USING GILLIGAN'S FRAMEWORK (Author: Joan Carmeichael; A Thesis in the Department of Educatinal Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January, 1991. Reviewed by Sabina Wolfson, New York University In reference to women's different voice, Ada Lovelace draws on woman's experience and woman's %voice' to describe an abstract mathematical process by using a weaving analogy: "We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom waves flowers and leaves." This quote does not mean that only women were weavers, but that perhaps only a woman would compare algebra to flowers (Carmeichael, 1991). Joan Carmeichael's _In a Different Format: Connecting women, computers and education using Gilligan's framework_ presents a new way of viewing women, computers, and education based on Carol Gilligan's conceptual framework. Gilligan's framework is an ethic of caring -- a interconnected web of concepts based on cooperation, relationships, responsibility, and networking rather than, as is customary in a framework of morality, separation and competition. The first and last section of Carmeichael's thesis focus specifically on Gilligan's framework and Carmeichael's application of it, while the rest of the thesis provides a broad(?) and and thoughtful historical reviews of women & technology, women & science, and women & education. These historical reviews substantiate Carmeichael's suggestion that "women are not equal participants and do not heave equal power in the hierarchally organised industrial workplace, nor will they automatically become equal partners in the new information workplace based on computers." This lack of equal power is examined through historial reviews of women & science, women & technology, and women & education. * Women & science presents four women scientists, their work, and the problems they faced, followed by a review of modern science, the male bias of science, and how women have been and continue to be excluded. * Women & technology discusses the rise of computers and the Information Age, the myth that computers are %boy's toys', and how Gilligan's framework can be applied to technological developments and how new technology will be used. * Women and education discusses the problems girls and women face within the education system, the introduction of computers into schools, how mathematics is used as a %critical filter' limiting women's access to computers and science in general. Carmeichael also examines the attitudes held about women and by women: that "male experience is...the norm, the yardstick against which any female experience that is different is found to be deviant",the %we can, but I can't' paradox, and others. Bringing together history, computers, and women, Carmeichael writes: Women have been working with technology in the workplace for over a hundred years. The first technological revolution in the office took place from 1880 to 1920 and saw the development and consolidation of the mechanical office and the entry of large numbers of women into the paid-labour force. In the then newly organized office, women could hold clerical jobs - new, deskilled positions - as long as it was clear they could not advance to managerial positions. There are two lessons to be learned from the first technological revolution. One is that the feminization of office work did not change women's position in society, and, secondly, there is no automatic liberating quality to new technology. (Bernard, 1984) Carmeichael concluded her thesis by discussing how Gilligan's framework can be applied to education and the work place. Carmeichael suggests that the traditional teaching style generally reflects a %boy's style' of learning rather than a typically %girl's style' of learning (based on cooperation and inclusion). " When we continue to use strategies and classroom techniques predicated on competition rather than cooperation, we preserve a macho perspective and fail to view females on their own terms." (Lewis, 175 cited in Carmeichael, 1991) In the workplace, Gilligan's framework can be applied by move away from a hierarchical workplace towards a workplace of cooperation (teams, networks, etc.) which is a viable alternative particularly in an information-intensive environment. Overall Carmeichael's thesis provides a strong(?) historical look at women and science/technology/computers/education. Carmeichael's use of Gilligan's framework "fits" into the history she presents, but no empirical research was conducted. An aspect of woman and computing that Carmeichael did not discuss, but which would fit in well with her thesis, is women and computer mediated communication (CMC). An emphasis on cooperation and inclusion has been identified by Dehorah Tannen as a more typically female method of verbal communication, and Susan Herring's research suggests that this method of communication might persist into CMC. Herring research suggests, as Carmeichael noted, that new technology doesn't alter established inequalities: Rather than being democratic, academic CMC is power-based and hierarchical. This state of affairs cannot however be attributed to the influence of computers communication technology; rather, it continues pre-existing patterns of hierarchy and lame dominance in academic more generally, and in society as a whole." On the other hand, some research does suggest a egalitarianism in CMC. Egalitarianism is only part of democratization. Democratization also implies equal access to computers and no prevention (internal or external coercion) of participation in discussions. There is much research to suggest that neither of these requirements are met. However, egalitarianism simply implies that, once individual are participating in discussion, they do so equally. In my ongoing research, examining gender differences and similarities in Usenet postings, it appears that CMC is egalitarian. Specifically, my research suggests that: (1) The average woman and man post a similar number of articles. (2) The average woman and man post articles of similar length. (3) The ratio of overall participation by gender (7% for women and ??% for men) appears to be similar to the ratio of new topic initiators by gender. In addition, the amount of "follow up" discussion does not appear to correlate with the gender of the topic initiator. Thus, in the public aspects of Usenet, discussions appear to be egalitarian, though, since women only post 7% of the articles, Usenet is clearly not democratizing. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1993 22:40:09 +200 (WET) From: brenda danet Subject: File 5--"Smoking Dope on IRC--Play/Performance in Cyberspace" ((MODERATORS' NOTE: The following is excerpted from a longer paper that will be available from the CuD archives soon. The authors feedback on the project)). +++++ "SMOKING DOPE" ON INTERNET RELAY CHAT: A CASE STUDY OF PLAY AND PERFORMANCE IN A TEXTUAL CYBERSPACE Brenda Danet, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Yehudit Rosenbaum-Tamari, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Lucia Ruedenberg, New York University Like Richard Schechner (1988) we believe that play, not "work" or "serious real life," is the ground of all of the multiple realities (Schutz, 1977) in which we live. We are rediscovering this basic fact of human existence in postmodern times: computers and computer-mediated communication offer new possibilities for play, and are altering common-sense perceptions of what constitutes "play" and "work." We may be reverting from a stage in the history of play in which leisure has been demarcated as a separate sphere of life (Turner, 1974, 1986), to one in which the "playful" and the "serious" are intertwined in ways which at least partially resemble those of traditional cultures. Playfulness is a prominent feature of hacker culture (Raymond, 1991; Barlow, 1990; Meyer and Thomas, 1990), and of computerized writing of all kinds. Its prominence grows as we move from basic word-processing of author-absent texts (Heim, 1987; Bolter, 1991), to interactive fiction, or hypertext (Delany and Landow, 1991; Bolter, 1991, chap. 8), and electronic mail and discussion groups (Danet and Ruedenberg, 1992), to interactive modes (Blackman and Clevenger, 1990; Reid, 1991; Rosenbaum-Tamari, 1993; Curtis, 1992), in which writing is most intensively experienced as "talking," and the distinction between process and product of communication breaks down (Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, 1976, Introduction). We are engaged in a case study of "deep play" (Geertz, 1972, 1991) on Internet Relay Chat (IRC), in which the participants simulate *smoking marihuana.* To borrow the title of a book by Victor Turner (Turner, 1967), the text we analyze is a "forest of typographic symbols." Our approach textual and micro-sociolinguistic, and draws heavily on the anthropology of play and performance. This interaction is a form of play because (1) it offers a "flow experience" fusing action and awareness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1977); (2) it is dominated by the frame of "make-believe" (Bateson, 1972; Goffman, 1974; Handelman, 1976); and thus (3) takes place in the subjunctive mode of possibility and experimentation (Turner, 1974, 1986), thereby reducing accountability for action (Handelman, 1976; Honigmann, 1977; Ben-Ari, 1989). Like sports and other forms of competitive play such as verbal dueling (Huizinga, 1955; Abrahams, 1973; Dundes, 1970; Labov, 1972; Gossen, 1976), this sequence also contains prominent elements of contest, or competition in the demonstration of skill (Huizinga, 1955; Caillois, 1961). Among the features fostering playfulness are the medium's ephemerality, speed, and near-instant interactivity (Rafaeli, 1988), the masking of identity (Kiesler, et al,, 1984; Blackman and Clevenger, 1990; Honigmann, 1977), the influence of hacker culture (Raymond, 1991), and the frontier-like quality of cyberspace (Barlow, 1990; Meyer and Thomas, 1990; Melbin, 1987)--not only fully three-dimensional cyberspace (Benedikt, 1991; Rheingold, 1992; Lanier and Biocca, 1992) but even "primitive," two-dimensional textual cyberspace. Features previously thought to characterize oral, as opposed to written, performance, are strikingly in evidence, even in some non-synchronous modes of computer-based writing, but *especially* in synchronous ones (Bolter, 1991: 59). Verbal and typographic art are important; communication is highly stylized (Reid, 1991). Participants are conscious of their audience and pay special attention to the display of communicative competence, to how their messages are packaged (Bauman, 1975). Thus, the poetic function of communication is dominant (Jakobson, 1960). The need to say in writing what we have been used to saying in speech calls attention to the communicative means employed in formulating the message. The reduced transparency of language heightens meta-linguistic awareness, and leads us to treat graphic symbols as objects and to play with them (Cazden, 1976). In our analysis, we identify and describe an extraordinarily rich variety of forms of play with identity, language, and typography, as well as with the frames of interaction themselves. Play is at its deepest and most complex when the participants not only simulate smoking marihuana but communicate messages about the virtuosity of their performance. They struggle to create a sense of "place," despite the abstractness of cyberspace, simulate experiences of all the five senses, and luxuriate in playing with the forbidden. In the last chapter of the monograph we discuss play on IRC as a newly emerging form of popular culture. We compare it to jazz, graffiti, comics, and improvisational theater. We elaborate on Mark Poster's claim that "computer writing is the quintessential postmodern linguistic activity" (Poster (1990: 128). Analysts of hacker culture see hackers as pioneering explorers at the normative edge of society, rather than dangerous anarchists (Barlow, 1990; Meyer and Thomas, 1990). Similarly, we see participants on IRC as pioneers exploring a new communicative frontier, rather than immature computer science students wasting institutional resources by "fooling around" when they should be "working." REFERENCES Abrahams, Roger D. 1973. Playing the Dozens. In Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore. Ed. Alan Dundes, 295-309. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Barlow, John. 1990. Crime and Puzzlement. Electronic manuscript, also published in Whole Earth Review, 1990, 45-57. Bateson, Gregory. 1972. A Theory of Play and Fantasy. In Steps to An Ecology of Mind. Ed. Gregory Bateson, 177-193. New York: Ballantine. Ben-Ari, Eyal. 1989. Masks and Soldiering: the Israeli Army and the Palestinian Uprising. Cultural Anthropology 4, 4: 372-389. Benedikt, Michael, Editor. 1991. Cyberspace: First Steps. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Blackman, Bernard I., and Theodore Clevenger, Jr. 1990. On-Line Computer Messaging: Surrogates for Nonverbal Behavior. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Dublin, Ireland, June 24-29, 1990. Bolter, Jay David. 1991. Writing Space: the Computer, Hyptertext, and the History of Writing. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Caillois, Roger. 1961. Man, Play and Games. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Cazden, Courtney B. 1976. Play with Language and Meta-linguistic Awareness: One Dimension of Language Experience. Play--Its Role in Development and Evolution. Ed. Jerome S. Bruner, Elison Jolly and Kathy Sylva, 603-608. New York: Penguin. Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi. 1977. Beyond Boredom and Anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Curtis, Pavel. 1992. Mudding: Social Phenomena in Text-Based Virtual Realities. Intertrek 3, no. 3: 26-34. Danet, Brenda, and Lucia Ruedenberg. 1992. "Smiley" Icons: Keyboard Kitsch or New Communication Code? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting, American Folklore Society, Jacksonville, Florida, October, 1992. Geertz, 1991 [1972]. Deep Play. In Rethinking Popular Culture. Chandra Mukerji and Michael Schudson, eds., pp.239-277. Berkeley: University of California Press. Reprinted from Daedelus, 101, 1, 1972. Goffman, Erving. 1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. New York: Harper & Row. Gossen, Gary H. 1976. Verbal Dueling in Chamula. In Speech Play: Research and Resources for the Study of Linguistic Creativity. Ed. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, pp.121-146. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Handelman, Don. 1976. Play and Ritual: Complementary Frames of Meta-Communication. In It's a Funny Thing, Humour. Ed. A.J. Chapman and H. Foot, pp. 185-192. London: Pergamon. Heim, M. 1987. Electric Language: A Philosophical Study of Word Processing. New Haven: Yale University Press. Honigmann, John. 1977. The Masked Face. Ethos 5: 263-280. Huizinga, Jan. 1955. Homo Ludens. Boston: Beacon. Kiesler, Sara, J. Siegel, and T.W. McGuire. 1984. Social Psychological Aspects of Computer-mediated Communication. American Psychologist 39: 1123-1134. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara, Editor. Speech Play: Research and Resources for the Study of Linguistic Creativity. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Labov, William. 1972. Rules for Ritual Insults. Studies in Social Interaction. Ed. David Sudnow, 120-169. New York: Macmillan. Lanier, Jaron, and Frank Biocca. 1992. An Insider's View of the Future of Virtual Reality. Special issue on "Virtual Reality: A Communication Perspective," Ed. Frank Biocca. Journal of Communication 42, no. 4: 150-172. Melbin, Murray. 1987. Night as Frontier. New York: Free Press. Meyer, Gordon, and Jim Thomas. 1990. The Baudy World of the Byte Bandit: a Postmodernist Interpretation of the Computer Underground. Electronic manuscript; also published in F. Schmalleger, ed., Computers in Criminal Justice, Bristol, Indiana: Wyndham Hall, 1990, pp. 31-67. Poster, Mark. 1990. The Mode of Information: Poststructuralisms and Contexts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Rafaeli, Sheizaf. 1988. Interactivity: from New Media to Communication. Sage Annual Reviews of Communication Research, vol. 16, Ed. Robert B. Pawkins, John M. Wiemann, and Suzanne Pingree, Advancing Communication Science: Merging Mass and Interpersonal Processes, pp. 110-133. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Raymond, Eric S., Editor. 1991. The New Hackers' Dictionary. With assistance and illustrations by Guy L. Steele, Jr. Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press. Reid, Elizabeth. 1991. Electropolis: Communication and Community on Internet Relay Chat. Adapted from a B.A. Honors thesis, Dept. of History, University of Melbourne, Australia. Electronic manuscript. Rosenbaum-Tamari, Yehudit. 1993. Play, Language and Culture in Computer-Mediated Communication. Ph.D. dissertation proposal, Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Schechner, Richard. 1988. Playing. Play and Culture 1, 3: 3-19. Schutz, Alfred. 1977. Multiple Realities. Rules and Meanings. Ed. Mary Douglas, pp. 227-231. Hammondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin. Turner, Victor. 1967. The Forest of Symbols. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. +______________. 1974. From Liminal to Liminoid: An Essay in Comparative Symbology. Rice University Studies 60: 53-92. +______________. 1986. The Anthropology of Performance. New York: PAJ Publications. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1993 13:49:43 CDT From: Trudy McCarty Subject: File 6--Classifying Grad Theses & Dissertations as "private?" Date--Mon, 23 Aug 1993 14:18:00 EDT From--LISA BODENHEIMER Subject--Interesting news story Originally from--AUTOCAT In yesterday's Greenville (S.C.) News, there was an article with the headline "New interpretation says theses are records, not research tools." To quote from the article: "The Federal Department of Education has ruled that master's and doctoral theses--research papers normally bound and put on the shelves at schools nationwide--are student 'educational records,' much like grade reports. That means that they can not be checked out of libraries, sent to faraway researchers, or called up through computer databases without the author's permission, the News & Observer of Raleigh (N.C.) reported." The article goes on to say that making theses and dissertations available for public use without the author's permission is a violation of the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act. Ways to comply with the law include having current students sign a waiver, tracking down former students to get permission, or taking authors' names off theses (this last has interesting implications for cataloging!). There are obviously many implications for libraries here. I'd like to know if this has been publicized elsewhere, and what thoughts people have (aside from utter incredulity) on this. (FYI--this was an Associated Press story from out of Raleigh, N.C.) Thanks. Lisa Bodenheimer, Clemson University, Clemson, SC bodenhl@clemson +++++++++++++++ ((MODERATORS' NOTE: The new FERPA interpretation extends "privacy rights" beyond reasonable bounds. The implications affect CuD and other information-oriented journals and newsletters as well as scholars. By sealing scholarship that has correctly been considered public documents, a significant portion of research now threatens to become "secret." Classifying students dissertations and theses as "student personnel records," thereby making them subject to FERPA seems a misinterpretation of the Act. At virtually every school of which I'm aware, these are considered public documents because they are 1) defended publicly, 2) "published" as a research contribution to a specific field (regardless of the quality of the content), 3) placed, usually by requirement, in a public archive of some sort (eg, U. library, departmental office, U of Mich Microfiche). Further, those products that are subsidized by gov't or other grants are--if I recall my own obligations as recipient--contractually defined as public. While it might be possible, through intellectual aerobics and and most obscurely narrow interpretation of FERPA to redefine theses and dissertations as "personnel records" (and I'm not convinced that it is), such an interpretation certainly violates the fundamental principle of advanced-degree research by imposing restrictions that subvert academic integrity and violate long-established principles of free-flowing scholarly information. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1993 18:19:02 CDT From: Brian Erwin Subject: File 7-- O'Reilly Internet Information Service THE GLOBAL NETWORK NAVIGATOR An Internet-based Information Center O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. Free Subscription (send mail to info@gnn.com) Next month, we will launch a new experiment in online publishing, _The Global Network Navigator_ (GNN), a free Internet- based information center that will initially be available as a quarterly. GNN will consist of a regular news service, an online magazine, The Whole Internet Interactive Catalog, and a global marketplace containing information about products and services. Keep Up with News of the Global Network The Global Network News provides a continuously updated listing of interesting news items by and about the users of the Internet, including announcements of new information services. Discover New Interests in GNN Magazine Each issue will present articles developed around a common theme, such as government or education. Regular columns will cover such topics as how to provide information services on the Internet or help for new Internet users. It will have several innovative departments, such as Off The Wall Gallery, that exhibits in digital form the works of new artists, and Go Find Out, a section containing reviews of the Internet's most interesting resources. How to find resources on a particular subject One of the most popular features of O'Reilly's _The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog, by Ed Krol, is the catalog of information resources on the Internet. GNN features an expanded, interactive version of this resource catalog that can be used online to navigate to the Internet servers containing those resources. The Online Whole Internet Catalog organizes Internet resources in the following categories: - The Internet - Arts - Current Affairs - Libraries, Reference & Education - Science - Government and Politics - Technology - Business - Humanities - Work and Play In the Online Whole Internet Catalog, subscribers can not only read about these resources, they can actually connect to them with a click of the button. Participate in the GNN Marketplace Getting good information from a company about their products or services is almost as valuable as the product or service itself. The Global Marketplace provides referrals to companies providing this kind of information online through the Internet. The Global Marketplace also contains commercial resource centers in which subscribers may find white papers, product brochures or catalogs, demo software or press releases for the companies advertising in GNN Marketplace. GNN and The World Wide Web Global Network Navigator is an application of the World Wide Web (WWW), developed at CERN in Switzerland. Users can choose any WWW browser, such as Mosaic (available for UNIX, Windows, and the Mac) from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. In addition, O'Reilly & Associates will make available Viola, an X-based hypermedia software environment in which we've developed a sophisticated WWW graphical browser. Viola makes it possible to distribute object-oriented documents that use formatted text, graphics, icons, and scripts. All World Wide Web browsers can be used to access network services such as gopher and WAIS, independent of the Global Network Navigator. How To Subscribe The Global Network Navigator is available over the Internet as a free subscription service during its launch. GNN will be funded by sponsors who provide commercial information of interest to our readers in GNN Marketplace and through advertising in GNN News, GNN Magazine and the Online Whole Internet Catalog. To get information on subscribing to Global Network Navigator, send e-mail to info@gnn.com. +++ Brian Erwin, brian@ora.com O'Reilly & Associates 103A Morris Street, Sebastopol CA 95472 707-829-0515, Fax 707-829-0104 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1993 21:18:51 CDT From: CuD Moderators Subject: File 8--"The Internet Letter"--Internet's First Commercial Digest The Internet Letter (ISSN 1070-9851), the first commercial newsletter on the Internet, will premiere at INET 93 and INTEROP(r)93, and a hard copy version will be available at Booth #1334 (InterCon Systems Corp.) in the South Hall of the Moscone Center. The first issue of TIL provides provides the following information about the editor: The editor is Jayne Levin (netweek@access.digex.net). Levin was former deputy bureau chief of Institutional Investor in Washington, D.C., and has written on the Internet for The Washington Post and Infoworld. Tony Rutkowski (amr@CNRI.Reston.VA.US) is special adviser. Rutkowski is founder and vice president of the Internet Society and director of technology assessment at Sprint Corp. He was former editor-in-chief and publisher of Telecommunications magazine. Levin will be available for interviews at INTEROP. Contact INTEROP press relations. The table of contents for the first issue covered a wide range of topics. The articles were professionally written and incisive: 001) INTERNET EXPERIENCING AN INFORMATION EXPLOSION 002) COMPANIES TAP INTERNET'S POWER 003) THE TOP 150 COMMERCIAL USERS ON INTERNET -- CHART 004) CIA, US GOVERNMENT INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES DEVELOP INTERNET LINK 005) REALTY FIRM IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY, INTERNET SPEEDS REALTY TRANSACTIONS 006) MULTIMEDIA MAGAZINE TO DEBUT ON INTERNET 007) TASK FORCE PROPOSES STANDARD TO SECURE CONTENTS OF E-MAIL 008) INTERNET MERCANTILE STANDARDS EXPLORED 009) GOPHER LICENSING FEE SPARKS DISPUTE 010) FINDING GOPHER & GN 011) FROM SOFTWARE TO MAGAZINES, BUYING ELECTRONICALLY 012) CIX LAUNCHES COMMERCIAL "INFORMATION" EXCHANGE 013) SOME COMPANIES PREFER WAIS FOR BUILDING IN-HOUSE DATABASES 014) MORE ON WAIS 015) INTERNET TO ASSIST BETHANY IN ADOPTION SERVICES 016) FAQ 017) PROVIDERS' CIRCUIT 018) CIX CONTACTS -- CHART 019) TIPS & TECHNIQUES 020) POINTERS 021) TALK OF THE NET 022) WASHINGTON 023) READ ALL ABOUT IT 024) DATEBOOK The first issue of TIL provides the following price information: 30-DAY INTEROP SPECIAL (good until September 30) 40% Discount off the regular rate of $249/year Charter subscriptions: $149/year -- a 40% discount. Universities and nonprofits $95/year. If you not completely satified, your money will be refunded. You can receive The Internet Letter electronically or on paper. Although the first issue of TIL suggests that the newsletter will of of considerable utility to Internet travellers, the issue of commercialization of is troublesome. CuD is opposed on principal to such commercial endeavors. In response to CuD's query, the author presented the other side of the argument, one that we have recently raised as well. Namely, the time required to publish a newsletter of reasonable quality (and, judging from the first issue, TIL is of exceptional quality) can be prohibitive. The time required approaches that of a full-time journalist who is paid a living wage. Should the Internet be a mechanism for delivering a commercial product? The question raises too many issues to be addressed here. We are of two minds, and find the issues too complex for an easy answer. Perhaps readers have thoughts on the issue they could share. Meanwhile, the first issue of TIL is free, and it's well-worth a look. ------------------------------ End of Computer Underground Digest #5.66 ************************************