FAQs about Cu Digest (7 February, 1993) We're asked the following questions often enough that we compiled the following list. If you have additional questions, let us know, and we'll add them. ****************************** Q 1: WHAT IS CuD? A 1: Cu-Digest, or CuD, is a weekly on-line electronic journal/news forum. CuD began at the suggestion and encouragement of Pat Townson (moderator of Telecomm Digest) in March 1990. The federal indictments of Craig Neidorf (in the "PHRACK case" in Chicago) and Len Rose (in Baltimore) generated more posts than Pat could manage, and the nature of posts exceeded his Digest's Usenet charter. Jim Thomas and Gordon Meyer volunteered to collect the surplus posts, and Pat helped get it started. It was originally conceived as an interim forum that would quietly depart after a few months. Volume 1, in fact, was originally intended as the first and final volume in August '92, but a week later Volume 2 appeared because of the continuous material. As of this writing, CuD is publishing Volume 4. Each issue is about 40 K. Q 2: WHAT IS THE GOAL OF CuD? A 2: The broad goal of CuD is to provide a forum for discussion and debate of the computer telecommunications culture. This culture especially includes, but is not limited to, the unique world of BBSes, Internet, and public access systems. We focus especially on alternative gropus that exist outside of the conventional net community. We try to focus on a broad range of issues that include news, debates of legal, ethical, and technical issues, and scholarly research of relevance to a broad audience of professionals and lay persons. Other than providing a context for an article if necessary, the moderators *do not* add commentary of agreement or disagreement. We see our role as one of facilitating debate, although we will do take part in discussions in separate articles. Q 3: WHO EDITS CUD? A 3: Gordon Meyer and Jim Thomas publish CuD from Northern Illinois University. Gordon Meyer's MA thesis, "The Social Organization of the Computer Underground", was the first systematic attempt to place the social world of "phreaks, hackers, and pirates" in a context that looked at the culture, rather than the "deviance", of alternative uses of computer use. Gordon is currently a system engineer with a large national firm in the Chicago area. Jim Thomas, a professor of sociology/criminology at Northern Illinois University, is a prison researcher and qualitative methodologist. Gordon lured him into the "underground" world 1987, and he has since become interested in the legal and cultural issues of computer use. Q 4: WHY THE LABEL *UNDERGROUND*? A 4: For some, the term underground connotes malice and a dark side of human activity. For others, including the CuD editors, it denotes alternative to conventional activity. An electronic digest is an alternative to hard-copy forms of information sharing. Like the "underground," or "alternative" press of the counterculture of the 1960s or "underground music" or radio of the 90s, the "computer underground" refers to types of behavior or characteristics of a subculture that are unique, cohesively identifiable, possessing norms, roles, and social expectations that define participants, and are considered socially marginal by the dominant culture. Like the term "hacker," there were originally no negative connotations associated with "underground" when the term was first used. The name "Computer underground Digest" was suggested with a bit of irony prior to the first issue (how, after all, can a conventional digest that is publicly accessible be "underground?"), and the name stayed. Early discussions to change the name seemed impractical once the "CuD" monogram was established, and the name stands. Q 5: IS CuD "PRO-HACKER?" A 5: The term "hacker" has been grossly distorted by the media and law enforcement personnel, who use it synonymously with "computer intruders." CuD editors have repeatedly stated their own opposition to all forms of predatory and malicious behavior, including malicious computer intrusion. We accept Bob Bickford's definition of a "hacker" as someone who derives joy from discovering ways to exceed limitations. Hackers, in the original sense, referred to explorers who solved problems and exceeded conventional limits through trial and error in situations in which there were no formal guidelines or previous models from which to draw. In this sense, CuD is quite "pro-hacker," and we prefer the term "cracker" for malicious practitioners of the hacking craft. Exploration is good, predation is not. However, CuD encourages articles from all perspectives and attempts to provide a forum for reasoned discussion on all sides of an issue. CuD opposes predatory behavior by any group, whether computer enthusiasts or those who oppose them. CuD is for civil liberties and for civilizing the electronic frontier by securing rights assumed in other social realms and by advocating protection from all forms of abuse. Like rock 'n Roll and Richard Nixon, the computer underground culture has not, and will not likely soon, go away. It has become an entrenched part of computer culture. CuD attempts to document the computer culture and ease the transition as the culture moves toward the mainstream with articles that bridge the cultural gaps as telecomputing becomes an increasingly important part of daily life. The political, legal, economic, and social impact of changes in the new technology is poorly covered elsewhere. We see our goal as addressing the impact of these changes and providing alternative interpretations to events. Q 6: WHAT KINDS OF THINGS DOES CuD PUBLISH? A 6: We encourage submissions on a broad range of topics, from articulate short responses and longer opinion pieces to book reviews, summaries of research, and academic papers. We especially encourage: 1. Reasoned and thoughtful debates about economic, ethical, legal, and other issues related to the computer underground. 2. Verbatim printed newspaper or magazine articles containing relevant stories. If you send a transcription of an article, be sure it contains the source *and* the page numbers so references can be checked. Also be sure that no copyright protections are infringed. 3. Public domain legal documents (affidavits, indictments, court records) that pertain to relevant topics. 4. General discussion of news, problems, or other issues that contributors feel should be aired. 5. Unpublished academic papers, "think pieces," or research results are strongly encouraged. These would presumably be long, and we would limit the size to about 800 lines (or 40 K). Longer articles appropriate for distribution would be sent as a single file and so-marked in the header. 6. Book reviews that address the social implications of computer technology. 7. Bibliographies (especially annotated), transcripts of relevant radio or television programs (it is the poster's responsibility to assure that copyrights are not violated), and announcements and reports of relevant conferences and conference papers are strongly encouraged. 8. Announcements for conferences, meetings, and other events as well as summaries after they've occured. 9. Suggestions for improvement, general comments or criticisms of CuD, and ideas for articles are especially helpful. Although we encourage debate, we stress that ad hominem attacks or personal squabbles will not be printed. Although we encourage different opinion, we suggest that these be well-reasoned and substantiated with facts, citations, or other "evidence" that would bolster claims. Although CuD is a Usenet group, it does not, except in the rarest of cases, print post-response-counterresponse in the style common among most other groups. Q 7: HOW CAN I PUBLISH IN CUD? A 7: To submit an article, simply send it to the editors at tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu. If you receive CuD on Usenet, you can reply (using the F or f commands) and your response will come directly to the editors and will not be distributed across the nets. If you do not have an article, but know of people who do, encourage them to send their work along. Although CuD is a forum for opposing points of view, we do prefer that articles a) be written in English, b) make sense, and c) are not out-dated. Submissions should be formatted at 70 characters per line and should include a blank space separating individual paragraphs. Submissions may be edited for spelling and format, but no other changes are ever intentionally made without permission. Sigs are also removed to save bandwidth. Q 8: HOW DO I SEND NEWS ARTICLES IF I DON'T HAVE PERMISSION? A 8: Fair use doctrine allows reasonable quotes to be used. So, cite the most relevant or crucial parts and summarize the rest. Very short articles, however, may generally be reproduced without permission. Q 9: SHOULD I QUOTE OTHER POSTERS WHEN RESPONDING TO AN ARTICLE? A 9: ONLY IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. Good writing does not require excessive quoting. Sometime's it's necessary, but it should be avoided. In addition to being generally bad writing, CuD simply lacks room for repitious back-and-forth comments/rejoinders. Parsimony should rule. Q 10: WHO READS CuD? A 10: As a conservative estimate, CuD reaches about 35,000 to 40,000 readers each issue. According to monthly Usenet statistics, CuD averages about 23,000 readers a month on alt/comp.society.cu-digest. We estimate another 3,000 from the mailing list and feeds into various systems. BBS readership, judging from non-scientific sysop feedback, constitutes at least another 5,000, and public access systems (Peacenet, America Online, GEnie, CompuServe) constitutes the rest of domestic readership. Our figures do not include substantial European, Australian, or ftp distribution. Judging from a survey we took in 1990 and from the feedback we receive from readers, CuD readers cut across occupational, ideological, and age lines. The overwhelming majority (about 80 percent) of the readership is college graduates. About half is computer professionals or in related fields. The remaining half is distributed among a variety of professions (attorneys, journalists, academicians, law enforcement, students) and territory (the mailing list includes every continent except Asia and all west European countries). Q 11: HOW DO I RECEIVE CuD? A 11: If you're reading this, you've already received it, and most likely you can just keep doing whatever you did to get it. If you aren't sure what you did, you can do any of the following: CuD is *FREE*. It costs nothing. The editors make no profit, we take no money, we accept no gifts (but we drink Jack Daniels and lots of it, should you run into us in a pub). To receive CuD, you can access it from many BBSes and most public access systems. Or, if you have Usenet access, you can obtain it by subscribing through your local system to comp.society.cu-digest. If you do not have Usenet access, you can be placed on a mailing list by dropping a short note to: tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu with the subject header: SUB CuD and a message that says: SUB CuD my name my.full.internet@address Q 12: CAN I GET BACK ISSUES OF CuD ON DISK OR ON PAPER? A 12: Yes. Back issues may be obtained for the price of four high-density 3x5 floppies and postage. The complete set of Vols 1 through 4 is nearly 4 megs. Hard copies of back issues are also available. The cost for reproduction and postage will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the NIU sociology department. Printed back-to-back, issues 1 through 4 comprise about 2,500 pages. Information on back issues can be obtained from the Moderators (Cu-Digest / Department of Sociology / Northern Illinois University / DeKalb, IL 60115 Q 13: HOW DO I SIGN OFF CUD? A 13: By sending a message that says "UNSUB " to tk0jut2@mvs.cso.niu.edu or tk0jut2@niu.bitnet Q 14: WHERE CAN I GET BACK ISSUES OF CUD? A 14: On the ftp sites. The current ftp sites are: red.css.itd.umich.edu (141.211.182.91) in /cud; halcyon.com (192.135.191.2) in /pub/mirror/cud; and ftp.ee.mu.oz.au (128.250.77.2) in /pub/text/CuD. Issues of CuD also can 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 DL0 and DL12 of TELECOM; on Genie in the PF*NPC RT libraries; from America Online in the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;" on the PC-EXEC BBS at (414) 789-4210; in Europe from the ComNet in Luxembourg BBS (++352) 466893; European readers can access the ftp site at: nic.funet.fi pub/doc/cud. Back issues are also available via mailserv from: mailserv@batpad.lgb.ca.us (for "help," send a one word message of "HELP" in both text and subject header to the mailserv address Computer underground Digest is intended as a forum for the discussion of legal, ethical, social, and other issues regarding computerized information and communications. We welcome contributions reflecting diversity of thought and perspective. Q 15: WHY DOES CuD REPRINT MATERIAL FROM USENET THAT USENET READERS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY SEEN? A 15: CuD is read by many non-Usenet readers. Bitnet readers, for example, obtain CuD from the mailing list and rarely participate in Usenet forums. Many readers have no net access at all, and they read CuD from public access systems such as GEnie, The Well, or Compuserve, or from their favorite BBS. Therefore, we try to provide non-net readers with as much news as possible. Q 16: HOW DO I USE FTP? A 16: Ask your local Sysad. If you have a system that allows ftp transfers, we recommond Brendan Kehoe's ZEN AND THE ART OF THE INTERNET or Ed Krol's THE WHOLE INTERNET as quick primer on ftp and other Internet/Usnet tricks. Q 17: WHY DOES CuD SUBJECT/FROM/DATE LINE SOMETIMES NOT CORRESPOND TO REALITY? A 17: In order to be read by most mailers as a digest, posts must be divided by a marker (i.e., a space and a series of dashes) and three lines indicating From:, Subject:, and Date:. We often must add these manually, because they may not be included properly in the original post, or we may not receive the posts in electronic form. When reposting articles from other sources, we try when possible to use the author in the From: line (rather than the moderators) to allow respondants to commuicate directly with the original author by (on Unix) hitting "r" or "R". When a poster requests anonymity, we change both the From: and Date: lines. Q 18: DOES CuD ACCEPT ANONYMOUS POSTINGS? Yes. As we indicated in CuD 1.00 (1990), there are many reasons for anonymity, especially if one fears employment repercussions. However, we STRONGLY DISCOURAGE anonymous postings without good cause.