From: deltorto@aol.com
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 93 09:28:45 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Quiet Nights @ the Keyboard with Ren & Stimpy
Message-ID: <9302201228.tn04104@aol.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


To Keith Peterson:

I guess it must get a bit quiet there at your keyboard in the room where you
sit chillin' day in and day out Maintaining that ol' MS-DOS archive at
WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil, huh? I guess I can understand wanting to bust out in
expression if indeed you find it inconvenient to do literally.

I mean no disrespect - after all, I don't know you at all, but _really_ now -
these comments of yours are so misplaced! Even a cursory view of Mr. Thug's
missal cannot possibly construe his comments as encouraging virus authors!
His observations are in the finest spirit of our treasured Fourth Estate -
the dissemination of information for the protection of everyone concerned.
For example, being a non-DOS user, I had never before heard of these Stealth,
etc. viruses before reading his description and I can sure tell you that I
will now know to warn every DOS user I meet to immediately switch their OS to
one where there is less inclination and more barriers to the construction of
destructive viruses. Okay that was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but you get the
idea.

To put this in martial terms for you, I recommend a strategy where you
acquire your targets a bit more carefully before launching. Lao Tsu offers
good advice on this sort of thing - 'premature attack reveals one's own
weaknesses' etc. Since your weakness appears at first glance to be a fickle
respect for the rights of other citizens to privacy and free speech, I
encourage you to instead get out and oxygenate your lungs and shake out all
that tension before you open your metaphorical mouth and insert your
figurative foot. Remember, we all go about defending this great nation of
ours in our own ways and though my way may not be your way, it may be a good
way anyway.

This is not to say that I don't encourage you to voice your opinion about
anything you want to at any time. I am proud to live in a country where we
can all agree to disagree. Just don't touch my freedom, Keith. I will defend
to the death your, Thug's and my right to say whatever the hell we want to
about anything we fucking well please anytime and anywhere. In future, then,
please be more judicious in the pursuit of your ideals.

To My Fellow Cypherpunks:

Be always vigilant, my friends. Those who would tell you that up is down and
right is left might well be coming out of the sun above and behind you even
now. It's a hard thing to express clear views of something so rotten to the
corps, but _someone_ has to do it.

Happy Trails,

   d2t