From: "David E. Smith" <dsmith@midwest.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 96 23:00:23 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Internet shutdown Feb 29?
Message-ID: <2.2.32.19960222070058.0067c96c@204.248.40.2>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


This looks completely, totally, and insanely bogus, but I
need some kind of verification for this bizarre little
piece of mail that somehow ended up in my mailbox.

Anybody from MIT ever heard of "Kim Dereksen"?

dave "I'm busy laughing, can you call back?"

 *** Attention ***

 It's that time again!

 As many of you know, each leap year the Internet must be shut down for 24
 hours in order to allow us to clean it.  The cleaning process, which
 eliminates dead email and inactive ftp, www and gopher sites, allows for
 a better-working and faster Internet.

 This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on
 Feb. 29 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on March 1.  During that 24-hour period,
 five powerful Internet-crawling robots situated around the world will
 search the Internet and delete any data that they find.

 In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do
 the following:

 1.  Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet
 connections.

 2.  Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.

 3.  Disconnect all disks and hardrives from any connections to the
 Internet.

 4.  Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.

 We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some Internet users,
 and we apologize.  However, we are certain that any inconveniences will
 be more than made up for by the increased speed and efficiency of the
 Internet, once it has been cleared of electronic flotsam and jetsam.

 We thank you for your cooperation.

 Kim Dereksen
 Interconnected Network Maintenance staff
 Main branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 Sysops and others:  Since the last Internet cleaning, the number of
 Internet users has grown dramatically.  Please assist us in alerting the
 public of the upcoming Internet cleaning by posting this message where
 your users will be able to read it.  Please pass this message on to other
 sysops and Internet users as well.  Thank you.
-----
David E. Smith,  c/o Southeast Missouri State University
1000 Towers Circle South MS 1210 Cape Girardeau MO 63701
dsmith@midwest.net,  dave@nym.alias.net,  PGP 0x961D2B09
(573)339-3814    http://www.midwest.net/scribers/dsmith/
"Reality is only for those lacking in true imagination."