Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers Path: vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!uunet!news.pipeline.com!malgudi.oar.net!mercury.wright.edu!iyoung From: iyoung@alpha.wright.edu (Ian Young) Subject: Re: Scroll Lock (was Re: Sys Rq) Message-ID: Sender: news@mercury.wright.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. References: <37156i$3he@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> <37ce1j$s43@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 01:53:10 GMT Lines: 51 In article <37ce1j$s43@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> peter@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (Peter da Silva) writes: >In article , >Ian Young wrote: >>In article <37156i$3he@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM> peter@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM (Peter da Silva) writes: >>>How do you handle ethical conflicts in sentient data packets, though? > >>Simple, IP NT has a special Sentient Packet Protocol Layer, >>X.life >>which allows sentient data packets to vie for dominance. >>But, the sentient packets are blocked from this reality >>by a special firewall system, implemented at the >>packet header level. > >I hope you watch for sentient packets rewriting their headers as FTP and FSP >packets containing X-rated GIF files. > >Or is that why alt.binaries.pictures.erotica has such a high volume? >-- >You summoned forth an Ancient Evil and you don't know what to do with it? Interesting you should ask. Sentient packets may not rewrite their own code. Now, the problem is, the packets have developed the unusual capacity to create packets. Now, we all know that in any network, one gets stray packets which increase network load. Sentient packets were originially implemented to "reside"in the subspace frame buffers, from whence they would feed on stray packets and recycle them into .Advocacy posts. It seems that now, though, they have developed spontaneous bugs (no pun intended) in which they can post to any newsgroup, resulting in messages which, while retaining most of the actual message, include some spontaneously snide remark at the end. Sometimes, these packets have from: lines which point to nonexistant users, hosts and/or domain names. We are working on the problem. We think that if we could shut down USENET for a period of a year, the sentient packets would decay and be eaten by a special sweeper program. We have hired Robert Morris to design the sweeper program. Once again, this feature should be ready by the time IP'95 comes out. -- Ian, barely speaking even for himsel | "Riding a Harley Hog with Uma | / iyoung@alpha.wright.edu | Thurman: That's heaven" | "the guy who tries to be funny, but | -K. D. Lang- | everybody laughs at."