Subj : The 15 Commandments To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Sat Mar 19 2022 05:31:00 --------------------------------------------------------- ¯PowerNews v2.50® - Tue Jun 21, 2011 Subject: THE 15 COMMANDMENTS 8:15 pm The Thunderbolt BBS #205 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Some BBS's have more than one Sysop, and the Sysop(s) may be male or female. I have customized this bulletin to fit The Thunderbolt BBS. *** T H E F I F T E E N C O M M A N D M E N T S As originally laid down by Mathew Prosper, Sysop of THE MATRIX BBS, Azusa, California; which has long since gone offline. I Thou shalt read thy online documentation, that thy Sysops may not become aggravated answering the same question 2000 times. Yea, many hours hast thy Sysops labored to provide sage wisdom, that their users may be fruitful and multiply, and more fully enjoy the system. The holy scripts are there for YOUR benefit, not theirs. II Thou shalt not steal. Contribute to thy BBS, that thy access level should remain holy in thy Sysops sight. Thy Sysops shall not hold them guiltless that enjoy many hours of online fun, and refuse to contribute in some way. Acceptable holy sacrifices are: USEFUL files (not garbageware), ANSI and RIP screens (when needed), meaningful dialogs in the message bases (just reading the messages does not necessarily constitute meaningful), notes to thy Sysops when the BBS seems to turn evil or ill, and/or personal time as arranged with the Sysops. May the glitches and gremlins of a thousand Crays, and of woefully and unmercifully slow computer systems descend upon the leeches!! III Thou shalt not bear false witness. That means don't lie jack! When thy Sysops ask for thy REAL name and user details, be truthful! They WILL verify it. The Sysops are kind to small animals and generally good people, but this one really angers them!! Thy Sysops do not ask personal information lightly. In this world are Philistines who fancy themselves "hackers". This is a travesty of the true meaning of the word. Originally, a hacker was a self-taught, computer literate hobbiest, and you have hackers to thank for much of the finest public domain and shareware programs currently available. Those little minds that bring shame to real hackers are more accurately known as worms. These worms delight in illegal activities such as destructive "trojan horse" programs, the exchange of stolen credit card numbers, and the illegal exchange of "cracked" or modified commercial software. Thy Sysops can only protect themselves and their users from these idiots if they have accurate information on all users. IV Thou shalt respect thy fellow man (or woman) that thy days may be long on the system that thy Sysops have provided. Few things bring down the wrath of thy Sysops, as rudeness, lack of consideration, and/or ragging on others. V Thou shalt not leave meaningless, obscene, or otherwise irritating, pinheaded messages. Thou shalt not be the James Watt of BBS'ing! However, thy Sysops have a sense of humor, and appreciateth a silly message for the purpose of increased levity of thought. VI Thou shalt conduct thyself with dignity when accessing the various BBS networks. Thy behavior reflects upon this BBS. See thy fourth and fifth commandments. VII Thou shalt not complain if thy terminal software croaks on ANSI color or RIP graphics. There are ANSI and RIP graphics programs available for telnet users to use to access the BBS...and FTP or Web Browser programs for those who wish to logon via these methods. VIII Thou shalt observe thy time limit while in thy doors...as there may be other callers who wish to use them. IX Thou shalt allow thy Sysops the luxury of human frailty. Alas, even thy Sysops maketh mistakes, and they appreciateth much when errors are brought to their attention, however minor and trivial that they may seem to be. X Thou shalt not fear to ask for help at any time from thy Sysops. Thy Sysops run this board because they ENJOY running it. That means they ENJOY the interaction they get with their users. They are there to help. Thou shalt not take thy BBS's name in vain! If you are having a problem, it SHOULD be addressed to thy Sysops, or to fellow users. It should NOT be the topic of criticism on another BBS. XI Thou shalt have no other Sysops before us. (Just kidding) . XII Thou shalt not logoff improperly. Thy Sysops recognize that improper logoffs doth happen from time to time, and allow for this. But thy Sysops shall not suffer a user to continue calling if they cannot take the time to log off correctly. XIII Thou shalt personally inspect any programs downloaded from thy BBS, that thy data may live a long and productive life. Thy Sysops try to see that all files are holy and pure, but sadly...evil has a way of slipping in. Thy Sysops possessth thy latest utilities to check and exorcise demonic programs within nightly maintenence; but thou art advised to recheck thy downloaded files to keepeth thy system safe and pure. XIV Thou shalt not upload "smutware". These childish creations of a hormone fevered adolescent have no place in a legitimate BBS. They also tend to be the vehicles of trojan horse programs. "Look, boys and girls, she's taking off her clothes! Oops! There goes 50 megs!! Can you say "toasted data" boys and girls? I knew you could." XV Thou shalt have FUN. This one doesn't take a Ph.D to figure out. It's the whole point of having a BBS! ENJOY! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- .... Have you thanked your Sysop or Echo Moderator today?? === MultiMail/Win v0.52 --- SBBSecho 3.15-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (1:2320/33) .