🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <23...@ns-mx.uiowa.edu> jo...@pyrite.cs.uiowa.edu (Douglas W. Jones,201H MLH,3193350740,3193382879) writes:
>On September 10, 1990, I saw a posting on the USENET newsgroup known
>as alt.folklore.computers purporting to be from one Vadim G. Antonov
                           ==========
Notice the snide "purporting," even though Vadim's bona fides have been
abundantly clear to anyone with a brain, as the article itself proceeds
to make clear!

>from an organization known as DEMOS in Moscow.  On Sept. 16, I sent
>out an inquiry over USENET directed to 39 newsgroups, 

and a singularly pompous "inquiry" it was too, starting with bothering a
Congressman about it -- guaranteed trouble for the net in the long run...

[details on USSR network deleted -- my thanks to whoever set him straight]

>...People at DEMOS Software are in contact with people at the Open Systems
>Foundation and at Bell Labs.  The Soviet UNIX User's Group will host
>the First Soviet UNIX User's Conference in Moscow, Oct 29 to Nov 2.
>
>			--------------------
>
>How do we know that the entire thing isn't an elaborate hoax?  

Well, the answer is that IT IS!  Yes, the Open Systems Foundation and
Bell Labs are elaborate hoaxes.  I didn't want to have to reveal it this
soon, but you forced me.  Space aliens will now occupy New Jersey. :-)

>                                                                There
>was an elaborate (and funny) April fool's hoax perpetrated in 1984 ...

which proved once again, in case we ever doubted it, that no matter HOW
obviously bogus you make a forged article look, there will always be
some gullible fraction of chowderheads who will take it seriously and
respond with flames, pompous rebuttals, goofy encomiums, and whatnot.
Let's face it, I could forge a posting from the Tooth Fairy and at least
five of you rocket scientists out there would complain about missing
dimes under your pillows twenty years ago.  Two of you would accuse the
Tooth Fairy of sexism or bad grammar, and one would say he missed the
whole discussion so would someone please repost it.  (But that he
doesn't read this newsgroup...)

>It would be quite remarkable if the contacts with DEMOS software were
>forgeries.  

Especially since they're not.  Get a life!  

--- From UUCP maps/u.fin.1 as of 04 Sep 90 ---

#N	demos dvv.hq.demos.su .su
#S	IT386SX; SCO XENIX 2.3.2
#O	Demos Co-operative
#C	Dmitry Volodin
#E	dvv%hq....@fuug.fi
#T	+7 095 231 2129
#P	pod.1 d.6 Ovchinnikovskaya nab., SU-113035 Moscow, USSR
#L
#W	oj...@fuug.fi; Mon Aug 13 21:41:12 1990
#W	oj...@fuug.fi; Mon Aug 20 19:56:48 1990
#
#
demos	fuug(HOURLY)

#N	ioc
#S	Labtam 32; Unix V.3
#O	Institute of Cybernetics, Estonian Academy of Science
#C	Alexander Schmundak
#E	sasha@ioc.uucp
#T	+7 0142 527316
#P	Akadeemia tee 21, SU-20010 Tallinn, Estonia, USSR
#L
#W	oj...@fuug.fi; Sat May 27 20:50:51 EET DST 1990
#
#
ioc	fuug(HOURLY)

-----------------------------------------------

Let's investigate something believable, like whether the following
improbable person really exists or is an elaborate hoax.

>					Doug Jones
>					jo...@herky.cs.uiowa.edu

-- 
To exit --          [__]   Tom Neff
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