Letters: LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

Dear 2600: This is Quasi Moto, SysOp of the late Plover-NET Bulletin Board System (BBS).  I am writing this letter to try to explain to all of you just what really happened to Plover-NET. I guess the main reason that I took the system down was that I could only take so much of all of it.  What exactly do I mean by "all of it?"  Well, first and foremost, it's not easy going to bed every night thinking, "Will the Feds call tonight?  Will my BBS be crashed by some hacker with nothing better to do" and so forth.  And then I awaken at 4:40 am to the annoying sound of the RANA recalibrating.  Since I'm up, might as well validate users, etc.  I notice that "?Syntax Error" is on the board, yawn and snicker as I smash the RESET key and the modem gives a sharp click as it disconnects that loser from the BBS. The BBS re-runs itself and I logon.  The first new user is "F*ck You" from "Your, asshole".  3 users later it's "Rachal Amato" (the name CN/A has for the BBS line).  And then there are 2 messages with I/O errors in them which I must delete, despite the fact that the RANA is full at 202 messages and I must delete the first 5-10 (which takes on the order of 5-10 minutes).  Then I get to take a shower and get dressed before school! But I guess the real reason I took Plover-NET down was money.  The phone bill, on the order of $50 or more a month was defrayed by about $15-20 per month.  Which left me with about $30 every month to pay from my own pocket!  This doesn't even touch the electricity it draws or all the software updates.  That is when I put a stop to it. I would like to stress the point that Plover-NET was not, I repeat, not busted, or for that matter, ever contacted by any law enforcement agency.  I took it down of my own free will.  I would like to take this final opportunity to give a piece of advice to all you other phreak SysOps... stay cool and put up my disclaimer.  It's the "perfect" disclaimer.  If you need a copy, or need to get in touch with me urgently, write to Quasi Moto c/o 2600 Magazine.

Dear 2600: Your article on step switching was super informative.  Now I have a question.  I found a really strange telephone switching center.  It's 518-789.  Can you tell me what type it is?  It is so strange when you call it you can hear it dialing the number.  And it starts ringing and you can still hear it dialing!  It is crazy!  What is it?       Awfully Curious 518-789 is a very, very small (XY) step-by-step switching center.  And if it's like most of them, it could be in a trailer or a very small building.  It could even be in a house where the owners can keep a close tab on it.  A test number for this exchange is: 518-789-3299 The dialing sound you described is fairly common with step offices.  We're dealing with an independent phone company toll center here - it only does what it's told to do.  The toll switcher is dialing a complete 7-digit number.  Now, Western Electric doesn't allow you to hear pulses.  When you dial into a step, though, different rules sometimes apply.  If, for example, you dial 518-789-2000, it will immediately start ringing after the 7892 because there is no 7892 group.  But it will dial the three zeroes after the two anyway, and you can hear that on top of the ring.