201-366-4431 - Call It!

The Private Sector BBS is back - and back online.

The bulletin board was seized last July in a fruitless raid by various agents - mainly the government of Middlesex County, New Jersey.  Within days the American Civil Liberties Union agreed to defend Tom Blich, the sysop.  A cry was heard throughout the phreaking and hacking world because all those who called the Private Sector knew it never contained any compromising information.  After outrageous allegations that mentioned controlling satellites and after six months, the Private Sector was scheduled to be returned on February 16, provided that Blich plead guilty to a token offense.  He pleaded guilty to possession of a burglary tool - a small basic program written for Apple-CAT modems.

To date, no evidence of any illegal activity has been traced to Tom, nor has any company or entity ever filed a complaint against him or the Private Sector.

Just a few days before he was to get his computer back, the Middlesex County authorities told him that they were sorry but they blew up his hard disk controller card.  This meant that they could not delete the questionable programs.  It also meant that they could not return his equipment.

Finally, someone realized that when a judge says that authorities must give back a computer, they must, so the computer was returned.  Tom was told to have the controller card fixed and to send Middlesex County the bill, an uncommon occurrence when it comes to damaged evidence.  When he does have it fixed, he's supposed to call up Middlesex and ask someone to come over to his home and delete the questionable files from his hard disk.

With the hard disk temporarily out of commission, the Private Sector is running on two floppies, but the magic is still there.  It can be reached at 201-366-4431 at 300 or 1200 baud.  Type NEW to get an account.  The software is a little different for the moment; Tom is not sure just how the board will be run.  Your suggestions are needed.