free speech in cyberspace.txt

黑客培训教程

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                                     CHAPTER TWO:                                     CHAPTER TWO:                                     CHAPTER TWO:

                                        The Net                                        The Net                                        The Net

               This chapter will explore the nature of today's computer-

            based media, both technological and cultural, in order to

            lay the foundation for the discussion that follows.

               The first section will describe the technological

            foundation of computer-based communication.  In order to

            understand many aspects of this topic, and to appreciate the

            culture of computer users, it is necessary first to

            understand the media through which communication takes

            place.  Such an understanding requires a certain amount of

            technical explanation.  However, the minute technical

            details of computer networking are less important than an

            appreciation of the vast variety and immense power of the

            technology.

               The second section will examine the way in which these

            media are used today.  This will include general

            descriptions and examples of the types of communication that

            take place via computer-based media.

               The final section will be a brief introduction to the

            culture of computer hackers, a group that has played a

            continuing and important role in the development of policy

            in this area.






               The Technology               The Technology               The Technology1

               Several kinds of technological media exist through which

            computer-based communication takes place.  These can

            generally be grouped into three categories: the computer

            bulletin board system (BBS), the online information service

            and the computer network.  There is considerable overlap

            between these categories, and within each category there is

            much variation in implementation.  Nonetheless, meaningful

            distinctions can be made between these types of systems and

            the way in which they operate.

               Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs)               Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs)               Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs)

               At the low end of the technological and economic scale is

            the computer bulletin board system or BBS.  Typically, a BBS

            is operated on a single personal computer, often in a spare

            bedroom or corner of the home of the system operator

            (sysop).  Such a BBS is usually operated strictly as a

            hobby, and no fee is charged for access (though some BBSs

            may charge a small fee to help defray costs).  The only

            equipment required to operate a BBS is a computer, BBS

            software,2 a modem and a telephone line.  In some cases the


                                

               1Much of the information in this section comes from the
            author's own experience.  Where this information has been
            supplemented by external sources, or where such sources
            might provide additional useful information, citations are
            given.

               2BBS packages include TBBS (The Bread Board System),
            Wildcat! and Searchlight.  Many BBS packages are shareware
            (see infra note 7), bringing the cost of operating a BBS
            even lower.


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            BBS will not even have its own telephone line but will share

            the sysop's home or business line (and consequently may be

            available only during certain hours).

               The idea of a computer system publicly available for

            posting messages goes back at least to 1973 when a project

            called Community Memory went online in San Francisco.  A

            project of a group of progressive computer enthusiasts,

            Community Memory was a system consisting of a mainframe3

            computer connected to a dedicated teletype terminal placed

            in a record store (a second terminal was added later).  The

            system functioned much like the message base of a modern

            BBS, allowing anyone who wanted to use it to leave a message

            that could be viewed by others.4

               The first true BBS appeared in January of 1978 when two

            members of a Chicago computer club called CACHE (Chicago

            Area Computer Hobbyist Exchange) came up with the idea of

            using a computer to help the club members share information

            that had previously been posted on a real bulletin board.

            The system, called the CACHE Bulletin Board System/Chicago

            or CBBS/Chicago, was strictly a message board and ran on



                                

               3A mainframe is a large computer with abundant processing
            power.  The term is usually used to distinguish such large
            computers from personal computers such as the IBM PC or the
            Apple Macintosh.  Technically, before the advent of such
            small computers in the late 1970s, all computers were
            mainframes.  See Freedman, The Computer Glossary 434 (4th
            ed. 1989).

               4S. Levy, Hackers 155-58, 167-80 (Paperback ed. 1984).


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            software the two men, Randy Seuss and Ward Christensen,

            designed over a weekend.  The program was freely distributed

            and widely adapted, and before long BBSs sprang up all over

            the country.5

               Today, many different BBS software packages offer

            different features, but certain functions are common to

            virtually all BBSs.  After logging on to the BBS by

            providing a user name and a password,6 a caller is usually

            presented with a menu of BBS functions from which to choose.

            These generally include bulletins, electronic mail (e-mail),

            message areas, file downloads and perhaps other features

            such as online games.

               Bulletins, e-mail and the message areas are all forms of

            electronic communication between BBS users.  Bulletins are

            text files, usually prepared by the sysop and usually

            containing information about the operation of the BBS

            itself.  They inform the user of BBS rules and regulations,

            the history of the BBS, scheduled down time and other


                                

               5Petersen, "Whether for Gabbing or Gobbling Facts,
            Computer Bulletin Board Systems Have Taken Wing," Chicago
            Tribune, Mar. 16, 1989, at sec. 5, p. 2; Balz, "Signing On
            to the World of Computer Bulletin Boards," Chicago Tribune,
            May 30, 1986, at 53.

               6The user name or user ID may be the caller's real name
            or a "handle."  Systems that allow handles will usually also
            require the user to provide his real name so the sysop can
            verify his identity, even though the handle may be all that
            other users will see.  The password, chosen by the user, is
            the BBS's primary means of maintaining security.  Users are
            usually advised to select a password that would not be easy
            to guess and not to write the password anywhere.


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            information of general interest.  Bulletins are often

            displayed automatically to first-time callers, and some BBSs

            require that callers read certain bulletins before full

            access is granted.

               E-mail is a private form of communication between two

            users.  An e-mail note will be addressed to a specific

            person, using that person's user name, and will not be

            visible to anyone else (except perhaps the sysop).  When the

            user to whom the note is addressed logs on, he will usually

            be notified right away that he has mail waiting.  He can

            then read any e-mail notes waiting for him and reply if he

            chooses to.

               The heart of most BBSs is the "message base."  Generally,

            a BBS will have a number of message areas divided by topic.

            Unlike e-mail notes, these messages are visible to any

            caller.  These message areas are public discussion forums

            where any reader is free to jump in at any time.

               In addition to these forms of communication, information

            may also be published via the file download section.

            Ordinarily, a BBS's file collection consists mostly of

            public-domain and shareware7 software, but it may also


                                

               7Shareware is a method of software distribution in which
            copies of a software product may be freely distributed
            through BBSs and other means, allowing users to try the
            software before deciding to buy it.  If the user chooses to
            continue using the software beyond a certain trial period,
            he is expected to register it by sending a fee to the
            program's author.  In exchange for registering, the user
            will typically receive printed documentation, upgrade


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            contain text files.  These files might be extracts from

            threads8 in the message areas, instructional articles,

            electronic newsletters, fiction, poetry or virtually any

            other form of written material.

               Information Services               Information Services               Information Services

               Similar in concept to the BBS, but very different in

            scale, is the online information service.  Unlike most BBSs,

            the information service is a commercial enterprise,

            operating on a subscription or membership basis and charging

            a fee for access, usually an hourly rate.  Such a service is

            much larger than a BBS, operating on a mainframe computer

            (or even an array of mainframe computers).  Furthermore, the

            information service supports hundreds or even thousands of

            simultaneous callers and is available nationally, or even

            internationally, through local telephone calls.

               Major online information services in the United States

            include CompuServe, Prodigy, GEnie, The Source and BIX.  Of

            these, the largest and most familiar is probably CompuServe,

            a subsidiary of H&R Block.  CompuServe has over half a






                                                                        


            notices, technical support and perhaps a more fully
            functional version of the software.

               8A thread is "a more or less continuous chain of postings
            on a single topic." Online Jargon File, version 2.9.6
            (distributed via the Internet,  Aug. 16, 1991), at line
            15707.


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            million members9 who pay an hourly rate ($12.50 in 1991) to

            use the service.  Like a BBS, CompuServe features e-mail,

            file libraries and message areas organized by topic.

            However, these areas are so large and so numerous that books

            exist for the sole purpose of helping one navigate them.

            CompuServe also offers many special online services (some of

            which cost an additional surcharge); users can make airline

            reservations, search online databases, invest in the stock

            market and shop in an "electronic mall" while online.10

            Other online information services offer similar assortments

            of services.

               The Internet and Usenet               The Internet and Usenet               The Internet and Usenet

               In terms of the number of users and the volume of

            traffic, the largest component of the online community is

            probably the international network of mainframe computers

            generally