Re: melissa and her daughters

Michael Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Sat, 03 Apr 1999 12:15:24 -0500

Spike Jones wrote:

> The reason you saw a notice from me regarding the THAAD
> failure on Thursday afternoon when I actually posted it Monday
> morning (an hour after the event) was that our computers were
> melissa-ed and the network was down all week.
>
> CNN reports they nabbed the dirty scoundrel who wrote the
> virus. I cheered. For about three seconds. Then I said: wait
> a minute. What charge? Is this not covered under the US
> first amendment granting free speech? If he is charged with
> obstructing public communications, should not Microsloth
> be named as a co-conspirator? Should not this perp and
> Bill Gates share a cell? Could not Microsloth have shipped
> their product so that macros were disabled until *specifically
> enabled* by the 2% of the populace that will ever actually
> read the manual and decide we *need* word macros? How
> many of you among the writhing amoeba of extropianism
> have ever actually used a MS word macro? More than
> once?

The M$ OS could be considered to be a creature with a weak or just leaky immune system. The perp released the digital equivalent of a biological weapon into the water system. How many hells are reserved for someone who releases a human tailored avian flu virus into the LA water system?

>
>
> Legal eagles, help me out here: is the melissa author in real
> danger of going to the slammer? I am tempted to defend the
> unsavory character. He did us all a service by pointing out
> yet another bug in Microsloth word. spike

There is a point there. He is an agent of evolution in releasing that virus, The smart person would advocate that the guy spends his life on a PC in a padded cell plugging up bugs in software, in exchange for time outside.

--
TANSTAAFL!!!
   Michael Lorrey, President
                        Lorrey Systems
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