Serious information for parents taken in by stupid articles

From: Kimi (kimidragon@yahoo.com)
Date: 12/24/01 

From: kimidragon@yahoo.com (Kimi)
Date: 23 Dec 2001 17:53:17 -0800

For the original Author, and anyone else who belived it:

First let me say a bit about myself to lend a bit of credibility to
what I have to say. I am a sixteen year old girl from New Jersey, and
I have dabbled in hacking. NOT, I repeat, NOT the kind of hacking you
normally think of when you hear the word, but productive hacking. For
instance, I supplied the Tech teacher with 28 security leaks in the
system for $5 an hour on weekends. I found the leak, showed it to him,
and suggested ways to fix it. This is hacking at its finest, and it
makes good money. I have been typing code since my dad brought home a
now Jurassic computer with a 2 color monitor and a typewriter style
printer. It ran DOS, an operating system that uses command prompt to
get things done. (no mouse or windows) Now I have a nearly up to date
computer with a triple boot (it can start up three ways: Windows 98,
Windows XP professional, and Linux), my Dad teaches Linux at a nearby
collage, and I am a successful webpage master. (fancy way of saying I
make them and win awards) Here is my reaction to all this:

ROTFL! What planet R U from? (for all you adults: I am Rolling On The
Floor Laughing! You don't know what you are talking about.) Seriously
now, here is the breakdown:

#1 Are you being paid to advertise for AOL? Let's look at some real
reasons you might change ISP's. AOL takes up bandwidth, this means
that anything you do online is slowed down because up to 75% of your
connection is being used by AOL to tell you if you have mail and all
the other things AOL does. This can seriously slow or stop a
connection, particularly if you like to play games over the net or
download anything. Even if you only go online to read mail you are
being shorthanded time as your mail is not downloaded to your hard
drive for reading, but left on their computer. If you are kicked off
you have to sign back on to read it. Every ISP has this bandwidth
usage, but in my opinion AOL is the worst. They use so much AOL often
has to disconnect you because someone else in your area signed on and
the phone lines can not carry that much information at once.
I use Juno, and they take up a comparatively tiny bandwidth to do all
the same things AOL does (except instant messenger). MSN and yahoo
have ISP (and messenger) services that take up less as well. Changing
ISP can also be economical (e-mail is free, $10 a month for net
without limits to hours), or maybe all their friends use MSN and have
MSN messenger, so AIM is of no value to them. The point: ask why the
change is wanted, and listen to the answer.
#2 "Comet Cursors" is a hacking program?!? It is used to change the
pointer to something more interesting, like a dragon head, fish, or
leaf. I have it on my webpage and I think it looks cool, and does
nothing more dangerous then take up a few KB of space. (most games
take up many MB; and 1MB = 1,000 KB) "Flash" is a type of animated
graphic that takes up a tiny amount of space. This is great for the
internet because it loads complex things quickly. Most media-related
websites use it heavily. harrypotter.com is an example; you CAN'T go
there without flash. It is perfectly harmless, and comes with most
up-to-date internet explorer versions these days (not the upgrades
though). If you don't have it you will be told when you try to access
a page that has it, and it is a good idea to say yes to the
auto-install (as long as you are at a page you trust, like Warner
brothers). Flash Editors allow you to create flash images, and are
made by many people. I don't know what "Bonzi Buddy" is.
#3 New hardware is 99% of the time a legitimate request. I have XP,
and just got the Windows XP Plus! update. I can only use half the
programs because I do not have a good enough video card (I need 16MB
of on-card space). What did I ask my Dad for Christmas this year? The
same thing he asked my Mom for: a new video card. Games, particularly
the new ones, need more up to date hardware to run. Most computer
hardware stores make more money after the holidays then before, and
for just this reason.
#4 Quote: "Any father who has had a seventeen year old daughter
attempt to sneak out on a date wearing make up and perfume is well
aware of the effect that improper influences can have on inexperienced
minds."
At seventeen any girl who's father does not allow her to wear make-up
is a sad sight to behold. What kind of an extremist conservative…?
That's another issue. Yes, hacking magazines exist, but most magazines
are about learning to do helpful technical things, like fixing a
malfunction on the computer instead of paying someone else $100 or
more to do it. It also can stop those same computer techs from
overcharging you. A little information can go a long way these days.
#5 The computer can be recreational without being used for hacking.
Many computer strategy games cam take months to go though, even at 8
hours a day. Yes, being online 24-7 is bad. People need sleep, food,
and exercise, not to mention human contact, but I see nothing wrong
with as much as 3 hours, though more than that is probably bad.
#6 Many other people like to play Quake too. It's a game, like Doom or
Hexen or Alice, that has nothing to do with reality. If a child can
not tell that that is imaginary and this is real, the parent seriously
screwed up way back when the child was watching Sesame Street and
singing along with Big Bird! If a child can't realize the difference
between a game and reality he or she needs serious counseling. There
is a difference between obsession and being a fan
#7 As for telling a parent to back off and stop smothering... see the
first part of #4 above. Most teenagers disagree with their parents,
it is healthy! They have to break ties with their old family to go out
in the world and get a family of their own. It's called growing up,
and it is a natural change.
#8 There is nothing wrong with Linux. It does no physical damage and
un-installation is the same as any other operating system. Let's think
a second. How can a program physically damage the surface of a disk?
Answer: it can't! physical damage is caused by physical things, like
dust, screwdrivers, hacksaws, sand, water, and anything else you can
hold in your hand. Software (programs) can be harmed if physical
damage occurs, user error (most common), and damage by other software.
(intentional like a virus or non-intentional like an updated system
file that can no longer be used by an older program) Linux does none
of these things! Linux and Unix are used because they are written in
the same code as the internet and can be installed on PC or Mac. Linux
is for single computers, Unix is for multiple computers working
together. Linux has both command prompt and gooey interface. (text
code typed and windows you click) It is wonderful for business because
it is FREE. Yes, you read me right. AT&T owns the copyrights but the
federal government said they could not sell it due to monopoly laws.
So they gave it to a couple of universities. Now it runs the internet,
and you are saying it's a horrible thing? It is no more damaging then
Windows, though harder to use, and comes with its own games like
Pingus. (a bit like Lemmings) That are also free and legal.
#9 I think you ought to ask yourself if odd clothing is enough to
charge a person with a crime. All teenagers dress different from their
parents; it is part of a natural rebellion. In case you're interested
in what some hackers wear: I and my friends wear kaki pants and solid
color T-shirts when it's warm. Sweaters or long sleeved shirts, solid
color, when it's cold. Sneakers, white or black. Hair combed or pulled
back. (Girls never have it down; guys never have it long, spiked, or
colored) No pocket protectors, no torn clothing, the occasional
bracelet and earrings for girls, no jewelry for guys. Now and then
when I'm going out I comb my hair down, and once a year I have it cut
too short to put up and let it grow (with trimmings to keep it neat)
until the next spring.
#10 is just plain false. Electromagnetic radiation in the tiny
quantity that is emitted from most monitors these days is completely
harmless. Staring at a screen all day can lead to eye strain, but not
usually. Advice: Get rid of any screen themes that contain colors that
bother the eyes. (personal preference here, I don't use that much
orange or mix bright green with bright red. Common sense: don't use
colors that bother you. If you like orange, then make it orange. Just
don't show it to me.) Any grade slipping is due to lack of studying
(spend more time reading the textbook instead of reading web pages),
not brain damage. If the child does have brain damage, consult a
physician. (In my area the description you gave for #9 seems like a
druggy. Look for marijuana testers in drug stores. I think they make
them for Cocaine too. Just put one in the wash with his clothes or rub
it on the keyboard, whatever it says on the box.)

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