>so why can't I get a standard 56k modem and then get all the data from some reliable server
You honestly have no idea how news works, do you? There are tens of thousands of USENET groups. There are hundreds of gigabytes transferred DAILY. You'd fill your T1 line to the brim 18 hours/day if you pulled down all of USENET. a 56k modem would NEVER catch up - you'd be out of business in a half-hour.
News is not a free service. ISP's offer it to their customers - but ISP's pay for it. They pay in often massive equipment, time, bandwidth, and plain-old fees.
You want all of usenet? - pay a news-site for it. But don't expect it for free, and don't dream of hosting it yourself
Some of them EAT their nuts, afterwards. If you want to see how fucked up society is - look at yourself. Live and let live. Their life is their life. They have their own reasons, and whether you agree or not, you are a fool if you think you can judge them. You have no idea.
I knew that slashdot wasn't devoid of R.A.B folks.
I am surprised how idiotic so many of these/.ers seem to be though. grow up - life your life, let others live theirs, and don't judge anyone until you know them.
I've met Erik IRL, and despite the fact that he looks "freakish", he is a super nice guy. Incredibly smart, very kind, soft-spoken. A PhD candidate, too.
He let me feel his teeth, and while it was wierd, there is NO doubt in my mind that he knows what he is doing. It's not just an act, it is what he perceives himself to be, and I say more power to him.
Some people are horribly afraid of peopel like Erik. They represent a paradox - "how can a person be so 'stupid' (as to do this to themselves), yet be far more intelligent than me?"
Wake up people. Looks aren't everything - in fact, they aren't anything.
Erik is also a regular contributor to rec.arts.bodyart (news://rec.arts.bodyart for browser babies) and BME (http://www.bme.freeq.com).
Slashdot Mirror
>so why can't I get a standard 56k modem and then get all the data from some reliable server
You honestly have no idea how news works, do you? There are tens of thousands of USENET groups. There are hundreds of gigabytes transferred DAILY. You'd fill your T1 line to the brim 18 hours/day if you pulled down all of USENET. a 56k modem would NEVER catch up - you'd be out of business in a half-hour.
News is not a free service. ISP's offer it to their customers - but ISP's pay for it. They pay in often massive equipment, time, bandwidth, and plain-old fees.
You want all of usenet? - pay a news-site for it. But don't expect it for free, and don't dream of hosting it yourself
Some of them EAT their nuts, afterwards. If you want to see how fucked up society is - look at yourself. Live and let live. Their life is their life. They have their own reasons, and whether you agree or not, you are a fool if you think you can judge them. You have no idea.
I knew that slashdot wasn't devoid of R.A.B folks.
/.ers seem to be though. grow up - life your life, let others live theirs, and don't judge anyone until you know them.
I am surprised how idiotic so many of these
I've met Erik IRL, and despite the fact that he looks "freakish", he is a super nice guy. Incredibly smart, very kind, soft-spoken. A PhD candidate, too.
He let me feel his teeth, and while it was wierd, there is NO doubt in my mind that he knows what he is doing. It's not just an act, it is what he perceives himself to be, and I say more power to him.
Some people are horribly afraid of peopel like Erik. They represent a paradox - "how can a person be so 'stupid' (as to do this to themselves), yet be far more intelligent than me?"
Wake up people. Looks aren't everything - in fact, they aren't anything.
Erik is also a regular contributor to rec.arts.bodyart (news://rec.arts.bodyart for browser babies) and BME (http://www.bme.freeq.com).
Erik - if you read this - rock on.
Tim