Re: Running tasks on a PC. (OT)

"Shannon O'Donnell" <sodonnell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
helped spread the news by saying: 

> I find it really interesting that every time I make a post on this
> list to one of the free pieces of software on my site in response to
> someone's question, that I get tons of downloads of that tool/utility,
> and at least a quarter or more of those downloads contain obviously
> phony contact information.
> 
> You'd think that when someone offers something for free and someone
> else thought enough of it to download it and try it out that providing
> a little bit of contact information wouldn't be asking too much.
> 
> But perhaps I am being too naiive on this and people feel that if I'm
> dumb enough to offer something for free then they deserve to get it
> with no strings whatsoever attached.
> 
> I'm sure this says something about our society, but not sure what the
> lesson is here...

Shannon -

nothing against you or the other legitimate and responsible developers / 
vendors / distributors on the Internet, but you gotta understand - we have 
NO idea who's on the other end of the net connection.  I've never met you, 
but I feel I "know" you from the years (and years and years...) of your 
involvement with my favorite AS/400 magazine.  Many of the users here may 
NOT have the knowledge of who you are.

I think what it says about our society is that due to the number of 
unsolicited (i.e., SP*M) messages we receive, we're reluctant to give ANY 
identifying information.  The number stories of identity theft seem to be 
increasing daily.  Know my name?  you can easily find out my phone number, 
home address, and even more that I may not want divulged.  

We're growing up in a society where the slogan seems to be changing from 
"Be all that you can be" to "Be whoever you want to be".  Cynicism 
abounds.  It's becoming the nature of the (Internet) beast.

-- 
David Schopp
WISDM Team Leader
Computers Unlimited

(Join us in AOL chatroom "midrangedotcom")