Section: 2 of 6 Released: Dec 11,'85 Part 2: The Traits of a Loser. We will take the groupings one by one, and discuss the signals prevalent within each category. There are many things that will give a loser away, and its virtually impossible to cover them all, however I will try... Type A: The BBS Loser The most important part of the general BBS loser is that he (she?!) has absolutely no brain whatsoever. This lack of grey matter expresses itself in many ways, and thus there are perhaps more examples of something that indicates a LoserUser in this category than any other. Unfortunately, the lack of a brain precludes these social outcasts from being able to understand (much less perform) many of the basics of BBSing. Firstly, these people cannot understand instructions. Now, perhaps you cannot quite grasp the severity of what this means! Think of all the places in a BBS where people are asked to follow rules, both explicitly and implicitly. a) Logging on for the first time, it is the norm for users to be subjected to some sort of a message which they cannot interrupt, outlining the "rules" of the BBS. Apparently, LoserUsers never read this message, and use their ignorance as a crutch when a sysop gets pissed off at their failure to comply with the regulations of the system. Sysop: What the hell is wrong with you, you moron? Didn't you read the RULES?! It says "No Aliases". Can you understand that, or are you saying that your name is REALLY "Psycho Clam"? Loser: Hello? Sysop: YES!! Can you read? Loser: Ya Sysop: What did the rules say about aliases? Loser: I dunno Sysop: Why not? Loser: I didnt see nothin on aliases Sysop: It says "NO ALIASES". Wouldn't you say that that means that you can't read? Loser: Well I didnt see it ok Sysop: Obviously. If you must, call back and log on again. This time try to read the rules. * Connection terminated * b) Losers seem to have EXTREME difficulty entering their phone numbers. How this is so difficult has always and continues to baffle me. Remember, don't let it bother you. Its all a part of the LoserUser scheme to drive us into the asylum THEY used to be in. Here's a classic example: BBS: Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### Loser: (hits return) BBS: Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### Loser: (hits return) BBS: Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### Loser: 000-0000 BBS: Incorrect format Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### =--> Sysop interrupts... Sysop: Whats your problem? Do you know what a phone number is? Loser: Ya Sysop: Do you know what your phone number is? Loser: 545-6754 Sysop: Ok, so enter it. And remember to enter your area code. BBS: =--> Chat ended Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### Loser: 545-6754 BBS: Incorrect format Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### =--> Sysop interrupts... Sysop: Holy shit! Do you know what an "area code" is? Loser: Ya Sysop: So put in your area code! Now whats your phone number? Loser: 545-6754 Sysop: With your AREA CODE! Loser: 416-545-6754 BBS: =--> Chat ended Enter your phone number: A/C-###-#### Loser: 545-6754 * Connection terminated * c) Perhaps one of the most common displays of the inability to read comes in the posting of messages. How many times have you seen people try to end a message with "done", "/e", "/ex", "/es", ".s" when it clearly says that you should use "/s" to "send" the message? Even worse is the guy who after trying 2 or 3 of the above, just starts hitting until the message is full. These messages are hard to read as the text scrolls off the screen before you have a chance to read it all. But then again, being written by a loser, it's probably to your benefit that you couldn't read it. Then, of course, so often messages posted in a conference deal with some topic which plainly should be posted in some other conference. Again, these losers just don't seem to understand that the title of the conferences should somehow give them an idea of where to post something. Then, there's the loser who posts the same message on 3 different conferences, just to make sure all the losers read it (losers often aren't even aware that the other conferences exist, let alone what they're for). d) Now, invariably, sysops find themselves chatting with losers. This is perhaps the single most difficult and taxing chore of running a BBS. A solid loser can drive you to drink at the best of times, and force you into a state of temporary insanity at worst (to date, thank God, we still don't know of any sysops who committed suicide following a chat with a loser). Firstly, losers must be taught that it is "chat" protocol to leave a blank line between what they say, to indicate that they are finished saying whatever and are now waiting for a reply. Chatting with a loser is so boring and frustrating because of the speed he's typing at, without making the sysop decide whether or not the gumby has finished typing. Next, understanding a loser is sometimes a difficult chore. The loser seems to have his own vocabulary. Essentially, they use many words which are obvious misspellings of regularly used words. The only theory I've been able to come up with that accounts for this bizarre behaviour is that they do this to cover up the fact that they make spelling mistakes every 5 or 6 words, so this way you're never sure if he misspelled it, or whether its just another part of his regular "vocabulary". Remember that losers (based on the number of times they select the main menu as their command) have a hard time remembering the 20 or so options available to them on the BBS, let alone the English language. Chatting with one of these people is similar to talking with a caveman (or Arnold Schwartzenegger; only difference is that Arnie's smart... He carries a gun with him so no-one bothers him, and he never logs onto a BBS). What is really disturbing are situations where you heap sarcasm and criticism on a loser, and he doesn't even realize it! An example: Sysop: Good day. What did you want to ask me? Loser: Wow, are u the sysop? Sysop: No, I'm the zit on your face. Loser: Iv never talk to sysop be4. This is awesum! Sysop: Whatever. What do you want? Loser: How do i get more acces to the BBS? Sysop: If you contribute, call regularily, and prove yourself worthy of a higher access level, you'll get it. Loser: So what button do i push? Sysop: What?! Loser: How do i get acces? Sysop: You don't. Loser: Howcum? Sysop: Cause I said so. Loser: Ok. But like can i get more time on the BBS? Sysop: No. Loser: Oh. U r a k00l d00d thow cant i get to do more stuff? Sysop: No. Listen I have to split. Talk to you later.