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=   F.U.C.K. - Fucked Up College Kids - Born Jan. 24th, 1993 - F.U.C.K.   =
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                             Half an Ass
                             -----------

        It seems that everyone does things in a half assed way these
days. This growing trend is not limited to what I see on the
bulletin boards in 303, but they do provide a glaring example of
the trend that seems to be emerging.

        I will cover three areas I notice this in particular, all
come from various BBSs and the postings by the members.

        Hacking. With the growing number of computer based movies
or scenes with 'hacking' in them, more and more people want to
learn how to do it. They have heard that it can be done, and that
you can get access to all kinds of secret government info blah blah
blah. So people flock the boards looking for hackers to teach them
how to do all this neat stuff.
        The first thing they want to do is learn how to hack government
machines, or make free phone calls. This is the biggest turnoff for
an experienced hacker. Instead of wanting to learn how the system
works, how to manipulate it, and how to go unnoticed, they just
want the end product (info) or side effect (free calls). As soon as you
tell them to read a few text files and then ask questions, they
are instantly turned off.
        "No one said anything about learning!" is a common response
to this. If you want to learn to do anything, you have to read and learn
all areas, even the boring ones. Knowing everything about a particular
system is not always a fun thing to learn or research, but it is very
helpful in analyzing and defining the whole concept. Nothing is free
anymore.

        A common thread or topic of discussion you find is based on
bands, songs, and styles of music. A few years back I could read a post
about a new band and make a quick determination if I wanted to purchase
the CD or at least borrow it to listen to it. The people were well
informed on various styles of music, well versed on a wide variety
of music, and had sense not to recommend bizarre music.
        These days you find mostly 14-17 year-olds talking about
their favorite music.. which happens to be one style. You will usually
find they like just rock, or just punk, or just metal. No diversity
in their lives as far as music goes. Since there is no real difference
in what they listen to, they are ill-prepared to make a decision
on which band is good and which isn't. I know that it is ultimately
their own opinion, but there is a line at which you can say "that band
has no talent".
        Bands with no talent are cashing in on a single hit that sounds
like a current style or follows a current trend. Seeing these kids
argue over bands that are under a year old makes me cringe.

        Debates are a common thing found on boards. Many times day to
day conversation will wind up in a debate about one thing or another
on top of message bases devoted to debates already. Topics often
touch on philosophy, religion, sports, music, tv shows, etc.
The average debate will contain quality replies for usually no more
than one day. After that you have two kinds of people:
        The flamer. Someone doesn't like your opinion and will make
sure that you and everyone else knows it. Instead of debating with
you about it, they will insult you, your parents, your girlfriend,
or anything else they can think of. Instead of taking it to mail, they
will make sure everyone reads it.
        The uninformed. The other half of the time you will get someone
that knows very little about the topic try to jump in and tell you
what is right and wrong. They base their opinion off no formal education
on the subject, no reading about the material, and no previous debates.
Its hard to debate back with people like this because they just don't
have the ability to grasp that they are being outmatched in intellect.

        As I said before, this carries over to life off the bulletin
boards. One of the funnier ones are the people who halfway dress
up, or the little gangbangers that put the lowrider tires on their
57 dollar car that has more rust than paint. It is usually pretty
obvious when someone fits into this category as they don't appear to
notice people staring.

        Just look at the big picture.

                                                DisordeR

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