General
USER: Horatio | POSTED 31-5-1990 11:54:20
SUBJECT: Status Update
Still trying to load the Discussion boards from backups.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 31-5-1990 20:55:11
SUBJECT: Unrecoverable Errors
Ok. It looks like left the backups in real state. I've got some ideas on reconstructing the old discussions, but don't hold your breath. Probably better to just assume they are gone and start any conversations over. Sorry guys.
USER: Raven | POSTED 31-5-1990 21:02:03
SUBJECT: RE: Unrecoverable Errors (Horatio)
Wow, that sucks - sorry to hear it. I saw that Lore was pretty much lost too. I'm sorry H; wish there was anything I could do.
USER: CanadaHam | POSTED 1-6-1990 4:37:01
SUBJECT: RE: Unrecoverable Errors (Horatio)
I think we are UNDER ATTACK - but did it come from ABOVE or BELOW?
THE OWLS ARE WATCHING
USER: Horatio | POSTED 1-6-1990 5:07:35
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Unrecoverable Errors (Horatio) (CanadaHam)
The owls didn't crash my server, CanadaHam. They're birds. It was a software bug.
USER: SAM | POSTED 1-6-1990 6:36:56
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Unrecoverable Errors (Horatio) (CanadaHam) (Horatio)
Can you share more information about this realm-bleed bug? While I doubt owls are attacking the server, that doesn’t mean there’s no active adversary at play. There are people out there trying to block investigators, and killing all our saved discussions from the last six months would suit their purposes. It might be random, but I have learned not to trust apparent coincidences.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 1-6-1990 7:14:13
SUBJECT: Realm-Bleed bug
It's a weird issue. Data from some other system is being delivered and processed by mine. You'll see weird incomprehensible gibberish down at the bottom of the bulletins; they look almost like more posts, but in an impossible spot and not legible. It's definitely coming in via the modem, and my software is just incorporating it. I've tried tracing it back, but it seems to come from nowhere, but it is definitely not from inside the server. It got included in the backups somehow and left them in tatters.
USER: Raven | POSTED 1-6-1990 14:41:09
SUBJECT: RE: Realm-Bleed bug (Horatio)
Hmm. It may be indecipherable, but not gibberish. I think I've seen those symbols in the library, although I don’t recall where at the moment. One of the elder books. What have you been using to program your system, H? :-)
USER: Horatio | POSTED 2-6-1990 4:21:14
SUBJECT: Magic Lore Bulletin
I posted the Magic Lore Bulletin late last night; I was able to reconstruct it from notes and what backup fragments I found. Check it out and let me know if I missed anything.
USER: Moloch | POSTED 2-6-1990 4:39:39
SUBJECT: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Horatio)
Are you going to post something with more useful advice on actually doing Magic? That's what I'm here for. All the books I have are new age fluffy crap and I need something that actually works.
USER: CanadaHam | POSTED 2-6-1990 7:52:20
SUBJECT: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Horatio)
I don't know WHY you insist on calling it Magic. It is NO SUCH THING!. It only seems like it because we don't UNDERSTAND it yet!
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 2-6-1990 9:31:52
SUBJECT: vampire lore bulletin (Horatio)
i found the printout of the vampire lore bulletin i gave my friend - she had it buried under all her gear and its a bit muddy now, but i'll type it up and get it to you as soon as i can. things have been totally crazy here the last few days but i think i will get it done tomorrow or the next day - sorry it is taking so long :-(
USER: Horatio | POSTED 2-6-1990 9:38:19
SUBJECT: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (wilmarose)
There's nothing to be sorry for, Wilma; you are doing me a favor and I appreciate it. I am sorry to hear things are crazy right now; do you want to talk about what is going on?
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 2-6-1990 10:31:19
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (wilmarose) (Horatio)
just some crazy graveyard shifts. i think things will calm down once the full moon is past. ill get some sleep and catch up on homework and stuff.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 2-6-1990 10:52:49
SUBJECT: System Updates
I made some system updates this morning; I adjusted the colors a bit, and also implemented a public SYSTEM MESSAGE LOG. That will update every night at midnight and list all the messages from the last day and how to find them; hopefully that will be a good way for people to catch up if they want to.
USER: NiteClerk | POSTED 2-6-1990 11:31:30
SUBJECT: Graveyard Shifts (wilmarose)
I do a lot of night work but do you mean shifts in an actual grave yard? cuz you talk a lot abot Vampires...
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 2-6-1990 12:10:38
SUBJECT: RE: Graveyard Shifts (wilmarose) (NiteClerk)
yeah...both night shifts and in a graveyard. it's more revenants than Vampires though. um - that's explained in the vampire lore bulletin so i'm going to go type that now. the mud makes it hard to read som parts..
USER: Moloch | POSTED 3-6-1990 8:48:50
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Graveyard Shifts (wilmarose) (NiteClerk) (wilmarose)
And what exactly has the graveyard hired you to do with these revenants, Wilma? Are you in command of a legion of zombies that dig the graves at your command? If so, I'd love to know more about how one might obtain such a job ;-)
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 3-6-1990 9:46:38
SUBJECT: RE: Graveyard Shifts (Moloch)
um, i don't work for the graveyard…i'm just keeping watch for revenants rising and reporting in over the walkie-talkie. my friend does the exciting parts.
USER: Moloch | POSTED 3-6-1990 9:50:40
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Graveyard Shifts (Moloch) (wilmarose)
What a pity your friend isn't here to tell us about the "exciting parts" he partakes of. What precisely do they entail, hmm?
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 3-6-1990 10:24:36
SUBJECT: jerk (Moloch)
you are mean, moloch. go away.
oh, and my friend is a girl, jerkwad. one who could kick your ass.
USER: Raven | POSTED 3-6-1990 15:15:42
SUBJECT: Random Musings
Hartley wrote "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."
I've come to realize that the past also speaks a different language, much as another country might, but more deceptively since it seems so similar to our own. In studying diaries from only seventy years ago, I must think as a translator, digging out the hidden messages of slang, jargon, and context that conceal leaning more thoroughly than a different language or a secret code.
Damn, that sounded pretentious. Time to put these old books down and go party instead…but to be honest I'm not in much of a party mood. Has anyone heard from Grimalkin yet?
USER: Horatio | POSTED 3-6-1990 22:03:50
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Graveyard Shifts (wilmarose) (NiteClerk) (wilmarose)
Got the Vampires Lore Bulletin back up - thanks wil for typing up the old one.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 3-6-1990 22:56:35
SUBJECT: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Moloch)
Grimalkin was working on a Practical Magic bulletin for the board; when she returns, we'll see where things stand.
USER: Raven | POSTED 3-6-1990 23:05:56
SUBJECT: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio)
The updated Bulletin looks good, H. Quick question - do we want to post a list of Vampire sightings? I don't think there are any near me, but I know wil is seeing them out west.
USER: Percival | POSTED 3-6-1990 23:08:11
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven)
Yes! Excellent! We shall find them and expose where they hide, so that they can be hunted and dispatched!
USER: Moloch | POSTED 4-6-1990 00:22:10
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven) (Percival)
This isn't D&D, dork.
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 4-6-1990 9:49:42
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven) (Percival)
ignore moloch, percival. he's a big jerk and loser.
fighting vampires isn't easy, and it can get you killed - i wouldn't go looking for them. i wish they'd all just go away.
i like your signature - is that a shield?
USER: Horatio | POSTED 4-6-1990 10:07:53
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven)
I like the idea of a board for reporting sightings; I think I'll expand it to more than just vampires - a general hazards and warnings. Cautions? I'll think of a good name and create one.
USER: Grimalkin | POSTED 4-6-1990 10:42:44
SUBJECT: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Moloch) (Horatio)
I have made completing this guide to the practical magic a goal for the next week - keep an eye out for it.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 4-6-1990 11:27:08
SUBJECT: Werewolves (Lore Bulletin) incoming
I was able to recover a chunk of the Werewolves Lore Bulletin this morning, and I'm planning to use that to get it back into a publishable state later today.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 4-6-1990 12:33:43
SUBJECT: RE: Werewolves (Lore Bulletin) incoming (Horatio)
And it is up: Werewolves
USER: SilverLeaf | POSTED 4-6-1990 13:26:39
SUBJECT: Catskill Mountain Dwarves
Hey, y'all. Does anyone else here know about the Catskill Mountain Dwarves? It's some real Brigadoon shit, and Imma guess from some of my research that they might show up soonish.
USER: MinieBoop | POSTED 4-6-1990 18:47:48
SUBJECT: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (SilverLeaf)
Ooh, from Rip van Winkle!? I love that story! Classic Americana! :-)
USER: SilverLeaf | POSTED 4-6-1990 19:46:48
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (SilverLeaf) (MinieBoop)
Minieboop, were there dwarves in Rip Van Winkle? It's been so long since I read it. These dwarves have nothing to do with sleeping 100 years, though...
USER: Raven | POSTED 4-6-1990 19:52:07
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (SilverLeaf) (MinieBoop) (SilverLeaf)
Washington Irving was inspired by tales of small men in the Catskills, but the stories are much older; they are known by several names among the Native Americans: Pagdadjinini, Wemategunis, Jogah, among others. Europeans named them dwarves or gnomes, but they aren't a very close match to either Nordic dwarves or Paracelsian gnomes. Closer to fairies or leprechauns, but that is still a poor approximation. They are their own thing.
Did you know that they were the inspiration for Lovecraft's Mi-Go?
USER: Percival | POSTED 4-6-1990 22:37:50
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: RE: Vampire Lore Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven) (Percival) (wilmarose)
My signature? I'm not sure I understand - I do bear my shield, of course. It would be wrong not to.
USER: SilverLeaf | POSTED 5-6-1990 00:24:24
SUBJECT: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (cont) (Raven)
These Native American "dwarves" show up from time to time in the Catskills, decades or more between appearances. Apparently, they make the best beer. If you come across them, they'll invite you to party with them. You'll have a great time, get absolutely hammered, and fall asleep. In the morning, you wake up alone, and there's no trace of the "dwarves" except the cold fire pit. Even the fire pit will become overgrown within days.
I just kind of like the idea that these guys just pop into the Catskills periodically to party. It's like Spring Break, I guess.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 5-6-1990 10:47:49
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (cont) (Raven) (SilverLeaf)
Hey SilverLeaf - would you be interested in creating a Lore Bulletin about the Catskill Mountain Dwarves and other denizens/phenomena of the Catskills? Let me know.
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 5-6-1990 12:45:27
SUBJECT: signature (Percival)
yeah - you have a signature with your shield on it, with pluses and your name under. I like it.
USER: SilverLeaf | POSTED 5-6-1990 12:48:02
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Catskill Mountain Dwarves (cont) (Raven) (SilverLeaf) (Horatio)
Horatio, I would be honored. Chat me and tell me how you want me to get it to you.
Thanks!! 'Leaf
USER: Moloch | POSTED 5-6-1990 12:57:30
SUBJECT: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Grimalkin)
Any updates on the practical magic bulletin?
USER: Raven | POSTED 5-6-1990 13:52:01
SUBJECT: Fairies Bulletin (Horatio)
I'm going to start putting together a replacement for the Fairies Lore Bulletin. Based on the incident in The Fairy Ring in EPCOT!, it sounds like it is overdue. H - send me whatever you can dredge out of the backups for what used to be there.
By the way, weren't you going to create a sightings board?
USER: Grimalkin | POSTED 5-6-1990 14:01:53
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Magic Lore Bulletin (Grimalkin) (Moloch)
I'm working on it. SilverLeaf is going to help me expand it beyond my personal experiences too.
USER: AngelBlsd | POSTED 5-6-1990 16:06:02
SUBJECT: RE: Fairies Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven)
Fairies are just the pretty faces demons wear to tempt the foolish; you can see the truth in how they fear the sound of church bell.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 5-6-1990 17:01:18
SUBJECT: RE: Fairies Bulletin (Horatio) (Raven)
I'll send you what I can extract from the backups. They look pretty weird - random characters are replaced with glyphs, and it can be pretty difficult to make anything out, but I'm sure you'll manage. And yeah - a sightings board, right. I'll make one now.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 5-6-1990 17:11:22
SUBJECT: Warnings/Cautions Board
A new board is up: Warnings/Cautions. It is where people can report any dangerous monster, event, practice - really, anything that should inspire caution. It is exempted from archiving, so it won't go away from the main menu after a few days of inactivity. If you see something, let people know.
USER: Raven | POSTED 5-6-1990 22:26:19
SUBJECT: RE: Warnings/Cautions Board
Thanks H!
USER: AngelBlsd | POSTED 6-6-1990 1:28:08
SUBJECT: Lore about demons
I want to post a lore bulletin about demons - I don't think most of you realize how dangerous and active they are. How do I do that?
USER: Horatio | POSTED 6-6-1990 2:15:40
SUBJECT: RE: Lore about demons (AngelBlsd)
Write it up and post it to the Lore section. Posts there don't show up automatically, but it will once I approve it.
USER: AngelBlsd | POSTED 6-6-1990 17:07:51
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Lore about demons (AngelBlsd) (Horatio)
I will do that, although it may take some time to be complete. In the meantime, I've begun a discussion about my church, The Covenant of the Living Flame - I fear for the souls upon this board, and cannot delay in sharing the path to salvation in this Time of Tribulation. I implore you all to open your hearts to Jesus and shed the deceptions Satan has cast. I am praying for you.
USER: Moloch | POSTED 7-6-1990 10:43:37
SUBJECT: I'M BACK
And I promise to be a good boy from now on, Horatio. I spent my ban-time reading "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" - fascinating book that I'm sure be appreciated by some here.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 7-6-1990 11:20:45
SUBJECT: RE: I'M BACK (Moloch)
Since you are back, why don't you go and re-read Welcome/Rules. Then think about whether you really want to be here before you post anything else. Because the next time I ban you, it will be permanent.
USER: SkyeTheVet | POSTED 7-6-1990 16:19:28
SUBJECT: I'm not OK
So - I've been reading everything in here, and yesterday I would have dismissed it all as bullshit before a cat with his head taped on entered my life. If you are confused by that - well, so am I, but you can read about the fuckery of it all on the A Duct Tape Collar?! board. But what I'm asking now - how are you all OK with this?! My world is falling apart. This isn't how the fucking world works. I'm half-drunk right now because being sober fucking hurts my head. I did most of a day at work, but I couldn't concentrate on anything. I'm lying to my tech about why my new cat has duct tape around his neck.
How are you able to deal with all of this shit?
USER: Horatio | 7-6-1990 17:20:21
SUBJECT: RE: I'm not OK (SkyeTheVet)
It's OK to not be OK when the entire world changes. I wasn't ok when it happened to me, either - and my introduction was a lot gentler than yours. I was a theater kid, and I was doing some late work putting together a set. Now, theaters have a lot of ghost stories, but I never expected to see a ghost - until I did, just wandering across the stage looking lost. A woman - I could see through her, and she seemed to step without ever quite reaching the ground. I thought it was a trick, until I got closer, trying to see how it was done, and I touched her.
People talk about cold spots where ghosts are - and they have no idea what they are talking about. When I touched her, it wasn't cold in a literal sense. It was...like reaching a hand into outer space, maybe. I doubt it would show on a thermometer, but I felt like I had reached into the void, and my arm went numb and turned white, like I had covered it in chalk dust. I only brushed her with my fingertips - that's all it took.
She vanished then, right in front of me. I haven't seen her, or any other ghost since. But I *knew* what had happened wasn't a trick. Maybe my friends could have rigged up a Pepper's Ghost illusion that worked like that. But that touch? No. That was impossible. Until it wasn't, and the whole world shifted under my feet.
I was a religion major at that point, but I couldn't study it any more. I dropped out, actually - I told people it was due to money issues, but it was really because of that touch. My arm is still pale, although you wouldn't notice it unless you compared it to the other one. Sometimes people think I have a weird kind of vitiligo that only affects one arm. Mostly, I let them believe that.
I drifted for a while after that. Started talking to people about ghosts and other things. Met FringeDr at work - and he told me he'd seen an arm like mine before. One that had been bleached by a ghostly touch. And then he took me into the lab, and showed me some other things he was working on.
Fast forward a year or so, and here we are. I started the BBS so that people might have someplace to go, to talk to, after something impossible happened. The impossible is happening more and more often these days.
I'm glad you're here, Skye. I know you aren't ok - and that's fine. You don't have to be ok here - that's why we're here.
USER: wilmarose | POSTED 8-6-1990 7:55:40
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: I'm not OK (SkyeTheVet) (Horatio)
wow - that's really intense, horatio.
skye - i've been watching dead people climb out of their graves for the last eight months so my kick-ass magic friend can go stab them through the heart with a stake. i'm not ok either. but having a gang of friends helps.you have to find your gang. here is a good place to start.
USER: SkyeTheVet | POSTED 8-6-1990 8:23:27
SUBJECT: Still Not OK (Horatio) (wilmarose)
Ghosts? Vampires? And apparantly fairies, aliens, werewolves, crazy cultists, and witches. None of this is fucking ok. It is just - I don't know. I want the world to be normal again.
USER: Raven | POSTED 8-6-1990 8:44:18
SUBJECT: RE: Still Not OK (Horatio) (wilmarose) (SkyeTheVet)
I get that. And it isn't going to happen. This is normal, now. And it is time to put on your big girl pants and deal with it. You get a bit of time to freak out - but then you have to start living in the world you find yourself in. And maybe find a therapist.
H - we need to start making a list of therapists who aren't going to commit someone who has seen something strange.
USER: SkyeTheVet | POSTED 8-6-1990 9:02:31
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Still Not OK (Horatio) (wilmarose) (SkyeTheVet) (Raven)
Easy for you to say - you're all into the spooky shit already. I was NORMAL before all this fell on me.
USER: Moloch | POSTED 8-6-1990 10:08:00
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Still Not OK (Horatio) (wilmarose) (SkyeTheVet) (Raven) (SkyeTheVet)
Normal is a myth, babe. Anyone who who says differently is selling something. Get over being freaked out and start thinking about the *possibilities* - maybe you could charge admission to see your cat. There's probably a freak show somewhere that would buy it from you, if you don't want to hit the road yourself.
USER: MinieBoop | POSTED 9-6-1990 16:44:00
SUBJECT: Weird...
Um - does anyone else see their name occasionally in the Realm-Bleed stuff at the bottom of the pages? It's weird, like there are people talking about me I can't see. It's not there when I try to find it, but if I'm a little high and let my eyes drift over it, I see my handle jump out. :-(
USER: Tetraktys | POSTED 9-6-1990 17:55:30
SUBJECT: RE: Weird... (MinieBoop)
The artithmantic derivation of the system exchange indicates that the so-called Realm-Bleed virus is the interaction of one or more external intelligences with the BBS, and they may have taken note of your antics and be commenting upon them - in your altered state you may become somewhat aware of that attention. It is not harmful.
USER: MinieBoop | POSTED 9-6-1990 19:07:50
SUBJECT: RE: RE: Weird... (MinieBoop) (Tetraktys)
So...like peeping toms? EW! I hate that, I had to move out two apartments because people wouldn't stop looking in my windows! I live on the fifth floor now but they are watching me from...wherever 'external intelligences' are? GO AWAY! I can be naked if I want to - it is NOT an invitation to stare at me!
USER: Moloch | POSTED 9-6-1990 20:31:41
SUBJECT: RE: RE: RE: Weird... (MinieBoop) (Tetraktys) (MinieBoop)
I'm pretty sure Triangle Man was only talking about your antics on the BBS, Florida Girl. Not peering in through your windows. Their loss, I'm sure.
USER: MinieBoop | POSTED 9-6-1990 20:34:47
SUBJECT: Damnit Moloch
Now I have that song stuck in my head...*Particle Man, Particle Man, Doing the things a particle can, What's he like, it's not important, Particle man*
I'm going to go put Flood on endless repeat now.
USER: SkyeTheVet | POSTED 10-6-1990 10:49:12
SUBJECT: Sorry
I feel like I was bitch the other day - sorry. I'm handling things better today. Still freaked out by all of this, but...shit, you can used to anything, I guess. And Icky is a pretty cute kitten, for a headless monstrosity, and he keeps trying to cheer me up. He's - well, he's pretty fucking smart for a cat, and it's like he's trying to be extra cute and silly just to make me smile. Weird...but it is working.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 10-6-1990 11:19:55
SUBJECT: RE: Sorry (SkyeTheVet)
Don't worry about it. You were freaked out, and honestly, I would be too. This stuff is a lot to take in, and not everyone here was as understanding as they could have been. You're doing fine.
USER: Vito | POSTED 10-6-1990 11:50:55
SUBJECT: Is all this for real?
I've been looking at what you all have been talking about up here, and it's some pretty wild shit. I know I got a ghost issue, but that's nothing on vampires and fairies and shit. Is this all for real?
USER: Horatio | POSTED 10-6-1990 12:02:10
SUBJECT: RE: Is all this for real? (Vito)
Million dollar question.
So, I can tell you that I believe most of what people post here is authentically what they believe. And I can tell you that I've seen actual ghosts, and some magic, and things in FringeDr's lab that sure seem like psychic phenomenon. I've also seen haunted houses that have nothing in them, magic that was proven false, and those same experiments fail. And there are things I've never personally seen: vampires, werewolves, fairies, angels, demons. I believe they are out there - and that we don't really understand any of them. But that's a choice on my part, to believe. You'll have to decide what you believe for yourself.
USER: FringeDr | POSTED 10-6-1990 13:34:05
SUBJECT: RE: Is all this for real? (Vito)
There's not a simple yes/no answer to that.
Here's what I can say. We have a lot of data points. I even have a hypothesis about what connects them. But it doesn't answer all the questions, and I *know* it is incomplete. Imagine that you are out on a sheet of ice, a glacier maybe. At certain points you can see rock poking up through the ice. You are pretty sure that there's rock under the ice too...but you don't know anything about the topography. You can make guesses based on what you see above the ice, but they are just that - educated guesses. There might be water down there, or rock, or maybe something else. We don't know yet - but the ice is slowly melting, and more is being revealed all the time.
Don't peer into the glacier metaphor too much - I'm not a geologist.
USER: Raven | POSTED 11-6-1990 6:36:01
SUBJECT: Hitting the Road
After a most lovely stay with G and getting disentangled from an ancient Sumerian goddess, I'm hitting the road to drive back home - or more accurately, straight to the museum to tuck this book back into the safe and let the Curator know I've put it back before he gets impatient and fires me. I'll check back in late tonight, or maybe tomorrow.
USER: Horatio | POSTED 11-6-1990 7:30:03
SUBJECT: RE: Hitting the Road (Raven)
Drive safe!
THIS IS SO SICK WHAT THE HELL IM OBSESSED
:) I’m glad you like it! There’s a lot more to come this Summer Camp.