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169 of 219 files the humble guys

1992 February 5

A discussion on Fabulous Furlough's retirement.
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Subject: Fabulous Furlough Retires To: All From: Fabulous Furlough [Level 0] I would like to start off by stating some things.. #1. This is NOT the end of THG. I didn't do this 2 years for nothing. #2. This does not mean that USA won. They still have a TON of releasing to do to even get close to us. For those of you who don't know, this is the 2 year We began on January 22, 1990. Our first game came into the Candymansion, I called up, shelled to dos, zipped it up, downloaded it, cracked it, wrote the text mode intro, wrote the .nfo file (which I started), and couriered it around the few boards that I was on. A legend was born. Here it is 2 years and a million games later, and I never thought that it would happen, but it did. This is my official statement of retirement from the organized IBM pirating community. This has come after 6 or more months of thought. For those of you who are 16, and out lookin for the Most Bitchin' KRAD Warez, you won't understand this, but for those of you that are over 25, you'll understand. I'm sure that some of you guys are saying "Why would he quit, he had it all?". Well, you are right, I do have it all..A wife 2 kids, and a real life waiting for me to unpause it from 2 years ago when everything in my life got put on hold so that I could be popular with 15 year olds using daddy's computer to call out. Now is the time for me to go back to being father and husband. Now is the time for me to get back to my job that got neglected for weeks at a time so that I could crack copylock. (For which I got nothing). Now is the time for me to grow up, and begin living life outside the house instead of inside calling all over god's green earth looking for Ultima 7. There are, of course, those out there who will believe that I either: A) Got Busted, or B) Got a conscience for all the profits that I was stealing from the starving programmers. I assure you that neither of these is true. I have just had enough. I realize that after two years I was considered a war torn veteran of the "Warez-Wars". I am by no means fading away, for those of you who have sent me things to crack, I AM gonna do those for you. For those of you who have been talking to me about cracking or anything else, I will continue to talk to you. I would like to think of myself as the "Shell Answer Man" of cracking. I intend to hang-out on the OOFNet Cracking Sub to answer questions, and provide example where applicable. It's time for the statement of what is and what ain't. I AM dropping out of Organized piracy. I AM NOT gonna stop calling BBS's. I AM NOT going to go join another group. That would be stupid to drop the group that I hand fed from the start to take orders from someone else, so don't even ask. I AM going to try to start making trainers for Super Nintendo games in my spare time. For those of you who have Super Nintendos, and a Game Dr. of some sort. Keep your eyes open. Being as I have your attention, I should do some greets in here, just to let folks know how I feel on this, the day of my retirement. Line Noise (Neil) - Congrats for hanging in there kid...Give 'em Hell! (Neil) - Congrats for hanging in there kid...Give 'em The Not Sot Humble Babe (Amy) - Wait 'till reality hits..It ain't worth it. R. Bubba (Dagan) - You still get lots of respect man. Just stay away from USA. Lord Blix (Roger) - He's a New York Mammie (ooooo oooo oooo) Good luck.. Harry Lime (Gerald) - Your gonna be great someday.. Get yourself a REAL group or get a supplier & start your own. Ok Enough of that. "Now for the inside story, let's go to Paul in LA. Take it away Paul." "I'm standing here beside the statue erected for The Humble Guys in front of Grumman's Chinese Theatre". Why did I do it? I did it for my company who is investing in a new Machine for me. 64 bit 32 Mhz with 512k Cache. I am doing it for my family. I am doing it for my health. I always thought that there would be more that I would want to say when this happened. I just can't remember any of it right now. In closing, I would like to say that I've had a blast with you guys for the last 2 years. I appreciate all the good things that people have said. I am not "really" releasing the reins of THG as there hasn't been a suitable replacement found yet. I would like to throw some famous lines from various things to explain the way I feel.. "So long and thanks for all the Warez" "I've taken my bows, and my curtain calls. You've brought me fame and fortune (NOT!) and everything that goes, I thank you "You boys owe me a lot of money for beer...God Damn it!" "Elvis has left the building" So with that, I am retired. I am a former member, a retired cracker. A new man. Fabulous Furlough Apologies to FF for any editing errors. (Text capturing and copying still isn't perfect.) The first reaction upon reading FF's resignation is probably dismay, mixed with respect, and perhaps some awe. The next few thoughts are likely to be a re-evaluation of one's personal goals. "Oh my gawd, I haven't saved any whales!" or, "Is 12 hours a day too much computer use?" may slip out of your lips. (Personally, it was "I wonder if I left the iron on?") When I read this, I kinda freaked out. I'm a business student, and have always felt that I've gained a lot from BBSes. And, although I haven't frequently made use of the common acclaim given to BBSes ("Whenever I have a problem, I just ask the nice, wonderful people on the BBS." - guess I'm just not special), I do have much to thank from my involvement in BBSes. However, I began to wonder if I've gotten as much out of BBSing as one person can humanly (or artificially) be expected to get... Is there anything else behind this damn computer screen that's going to help me in my personal endeavors (i.e. get a job, make me independently wealthy, get me babes, etc.)? Fortunately, I realized (rather quickly, because that's just the kind of guy I am) that I'm not into BBSing as a means to another goal. I don't spend $150+ a month calling BBSes in hopes of recuperating that profit somewhere down the line. I call BBSes because I enjoy computers, I enjoy technology, and because the phone rates are deceptively in cents a minute so that I don't realize how much I'm throwing down the drain until the end of the month. But, alas, I regress. My point is this: actually, I hate points. So I don't want to make one. But I will say that BBSing is great, but it's important not to get carried away with it... for too long at least. Congratulations to Fabulous Furlough. Thanks for all the great warez, and hopefully my children's children (as if I were going to have any) will read about you on a sub about computer pirates' greatest. Wednesday, January 29, 1992. The events on this day seem innocuous enough. I attended classes, logged on a few BBS's, did my own thing. But, in a small town in Michigan, a chain of events began which would forever, change the pirate community. On January 29, The NotSoHumble Babe (TNSHB) and The Grim Reaper (TGR) were busted for credit card fraud. Apparently, it all began when TGR got access to some CBI accounts. He ordered some hardware from Paradise Computers and it came without a problem. TGR and TNSHB then decided to order some more hardware (totaling $10,000) from Paradise since it seemed so easy the first time. Paradise had become suspicious, however, and called the Secret Service (SS). The local and state police also got involved. Eventually, TNSHB and TGR were threatened with several counts of credit card fraud. TNSHB was also threatened with a count of piracy, but since neither have been arraigned, it is unknown how much evidence the SS has to As far as the pirate community is concerned, rumors have been flying around beyond control. Although some of the veteran pirates have attempted to keep the rest of the community from panicking, the occasional user brings up visions of apocalypse and the end of the world. Contrary to a few minority view points, the pirate world is not coming to an end, USA has not met its demise, and the SS is not going to crack down on every single pirate in the USA. The SS does have TNSHB's black book, but it is unlikely that they will get much use of it. Despite all the tax dollars poured into the SS, they remain unsophisticated and uninformed. The few times that the SS has popped into the pirate community has been because sysops have been lazy. It is highly unlikely that the SS is on every major pirate board and is capturing every word spoken about phreaking/hacking/ carding. Most importantly, there's no money in pirating. The SS will continue to crack down on phreaking and carding, but pirating will be left alone. Software laws are ambiguous and mounting enough evidence to force a prosecution is too difficult and costly. Banks and phone companies will continue to fund anti-phreaking and carding activities, but in the software arena, the competition is too great for companies to spend money (that they don't have) on anti-piracy... especially for games. Nobody gives a shit about games. At $40 a pop for a game, compared to $400 for an application, where do you think law enforcement is going to concentrate their efforts? A few items also need clearing up. Just about everyone I've talked to, including TNSHB and TGR, have agreed that Sought After is not only clueless, but an ignoramus. He appeared to have put out a "TRUTH.ZIP" file and his "public" farewell. Both in the style of BaD, it's all bullshit. Caution is necessary (as always), but panic is not. People do not think rationally when they panic. So if you start to freak out, just calm down. If the SS calls you up, it's probably another pirater playing jokes on you. (I know this from experience!) As far as Optical Illusion and his "hot" laptop - it's bullshit. The Canadian authorities do not back up his story (he was not busted by any plainclothes officer). In fact, he was selling TNSHB's own laptop for her. When OI heard about the bust, he created the story, and pocketed all the money himself, stiffing TNSHB out of much needed cash for a defense fund. Also, nobody is narcing on anybody. TNSHB and TGR are cooperating with the authorities, but neither are providing a library of knowledge for the SS (as if the SS would care anyway). Imagine yourself in their situation: you freak out, say a few things you probably would have preferred not to, but overall, you keep your mouth shut. TNSHB and TGR have done the same thing. Lastly, for those of you calling TGR and TNSHB, both greatly appreciate your calls. Neither have received any negative calls. However, if you have any questions/suggestions/support/whatever, please contact me on CelerityNet (or any other SCD member) and I will forward your questions and answer them in the next issue of SCD. TNSHB especially request this of you since she has been inundated with calls from people she doesn't know. TNSHB is setting up a defense fund, and if you would like to contribute, please send cash to: Enterprise PIRACY Defense Fund 35526 Grand River, Suite 104 Farmington Hills, MI 48335 Do not send any cash to the USA box, as the SS now has control of it.
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