Fabulous Furlough Retires by The Humble Guys (THG)
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the humble guys
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- Text / Announcement
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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.