The Faceless Computer By: Tony Curro We are in the electronic age. Everything, from automatic teller machines, to voice mail, to information about your credit card state- ment, have gone computer. Using a touch-tone phone you can talk to electronic people all day long. I have. At times they were more pleasant than their human counterparts. Calling a Bulletin Board, we have both of the above combined. We talk to people electronically, but they are also human. Leaving a message to ALL, can get comments from a varied group of people; from a doctor, lawyer, baker, candlestick maker, and maybe even an Indian chief. These people, in most cases, are just names to us. Some we can distingush by name as being male or female. Others, like say Pat, we cannot. This is what makes BBSs'ing fun for me. I never know who will answer a message I leave. I also do not know from what walk of life this individual comes from. This is fine with me. I do not wish to delve into a person's private life. Whatever religon they are, their sexual preferences, their color, their nationality, doesn't mean anything to me. I talk to people on the boards, as I do in life, as human beings. Not as people who are Black, or Yellow, or Red, or Gay or Jewish, etc. etc. I have no room for this. I have come across very few people that I would not want to talk to. I wish I could meet everyone I have ever talked to. That is very interesting. I once did get such a chance. I was talking to an individual on a BBS for a while. Left messages back and forth. One day I had the opportunity to meet him. I was bowled over. He was this little person of about 12-years-old. He wrote, and even in person spoke like a mature young man. He is now attending Columbia University. There are many users who go into the 'special' conferences on BBSs, and do have problems. One of the hottest conferences I think would be a Religion conference. I will NOT discuss my religious or political beliefs with anyone. This can be a hot-bed, of which there usually is no winner. Two or more people argue about their religion or their candidate as the only TRUE one. It also leads to arguments, and name calling. I don't want to argue or call names, I can just walk down the street, and curse the first person I see. I don't do it on the streets, and I don't do it on a BBS. I call a BBS to relax and enjoy myself. Not to get heartburn. If more people called BBSs and talked instead of argued, the world would be a better place. Might even end WAR. Then again even that, is computer- controlled. Just like everything else. I wonder what this little chip is implanted behind my right ear.........#@#$*@^# "THE UNIT AT THE KEYBOARD HAD A MALFUNCTION!!" Copyright (c) 1992 by Tony Curro. All rights reserved NOTE: Tony Curro is the creator of ComputerTalk Magazine. "ComputerTalk Magazine is an online magazine dedicated to computer users. Started in July 1992 (1st issue). It was felt that quite a few people did not buy magazines at newstands. And some of the ones who did found them too technicaly. So an online one that would review, in fairly simple terms, software/hardware they used should fit in nicely." ComputerTalk Magazine is ReadRoom compatible and available for viewing on MoonDog and InfoMat BBSs.