Baud Behavior Features Page

Mail Bag! Part Two:

Baud Behavior Readers Speak Out on Tech Support, Free Speech and What it Really Means to be Baud.

10/27/97

The Power of the People?

Welcome to Part Two of our Baud Behavior Reader Mail Bag section! If you've been keeping up us with us, you know that we've already covered your feelings on computer jargon, bandwidth envy, and oh yes...Microsoft. Now we are ready to move on to Support Desk people, free speech on the Net, and learning what a bps is. But first, here's a little something to file under, "Coincidence? Maybe.":

Earlier this week, I got quite a bit of mail from readers who wanted to continue arguing points made in last week's Mail Bag column. It seems that none of us can resist trying to answer the musical question, "Does Microsoft suck?. Judging by my mail, at least, most of you are critical of MS business tactics, and think "something should be done".

Then, mere days after our Mail Bag installment, the U.S. Department of Justice slaps Microsoft with a fee of one million dollars PER DAY for a year. The charge? By shipping Internet Explorer for free with Windows Operating System software, Janet Reno and company claim Microsoft was violating anti-trust laws. Basically, the DOJ argues that MS was padding the computer market and planning to monopolize the Web browser industry. Okay, maybe our collective Baud Behavior outrage had nothing to do with the fines levied against Microsoft. But then again...

Even more remarkable (in my opinion) is the fact that a $365 million fine doesn't even begin to make a *dent* in Bill Gates's $40 BILLION net worth. If you'd like, you can keep up with Microsoft shenanigans by checking CNET's coverage. On the other hand, if you'd prefer to practice home catheter use than read one more word about Microsoft, read on. I promise an entirely Gates-free Mail Bag, today.

To Support, or Not to Support?

When I began our Support Desk Roundtable Series, I had a very specific goal in mind: I wanted tech people to dish the dirt on what it's like to work in computer support. The truth is, I'd already read plenty of great articles on tech support from the consumer point of view (Jeff Needleman's excellent "Tech Support: Why It Doesn't Work" comes to mind), I hadn't come across anything from the tech people themselves. As your Average Computer Idiot, I wanted to know the answers to questions like, "How does the ideal tech support call proceed?" and "What *shouldn't* I do when on the phone with a support person?"

Apparently, you wanted to know as well. After Part One of our series went live, I received lots of "hey, thanks!" and "right on!" type mail from Baud Behavior readers. I even got email from support people themselves, like this note from Marvel:

Dear Baud Girl

Nice piece. I'm going to print it out and take it to every help desk job I work--and I work lots of them. Good going.

Marvel

I should have known better than to get cocky, though. By the time Part Two of the series came out, I was getting angry email from readers. Who did support people think they *were*, you wanted to know, thinking that their lives and jobs were so much harder than everyone else's? One woman--who asked to be quoted anonymously--wrote me that:

Tech people have got to wake up to the 1990's. We live in a service economy, now. I'm paying their salaries, and not the other way around! For God's sake, I get more respect from the sales people at the Home Depot than I do at my ISP, and I know far less about hardware than I do about computers! This has got to stop.

I find it very interesting that not one person who wrote to me complaining about support desk people was willing to be quoted by name, here (and as you know, I *never* publish your thoughts without asking your permission. Never be afraid to write me!) When I asked the woman whom I quoted above if she would use her name, she responded, "Do you *really* think I want tech people, some of whom I have to rely on, to know my email address?"

To me, that's a little paranoid. I mean, last week I published a letter from a reader who wants to blow up the telephone company; thus far, he's still safe and sound. Nevertheless, if you are facing bad tech support and you don't want to make a public stink about it, check out Larry Magid's column on what you can do to fight back.

Free Speech Online for All.

If you are a regular Baud Behavior reader, you've probably sussed out that my personal politics are generally to the left of Cuba. Especially when it comes to the Internet, I'm more often agreeing with groups like the ACLU than I am with the Christian Coalition. And that's: okay.

Imagine my surprise, then, at receiving a letter from Roe D. Dyer, a self-admitted "Conservative Christian male", supporting a column of mine on PICS. Short for "Platform for Internet Content Selection", PICS is the newest attempt to build censorware for the Internet. Many Net experts view it as an even greater threat to our First Amendment rights than the odious Communications Decency Act, which was defeated in Supreme Court earlier this year.

Ah, the hubris of a liberal. When I first scanned Roe's letter, I thought, "Oh great. Another person who wants to accuse me of promoting this nations Holy Troika of Anxiety: kiddie porn, drugs and terrorism." (Have you ever noticed these are the first three things people us as justifications for controlling the Net?) But you know what? I was wrong:

Baud Girl:
PICS goes way beyond free speech. We should not fool ourselves. PICS is about control from a central source, not from our personal moralities. Let me explain.
As as republic(and not a democracy, which is a form of socialism), we in the United States of America are guaranteed certain constitutional rights. But if PICS is instituted, this system will give Internet service providers (ISPs) the capacity to limit your constitutional rights.
Here's an example of what I mean: Let's think of Freedom to Bear Arms. If an ISP is pro gun control--or is influenced to be so from an advocacy group--that ISP might choose to limit a person's right to find a firearm from a dealer on the Net. This is not to say that an ISP should sell us firearms; that is not their business. Of course, an ISP is a communications provider.
But can you imagine how you would feel if you picked up a phone and tried to call a business, and couldn't reach them, because the local phone company decided that there were "inappropriate" businesses to call? You would be outraged! Can you imagine how you'd feel if the phone company decided to censor what you said while talking on the phone? This is no different than what is being proposed for the Net.
Let's also think of the consequences of being at the mercy of a self-appointed international advocacy group. We live in a country where freedom is valued. This is not the case around the world. By and large we are considered renegades and are disliked for our love to be free. Why should we let values from abroad control what we do in the United States. We wouldn't let a foreign citizen be a senator, would we? Of course not. We want to be represented by ourselves. This should also apply to the Net.
In closing, I would like to make known the fact that I am a conservative Christian. I would like to retain my right to be such. When anybody starts taking rights guaranteed by the constitution, the rest fall like dominoes. Freedom of Religion is one those which may fall. In order to retain that right, I must help protect all rights a citizen of the United States of America has. For the moral implications, I have an ON/OFF button. My religion does not give me the right to judge anybody, therefore I should just control what I do.
Please feel free to use this opinion in any way to help, including republication. I am happy to stand up for what I believe in.
Roe D. Dyer
ROEDY@prodigy.net

Now, while is stuff in Roe's letter I confess that I don't understand (for instance, why he believes "values from abroad" are the organizing force behind PICS), I gotta say, I'm impressed with the respect this man has for freedom on the Net. This kind of Conservative, I could maybe live with.

BPS Behavior?

I've been WRONG! All this time, I've been SO SO WRONG! Today's Mail Bag ends on an educational note, people. You know how I've always said that the word, "baud" is synonomous with, "the rate at which data travels"? Well, I lied. Here is a letter from Unforgiven, who sets the record straight:

Baud Girl,
Since part of your purpose is to educate people about their computers, it might be worthwhile to educate people on BAUD V.S. BPS rates. These two items are the most frequently misused terminologies in relation to computer hardware.
Most people think that the baud rate of their modem is 14.4, 28.8, or 33.6. This is not true. What they are referring to when they say "28.8" is actually the BPS (bits per second) rate of the modem. Actually, current modems are 2400 baud.
Baud is defined as the number of times a phone signal modulates in a one second cycle. However, you can carry multiple bits with each baud. For example, a 14,400 bps modem is functioning at 2400 baud, but carries 6 bits of data per baud (i.e. 2400x6=14,400). A 28.8 modem is the same thing, only the modem carries 12 bits of data per baud.
In reality, the BPS rate of the modem is its true measure of data throughput. A 1200 baud modem capable of carrying 12 bits of data per baud will still have the same speed as a 2400 baud modem carrying 6 bits per baud.
NOTE: The limitation of 2400 baud is due to the copper lines still being used today. Until you actually have a true 100% digital signal from the wall jack to the location you dial, this will be the case.

Hmmm. I promise never to mix BPS and baud rates up again! At least not until I get drunk at a party, and confuse the distinctions. Does this mean I have to call myself, "BPS Girl"? If you are interested in reading about bigger, stronger, faster,modems--ones which exceed the limits Unforgiven is talking about, check out Larry Magid's cool column on cable modems. Me want!

Talk To Me.

Next week is our final installment of Baud Behavior's Mailbag: we'll discuss the wooly world of online personals, and the politics of stalking on the Net, among other stuff. I really enjoy reprinting these letters, and I'm thinking about making the Mail Bag a bi-monthly (is that the word I mean? What I am trying to say is "every two months") feature here at Baud Behavior. But first, I need to hear from you. Do you enjoy seeing your names in pixels, here, or are Over It All? Let me know.

To talk about Internet life, or anything else you'd like, stop by our Baud Behavior chats, every Wednesday at 9 pm, in room comp.www. You can also write me directly (I love mail!) at BaudGirl@prodigy.net