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Message no. 1
From: Evan Hughes <ehughes@****.carleton.ca>
Subject: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Mon, 27 May 96 22:16:28 EDT
Nice write-up from the squatter, BUT:

HE'S A FUCKING SQUATTER! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? HELLOOOOOO?


It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER. As
in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!

However, it was quite a nice writeup (cute style. I didn't actually
read all of it (short attention span), but I liked what I did read...).


Evan Hughes | Webmaster
Honours Computer Science | Carleton Computer Science Society
http://chat.carleton.ca/~ehughes | http://omega.scs.carleton.ca/~ccss
.. code code code eat code code code code code sleep code code code code ..
Message no. 2
From: jaimie.nicholson@********.otago.ac.nz (Jaimie Nicholson)
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 17:49:32 +1200 (NZST)
Some crude individual said:

> Nice write-up from the squatter, BUT:
>
> HE'S A FUCKING SQUATTER! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? HELLOOOOOO?
>
>
> It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER. As
>in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
>NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!

He may be a squatter now, but was he always a squatter? Why is he now a
squatter? You know less than nothing, be silent.

> However, it was quite a nice writeup (cute style. I didn't actually
>read all of it (short attention span), but I liked what I did read...).

Thank you, it's these little bits of encouragement that make it all worthwhile.

PLAYTHING OF A CRUEL GOD...
JAIMIE NICHOLSON, NEW ZEALANDER
Message no. 3
From: Evan Hughes <ehughes@****.carleton.ca>
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Tue, 28 May 96 8:02:42 EDT
Jaimie Nicholson writes:
> > It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER. As
> >in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
> >NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!
>
> He may be a squatter now, but was he always a squatter? Why is he now a
> squatter? You know less than nothing, be silent.

Someone with skills doesn't just fall into squatterdom. Squatters are
not just your average homeless, they're chronically unemployable. They
have little or no conventional skills (due to society forgetting them),
and no resources.


Evan Hughes | Webmaster
Honours Computer Science | Carleton Computer Science Society
http://chat.carleton.ca/~ehughes | http://omega.scs.carleton.ca/~ccss
.. code code code eat code code code code code sleep code code code code ..
Message no. 4
From: mbroadwa@*******.glenayre.com (Mike Broadwater)
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 07:37:34 -0500
>Some crude individual said:
>
>> Nice write-up from the squatter, BUT:
>>
>> HE'S A FUCKING SQUATTER! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? HELLOOOOOO?
>>
>>
>> It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER. As
>>in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
>>NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!
>
>He may be a squatter now, but was he always a squatter? Why is he now a
>squatter? You know less than nothing, be silent.

Ah, so he knows the right people to get onto s-land, or he's a good enough
decker with a good enough deck to do it himself, but he can't buy lunch.
I'm with Evan on this one. Try to keep some reality alive.

Along with this thread goes the watcher. WTF? Watchers are little idiot
spirits that only last for a couple of hours. How the hell did he get
e-mail sent, and how the hell did Ronin conjure it?

Mike Broadwater
"An object at rest cannot be stopped! Yeah, baby, yeah!" - The Evil
Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight
http://www.olemiss.edu/~neon
Message no. 5
From: Brian Rogers <rogers@****.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 11:26:18 -0500
Im going to disagree with you here.

1) Someone who is an excellent decker but has a temper that
very few people can deal with. No corp is going to want to deal with
someone like that for long. Bad for moral. Few fixers are going to want
to take him on for fear that he will turn on one of their most prized
Johnsons. And very Runners will want to work with him for fear that they
will fall prey to his anger. Is prone to fits of depression. Find himself
out of his 15th legal job, 3rd semi-legal job, and 2nd illegal job, and now
someone wants back at him. Fucks his S.I.N and, viola (Vee Oh LAH). You're
on the streets with the clothing on your back, and your most prized posession -
a deck.

2) Someone who does damned fine work. Wants to keep it legal because
thats what mommy and daddy taught him. Goes to school, does the right thing
all his life, and BOOM, daddy pisses off Renraku. Mommy's dead now, daddy's
on the run, and his line of credit goes AWAY really fast and Renraku goes
after the rest of the father's family. Drop out of school. Try to do the
right thing. Nothing. No money, no place to live. On the streets.

3) (Ill put it in Shadowrun terms rather than getting to close to
RL for some people to want to deal with). Move to a new city. Land a good
job. Be happy. Plant visit. Someone comes around and finds out that the
number who works second shift is a Troll. Never did a bad day's work in
his life. He's fired. Why? Incompetence. Whatever you wanna call it, it
was because he was a troll.

He takes a week to get himself settled, and starts looking for a new job.
Everywhere he goes its the same thing. "Sorry, position filled - Sorry,
you're over qualified - Are you sure this is YOUR resume?"

Money runs out while he keeps his hope the everyone isnt a racist asshole and
the landlord boots him, he's on the streets, still keeping the faith that
there is some cosmic being who keeps tabs on stuff like this...


There, a couple of ways a good person can still find themselves on the streets
with no where else to turn.

> Jaimie Nicholson writes:
> > > It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER. As
> > >in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
> > >NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!
> >
> > He may be a squatter now, but was he always a squatter? Why is he now a
> > squatter? You know less than nothing, be silent.
>
> Someone with skills doesn't just fall into squatterdom. Squatters are
> not just your average homeless, they're chronically unemployable. They
> have little or no conventional skills (due to society forgetting them),
> and no resources.
Message no. 6
From: mneideng@****.caltech.edu (Mark L. Neidengard)
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Tue, 28 May 1996 12:10:34 -0700 (PDT)
According to Brian Rogers:
>Im going to disagree with you here.

Check it out. I have certainly had very good luck with characters of mine
_posing_ as squatters. But, on the assumption that that was not what was
happening:

> 1) Someone who is an excellent decker but has a temper that
>very few people can deal with. No corp is going to want to deal with
>someone like that for long. Bad for moral. Few fixers are going to want
>to take him on for fear that he will turn on one of their most prized
>Johnsons. And very Runners will want to work with him for fear that they
>will fall prey to his anger. Is prone to fits of depression. Find himself
>out of his 15th legal job, 3rd semi-legal job, and 2nd illegal job, and now
>someone wants back at him. Fucks his S.I.N and, viola (Vee Oh LAH). You're
>on the streets with the clothing on your back, and your most prized posession -
>a deck.

Someone with those kind of skills has little reason to impose poverty on
themself. Embezzle some funds from somewhere. Perhaps get a new face, and
certainly a new name. Someone who runs the fast track is probably not
going to want to let it all go quite that easily...although again, periods
_posing_ as a squatter are an entirely different matter.

> 2) Someone who does damned fine work. Wants to keep it legal because
>thats what mommy and daddy taught him. Goes to school, does the right thing
>all his life, and BOOM, daddy pisses off Renraku. Mommy's dead now, daddy's
>on the run, and his line of credit goes AWAY really fast and Renraku goes
>after the rest of the father's family. Drop out of school. Try to do the
>right thing. Nothing. No money, no place to live. On the streets.

Well, if you've got the moral fiber to live on the brink of starvation and
disease and random death, more power to you. Most humans begin to get
desperate when their biological needs for food and shelter and safety are
unfulfilled.

> 3) (Ill put it in Shadowrun terms rather than getting to close to
>RL for some people to want to deal with). Move to a new city. Land a good
>job. Be happy. Plant visit. Someone comes around and finds out that the
>number who works second shift is a Troll. Never did a bad day's work in
>his life. He's fired. Why? Incompetence. Whatever you wanna call it, it
>was because he was a troll.
>
>He takes a week to get himself settled, and starts looking for a new job.
>Everywhere he goes its the same thing. "Sorry, position filled - Sorry,
>you're over qualified - Are you sure this is YOUR resume?"
>
>Money runs out while he keeps his hope the everyone isnt a racist asshole and
>the landlord boots him, he's on the streets, still keeping the faith that
>there is some cosmic being who keeps tabs on stuff like this...

Again, a moral fiber question. With at least one avenue for solution if
the person actually has the goods...

>There, a couple of ways a good person can still find themselves on the streets
>with no where else to turn.

Not really: these folks _always_ have the Matrix. Also, with the exception
of the pathological loose canon, these people _will_ have met sympathetic
folks over the course of their lives, though those folks may not be able to
totally rescue the situation...

>> Jaimie Nicholson writes:
>> > > It's called Shadowland for a reason. SHADOWland. As in shadowRUNNER.
As
>> > >in a CERTAIN level of competence is required to find it. A squatter does
>> > >NOT posses the resources/skill to do so. Does NOT. NOT! NOOOOOOOO!
>> >
>> > He may be a squatter now, but was he always a squatter? Why is he now a
>> > squatter? You know less than nothing, be silent.
>>
>> Someone with skills doesn't just fall into squatterdom. Squatters are
>> not just your average homeless, they're chronically unemployable. They
>> have little or no conventional skills (due to society forgetting them),
>> and no resources.

I do think that Evan's initial response was a tad overblown (but hey, we
all have our bad days, right?) Now in _fact_, this person never did anything
more than _verbally_ claim to be a squatter! This person could be the
president of Fuchi for all that the huddled masses know (did anyone bother
to say they were running a background check?) In short, just like Jenna and
Gabe, we have a person who has done nothing more than _say_ something
implausible. And perhaps not _all_ that implausible, depending on
background...
--
/!\/!ark /!\!eidengard, CS Major, VLSI. http://www.cacr.caltech.edu/~mneideng
"Fairy of sleep, controller of illusions" Operator/Jack-of-all-Trades, CACR
"Control the person for my own purpose." "Don't mess with the Dark
Elves!"
-Pirotess, _Record_of_Lodoss_War_ Shadowrunner and Anime Addict
Message no. 7
From: jaimie.nicholson@********.otago.ac.nz (Jaimie Nicholson)
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Wed, 29 May 1996 09:51:22 +1100
Evan said:

> Someone with skills doesn't just fall into squatterdom. Squatters are
>not just your average homeless, they're chronically unemployable. They
>have little or no conventional skills (due to society forgetting them),
>and no resources.

They might drop out of sight into squatterdom. If they have enemies with
_very_ good matrix/info gathering skills, becoming a squatter, and
therefore not owning anything, might be the only way to hide.
He might be a paranoid schizophrenic, hiding out even further into the
shadows than most of our characters.
He might be pretending to be a squatter, so he can gather info while
appearing non-threatening.
I'm sure you can think of more reasons, and also appreciate the fact that
in any of the above cases, _he is unlikely to tell you about it_.

Mike said:

>but he can't buy lunch.

He can, but for one or more of the above reasons, he prefers to avoid
coming into sight.

He continued:

>Along with this thread goes the watcher. WTF? Watchers are little idiot
>spirits that only last for a couple of hours. How the hell did he get
>e-mail sent, and how the hell did Ronin conjure it?

It didn't send e-mail, it was there talking to Phobos. There is no set
format for watcher-carried messages, so I used the ***** Internal header,
sinvce that seemed closest. Ronin didn't conjure it, Phoenix did.

Someone agrees with me:

>There, a couple of ways a good person can still find themselves on the streets
>with no where else to turn.

Thank you. That's my entire point.

PLAYTHING OF A CRUEL GOD...
JAIMIE NICHOLSON, NEW ZEALANDER
Message no. 8
From: Evan Hughes <ehughes@****.carleton.ca>
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Wed, 29 May 96 22:20:15 EDT
Brian Rogers writes:
> 1) Someone who is an excellent decker but has a temper that
[...]
> on the streets with the clothing on your back, and your most prized posession -
> a deck.

I don't think I'd call a hotshit decker who has a deck "powerless".
(S)He wouldn't _quite_ qualify as a squatter. At the same time: decker's
have contacts -- especially if they're good.

> 2) Someone who does damned fine work. Wants to keep it legal because
[...]
> right thing. Nothing. No money, no place to live. On the streets.

For about 25 minutes before this biiig black truck pulls up and three
really mean looking guys get out. End of story.

(Even renraku can get hurt by some weenie running to some tabloid news show)

> 3) (Ill put it in Shadowrun terms rather than getting to close to
[...]
> Everywhere he goes its the same thing. "Sorry, position filled - Sorry,
> you're over qualified - Are you sure this is YOUR resume?"

That still leaves a fiarly competent decker (some would say very
competent, but thats another story) who has the resources to find and log
onto ShadowLand. That means he's good. He wouldn't be out of work for that
long. Either above, or below board. And you're forgetting the Ork
Underground, 555-ELFS, 555-ORCS, 555-TRIB (legal hotlines for
discrimination).

> There, a couple of ways a good person can still find themselves on the streets
> with no where else to turn.

And, for the most part, they are able to find a way out (I will not say
all, but for the most part).

At the same time: Our pal the squatter has a datajack. Although
cybertheft in ShadowRun isn't quite what it is in a lot of other
cyberpunk(ish) games, it's still there. With a cheap datajack costing
1,000 =Y=, a sqautter with headwear is _not_ going to last long.


Evan Hughes | Webmaster
Honours Computer Science | Carleton Computer Science Society
http://chat.carleton.ca/~ehughes | http://omega.scs.carleton.ca/~ccss
.. code code code eat code code code code code sleep code code code code ..
Message no. 9
From: Evan Hughes <ehughes@****.carleton.ca>
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Wed, 29 May 96 22:26:23 EDT
Jaimie Nicholson writes:
> They might drop out of sight into squatterdom. If they have enemies with
> _very_ good matrix/info gathering skills, becoming a squatter, and
[...]
> in any of the above cases, _he is unlikely to tell you about it_.

I'll buy that, but we have to remember what being a squatter entails:
-- Hanging out in the worst of the sprawl (ie, gangfights are an hourly
experience, gunfire is commonplace, and paranormals scutter)
-- Braving the elements, acid rain, cold, heat. Everything.
-- Interacting with the worst of the sprawl: Make one, just ONE, wrong
move, and some triggerhappy 12 year old toasts you. Or maybe you just look
funny.

A squatter disguise may be decent for a few hours, but a few weeks? No.
I doubteth.


Ummm. Did I read right? Did a _watcher_ (little fuzzy magic blob with IQ
of .2) post to Sland?



Evan Hughes | Webmaster
Honours Computer Science | Carleton Computer Science Society
http://chat.carleton.ca/~ehughes | http://omega.scs.carleton.ca/~ccss
.. code code code eat code code code code code sleep code code code code ..
Message no. 10
From: Kris Maxwell <kmaxwell@***.umd.edu>
Subject: Re: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Date: Thu, 30 May 1996 09:38:45 -0400 (EDT)
Ummm, ever wonder how long he's been a squatter? Maybe a rival decker
smashed his shiz into oblivion, or some such :) He may be semi-new to the
streets, or just off a bad few runs and lost his assets. Many
explanations for asquatter witha cyberdeck.. Remember folks, nothing is
as it seems, and Paranoia is a way of life :)

| My sword
8*<%%%%%%%%%%%%|+>-================================-----------
| Kills you!

This message brought to you by
Kris Maxwell (The Elven Swordsman)

Thank
You

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