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USENET

A bunch of guys and gals that sometimes never meet eachother (I mean, in person) and debate in endless threads of letters (well, they eventually starve to death... I mean, the threads) regarding issues from "why the chicken crossed the road" to "What Did I Do On Vacation Time" (and sometimes, they even discuss serious stuff...)

"Oh, Yeah ?!? Now you'll see!..."

(The subject, after reading a post... or reply... seconds before sending his own post... or reply...)

Shortly after I had my own news account, I got into this USENET thing, first only reading the posts...

...and then adding my 2 cents in the debates. My postings were usually too lengthy, therefore there was little reply. But there was some reply, and good ones, too.

In chile.rec.humor I didn't post a lot of jokes (I can't tell a joke right) but I was involved in some nice threads. The most remarkable was the one regarding the Chanchito Amarillo, (Yellow Pig). I called the psichodellical animal the Freak Icon of Chilean USENET (I still have the particular post). Later, I saw the famous pork in many odd places...

In chile.soc.religion I was into some heavy metaphysicall threads. The issues were fascinating, but mind-draining to read... and reply.

In chile.soc.censura I posted a lot, because this chilean mania of censorship without any criteria whatsoever, a la ohpleasedon'tlookdon'tspeakdon'tthinkohnonono, well... makes me want to puke. We used to laugh at the expense of "El Porvenir de Chile" ("Chile's Future"... oh please All Mighty, Deliver Us from Such Future), an ultraconservative, pseudo-chatolic chilean group, that is involved in many a censorship event (there is no shortage of those in Chile..."Come to Chile, where your mind is lobotomized by media, church and goverment")

In other newsgroups, my posting was rather by need and very unfrequent. In all of them, though, you learn to debate and tolerate. That alone, makes it a very good thing for chileans (we had this "mind switch off" during Pinochet... for almost twenty years).

Lately I've not participated a lot, due to work... and the absense of connection at hand. Anyway, sometimes I still receive echoes of the big threads in chilean USENET...

I'd like to send special greetings to my friend Miguel Farah. Is always nice to find a friendly face in such places as USENET...