15||0|2646|3|
0|0|0|||1||Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Gryphon||22:53:16|07/16/2018|So%2C this is one of the only times I can think of when I actually hacked something%2C in the %22off-label uses for computer things that the people in charge of those things would probably not have appreciated%22 sense.%0D%0A%0D%0AAfter the year I spent at WPI%2C I took a year off from college and then tried to regroup and pick up at the University of Maine.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28This would have been an excellent thing to follow through with%2C instead of dropping out to go chase jobs for 15%2B years and give education costs a chance to spiral totally out of control before actually getting around to completing my degree%2C but that%27s a different story.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway%2C when I was accepted at UMaine the first time%2C it was December or January%2C so I wasn%27t able to start attending for something like eight or nine months. But I had a student ID%2C and I was enrolled for a computer science class that fall%2C which meant I could get an account on the student mainframe months before my actual arrival on campus.%0D%0A%0D%0AI should probably explain for the young.  Back in those days %28ca. 1993%29%2C universities didn%27t have the option of just getting everybody a Gmail account with the school%27s domain name on it and giving everybody the campus wifi password.  None of that stuff existed.  Instead%2C they had to have a giant computer somewhere on campus for students and faculty to timeshare%3B access was either by hardwired network terminals on campus or dialing into a modem bank attached to the system someplace.%0D%0A%0D%0AAt the University of Maine at that time%2C the big student machine was an IBM System%2F370 mainframe%2C vintage sometime in the early %2780s %28the S%2F370 series itself goes back to 1972%29%2C running the VM%2FCMS operating system and connecting to the Internet through another network called BITNET.  This setup was a full generation%2C maybe two%2C older than the setup I%27d gotten used to at WPI in %2791-%2792%2C although the difference between the two seems hilariously minor in hindsight compared to the difference between either one and the way things are done nowadays.  I could get around that%2C though %28and have a proper email address%2C not just %22io%5Bb%5D%26l%3BMY STUDENT ID NUMBER%26r%3B%5B%2Fb%5D at maine dot edu%22%29%2C by enrolling for a 100-level computer science course and getting an account on the CS department%27s SPARC cluster%2C so that%27s what I did.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway%2C that%27s not the hack.  The hack comes from the fact that they only had dial-up that was local to Orono%2C and I wasn%27t able to move there from West Podunk until August.  And%2C of course%2C there were no other ISPs anywhere in the area.  I%27d gotten accustomed to using the Internet%2C primitive as it then was%2C as a principal means of contact with most of the social scene I was part of while I was at WPI%2C so that was not ideal.%0D%0A%0D%0AI spent a month or so stewing in that%2C until one day%2C at my local municipal library%2C when I noticed that they had a computer that had a sign next to it saying that it was for accessing URSUS.  URSUS was %28and still is%29 the electronic card catalog at the University of Maine%27s Raymond H. Fogler Library and its various affiliates around the University of Maine System.  Curious%2C I went and tried it out.  Turning the computer on yielded one of those customized boot-up scripts with the gaudy ANSI text and background colors MS-DOS hackers liked to make back in those days%2C like the loading screen for a game that came on bootable floppy%E2%80%94and while I was PLEASE WAITing%2C there came from behind the computer the sounds of a modem dialing a seven-digit number and connecting to something.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bi%5DHmm%2C%5B%2Fi%5D I thought%2C and went to the circulation desk.  %22I notice the URSUS terminal over there dials a local number to connect%2C%22 I said.  %22Do you happen to know what that number is%3F%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThe librarian eyed me narrowly.  %22I%27m not going to give you that information%2C%22 he said flatly.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Why%3F%22 I asked.  %22Is it classified%3F%22%0D%0A%0D%0A%22No%2C%22 the librarian replied%2C and then%E2%80%94and I swear I am not making this up%E2%80%94he went on%2C %22but you look like one%27a them%2C whaddaya call %27em%2C whackers.%22  He shook his head%2C arms folded.  %22And I%27m not going to be the one who gives you that kind of power.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AHe really said that.  %22That kind of power.%22  The ability to access the Raymond H. Fogler Library%27s electronic card catalog after hours.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22Uh%2C OK then%2C%22 I said%2C and went back to the URSUS terminal.  I thought I might be able to interrupt the boot sequence and get a look at the script it was running%2C but I didn%27t even need to do that.  Glued to the side of the monitor %28these used to be big%2C boxy things that you could actually glue things to the side of%2C in much the same way that TV sets used to be so big that the phrase %22set-top box%22 was not a ludicrous anachronism %3A%29 was a manila file folder...%0D%0A%0D%0A... and in that file folder was a sheet of paper with instructions for connecting to URSUS manually if the script didn%27t work.%0D%0A%0D%0AI took it downstairs to the children%27s room and made a copy.%0D%0A%0D%0AThat night I fired up the 1200 baud modem in my %5Blink%3Aen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAT%2526T_Unix_PC%7CAT%26T 3B1%5D%2C which was%2C I kid you not%2C the only computer I had with a modem%2C cold-called the URSUS local access number%2C and waited to see what I would get.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhat I got was the what-do-you-want screen%E2%80%94not even the %5Bi%5Dlogin%5B%2Fi%5D screen%2C mind you%2C it was unsecured and went straight to the user prompt%E2%80%94to a dial-up port on a Xylogics Annex comm server.%0D%0A%0D%0ASome of you may know I used to work for Xylogics.  That was a few years after I did this%2C but I already knew my way around Annexes%2C because they were what WPI used for its dial-up bank and some other stuff around campus.  So I knew what to tell this one... and what to ask it.  And what it told me was that it was connected to the entire Orono campus system%2C not just URSUS.  Which meant I could get anywhere from that number.  The System%2F370%3B the CS-department SPARCs%3B The World at Software Tool %26 Die in Boston%2C where I still had an account.  Or any other system on BITNET or the Internet whose address I might happen to know%2C regardless of whether I had any business connecting to it.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnywhere.%0D%0A%0D%0AI have only felt that much like I was in a movie one other time in my life %28%5Blink%3Awww.eyrie-productions.com%2FForum%2Fdcboard.cgi%3Faz%3Dread_count%26om%3D284%26forum%3DDCForumID9%7Cone rainy night at UltraNet%2C many years later%5D.%0D%0A%0D%0ALuckily for UMaine%2C all I wanted to do was read my email and some newsgroups%2C and hang out on IRC.  I did that all through that spring and summer%2C always when the library was closed to avoid clashing with anyone trying to use the actual URSUS terminal %28this wasn%27t challenging%2C since%2C then as now%2C it seemed like the library was only open about 20 hours a week%29%2C and no one ever seems to have noticed.%0D%0A%0D%0ASo I guess the librarian was right about %22that kind of power%2C%22 though%2C in that odd way that interactions like that have%2C he can%27t possibly have %5Bi%5Dknown%5B%2Fi%5D he was right about it.  Or at least %5Bi%5Dhow%5B%2Fi%5D he was right about it.%0D%0A%0D%0AI can%27t remember if I mentioned this in my job interview at Xylogics a couple of years later.  I%27d like to think I did.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
1|1|0|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Verbena||20:17:43|07/19/2018|That%27s an awesome story%2C a sweet CMOA. Now I am duty-bound to find some way to work %27Y%27know%2C one a them whackers%27 into a conversation tomorrow without it sounding naughty.%0D%0A%0D%0A------%0D%0A    Fearless creatures%2C we all learn to fight the Reaper%0D%0A    Can%27t defeat Her%2C so instead I%27ll have to be Her
2|1|0|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Wiregeek||03:06:25|07/22/2018|security through obscurity isn%27t%2C plain and simple.  %22Kids these days%22 will never know the struggle of dialup internet access... 
3|1|0|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|jonathanlennox||11:12:38|07/25/2018|%0D%0A%3EAnyway%2C that%27s not the hack.  The hack comes from the fact that they %0D%0A%3Eonly had dial-up that was local to Orono%2C and I wasn%27t able to move %0D%0A%3Ethere from West Podunk until August.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe other important note for the sake of the Kids These Days is that back then%2C there was this concept called the %22long-distance call%22%2C where you actually had to pay by the minute to make a phone call to a number outside your immediate local area.  %28And those local areas tended to be seriously local%2C as in not much more than a single town.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A
4|2|3|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|The Traitor||02:47:51|07/26/2018|...%0D%0A%0D%0AI mean%2C you lot rose up in bloody insurrection against exploitative financial arrangements. I thought that was the %5Bi%5Dpoint%5B%2Fi%5D.%0D%0A%0D%0A---%0D%0A%22She%27s old%2C she%27s lame%2C she%27s barren too%2C %2F%2F %22She%27s not worth feed or hay%2C %2F%2F %22But I%27ll give her this%2C%22 - he blew smoke at me - %2F%2F %22She was something in her day.%22 -- Garnet Rogers%2C %5Bi%5DSmall Victory%5B%2Fi%5D%0D%0A%0D%0AFiMFiction.net%3A we might accept blatant porn involving the cast of My Little Pony but as God is my witness we have %5Bi%5Dstandards%5B%2Fi%5D.
5|2|3|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Gryphon||03:05:27|07/26/2018|%3E%3EAnyway%2C that%27s not the hack.  The hack comes from the fact that they %0D%0A%3E%3Eonly had dial-up that was local to Orono%2C and I wasn%27t able to move %0D%0A%3E%3Ethere from West Podunk until August.%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EThe other important note for the sake of the Kids These Days is that %0D%0A%3Eback then%2C there was this concept called the %22long-distance call%22%2C %0D%0A%3Ewhere you actually had to pay by the minute to make a phone call to a %0D%0A%3Enumber outside your immediate local area.  %28And those local areas %0D%0A%3Etended to be seriously local%2C as in not much more than a single town.%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AOh%2C yeah%2C I suppose anyone who%27s too young to have experienced the joy of dial-up Internet isn%27t likely to remember toll calls either.  Technically this concept still exists%E2%80%94a commonly seen vestige in the US is all those numbers in area codes 800%2C 866%2C %5Bi%5Det al.%5B%2Fi%5D%2C which are still called %22toll-free numbers%22 even though only people with very basic land line service still incur toll charges on non-local calls these days.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28I do on my land line%2C but it doesn%27t matter in practice%2C since I use my mobile phone for pretty much all my outgoing calls except the occasional fax to an insurance company or other organization for which it is still 1985.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AWhen I was a kid this was still a very big deal%3B long-distance calls from%2C for instance%2C where I lived to my grandparents%27 place up north cost something like 10%C2%A2 a minute during peak %28for which read%3A standard business%29 hours when I was little%2C which added up mighty fast.  The cost of gasoline being what it was back then%2C it often felt like it would be cheaper to just drive two hours and see them rather than call.  There was even a PSA that the phone company ran on TV for many years%2C with a catchy jingle informing subscribers that %22%5Bi%5DFive%5B%2Fi%5D %26l%3Bn.b. as in %22o%27clock PM%22%26r%3B %5Bi%5Dis when the rates go down%21%5B%2Fi%5D%22%0D%0A%0D%0AEven at the lower rates%2C it was possible to rack up astonishing phone bills with interstate long-distance calls well into the %2790s.  I... %5Bi%5Dmay%5B%2Fi%5D have incurred a %24300 one%2C one month%2C when I was at UMaine for the first time in 1994 and was sort-of-LDRing-or-something a girl who was going to Tufts.  %28%24300 was a %5Bi%5Dterrifying%5B%2Fi%5D amount of money to me in 1994.  That bill might have had a direct bearing on my decision to drop out of school... again... and take the first of the semi-random tech jobs I had through the rest of the %2790s.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AThese things leave deep scars.  My father is still in the habit of ending phone calls as quickly as possible%2C even though we both have had smartphones with unlimited calling plans for years.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
7|3|5|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Peter Eng||12:34:34|07/26/2018|%3E%0D%0A%3E%28I do on my land line%2C but it doesn%27t matter in practice%2C since I use %0D%0A%3Emy mobile phone for pretty much all my outgoing calls except the %0D%0A%3Eoccasional fax to an insurance company or other organization for which %0D%0A%3Eit is still 1985.%29 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%0D%0AFaxes do have the small advantage of being sent directly.  If I send an e-mail%2C it%27s hypothetically possible for one of those whackers to scan all the packets and reconstruct everything in it.  Highly unlikely%2C from what I understand%2C but possible.  Faxes can%27t be intercepted in such a fashion.%0D%0A%0D%0AFor organizations dealing with Protected Information%2C like social security numbers or medical files%2C this is very important.%0D%0A%0D%0APeter Eng%0D%0A--%0D%0AInsert humorous comment here.
11|4|7|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|MuninsFire||02:48:42|07/27/2018|Well....%0D%0A%0D%0ANowadays nearly everyone%27s on some variant of VoIP -anyway- even for fax%2C while email%27s nearly universally TLS encrypted in transit from any major mail carrier%2C so that%27s kinda switched over the past few years.%0D%0A%0D%0A%23cough%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway. My mom does billing info for my uncle%27s medical-related practice%2C and let%27s just say that interception in transit is the least of people%27s worries when it comes to PII being intercepted when talking to billing folks.
12|3|5|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|MuninsFire||02:49:45|07/27/2018|My grandparents do the %27end phonecalls as fast as possible%27 thing as well%2C which means it%27s become a game amongst my relatives on that side to see how long they can keep %27em talking.%0D%0A%0D%0AMy dad holds the record by a long mile%2C but I did manage to keep %27em going for a solid 44 minutes one time.
6|2|3|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|thorr_kan||09:47:53|07/26/2018|Try explaining party lines.  I double-dog-dare you.  %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AThe Wife was explaining this to a younger friend %28really only about 10 years younger%29%2C about 10 years ago.  My father-in-law was a rural pastor before he retired.  Keeping The Old Biddies %28tm%29 off the line while Pastor was trying to conduct church business with confidentiality issues was a constant battle.%0D%0A%0D%0AShe didn%27t believe us until she got home and researched it.  Online.  We got an apology email a few days later.%0D%0A%0D%0AA lot of alcohol may have been involved.  It was one of those parties.
8|3|6|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Gryphon||13:05:15|07/26/2018|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-18 AT 01:05 PM (EDT)]%3ETry explaining party lines.  I double-dog-dare you.  %3A%29 %0D%0A%0D%0A%22You know the General tab on an MMO%27s in-game chat window%3F Whole towns%27 phone service used to be basically that%2C except usually without as many Nazis and Chinese gold farmers.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ALess flippantly%2C party lines have been featured as either plot hooks or comedy props in so many movies and TV shows that they have a certain cultural staying power%2C at least among people who willingly consume media older than they are. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0ASEE ALSO%3A The middle part of phone numbers in the United States%2C which is the part that originally denoted which local exchange the operator needed to connect with%2C used to have keywords in them%2C as in the title of the popular song from the 1940s%2C %22PEnnsylvania 6-5000%22%2C which was the phone number of the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City.  The capital E is not a typo%2C as only the first two letters of the exchange name were really part of the phone number%3B the rest was just a mnemonic to help people remember them.  When direct dialing came along%2C the letters had to be mapped to numbers so that phones wouldn%27t have to have 36-hole dials%2C which is where the %222 ABC %2F 3 DEF %2Fetc.%22 thing we still see on phones today comes from.%0D%0A%0D%0AProbably no one could have predicted%2C when this decision was made%2C that it would eventually be turned around backward and used to enable marketing people to seek out numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS %28an actual number for a florist ordering network%29.%0D%0A%0D%0AMost%2C if not all%2C of the original mappings were preserved when the Bell System went to all-number dialing in the 1960s%3B for instance%2C the Hotel Pennsylvania%27s phone number is still 736-5000 today.%0D%0A%0D%0AI%27m not sure what the exchange name here in Millinocket was.  Oddly%2C it seems it %5Bi%5Dwasn%27t%5B%2Fi%5D %22MIllinocket%22%2C since the exchange prefix here %28there%27s only one for the whole town%29 doesn%27t start with 64.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
9|4|8|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Sofaspud||13:52:57|07/26/2018|This is one of those strange cosmic coincidences%2C I%27m sure%2C but it%27s still a bit creepy that you%27re explaining this just as I%27m reading some old-school %28circa 1930%27s%29 science fiction%2C and in the far-distant future of 1980 we are apparently going to still be using this sort of exchange.  On our televisors.  To Mars.%0D%0A%0D%0AI mean%2C I glarked from context that the hero was making a phone call%2C but your explanation does reveal that what I thought was a typo %28double caps%29 in the text was not%2C in fact%2C a typo.  So%2C thanks. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Project Gutenberg has SO MUCH STUFF%2C it%27ll take me a while to get through this list.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--sofaspud%0D%0A--there are some strange%2C strange gems in that thar slushpile%2C I tell you what
10|4|8|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|jonathanlennox||16:26:45|07/26/2018|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-27-18 AT 10:45 AM (EDT)]%3EI%27m not sure what the exchange name here in Millinocket was.  Oddly%2C %0D%0A%3Eit seems it %5Bi%5Dwasn%27t%5B%2Fi%5D %22MIllinocket%22%2C since the exchange prefix %0D%0A%3Ehere %28there%27s only one for the whole town%29 doesn%27t start with 64. %0D%0A%0D%0AThe exchange prefix is 723%2C right%3F  That%27s got to be either PA3 or RA3%2C since nothing else would be pronounceable.%0D%0A%0D%0ATo bring this thread back around full circle -- I bet you could find an old telephone directory at your local municipal library%21%0D%0A
15|5|10|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Gryphon||21:33:53|07/30/2018|%3ETo bring this thread back around full circle -- I bet you could find %0D%0A%3Ean old telephone directory at your local municipal library%21 %0D%0A%0D%0AProbably not %5Bi%5Dthat%5B%2Fi%5D old%3B shelf space is limited%2C after all.  They might have something like that at the Fogler or Bangor Public%2C though.  Millinocket numbers have been listed in the %22Bangor Area%22 phone book since time immemorial%2C despite the towns being %7E70 miles apart%2C population density in northern Maine being what it is.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
13|4|8|||||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|thorr_kan||10:08:06|07/27/2018|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Jul-30-18 AT 03:06 PM (EDT)]%3E%3ETry explaining party lines.  I double-dog-dare you.  %3A%29 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3E%22You know the General tab on an MMO%27s in-game chat window%3F Whole %0D%0A%3Etowns%27 phone service used to be basically that%2C except usually without %0D%0A%3Eas many Nazis and Chinese gold farmers.%22 %0D%0A%0D%0AThat%27s an excellent example.  Except the last video games I played were on an at Atari 5200.  In the late %2780s.  %28No judgement%3B video games just aren%27t my thing.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3ELess flippantly%2C party lines have been featured as either plot hooks %0D%0A%3Eor comedy props in so many movies and TV shows that they have a %0D%0A%3Ecertain cultural staying power%2C at least among people who willingly %0D%0A%3Econsume media older than they are. %3A%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AYou%27d think so%2C but party lines are a conversation The Wife and I have repeated multiple times.  The %22media older than they are%22 is a big hurdle for those punks%2C who won%27t. get off. my LAWN.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28Explaining 50 years of Iron Man history over breakfast to my boys this morning might have me inna mood.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3CSNIP phone number historical tutorial%3E%0D%0AInteresting%3B I knew some of that%2C but not all of it.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe Yooper town I grew up in only required using the last four digits of a phone number to dial within our prefix until at least %2791.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28ETA%3A  Spelling.  Always spelling.%29
14|5|13|||1||RE%3A Elder Days Story Time%3A The URSUS Hack|Gryphon||21:32:13|07/30/2018|%3E%3E%3ETry explaining party lines.  I double-dog-dare you.  %3A%29 %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%3E%22You know the General tab on an MMO%27s in-game chat window%3F Whole %0D%0A%3E%3Etowns%27 phone service used to be basically that%2C except usually without %0D%0A%3E%3Eas many Nazis and Chinese gold farmers.%22 %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EThat%27s an excellent example.  Except the last video games I played %0D%0A%3Ewere on an at Atari 5200.  In the late %2780s.  %28No judgement%3B video %0D%0A%3Egames just aren%27t my thing.%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AI gathered from context that the challenge involved explaining the phenomenon to people who hadn%27t been born yet at the time you%27re talking about%2C anyway.%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E%28Explaining 50 years of Iron Man history over breakfast to my boys %0D%0A%3Ethis morning might have me inna mood.%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AYe gods.  I%27ve been an Iron Man fan since issue %23162 of the original series and I can%27t even imagine why you would %5Bi%5Dwant%5B%2Fi%5D to do that%2C let alone actually do it. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3EThe Yooper town I grew up in only required using the last four digits %0D%0A%3Eof a phone number to dial within our prefix until at least %2791. %0D%0A%0D%0AYup%2C my hometown did as well.  The pay phones in town still had dials and Touch-Tone dialing wasn%27t available for residential customers until they changed over the local exchange%27s switchgear at around that same time%2C at which point we finally went to seven-digit local dailing.%0D%0A%0D%0AI remember when I was a kid%2C calling my grandparents %28or calling home from their house%2C when I was staying over%29%26mdash%3Bwe had direct dialing%2C but there was still about a 20-second delay between dialing and having it ring at the other end%2C during which you could hear the network constructing the circuit%2C switch by switch%2C exchange by exchange.%0D%0A%0D%0APhones also rang differently based on whether it was a local or long-distance call incoming.  Local calls gave one long ring%2C pause%2C one long ring%2C while toll calls gave two short%2C pause%2C two short.%0D%0A%0D%0AHere%27s a trick from those days I just remembered%3A if you picked up a phone in the old four-digit-local%2Fdial phone days%2C dialed 987%2C and hung up%2C it would make all the extensions in the house ring.  If you and%2C say%2C the person downstairs in the kitchen then picked up%2C you could have an intercom conversation.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28This is presumably the mechanism that the stalker used in %5Bi%5DWhen a Stranger Calls%5B%2Fi%5D.  %22The calls are coming from inside the house%21%22%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D