Hi Lady Xeen,

In case you were wondering how I received the Ten Commandments, I was lucky enough to record a chat log of the DC I had with......well........you know who.

Here it is.......

*< Slider>: Look if you don't stop DCing me I'm gonna crash you!!!!
*< God>: SLIDER.....
*< Slider>: What???!!!!
*< God>: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
*< Slider>: well..............the nick is familiar..........
*< God>: OPEN MY VID
*< Slider>: uh.........no thanks
*< God>: OPEN MY VID
*< Slider>: geeeeeeeeesh.........ok hang on
*< Slider>: hmmmmm it's kinda bright.....
*< Slider>: WOW! Are those angels flying around in the background??
*< God>: YES
*< Slider>: they look naked............are they naked?
*< God>: YES
*< Slider>: uh...........can you zoom in for a sec?
*< God>: NO
*< God>: FORGET ABOUT THE ANGELS
*< Slider>: just for a sec?
*< God>: NO
*< Slider>: ok :-(
*< God>: SLIDER, THOU HAST BEEN CHOSEN TO PROMULGATE UNTO MY CU CHILDREN TEN COMMANDMENTS WHICH I SHALL DECREE UNTO THEE.
*< Slider>: huh??
*< God>: SLIDER, THOU HAST BEEN CHOSEN TO PROMULGATE UNTO MY CU CHILDREN TEN COMMANDMENTS WHICH I SHALL DECREE UNTO THEE.
*< Slider>: huh?????
*< God>: I'M GONNA GIVE YOU TEN COMMANDMENTS.....PASS THEM AROUND!
*< Slider>: oh........ok!!
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE RATING OF THY REF IN VAIN
*< Slider>: uh....hang on a sec I gotta get a pen....
*< God>: OK
*< Slider>: brb
*< God>: OK
*< Slider>: back
*< God>: WB
*< Slider>: thanks
*< Slider>: ok fire away.......j/k ;-)
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE RATING OF THY REF IN VAIN
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE GENDER UNTO THINE FELLOW CU'ERS WHILST LURKING ON A REF
*< God>: THOU SHALT HONOR THE MOTD AND KEEP IT HOLY
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT SEND AUDIO ON A REF WITHOUT DIVINE INTERVENTION
*< Slider>: Hey........that's a good one!
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT NUKE
*< Slider>: what about wankers?
*< God>: ONLY REF OPS AND MONITORS MAY DECIDE
*< Slider>: damn
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT DC THY NEIGHBORS SPOUSE
*< Slider>: ummmmmm...........
*< God>: YES?
*< Slider>: never mind
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT CAP THY NEIGHBORS IMAGE
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT DC UNTO OTHERS BEFORE THOU HAST BEEN GRANTED BLESSED PERMISSION
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT ENTER A REF BARING THY LOINS
*< God>: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL THY NEIGHBORS NICK
*< Slider>: I count ten
*< God>: THERE SHALL BE TEN, NO MORE NO LESS
*< Slider>: Well...this is gonna come in handy for newbies
*< God>: ALL OF MY CU CHILDREN WILL BE GUIDED BY THESE COMMANDMENTS *< God>: NOW GO FORTH AND PROMULGATE UNTO THE MULTITUDES THESE LAWS WHICH I DECREE UNTO THEE
*< Slider>: yeah..........I'll promulgate away!
*< Slider>: WOW! That blonde angel is really somethin!!
*< God>: FORGET ABOUT THE ANGELS
*< Slider>: sorry
*< Slider>: uh.........can I ask you a question?
*< God>: YES MY CHILD
*< Slider>: why'd you choose me?
*< God>: LADY XEEN IS NOT ON-LINE RIGHT NOW
*< Slider>: ahhhhh


Then He just poofed. I tried to call him back at 1.1.1.1. but got no response.

Slider

CU

The words popped into the chat window and struck me like a thunderbolt......

"Hey Slider guess what I heard?"
"What?"
"******** died"
:-(( bbiab

We had been CU friends for over a year. We'd run into each other on the refs from time-to-time, and exchanged the occasional email. We kept in touch. I hadn't heard from him in awhile, and really didn't think anything of it.

He was an old-timer, in his late 60's. A widower. Just one of the guys that you knew you'd run into. Good for a laugh. Not incredibly popular. Hardly anyone ever said hi to him, or opened his vid. He'd pop on and off of refs, and hardly anyone would notice. He had cared for his wife at home for 6 years before she died. They had been married longer than I'd been alive. He had gotten CU in hopes his sons would get it, and he could see his grandchildren. But they never did. We'd chat for hours some nights. Like we were sitting around a campfire. I guess it was better than the silence at home for him. And in the end, I think he really died of a broken heart.

It's strange how people can slowly become part of your life on CU. You see them time after time on the refs. You chat with them. They talk about their lives. And soon, without even realizing it, you've made a good friend.

Where once the light reflected,
It now passes through.
Where once came a voice
of wisdom and gentleness,
there is only the wind.

Thanks for the good times my friend.
CU
:-((

Slider

Back in early 1996 CU was yet to really catch on. It was still a couple of months before the real rush started. I was popping around to the different refs........all 10 or 15 of them. ;-) And I came across one lady alone on a ref with frozen vid. She had only been on-line a few weeks. We both said hello to each other, had some light chit-chat, and off I went. Day after day I would pop on, and sure enough there she'd be, we would chat some more and off I'd go. Her vid was always frozen. It seemed she'd come on, transmit one frame, and freeze it for the whole day.

Before too long I found myself making a point to stop into the ref and say hello to her. Eventually we struck up some really great conversations that would last for hours. I began to think of her as a true friend. It seemed I could talk to her about anything. She was always there to lend a caring and patient ear.

Then the rush started. It seemed all of a sudden that the whole world had gotten cams. Our ref was suddenly THE hot ref on CU. Some nights it was almost impossible to get on. And I can tell you, on some nights, things got pretty crazy! ;-) But she was always there. That frozen smiling face. Like the eye of the storm. And each night, no matter how nuts things had gotten, we always made sure we said goodnight and sweet dreams to each other.

Eventually, she got a faster modem, and I think a new cam. And was finally able to send full-motion vid. Now she's become quite a well-known CUer. We've both drifted in and out of different groups on different refs. But eventually we always seem to run into each other. And no matter what, she's always there with a hello and a smile for me.

I've heard people say that CU is too superficial, or too shallow, to establish a genuine friendship with someone on-line. In my experience the soul of a genuine caring person will always shine through. Like the soul of my special CU friend.

Usually on CU you can pop around from ref to ref saying hello, chatting with people, and nothing very eventful happens for days on end. You have casual conversations with friends, with the usual dose of oddballs and flashers popping on. But sometimes you encounter someone for a brief moment, and the conversation and vid stays with you forever.....

Doing my usual ref hopping one day, I came into one and noticed a young boy in one of the vids. This kind of thing has always concerned me on CU. I've seen it many times where a parent is on CU and will walk away, and one of their children will come and sit at the comp and look at the people on the screen. It's ok I guess, until "Hard for Fem" or "DC4U" decides to show the world Mr. Happy. Luckily, neither one of them were on the ref that day.

I watched him for awhile, and soon realized that he wasn't waiting for a parent to come back. He was on CU alone. I asked him where he was from..... Australia. Where were his parents? Daddy was out with the sheep. No mention of a mother. I gathered later that daddy was some kind of sheep farmer. I asked him what he was doing on CU. He told me that he goes to school on the computer. Apparently he was part of a distance education program in Australia for children in remote locations. It allows them to attend normal classrooms in the closest community by video-conferencing with the school. I guess his dad had downloaded the CU program, and Ricky had picked up on it.

We chatted for a while about Australia; he liked Hot Wheels; I asked him about kangaroos...etc....etc. Then I asked him what music he liked. His answer came back in the chat window.........."I don't hear music. I'm deaf." We chatted for a little bit after that and he logged off. All and all I guess the chat lasted about 30 minutes. Very brief. And I never saw him again. Just another vid and chat on a ref. But I've never been able to forget it. And from time to time I'll think of Ricky, out there somewhere in the middle of nowhere, isolated in his silent world. And wonder how he's doing....

*< Slider>: I remember one day...........
*< Slider>: was on cu......early in the morning
*< Slider>: cu was new
*< Slider>: cornell version
*< Slider>: so there I was in my bathroom
*< Slider>: er bathrobe
*< Slider>: unshaven
*< Slider>: drinking a cup of coffee
*< Slider>: these Japanese guys get on
*< Slider>: They're in a trade show in Japan
*< Slider>: demonstrating CU
*< Slider>: anyway we start chatting
*< Slider>: they think it's the best damn thing they've ever seen
*< Slider>: draws a crowd
*< Slider>: everybody gets soooooooo excited
*< Slider>: they put my damn vid up onto the JumboTron
*< Slider>: there I am in front of about 5000 people
*< Slider>: in my bathrobe
*< Slider>: and the whole damn place is saying HI Slider!!
*< Slider>: hehehe
*< Slider>: hehehee.............and just for a second I thought to myself.............
*< Slider>: hmmmmmmmmmmmmm should I or shouldnt' I?
*< Slider>: LOL
*< Slider>: but if I did I think they would've banned cu in Japan for life
*< Slider>: so I think I'm directly responsible for the proliferation of cu in the Far East
*< Slider>: ;-)

I've written a lot of poetry about my experiences on cu, maybe I can start off with one of them for you. I wrote it after a dc............

A Moment
Tonight we shared
A Moment.
Your body moving
Like a soft wind
Before my eyes.

The world fell away
For a moment.
No pain. No fear.
I am transfixed
On sparkling starlight
Before my eyes.

As a stargazer
Is mesmerized by the heavens,
I gaze at the glow.
And irresistable passion
engulfs me.

My eyes speak
As the voice to my soul.
And we join
As one,
For A Moment.

The Dream

The Dream
I dreamed
The distance fell away
And I lay beside you
Watching you
Child like in sleep.
Surrounded by lilac sheets
Rippled by the breeze
Flowing through the window
In waves that curve gently
Like the smile on your face
That comforts my soul
Across the miles.
Maybe you're dreaming of me
As I draw down the sun
And flow into you
Letting your soft breath
Whisper me
Into your world.

The DC

I've followed you
through the sparkling starlight
Of moonlit rooms.
Through printed words
of truth and laughter
And moments that slipped by
far too quickly.

I've lost myself in you.
The touch of your smile
Upon my heart.
The caress of your eyes
Upon my body.
And together we float
Through the silence.

I breathe of the sight
and imagine the scent,
Transparent in my thoughts
Surrendered in your caring soul.
I will never awake
from the moment of this perfection.
This ocean of moonlight
This prison of starlight.

And in the sweet beauty
Of your shining spirit,
I am strengthened and renewed
By the warmth of your embrace
Upon my soul.

Dreaming

Yesterday I walked through the rain,
falling in sunlight,
each shimmering drop
a twinklet in the mist.

Disappeared without a trace.
It seems our time ran out.
I'm left with memories
of silent laughter and love.

Precious moments until dawn,
when you reached across the miles,
and held me close
so tightly in your arms.

Still I catch myself thinking,
dreaming in black and white.
And you're there before me,
one more time to ease the pain.

I miss you
more than you'll ever know.

Ahhhh memories...............;-)

Going back to the early days now...............I remember a day that I think truly demonstrated the incredible potential of CU. Something that I think is pretty much taken for granted now. But back then it was something that could really give you a tingle. (Uh...I don't mean THAT kind of tingle. ;-))

The ops at the Cornell reflector arranged to have live video transmitted from the seven continents of the planet simultaneously, using CU SeeMe. They arranged it with 7 CUSeeMe users in the various locations, and set it up to start at noon on April 21, 1995. Considering the fact that at that time I think the entire CU population was only about 200 people, this was quite an achievement! ;-)

You had to log on as a lurker, no senders allowed on that day. Since most of us were lurkers anyway, it really didn't matter. I was using a 14.4kps modem which was pretty much considered turbo-speed then. And with the state of the Net at the time, my vid updated about one-frame a week. But sure enough, when the vid finally came in, there it was.......... SIMULTANEOUS LIVE VID FROM ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS OF PLANET EARTH!! For the first time in history!!

The snow of Antartica in one vid, the New York skyline in another. Tokyo, a Rain Forest in Brazil, Austria, South Africa and Australia. All live. And not one multi-million dollar satellite was used! ;-) Just a bunch of CUSeeMe users with cams, comps and modems.

I remember seeing a documentary on the history of television. They played a tape of Edwin R. Murrow in the 1950's, heralding the dawn of a new era in communication, by broadcasting live video of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans simultaneously using the new medium of television. April 21, 1995 was the CUSeeMe equivalent of that broadcast.

To this day, when I'm on a ref, and someone pops on from Japan, or Australia, or wherever. I'm reminded of that day. It still gives me a tingle. :-)

I am very happy that someone is finally taking the time to chronicle the personal experiences, and thoughts, of the people who populate the CU universe. It seems to me that for far too long CU has been perceived as a place for people to seek out and experience nothing more than an electronic peep show. While it's true that there is a considerable number of people who are using it for that purpose. It's equally true that, as in any other culture, CU also has it's own share of poets, artists, writers and musicians. The work of these artists, while maybe not directly inspired by CU, is definitely affected by their experiences, for better or worse, of their time on-line. Even though they themselves may not be aware of it. It is impossible to sit for hours at a time in direct interaction with another person or persons, and not have that affect you in some way.

We are in what I like to think of as the "Romantic Period" of CU. A period which I liken to the silent screen era of the 1920's. Black and white video, choppy and silent. So much is left to the imagination. However, very soon Internet bandwidth will expand, computer processors will become more powerful, and we will be able to video-conference with someone in full screen, full-color video with sound of perfect clarity. When that happens I think some of the uniqueness and imaginative nature of CU will be lost. I don't think it will have quite the same effect if "Ursula of Sweden" has a squeaky high-pitched voice with a lisp. ;-)