Re: Has Anyone Heard of This?

David Peterson scripsit:
> Andreas wrote:
>
> <<April 1st?>>
>
> Man, on the very first response! Yes, you got me: April Fools. There was no such
> e-mail. However, I'm glad to see that I got Joe and Adam even after Andreas's
> response. Oh, by the way, my favorite comment (from Adam):
My basic uncertainty was whether you were spoofing or being spoofed, after
I noted that the Web site mentioned doesn't exist.

> Oh, for those who don't have the "holiday" where they live, April Fools
> Day is April 1st, and basically you play jokes on people, but usually
> (and maybe this isn't true?) reality jokes (e.g., my faux e-mail).
I believe that April Fool's jokes are jocose lies: that is, false statements
intended to deceive, but with no intent to harm (malicious lies) or to gain
any benefit (officious lies).  Other kinds of lies, or non-lying jokes, don't
fit the paradigm.

Some hold (and I think this is the older view) that April Fool's jokes may be
told only until noon: after noon, one may retort with

	April Fool is dead and gone,
	You're the fool and I am none.

(Note that this no longer rhymes in most dialects.)

Saith Eric Raymond:  "The hacker culture has a rich tradition of humor,
satire, parody, humor, and spoofery. It is significant that the only
annual holiday that is special to this culture is April Fool's Day,
and that it is observed by perpetrating elaborate hoaxes."

In particular, there is a tradition of publishing RFCs (technical documentation
about various Internet things) on April 1.  Here's a catalogue raisonnee:

2004: Omniscience Protocol Requirements
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3751.txt
2003: The Security Flag in the IPv4 Header
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3514.txt
	Marks all packets as either Good or Evil.
2002: Binary Lexical Octet Ad-hoc Transport
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3252.txt
	Replacing the binary format of IP packets with XML.  Note acronym.
2002: Electricity over IP
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3251.txt
	Improved delivery of electrical power.
2001: Firewall Enhancement Protocol (FEP)
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3093.txt
	Arbitrary IP over HTTP, or, how to evade the firewall.
2001: Etymology of "Foo"
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3092.txt
	Completely serious.
2001: Pi Digit Generation Protocol
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3091.txt
	Providing the digits of pi in a networked world.
2000: The Infinite Monkey Protocol Suite (IMPS)
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2795.txt
	Managing the monkeys that are typing the works of Shakespeare.
MCMXCXIX: The Roman Standards Process -- Revision III
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2551.txt
	How the Roman standardization process worked.
1999:  Y10K and Beyond
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2550.txt
	Dealing with dates in the year 10000.
1999: IP over Avian Carriers with Quality of Service
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2549.txt
	Different priority levels for RFC 1149 traffic.
1998: Definitions of Managed Objects for Drip-Type Heated Beverage
                      Hardware Devices using SMIv2
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2325.txt
	Managing coffee machines via the Internet, SNMP-style.
1998: Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0)
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2324.txt
	Managing coffee machines via the Internet, HTTP-style.
1998: IETF Identification and Security Guidelines
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2323.txt
	Extreme facial hair at IETF meetings.
1998: Management of IP numbers by peg-dhcp
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2322.txt
	Tracking ad hoc IP addresses with clothespins clipped to cables.
1998: RITA -- The Reliable Internetwork Troubleshooting Agent
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2321.txt
	Network management with a rubber chicken.
1997: The Naming of Hosts
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2100.txt
	... is a difficult matter.
1996: Suggested Additional MIME Types for Associating Documents
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1927.txt
	Namely, paper clips and staples.
1996: An Experimental Encapsulation of IP Datagrams on Top of ATM
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1926.txt
	That's Acoustical Transmission Media.
1996: The Twelve Networking Truths
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1925.txt
	Third Truth: with sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine.
1996: A Compact Representation of IPv6 Addresses
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1924.txt
	In base 85.
1995: The Address is the Message
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1776.txt
	If 128 bits of address (IPv6) isn't enough, how about 1696 bytes?
1994: A VIEW FROM THE 21ST CENTURY
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1607.txt
	Why 64 bits of address space isn't enough.
1994: A Historical Perspective On The Usage Of IP Version 9
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1606.txt
	The 38th level of address routing accesses individual nano-scale devices.
1994: SONET to Sonnet Translation
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1605.txt
	Converting optical networking into Shakespeare and back.
1993:  Internet Engineering Task Force Statements Of Boredom (SOBs)
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1438.txt
	A new IETF document series for information-free text.
1993: The Extension of MIME Content-Types to a New Medium
	Matter transmission by Internet mail.
1992: Today's Programming for KRFC AM 1313 Internet Talk Radio
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1313.txt
	Lively talk and just-breaking news on internetworking.
1991: Memo from the Consortium for Slow Commotion Research (CSCR)
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1217.txt
	Ultra-low-speed networking: one Abrams tank per bit.
1991: Gigabit Network Economics and Paradigm Shifts
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1216.txt
	Ultra-low-speed networking: keeping telco profits up.
1990: A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1149.txt
	Carrier pigeons with IP packets on their legs.
	(This has actually been implemented! See http://www.blug.linux.no/rfc1149)
1989: TELNET SUBLIMINAL-MESSAGE Option
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc1097.txt
	Hidden advertisements in Telnet connections.
1978: TELNET RANDOMLY-LOSE Option
	ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc748.txt
	Enabling and disabling crashes, bugs, and lost data on remote hosts.

--
Is a chair finely made tragic or comic? Is the          John Cowan
portrait of Mona Lisa good if I desire to see           jcowan@reutershealth.com
it? Is the bust of Sir Philip Crampton lyrical,         www.ccil.org/~cowan
epical or dramatic?  If a man hacking in fury           www.reutershealth.com
at a block of wood make there an image of a cow,
is that image a work of art? If not, why not?               --Stephen Dedalus