wes@thor.srl.caltech.edu (Wes Boudville) (04/12/91)
> From: sharp@mizar.usc.edu (Malcolm Sharp) > In the April 1, 1991 issue of Infoworld, John Gantz in his column > "Tech Street" warned of a virus called "AF/91" which he said was > developed by the NSA to be used against Iraqui defense computers. > After describing the virus and telling that it started spreading > uncontrolled, he told that windowing technology was "doomed." > In the April 8 issue, Mr. Gantz's column begins with a note from the > Editors saying AF/91 was all an April Fools joke. > > I'm not laughing. > I'm searching for the adjectives to describe this irresponsible > act. > Anyone else spend time investigating this virus from the 4/1 columns? > I'm *seriously* considering a class action suit for compensatory > (small $) and punitive (BIG $$$) damages. I read that Infoworld article. Like many readers, I'm sure, I got a chuckle out of it. A lot of us are aware that media articles dated 1 April should be regarded with a grain of salt [like the story one year about Big Ben going digital]. Personally, I regard such articles as a refreshing and harmless sign of creativity. As a non-American, I find your comment to be a classic glimpse into the litigious nature of US society. Go ahead with your lawsuit. I suspect it will be thrown out of court. Wes Boudville Physics Dept Caltech
twong@civil.ubc.ca (Thomas Wong) (04/17/91)
wes@thor.srl.caltech.edu (Wes Boudville) writes: > I read that Infoworld article. Like many readers, I'm sure, >I got a chuckle out of it. A lot of us are aware that media >articles dated 1 April should be regarded with a grain of salt >[like the story one year about Big Ben going digital]. Personally, I >regard such articles as a refreshing and harmless sign of creativity. > As a non-American, I find your comment to be a classic >glimpse into the litigious nature of US society. I have to agree with you there. It seems that as the days goes by, there are stranger and stranger cases in the Amermican courts. People are being sued from anything to everything. There was a joke about this I read somewhere (can't recall where). The relevant part of the story goes something like this. A lady trips over a branch on the sidewalk in front of a building. She sues the gardener of the building for malpractice, sues the owner of the building for negligence, sues the city for pollution, sues the county for lack of control over its cities, sues the State for not increasing the city spending for the purchase of one more street cleaner, and sues President Bush for not buying that Nintendo Danny wants so that he can actually be doing something. >Go ahead with your lawsuit. I suspect it will be thrown out >of court. I'm not so sure about that. I have seen some strange decisions before. You know what they say in the US, if you have enough money to pay for a good lawyer, you can get away with murder (or seek refuge in Canada). :) But come now. A joke is a joke. We all know what April fools mean. I thought Americans are supposed to be funloving, free spirited group of fellows. Not to mention freedom of speech and all that jazz. Thomas.