Version 2.0, July 1, 2000 FINAL
1. What are the Black Crawling Systems?
2. What types of files do you offer?
3. Are there any mirror sites?
4. Does it cost any money to access the files?
5. I've got some files you don't have, can I upload?
6. I am prompted for a username and password, what do I do?
7. Why don't you allow anonymous access?
8. Can I buy a CD with all your files on them?
9. I can't access this or that file, help!
10. I'd like to donate my BBS files to your archive, what should I do?
11. Are you some sort of gun-totin', paranoid militia maniac?
12. Is there any other way to contact you other than email?
13. What is the password for VCL.ZIP?
14. What is up with this place? It hasn't been updated in almost 8 years? (as of 7-1-2000)
15. Are you ever going to release the CD again?
The Black Crawling Systems are a graphic depiction of my mind/memories. The core set of files contained within Black Crawling Systems is the summation of all that I was in 1990. At that point, I felt there was a need of a depository of such a collection of files. Hopefully this would attract others with a mindset close to that of my own. And it did. Half of the present day l0pht members were brought together under the banner of the Black Crawling Systems BBS in its three years of Operation. In many ways I can attribute the fundamental creation of the present day l0pht to the original Black Crawling Systems BBS.
The original BBS was more or less born out of the ashes of The Knight Elite which was run by myself and The Knight in 1989 and 1990. After some "legal" complications the Knight Elite was taken down and replaced with Black Crawling Systems. BCS quickly evolved into a networked BBS (via FIDOnet). It was a member of the CyberCrime Network, P/Snet (phalcon schism), and GoddamNET. Three years later, in early 1993, the Black Crawling Systems would be no longer accessable to the POTS network.
In the developmental stages of the l0pht, it was decided by myself and Weld that I not run a lame BBS at the l0pht, but rather we setup a machine on the 'net. The idea genisis of L0pht.com was complete. Now to fashion the idea into reality. By sheer will, the parts of the new machine were consencrated from "trash" scattered throughout the floor of the L0pht. Power was applied, Linux loaded, booted, and configured. Thus began the age of L0pht. Soon its net presence would be known world-wide. Its archives leeched a thousand-fold. In 1993 the archives of Black Crawling Systems were made available to the 'net community via ftp. Later that year, it would be the first underground archive to be made available by the simple 'point and click' interface of the Web.
Most of the files offered here are available elsewhere but not all lumped into one sum and presented as it is on the l0pht. This is a personal collection of files that I mostly collected myself. I wanted to create a place for people of like minds to reach out and explore the technologies that envelope us and control our lives. To control technology is to control your/the world.
Why the magick files? Because that I belive is Wetware technology. A method to program the brain for the expansion of thought processing and retention. A way to examine the principles of life and to keep them in check. The study of the hermetic laws will do wonders for programming and electronic design when applied correctly. The mastery of the Kaballa will enhance your troubleshooting/puzzle solving skills a thousandfold and open up your mind to the connectivity of the mechanics of this reality.
All files in this archive compliment each other.
Not at the current time. I am sure they will begin to crop up as soon as we release our archives on CD. The CD-ROM issue will be discussed further along in this document.
No, it does not. The files were ftp'ed by the web client applications at one point, but now the files are retrieved right from the server via http.
You sure can. The only problem is the same restrictions on downloading files carries over to uploading files. This will be remedied in the near future. The archive has received less than 50 new files in the past 2 years it has been in operation. It basically has been a disgusting leechfest that has turned my stomach for quite some time. It is basically out of balance and it disturbs me. Hopefully uploads will commence once the problem of anonymous uploading is fixed. Any news of this will be posted in the HOT NEWS button off of the main l0pht page.
I am not sure what you are doing to encounter this. I will persue this more thouroughly when I have the chance. I have a strange feeling this is privy to a specific Web Browser, (Like compuserves, or AOL's). The only time I am prompted for a username and password is when I use the premium ftp access form. The form has an adequite amount of information on it describing its function and how to use it.
Oh, one more thing. Do not enter your AOL account and password into anything other than AOL itself. That should only be when you initially log into the service. (Note: substitute other large annoying online services for AOL)
This can also be caused by browsers that don't automatically log themselves in with anonymous/punk@sucka.com. If this is the case, when the username/password box appears, type in anonymous, then punk@sucka.com. If that doesn't work, sorry!
I get this question all the time from people that, I believe, only know the internet through the like of AOL, Prodigy, or Compuserve. They see the anonymous access denied and see nothing else. It only means that the systems limit for anonymous access has been reached and you should try back later.
Yes, you can. If you would like to purchase a copy of the Black Crawling Systems Archive, you can check out this link.
http://www.l0pht.com/~oblivion/bcscd-info.html
This question probably ties into some of the other above, however, I am asked this particular question every DAY, that I felt it earned its own number. If you get a file not found error, please send me mail about it. If you receive an access denied, you will have to try and try again until you get through after someone else takes thier fill. Unfortunatly there is no way for us to currently restrict the amount of time someone stays connected, or to impose a file retrieval limit per connection. Because of this, many are rejected from retrieving files.
Somehow on the net, there are links pointing to ~/oblivion/old-html_dir/whatever... if you see this, just repoint your browser to http://www.l0pht.com/~oblivion/blackcrawlarch.html, and then move into the respective directory from there.
Donations of ANY kind are most welcome and encouraged. I would like to see a lot more uploads than I have in the past years. I have received about 35 files in the past two years after serving out over 100GB of info to the net. That is a pretty piss-poor ratio. If you would like to send a copy of your files to l0pht for assimilation into the archives contact Brian Oblivion. In exchange for your offering we can supply you with a copy of your own archives plus ours on a one-off CD. If this is not beneficial to you, another arrangement can be worked out.
What I am, or am not is of no concern to the users. I gather that you can basically piecemeal together my inner workings from the information presented in this FAQ. I will say that I am concerned with current trends I see in our political circles. Corruption, half-truths, compromised values, greed and the arrogance of one man to view another as fodder to himself, still plagues our race. Tyrrany and Totalitarianism must be avoided and crushed. A system which thrives upon the helplessness of it's subjects is a vile beast supporting only those who conform to the "standards" to obtain thier daily bread. Complete control over destiny through School-to-work programs will crush ambition and the will to choice.
Contact me directly at:
L0pht Heavy Industries c/o: Brian Oblivion P.O. Box 990857 Boston, MA 02199
The password is: chiba city or some variation thereof
Time to move on to better things. I'm glad the archive surved its purpose, and am even happier that it made the jump from the BBS scene to the 'net. But I am active in other projects now, so feel free to take your fill and grow it elsewhere. Thanks for the years of support.
No. The Original 1000 pressed CD's are all that will ever be made. I would like to thank those who purchased a CD, as it helped support the l0pht during monetarily difficult times.
Please Direct all New questions to oblivion@l0pht.com.