On This Day Pre-Y2K
Confused by any of the jargon you see below? Check the Y2K Glossary!
April 29, 1999 Permalink
I think that the “doomer” group (and it’s a small one) is concerned about possible outcomes. As has been said before, It’s about Stakes, not Odds. Larry Sanger wrote an excellent essay that says it all, for me. www.sangersreview.com (go to Philosophy & Y2K in the Left column, then to, Is It Rational To Prepare For Y2K?
There seems to be a disconnect going on between the Polly and Doomer folks. The Pollys say they do not discourage preparation, yet I don’t see any meaningful statements or advice about preparation, as we have here. So just what are they actually positioning for? I think they may be locked up in a psychological battle within themselves, and this speculation is described by Matt Vaugh, Y2K Without Tears. http://michael.mcelwain.com/final2.htm
And then there is the reality of public opinion. We are a really small % of the population here on the Yourdon site, possibly less than 10%,(possibly far less) of those who hold strong opinions about Y2k. So I ask the Pollys, with so many on your side of the argument (not too bad a problem, and it will be handled successfully as it arises) why bother to try to convert this forum? Is this a clean up act on your part? Can’t rest until we are all marching together? We don’t cause any harm to anyone. Very few pay any attention to us. Just walk down the street or down the hall and ask others what *they* think about Y2k and you Pollys will stand confirmed in your thinking. In the battle to influence the hearts and minds of the majority, you are currently so far ahead of us that you are clearly winning. Why not just declare Victory and go home? Don’t you have it in your hearts to tolerate even a tiny minority dissenting opinion? Or is there something about our viewpoints that creates a nagging feeling of deeper uncertaintly for you, and you just have to rub that out?
—Gordon, Time Bomb 2000 Forums (LUSENET), 04/29/99
Internet Pranksters Nabbed After Bank Panic (Last updated 8:15 AM ET April 29)
http://nt.excite.com/news/r/990429/08/odd-panic
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police have detained two people suspected of spreading rumors on the Internet that caused a run on a bank in central China, a local official said Wednesday.
“They spread rumors on the Internet, creating a disturbance and large amounts of cash withdrawal” last week from the Communications Bank of China in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, the official told Reuters from Zhengzhou.
The official declined to say what the rumors were but said the arrests were made quickly with the help of financial institutions and the central bank.
“A large number of people scrambled to withdraw money, including long- and short-term deposits,” he said.
The panic lasted two days and ended soon after the arrests, he said. “They might just want to test the efficiency of the Internet,” he said when asked what the motive was for spreading the rumors.
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Obviously, the efficiency in their ability to create a loss in confidence and strike fear was exceptional. And, all it took was a two people, a computer and the Internet.
Get ready, something wicked this way comes and it wont matter which side of the Y2k line you stand on.
—Michael Taylor, Time Bomb 2000 Forums (LUSENET), 04/29/99
