This may be the only way I can communicate with any of you, aside from e-mail, for a long time. Someone, out there in cyberspace, has decided that they don't like me. That's ok I probably don't like them either! LOL The bad part, for me, is that they're preventing me from chatting in VPlaces. *long drawn out sigh* I got booted so many times last night I finally lost count. At one point I got booted back to the chat room picker five times in three minutes. I would get frozen - like major lag only I could see everyone else still talking and then wham out I'd go to the chat room picker or all the way back to the sign-in page again. I tried other names I've used a few times, for our masked parties, and I still got whacked. Then when I came in under a fake name, that I hadn't used before, I was perfectly ok and didn't get booted at all. For over half an hour I surfed through av and gesture galleries with no boot problems. I talked to Arioska, in Notebook, and told her who I was and still didn't get blasted. Then I came to Exile, so far so good, didn't tell anyone who I was and I didn't get booted. So I thought it was just some hacker thing or a wierd coincidence. I went out and came back in as Laighe and immediately got blasted. I don't have a static IP address so it's not someone just zapping that number. The chat hosts at Excite told me that nobody else was getting booted more than they normally are. I have the no boot patch obviously it didn't help. I've decided that if this keeps up, for more than a few days, Laighe must fade away... Isn't that the pits? I hope it's just a fluke but I really doubt it. At least I know one person out there will be smiling at that news! Who knows maybe even more than one? Ah well you can't make everyone happy. : ) LOL!!! I'll keep coming back for a while and see if I still get whacked. Maybe whoever hates me will eventually get tired of blasting me into oblivion. Next time you see a mug please be nice - it may be me or Fates Folly who's having a similar problem...

-- Laighe of the Limberlost (laighe@excite.com), January 08, 2000

Answers

Dear Laighe, I have been a supporter of your wonderful style for several years now. If it had not been for you frequent help and kindness in both DV Studio [initially] and in exile later~~many of us would not have returned. So please let us help in this juvenile, anti- social acting-out by that "someone" who can be monitored. Personalizing and attempting to terrorize by avatar/nicks is a cowardly act, and will never stop us!

Let me know if you need additional snares built!

-- Pthis (not@excite.com), January 08, 2000.

thank you! : )

-- Laighe of the Limberlost (laighe@excite.com), January 08, 2000.

OMG Laighe! are you sure it's not y2k related? i think the hosts are full of it. i've been getting booted all the time lately. hmmm...now that i think about it...i'm not getting booted as simplysweet. boot protection doesnt help? so much for getting a special program. i thought that was my trouble...i deleted mine...was gonna get it back. well gosh this makes me mad. you're wonderful and i cant think of any reason anybody would boot you on purpose. you're the most fun to have around! please stay! (crossing fingers it's y2k) ~me

-- simplysweet (noelle@gardener.com), January 09, 2000.

p.s. i keep getting booted in the way that knocks out my vp and my icq. i have to disconnect from my isp and reconnect...what a pain. does anybody know how i can prevent that or what could be causing that?

-- simplysweet (noelle) (noelle@gardener.com), January 09, 2000.

A good friend gave me something that will, hopefully, catch the person who's been nuking me so that I can turn them in to the powers that be. If it helps I'll let you all know! Keeping my fingers and toes all crossed and typing with my tongue!

-- Laighe of the Limberlost (laighe@excite.com), January 09, 2000.

Hang in there, Laighe! Let's try you coming in as "Laighe" while you're running that Nukenabber (port listener) you DLed yesterday. Then see if there really is a port problem going on when you freeze and drop out of VP. (fingers crossed for you!)

My suspicion is that it's a coincidence going on with the Laighe vs. non-Laighe names. The description sounds more like a problem with your connection to the VP server ... then again, I could be wrong! I'll see if I can get someone I know who's a real good sleuth on VP connection problems to take a look at what's going on.

First step is the port listener. Want to try that tonight? (Sunday) Let me know on ICQ when you want to go in. All I'm doing today/tonight is digging out the office and measuring to get new furniture to store all this cr*p I've got stacked in here! LOL.

-- Editrix (editrix@hotmail.com), January 09, 2000.

Noelle -- do me a favor and try turning off your ICQ and going into VP sometime. See if you get booted. It is very possible someone on ICQ is booting you, which would close any TCP/IP (Net) program you're running. Boot programs can be made for any TCP/IP connection program, such as ICQ, VP, IRC, etc. Even the Palace!

See if that makes a difference. And run that Nukenabber program. See if when you get "booted" if it picks up who's doing it. It should, if it's a true boot and not a network problem.

You know, it could be network problems, too. For instance, all last week a major pipe in the Midwest, which routes ~everything~ between East and West went down constantly: Chicago's AlterNet routers were out. That made even me drop my connections constantly, and I'm on a cable modem. Boot programs do ~not~ affect cable connections. Even I was booting out of VP and ICQ, and it couldn't have been a boot program doing in because of my cable modem connection to the Net.

Hang in there! Let me know what happens!

-- Editrix (editrix@hotmail.com), January 10, 2000.