A summary for those that haven’t been keeping up with this series:
I found a number of 5.25″ disks at a thrift store a number of years ago. I finally got around to acquiring a 5.25″ disk drive and extracting the contents a while back. Since then I have been posting the contents here.
Based on the contents, at least some of these disks were apparently once owned by someone named Connie who used to run the “Close Encounters” Special Interest Group (SIG) on Delphi in the mid 1980s.
A specific definition of this SIG was found in a document on one of the disks: “This SIG, known as ‘Close Encounters’, is a forum for the discussion of relationships that develop via computer services like the Source, CompuServe, and Delphi. Our primary emphasis is on the sexual aspects of those relationships.”
This service was text based and was accessed via whatever terminal program you used on your computer to dial in to Delphi’s servers. Many of these disks have forum messages, e-mails and chat session logs. All of this is pre-internet stuff and I don’t know if there are any archives in existence today of what was on Delphi in the 1980s. In any case, much of this stuff would have been private at the time and probably wouldn’t be in such archives even if they existed.
This post includes the contents of DM0909.DOC which is dated September 9th, 1985. I believe that ‘DM’ in this case stands for Direct Mail which appears to have been Delphi’s version of e-mail. This document contains several such emails from September 8th and 9th, 1985. Topics include forum management, a broken air conditioner, some song lyrics that appeared in a previous post, and items of a more personal nature.
See the previous post here.
===
DM0909.DOC
===
#1 8-SEP-1985 20:51:29 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::CABUYS "CONNIE"
To: JOHNMYSELF,CABUYS
Subj: Topic annames
Evidently some sig managers are able to change sig topics but I can't get
ours to work.
(See msg 1259 in Insiders from PAN).
In the SM area I sidid manage to get a list of commands for Sig Setup that
list an option to name topics. but beyond that, nothing.
NOt sure what's going on here but it certainly needs investigating, huh?
-Connie
P.S. I love you.
MAIL> d
MAIL>
#2 8-SEP-1985 20:51:45 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::CABUYS "CONNIE"
To: RODM,CABUYS
Subj: I love you.
MAIL> d
MAIL>
#3 8-SEP-1985 21:15:21 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::CABUYS "CONNIE"
To: RODM,CABUYS
Subj: later....
Hi lover!
Sorry but I can't be on line later. My stomach is cramping something
terrible. ANd my air conditioner quit. sigh.
Guess I'll have to call a/c repairman and take time off from work to be
here to handle that. Wonder what else's going to go wrong!
Not sure why stomach cramps but it sure hurts!
so much for bad news......now the good....
I LOVE YOU!
Love,
Connie
MAIL> d
MAIL>
#4 8-SEP-1985 23:18:04 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::RODM
To: BOS1A::CABUYS,RODM
Subj: RE: later....
My Beloved Darling Connie,
I am so sorry about the problem with your stomach please take care of yourself
Sorry about the air conditioner too
That will probably make your discomfort worse and there is nothing I can do to
help!
I will call and check on you tommorrow!
I LOVE YOU !!!!!
Following this message I am sending to you first and if you approve please
post it on the forum under poetry a message containing the lyrics to:
"You Decorated My Life".
I only wish I was so talented as to have authored them for you!
Darling I hope you know just how much these words say for me!
I will talk to later my darling!
Love,
Rod
MAIL> d
MAIL>
#5 9-SEP-1985 12:01:51 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::RODM
To: CABUYS,RODM
Subj: poetry
So very often today songs are writen with little or no continuity to the
lyrics, the lyrics are burried by the intensity of the beat or rhythm of the
music, but every so often a song 'makes it' that has the beauty that the one I
am sending has.
There is a lot of background to why I am so affected by this song and some of
that might have even prevented my even hearing it but life has grabbed my
attention and caused me to find new beauty in places I might never have gone.
Until recently I didn't listen to much music at all and CERTAINLY NOT country
music but my life was affected by several people and after emerging from a
'cave' in which I was hiding I started hearing the words to songs, seeing the
fantastic things life has to give, and learned the importance sharing, feeling,
and loving if life is to be worth living.
I hope that everyone that reads this knows already or will realize very soon
exactly who they would recite or sing these words to and perhaps give them to
that person as the 'flower' for that day!
"You Decorated My Life"
All my life was a paper, once plain, pure, and white
'Til you moved with your pen, changing moods now and then, 'til the balance was
right
Then you added some music, every note was is place
And anybody could see all the changes in me, by the look on my face
And you decorated my life. Created a world where dreams are a part
And you decorated my life by painting your love all over my heart
You decorated my life!
Like a rhyme with no reason in an unfinished song
There was no harmony, life meant nothing to me, until you came along
And you brought out the colors. what a gentle surprise
Now I'm able to see, all the things life can be, shining soft in your eyes
And you decorated my life. Created a world where dreams are a part
And you decorated my life,by painting your love all over my heart
You decorated my life!
MAIL>
#6 9-SEP-1985 12:09:28 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::RODM
To: CABUYS,RODM
Subj: poetry resend
So very often today songs are writen with little or no continuity to the
lyrics, the lyrics are burried by the intensity of the beat or rhythm of the
music, but every so often a song 'makes it' that has the beauty that the one I
am sending has.
There is a lot of background to why I am so affected by this song and some of
that might have even prevented my even hearing it but life has grabbed my
attention and caused me to find new beauty in places I might never have gone.
Until recently I didn't listen to much music at all and CERTAINLY NOT country
music but my life was affected by several people and after emerging from a
'cave' in which I was hiding I started hearing the words to songs, seeing the
fantastic things life has to give, and learned the importance sharing,
feeling, and loving if life is to be worth living.
I hope that everyone that reads this knows already or will realize very soon
exactly who they would recite or sing these words to and perhaps give them to
that person as the 'flower' for that day!
"You Decorated My Life"
All my life was a paper, once plain, pure, and white
'Til you moved with your pen, changing moods now and then, 'til the balance
was right
Then you added some music, every note was is place
And anybody could see all the changes in me, by the look on my face
And you decorated my life. Created a world where dreams are a part
And you decorated my life by painting your love all over my heart
You decorated my life!
Like a rhyme with no reason in an unfinished song
There was no harmony, life meant nothing to me, until you came along
And you brought out the colors. what a gentle surprise
Now I'm able to see, all the things life can be, shining soft in your eyes
And you decorated my life. Created a world where dreams are a part
And you decorated my life,by painting your love all over my heart
You decorated my life!
MAIL> re
To: BOS1A::RODM,CABUYS
Subj: RE: poetry resend
Enter your message below. Press CTRL/Z when complete, or CTRL/C to quit:
Sweetheart,
Your entire message was so very special to me! ANd of course, I know how
very special that song is! <smile>
These
There's just one thing that would prevent me from posting it and that is a
legal question involving the copyright of the words. I'm sure we would have
to have written permission to puost it inthe forum and we will have to
provide proper acknowledgement to all persons involved in its writing.
I can take care of getting copyright permission if you can locate an
address where I can request such - and then we wait for a while - but the
wait will not change the meaning or our feelings!
I love you and miss you! When can bwe be together again?
Love, Connie
^Z
New mail on node BOS1A from CABUYS "CONNIE"
Press RETURN to return to reading your mail
MAIL> read newmail
#1 9-SEP-1985 17:22:49 NEWMAIL
From: BOS1A::CABUYS "CONNIE"
To: BOS1A::RODM,CABUYS
Subj: RE: poetry resend
Sweetheart,
Your entire message was so very special to me! ANd of course, I know how
very special that song is! <smile>
There's just one thing that would prevent me from posting it and that is a
legal question involving the copyright of the words. I'm sure we would have
to have written permission to puost it inthe forum and we will have to
provide proper acknowledgement to all persons involved in its writing.
I can take care of getting copyright permission if you can locate an
address where I can request such - and then we wait for a while - but the
wait will not change the meaning or our feelings!
I love you and miss you! When can bwe be together again?
Love, Connie
MAIL> d
MAIL> dir
NEWMAIL
# From Date Subject
1 (Deleted)
MAIL>
