mr dirtbag - Slashdot User

Submission + - Debugging the US Constitution

Submitted by

P. Orin Zack

on Saturday April 28, 2007 @09:08PM

P. Orin Zack writes: "Say you're fond of a massively multi-player real-world role-playing game that has run off the rails, and you want to fix it. What do you do? The ground rules of this game are public, and include a method of changing them. The activities within this game are governed not only by these ground rules, but also by in-game laws that are created by the players themselves. Time is limited, because the universe looks like it will soon crash and burn, and you cannot reboot the system.

I'm speaking of the real-life game that runs in an operating system called the US Constitution. The ground rules define a set of checks and balances, for example, but the programmers overlooked some issues, such as a check and balance pair that would enable the Governors of the several states to overrule perverse laws passed by Congress or defeat implementation by the Executive.

So my question for the community is this: if you could revise the rules in the Constitution to fix the problems which threaten to crash the system, what changes would you make?"

Submission + - registrars and customer service?!

Submitted by on Saturday April 28, 2007 @12:11PM

An anonymous reader writes: 2 years ago I decided to try another line of work and dropped out of the computer world. I shut down my servers and gave notice to friends and family to quit using my business email addresses. I assumed any domain names I owned would not be renewed and put back in the pool. Fast forward to present day where I realize once a geek, always a geek and I now want to get back into my old business. I figured my old domains were gone but took a peek anyways, only to find that my main business domain name is still registered to me through my old registrar.

I thought "great, I'll just contact them, pay them up for all the time I was gone, and it'll all be good". Man, was I wrong. This is the response I received from them:

Thank you for contacting us. Unfortunately your account has been terminated, due to a violation of our Terms and Conditions (excessive non-payment). As a result, your data/domain(s) have been deleted/set to expire as appropriate. GIven these circumstances, we kindly ask that you seek services elsewhere, as our system will prevent you from doing so moving forward. We wish you the best in yoru future endeavors. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact us.

I have 6 weeks until the domain is returned to the pool where we all know it will be snapped up in seconds. Why won't this registrar let me back pay them so my account is in good standing. I'm willing to put a valid credit card on file with them. The domain in question is a 5 letter .com, does that have anything to do with it?

I have not mentioned the domain name or registrar because I am not sure if slashdot would allow it, but I have no problem mentioning either.

Finally, I had already assumed my domain was gone. I had no idea what happened to it since the registrar was unable to contact me for the last couple of years because I unplugged my servers. I find it is still registered to me but I have no access to it nor will the registrar let me pay them up in full, nor even pay them in advance. The above letter was the first response I got from them. A little cold don't you think? What business would rather not take my money for the last couple of years and instead say good riddance? Is it possible that because this is a good 5 letter .com domain name, the registrar is speculating they can sell it for a lot more rather than let me continue to have it? Do I have any recourse?

Submission + - MIT Dean of Admissions Resigns in Lying Scandal

Submitted by

Billosaur

on Friday April 27, 2007 @11:42AM

Billosaur writes: "CNN has a report that the Dean of Admissions at MIT has resigned her post after admitting to lying about her academic record. "Marilee Jones, who joined the staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1979 to lead the recruitment of women at the university, stepped down from her post after admitting that she had 'misrepresented her academic degrees to the institute,' according to a statement posted on MIT's Web site." The school had recently received information about her credentials and the subsequent investigation uncovered the misrepresentations. Question is, why did it take 28 years?"

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