DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET FROM 12:01 AM GMT ON APR. 1 TO
12:01 AM GMT, APR. 2 !!
*** Attention ***
It's that time again!
As many of you know, each year the Internet must be shut down for 24 hours
in order to allow us to clean it. The cleaning process, which eliminates
dead email, inactive ftp and www sites, and empty USENET groups,
allows for a better working and faster Internet.
This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on
April 1 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on April 2 (the time least likely to
interfere with ongoing work). During that 24-hour period, five powerful
Internet search engines situated around the world will search the Internet
and delete any data that they find.
In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do
the following:
1. Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet
connections.
2. Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.
3. Disconnect all disks and hard drives from any connections to the Internet.
4. Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.
We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some Internet users,
and we apologize. However, we are certain that any inconveniences will be
more than made up for by the increased speed and efficiency of the
Internet,
once it has been cleared of electronic flotsam and jetsam.
We thank you for your cooperation.
Yuben T. Ricked
Interconnected Network Maintenance staff,
Main branch,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Sysops and others: Since the last Internet cleaning, the number of Internet
users has grown dramatically. Please assist us in alerting the public of
the upcoming Internet cleaning by posting this message
where your users will be able to read it. Please pass this message on
to other sysops and Internet users as well.
Für die, die es noch nicht erfahren haben: