Web Printing Booby Trap?

CMUNSON CMUNSON at aaas.org
Wed Dec 18 17:18:05 EST 1996


> Our library offers free laser printing from our networked computers, which 
> provide web access via Netscape.  A few weeks ago, we found at one of the 
> printers some 200 pages that were blank except for the following header: 
> The Anarchist Cookbook   http://www.sonic.net/~robroy/cookbook2.html#18

> This week, I found the same thing at another printer, so I decided to
> investigate.  When I went to http://www.sonic.net/~robroy/ I found a web 
> version of <<The Anarchist Cookbook>>.  I thought I would try printing, 
> and when I did I got the blank pages with the header (though I only got 
> four of them since I had specified printing only pages 1-4).

Here, you need to change your print setup just a little. Go under File, 
then choose Print Setup. Make sure Black lines and Black text are 
highlighted - your pages were "blank" because Netscape was trying to 
print white text - sorta silly. Specifying Black Text makes all text 
print in black. 


     Yeah, this is probably what is causing the printing problem. Of course, the 
     greatest crime at this site is the poor design, including a bad use of 
     frames. The other problem is that your ignorant student wasn't getting what 
     he thought he was getting. It looks like "robroy" has put the "Anarchist 
     Cookbook" online, but close examination reveals that it is a compilation of 
     various files off the Net, with some excerpts from the original Cookbook 
     thrown in for good measure. The original "cookbook" was written in 1971 and 
     has never been updated, so an online edition shouldn't contain anything on 
     "hacking."
     
     Of course Barricade Books, the vigilant copyright holder on the "Anarchist 
     Cookbook," may have entered into an agreement with robroy, but I doubt 
     that.
     
     Chuck Munson


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