The Corner Pub

PI had about 800 computer users, up to 200 of whom were ‘core’ users accessing the system regularly. PI had its own dedi- cated phone line, separate from the house phone so Bowen’s parents wouldn’t get upset the line was always tied up. Later, he put in four additional phone lines for Zen, which had about 2000 users. Using his Telecom training, he installed a number of non-standard, but legal, features to his house. Junction boxes, master switches. Bowen’s house was a telecommunica- tions hot-rod.

Bowen had decided early on that if he wanted to keep his job, he had better not do anything illegal when it came to Telecom. However, the Australian national telecommunications carrier was a handy source of technical information. For example, he had an account on a Telecom computer system – for work – from which he could learn about Telecom’s exchanges. But he never used that account for hacking. Most respectable hackers followed a similar philosophy. Some had legitimate univer- sity computer accounts for their courses, but they kept those accounts clean. A basic rule of the underground, in the words of one hacker, was ‘Don’t foul your own nest’.

PI contained a public section and a private one. The public area was like an old-time pub. Anyone could wander in, plop down at the bar and start up a conversation with a group of locals. Just ring up the system with your modem and type in your details – real name, your chosen handle, phone number and other basic information.

Many BBS users gave false information in order to hide their true identities, and many operators didn’t really care. Bowen, however, did. Running a hacker’s board carried some risk, even before the federal computer crime laws came into force. Pirated software was illegal. Storing data copied from hacking adventures in foreign computers might also be con- sidered illegal. In an effort to exclude police and media spies, Bowen tried to verify the personal details of every user on PI by ringing them at home or work. Often he was successful. Sometimes he wasn’t.