How timely of you to send me such a story. Just last week I tried something similar to what was represented in the story. Shall I explain? Ok. On my homepage I wrote a program that allows people to talk to each other over the internet (by exchanging text messages). It's one of these "chat rooms" that have been in the news recently. The program allows people to chat in "public rooms" or to create "private rooms" available only to those people who know the name of the room. Since the program is my creation and runs in my account I have access to everyone's conversation (sort of like owning the phone company). Recently, the chat page/service has become rather popular. While I was debugging the software I was amazed to see what people were talking about. The majority of people using the chat server were using it to commit cyber adultery. Loving exchanges between people who had never met in real life, peppered with lines like "oh i have to type quietly because my S.O. is sleeping nearby", and various references like "I can't spend much time tonight *pout* because "other" is getting suspicious of how long I'm spending on the net". Along with complicated schemes such as po boxes for the exchange of items without any tracable way of getting caught by "other" etc etc. any way that's a story unto itself. As the popularity increased, the next thing I noticed was that people were having lots of cybersex on the chat server. Again, all between people who had never met, and it seemed the majority of it was lesbian oriented. I didn't know how all these people were finding my website and was quite puzzled. Also I didn't really care to go looking at people's "private" conversations, it's just that every "conversation" is a file that gets created in my account, that has to be deleted by me, so I find myself looking into files before I toss them out to make sure that they are no longer in use. Anyway I often found the remnants of some smoking hot sexual activity in quite a lot of them. I've since written a program that deletes inactive files for me so I no longer have to go snooping. ANYWAY, getting to the point of the story, one night I found myself annoyed because some people are rather abusive and distastefully crass, along with the regular immature element that will sometimes enter a public room and tell everyone to fuck off for no apparent reason, so I had the idea, while waiting at a stop light, to tell the program to substitute certain words with other words. Unlike talking on the telephone, the computer works to exchange messages through text that is typed into the keyboard. So I could simply modify the chat program to look for obscene words, and replace those words with other non-obscene words. At first I laughed it off, but then a friend reminded me of the FCC ruling and then I realized I was bound by law to protect the users of the chat service from themselves. So I gave it a try. I had the computer substitute the word "little volcano" for the word "nipple", the word "caboose" for "ass" and the word "conjugate" for the word "fuck", (Conjugate is a technical term to describe mating, usually used for bacteria), the word "donut hole" for "asshole", and the word "proboscis" for "dick", and the words "mammary gland" for the word "breast". The possibilities were endless. So when someone would type a message, they would originally see what they really typed, but then when they push "submit" to put their message in the chat room for the other person to see, the message is modified, and everyone sees only the modified message. The next day when I came in to see how things had gone, I happened to be sitting at a computer in the library while I checked my files, and I almost fell out my chair laughing. Here is some sample text (the names have been changed to protect the guilty)
Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:03:09 1996 I reach behind you and unclasp your bra... I run my hands to the front of you and begin caressing your beautiful mammary glands..you throw your head back with pleasure as I continue to carress you with one hand and unbutton your blouse with the other... Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:04:41 1996 Ithink it substituted mammary glands for mammary glands?? is that right? Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:05:11 1996 guess it is...ok... I'm learnin... Judy@big_access------------------------------------(deleted) 09:07:09 1996 Ahhhhhhhhh Scott.............my little volcanos are so hard........working my way down to your belt buckle.....slowly unfastening it and running my hand across the front of your trousers......yes, i feel you building...... Judy@big_access------------------------------------(deleted) 09:07:53 1996 Volcanos.......I know I typed little volcanos........ Judy@big_access------------------------------------(deleted) 09:08:16 1996 Scott.....they are changing words here......I did not type volcanos Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:08:48 1996 I completely undo your blouse and take one of your beautiful tits in my mouth..I suck on the little volcano very gentlt running my tongue around it over and over again... Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:10:06 1996 I know... it is weird,,, i thought i was goin crazy!! Judy@big_access------------------------------------(deleted) 09:10:26 1996 This is strange............anyway.......yes, baby, that feels so good........I am rubbing you through your trousers and can feel you getting harder and harder. ......kiss me Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:10:46 1996 it kinda takes away from the meaning... Dale@somewhere.usa----------------------------------(deleted) 09:19:50 1996 I want to gently pull your little vocanoes.... etc. Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 08:58:36 1996 I am in you now all the way....u are layin still as i start to thrust my hips forward the KY is working well...my movements are slow and purposeful as I thrust forward I rub my index finger across your clit...u are playing with your mammary gland and quivering. my motion quickens the grip your donut hole has on me is amazing...i thrust long hard and deep into u Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:00:52 1996 mmmmm,,can you feel my caboose muscles squeezing your cock with each thrust? that's what i am doing to the vibe,, Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:01:56 1996 wiat a minute,,,i didnt type caboose!!!!! i typed caboose... Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:02:19 1996 do u notice that the computer is changing our words we use Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:02:32 1996 Mark??????? Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:02:40 1996 I guess caboose is caboose Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:03:07 1996 *laughing*,,it will compute cock,,but not caboose???? Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:03:47 1996 pussy,,but not caboose??????Sorry,,i'm laughing too hard !!!!!!!!! Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:04:28 1996 my meat is pounding deep into u now your legs are bouncing of my shoulders as i pound way your clit is geting worked over by my fingers your body cant take it any longer and either can I I start to cum.....I pull it out and push it forward over your clit and I start squriting ont your your chest and belly Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:04:53 1996 Iam laughing too Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:05:54 1996 I am so sorry,,but i cant stop laughing!! why is it doing that?? Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:07:25 1996 everytime i see caboose,,when i type ass,,i cant help it.. Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:08:22 1996 hey,,what is going on here?..ass...ass..ass Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:09:04 1996 Mark? Think someone is messing with us? Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:09:06 1996 that is ok I think it is porgram to notice the 7 dirty words that the FCC views as odscene, did u ever hear that george Carlin skit...like the word tit is called mamary glands *LOL* Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:09:40 1996 I dont hink so How could they???????? Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:10:02 1996 have u achieved orgasm yet Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:10:33 1996 oh,,,*laughing*,,then it wasnt you who typed mamary gland????? Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:11:23 1996 nope it wasnt Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:12:12 1996 oh good,,cause i thought you went off your rocker for a minute!!*laughing* Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:12:15 1996 that is ok hon iam laughing to I guess this is one of those laugh sex moments..... Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:13:29 1996 you know what is funnier,,we can't even tell anyone about this,,and its a great story!! Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:14:11 1996 i know frustating but it can be our secret ;-) a funny one at that ha ha h ah aha ha Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:14:36 1996 i just keep thinking about caboose and mamary gland,,and cant stop laughing,,, god,,,!!!! Bomber@hardcore---------------------------(deleted) 09:17:19 1996 u said caboose again.....ha ha ha ha how tall are u Trixy@somewhere.com------------------------------(deleted) 09:18:26 1996 5"4,,,,still laughing..,*hug**kiss*,,bye.So anyway Danielle, I thought you'd get a kick out of that. I only had the programming running for a few hours before I replaced it with the original version that doesn't substitute words. I found it funny but I really didn't feel comfortable modifying people's conversations, and really I don't care what they talk about. Don't you think it's kind of cruel?
Sorry for such a long message. Since it contains actual conversation of people I don't know, I feel kind of odd sending it to you, but on the other hand, ? I don't know if I would forward to anyone either, if it were to get back to the people who could recognize their sentences (even though I changed their identity) I would hate to receive hate mail or get sued or something. Do you think I should be worried? This new popular technology raises all kinds of questions about what is public and what is private doesn't it?
Well I hope things are going well for you.
-Chris