Hi David,

>[...] You haven't explained why we sysops need a chat
> area that only we can access.

It is obvious to me sinply because sysops have problems and concerns that users
do not often have..

Sharing experiences with other sysops in areas that preclude users who may be
troublesome protects everyone... Those problems sysops may have that users
don't might include:

   Sysops are responsible for all traffic coming from their
   system, users are generally not.

   Users may want to have secure systems if they are smart, but no one will
   hold them responsible for things like that if they are users.  *Remember why
   sysops test all software uploaded to their systems, for goodness sake :)

   Sure, a lot of users do use anti-virus tools to keep their systems safe, but
   if they don't do this, a sysop rarely will let that software go anywhere.
   That is why they are system operators...

   Sysops must maintain secure and up-to-date systems not only for their own
   security's sake but also for the sake of their users. A sysop generally lets
   anyone who wants to have access to their system, and servers.. ne'er-do-well
   users may, but most likely don't do this.

Take care,
Janis

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