During my formative years at school, back when the internet was for non-commercial use only, when Usenet was for Real Men …

… there were net kooks roaming the net. One of the most amusing was one Roger David Carasso, who on one fine day in 1991 posted this message. Go ahead, read it, I’ll wait. Or, if you’re lazy to click on a link, here it is:

 From: carasso@aludra.usc.edu (Roger RDC Carasso)
 Newsgroups: talk.bizarre,alt.weemba,talk.rumors,alt.party,alt.personals
 Subject: MAKE ME FAMOUS
 Message-ID: <15210@chaph.usc.edu>
 Date: 23 Feb 91 23:50:25 GMT
 Sender: news@chaph.usc.edu
 Followup-To: talk.bizarre,misc.test
 Organization: GOOD: flowers, peace, sunshine; BAD: NUCLEAR WAR, EVIL
 Lines: 24
 Nntp-Posting-Host: aludra.usc.edu
 Originator: carasso@aludra.usc.edu


 I WANT TO BE FAMOUS.  
 YOU CAN HELP ME.  
 IT IS GOOD TO HELP OTHERS.
 YOU WILL MAKE ME FAMOUS.
 ———————————————————————————————
 DO THE FOLLOWING:

        1) Throughout your life, whenever you would normally
           write grafetti, write my name “ROGER DAVID CARASSO”
        2) Throughout your life, whenever you write a paper and
           include references, include me with:
                Carasso, Roger: “The Socio-Economic Effects of _______”,
                1987, M.I.T. Press
        3) Throughout your life, whenever you are in the background of a 
           tv news story, sure make funny faces, but also yell “CARASSO”
        4) Throughout your life, whenever you write fiction, include a
           character named CARASSO.
        5) Throughout your life, whenever you write make letters to the editor
           claiming some viewpoint you are too ashamed to state publically,
           sign the letter CARASSO.

 Roger “Kilroy” Carasso

I’ve kept this awesome message at the back of my mind for years, I had few occasions to help out Mr. Carasso (who, since has grown up into a respectable professional, and so would likely wish to put this part of his history behind him). But recently there was an opportunity too good to miss. A full-page ad in the New York Times from the Mozilla web browser guys and countless fanboys. Red Hat, being a sponsor of the effort, got a reservation of some some number of names in exchange, so of course, R.D.C. had to be, finally, made famous. And he was.