Slightly different from BD's long thread below. Lots of times its hard to classiy these things as outright lies, but it is deception none the less.

For example: Yesterday Gov. Thompson released the States "Final" report to the media that WI is in "great" shape --- we will have NO PROBLEMS (medias words). Here, however, are a Departments internal memos (available to public IF you know where to look):

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During the rollover weekend, the Department of Natural Resources will systematically bring down the entire network infrastructure. Starting at 4:30 PM on Thursday, December 30, 1999 through 7:00 AM on Monday, January 3, 2000, the entire DNR network will be unavailable.

During this time frame we ask that you follow some simple guidelines to ensure a smooth transition into the new year:

Unless instructed otherwise, and before you leave work for the weekend, please make sure that you properly log-off and shut down your computer, monitor and connected peripherals. Please do not attempt to utilize network access for any work during the scheduled down time. If you must perform any work that would normally require access to data on the network, please be sure to back up your data to the local drive on your PC. Even if the parts of the network that you need seem to be running, support staff will be in the process of testing and may need to bring them down without notice. Also the systems may not be ready to handle a normal user workload. Please do not call the help desk with network related service call issues during this time frame.

The ISS group will host a web-based Frequently Asked Questions page for internal DNR use. The FAQ will be designed to provide information regarding common software and Y2K related issues. This web page will not be available during the scheduled down time, nor will it be available for status reports of agency business functions during the rollover.

The page is located at: http://issweb/docs/SupData.asp

Q: How long will the network be down? A: The network will be scheduled to be down for the rollover weekend. If there are issues bringing the network back up, the network may be unavailable for an additional length of time. It cannot be anticipated what that length of time will be.

Q: Should I attempt to log on at any time during the shutdown to see if the network is working? A: No. If the parts of the network that you need seem to be running, support staff will be in the process of testing and may need to bring them down without notice. Also the systems may not be ready to handle a normal user workload.

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Q: Will the network be available for printing? A: No.

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Q: Will there be dial-up access? A: No.

Q: Will the network be handling internet services at anytime during the shutdown? A: No.

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Is this a bad plan: No.

Does this mean they're saying the system WILL fail: No.

Does this mean they (the state) DOESN'T REALLY KNOW: ABSOLUTELY.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), September 15, 1999

Answers

What do you expect from that frog neck of a governor? He's the biggest liar that ever walked, next to Clintdong and Billary. Did you really expect him to say that the entire grid was going down? Get real.

-- (foofee@foofee.com), September 15, 1999.