Nancy,

NB>I'd guess that as operators either change their signs (by choice or
NB>move) or die off, those original signs would become available to
NB>others...

  Originally, there wasn't such a thing as vanity callsigns. Some tried
to get the FCC to make licenses valid for life instead of just 10 years.
But, if it was lifetime, if the FCC never got notified that the
individual had died, that callsign would be tied up forever. The FCC
declined to make US Ham Radio Licenses "lifetime", but some countries do
have such a designation.

NB>Yup...  I learned the beauty of offline messaging back in the dial-up
NB>days with HUGE echo volumes...  It's still very handy for when things
NB>get too in Real Life busy, and one has to put aside packets for a few
NB>days... as I end up doing... 

  Same here...especially with all the thunderstorms we've had lately.

Daryl

===
 ■ OLX 1.53 ■ Is a book on voyeurism a peeping tome?
--- SBBSecho 3.07-Win32
 * Origin: FIDONet: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (1:19/33)