3 ms·

In Germany we had pink PLK cards, which you got without an ID and where you could sent packages to (I held on to mine for a very long time). One day the police

In Germany we had pink PLK cards, which you got without an ID and where you could sent packages to (I held on to mine for a very long time). One day the police was waiting in front of the post office and got a friend of mine.

bonzini 6y ago
This has to be one of the most cryptic comments I have ever read! :D What is a PLK card, and what did your friend do?!?
- detaro 6y ago
  pretty much a temporary "PO box" you could get anonymously. You bought a card with a code from your post office, and then people could send stuff to the post office addressed to that number, and the card holder could pick them up. Relatively popular with the cracker/warez szene.
- ludwigschubert 6y ago
  EDIT: I shouldn't have run to Wikipedia; much better explanation at scene.org (go figure): https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 -- PLK = "PostLagerKarte", literally "mail storage card". It was (abolished 1991) a way to receive letters anonymously; like a P.O. box without your name attached to it. The [Wikipedia page](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte) even explicitly mentions its "illegal usage in the computing scene", so GP was likely referring to his friend using their P.O. box for (illegally) cracked software. Here's a shot at translating that Wikipedia paragraph: > Until their abolition, PLK cards were especially popular in the cracker scene because, compared to a regular P.O. box, no personal data had to be shared with the respective post office. PLKs were primarily used for anonymous sending and receiving of pirated software on floppy disks. [citation needed imho] The PLK addresses themselves were often listed digitally in the cracktros.
weinzierl 6y ago
Grew up in West Germany when the Demoscene was at it's height, but never heard of "pink PLK cards". Could you give a hint what that is? EDIT: Found it "Postlagerkarte"[1], I have heard that term before, but never was aware what it was. It feels strange that at a time you could do things easily, legally and anonymously, all at the same time. As a minor, at that. Let alone anonymously sending things to strangers. Admittedly I miss that world more than the Demoscene. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte
- ludwigschubert 6y ago
  Take a look, first-name-fellow! :D https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849
  - weinzierl 6y ago
    Thanks, excellent article - no questions left. Günter von Gravenreuth also rings a bell, haven't read that name in a long time.
    - jansan 6y ago
      >Günter von Gravenreuth also rings a bell, haven't read that name in a long time He died in 2010, maybe that's why we haven't heard much of him recently. De mortuis nil nisi bonum, but he was a bit of an annoyance.
- jansan 6y ago
  For some reason I totally missed this time. Can you let me know when the demoscene roughly had its peak? Friends of mine had the police search their houses in 1987 for exchanging cracked C64 games with people all over West Germany. They were still adolescents, so they got away with a 100DM fine. I was just a harmless teenager, copying games from friends (but also buying quite a few), but it seems I closer to some high profile crackers than I would have imagined. I wonder how many of them became part of the Demoscene.

bonzini 6y ago

This has to be one of the most cryptic comments I have ever read! :D What is a PLK card, and what did your friend do?!?

detaro 6y ago
pretty much a temporary "PO box" you could get anonymously. You bought a card with a code from your post office, and then people could send stuff to the post office addressed to that number, and the card holder could pick them up. Relatively popular with the cracker/warez szene.
ludwigschubert 6y ago
EDIT: I shouldn't have run to Wikipedia; much better explanation at scene.org (go figure): https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 -- PLK = "PostLagerKarte", literally "mail storage card". It was (abolished 1991) a way to receive letters anonymously; like a P.O. box without your name attached to it. The [Wikipedia page](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte) even explicitly mentions its "illegal usage in the computing scene", so GP was likely referring to his friend using their P.O. box for (illegally) cracked software. Here's a shot at translating that Wikipedia paragraph: > Until their abolition, PLK cards were especially popular in the cracker scene because, compared to a regular P.O. box, no personal data had to be shared with the respective post office. PLKs were primarily used for anonymous sending and receiving of pirated software on floppy disks. [citation needed imho] The PLK addresses themselves were often listed digitally in the cracktros.

weinzierl 6y ago

Grew up in West Germany when the Demoscene was at it's height, but never heard of "pink PLK cards". Could you give a hint what that is? EDIT: Found it "Postlagerkarte"[1], I have heard that term before, but never was aware what it was. It feels strange that at a time you could do things easily, legally and anonymously, all at the same time. As a minor, at that. Let alone anonymously sending things to strangers. Admittedly I miss that world more than the Demoscene. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postlagerkarte

ludwigschubert 6y ago
Take a look, first-name-fellow! :D https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849 https://gotpapers.scene.org/?p=849
- weinzierl 6y ago
  Thanks, excellent article - no questions left. Günter von Gravenreuth also rings a bell, haven't read that name in a long time.
  - jansan 6y ago
    >Günter von Gravenreuth also rings a bell, haven't read that name in a long time He died in 2010, maybe that's why we haven't heard much of him recently. De mortuis nil nisi bonum, but he was a bit of an annoyance.
jansan 6y ago
For some reason I totally missed this time. Can you let me know when the demoscene roughly had its peak? Friends of mine had the police search their houses in 1987 for exchanging cracked C64 games with people all over West Germany. They were still adolescents, so they got away with a 100DM fine. I was just a harmless teenager, copying games from friends (but also buying quite a few), but it seems I closer to some high profile crackers than I would have imagined. I wonder how many of them became part of the Demoscene.