MSGID: 2:5015/46 5f623a21   
   CHRS: CP866 2   
   TZUTC: 0300   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 17-02-17   
      
   * Originally in coffee_klatsch   
   * Crossposted in nino.046.local   
   Hello, All!   
      
   I was kinda in a nostalgic mood recently when I posted my beer preferences to    
   *enet.sysop* echo.   
      
   We used to have Fidonet SysOp-drinking at public places gatherings pretty   
   often    
   back in 90th in Russia (aka R50). More precisely, there were actually two   
   types    
   of them, like SysOp-drinking (aka SysOp'ka) and point-drinking (aka   
   point'ovka)    
   which is the node (boss) and its points outing. If I were to compare the    
   Fidonet potluck in Z1 to SysOp'ka in R50, they are similar in term of   
   reasoning    
   and way more different in implementation. Usually, those were IT young    
   professionals in their 20th and early 30th. Lacking of a private backyard as    
   majority of Russians were (and still are) living in apartments, let no choice    
   but going out for drinks. And yes, bucking stereotype of Russians drinking    
   vodka (bears,  vodka, balalaika), the most popular drink for SysOp gathering    
   was/is beer. It was considered either expensive or mauveton to drink out in a    
   bar, so we were drinking in public from a can or "cocktail" from a plastic cup.   
      
   I got into BBS's and later on joined as a Fidonet point and node when I still     
   technically was a kid, so no legal drinking, though there was no age    
   restriction for alcohol back in 90th in Russia. I didn't like the beer taste    
   and I substituted it with other flavored alcohol like Gin&Tonic, Pina Colada,    
   and cheap screwdriver cocktail in a can. The first time I really liked the   
   beer    
   taste was during my business trip to Lubeck, Germany in mid 2000s where I   
   tried    
   unfiltered wheat beer in a bar. I tried some Russian beer brands later but   
   none    
   of them tasted great to me.   
      
   Best Regards, Nil   
   --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5   
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