Alf the Poet posted:

In the winter of 1926, at the tender age of 7, a young boy of unusual 
intelligence had a dream.  In that dream, he saw thousands, perhaps 
millions, of people, sharing their insights, humor, and love in a new way. 
 He saw an amorphous, uncontrolled medium connecting these people, allowing 
them to participate in conversations that, while not instantaneous as in 
person or on the phone, were no less involved, no less personal.  The 
youngster believed it was his mission in life to bring this about.

As he crossed a busy street just after a snowstorm, he told a friend about 
his dream.  "I have a great idea!  It's alt..."  Just then, BAM!!!  He was 
hit by a delivery truck, and died shortly afterward in a local hospital.

But that has nothing to do with alt.buddha.short.fat.guy.

In the late 1980's, a few visionaries got together and invented a 
newsgroup.  Terry Smith, Lindsay Durway, Mary Ellen Paul (and her plastic 
cardinal), Brian Rice, and possibly others who are lost to history 
conceived alt.buddha.short.fat.guy.  They spent some time discussing the 
ins and outs of the Dharma, but it soon appeared that the little group was 
doomed to the USENET dustbin.  Then Terry discovered the "Lost Writings of 
El Dupree," and his diligence in translation and olfactory inhibition led 
to the re-introduction to the world of the long-lost Legendary Lecher.

El Dupree quickly became the reigning deity of the group, and as time 
passed, a.b.s.f.g slowly gained acceptance across the electronic news 
world.  Brian developed the original Frequently Asked Questions list, every 
word of which (except for the substitution of "Rush Limbaugh" for "Ronald 
Reagan") remains in the FAQ to this day.  In March of 1992, Alf the Poet 
noticed the group and joined in.  About a year later, Brian, having 
discovered more important things to do, asked Alf, who never has anything 
important to do, to take over the FAQ maintenance.  Then the other original 
founders found there way to fortuitous fortune, and faded out of the frame.

Since then, the group has spread to nearly half the news sites on the net, 
as well as establishing a strong presence on the World Wide Web.  None of 
this, of course, has anything at all to do with Alf's stewardship.  Rather, 
it is the message (and aroma) of the group which proves irresistable to new 
initiates.

You may ask what the future has in store for the group.  Indeed, you may 
ask, but you won't get an answer, because none of us gives a damn.  Things 
will as they will, as they say, and so it goes.  Stick around, though, 
because it'll be one helluva ride...