USENET line eater?

[R. Christian Call]

< this is the first line of this article >
< this is the second line of this article >
 
Okay, everybody on USENET seems to be convinced that there
exists a bug somewhere which causes the first lines of
articles to disappear.  I myself have never noticed any
mutilated articles on the net.  Does anyone know whether
the dreaded line-eater really exists?

If by some chance the first line of this article, as it
appears on your system, claims to be the second line instead
of the first, send me mail so that I'll know the line-eater
is for real.  But if you happen to have good reason to
believe that it doesn't exist, please let me know.
Thanks in advance.