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• BBS? I Was Calling Granny!
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BBS? I Was Calling Granny!
The hidden treasures of Bulletin Board Systems...
by Robert Short [NetMail - 1:105/38 E-mail - bsbbs@juno.com]

OK, your wait times are unbearable at Almost On Line, and now you have nothing to do except play Duke 3D and Doom. You're just dying for more online time --but what are you going to do, subscribe to a second ISP? Or, you've just spent 6 hours on the World Wide Wait, finding and downloading the latest version of Quake, but it's too late at night to try it. How about logging on to a home page and sweating it out while downloading a dozen images -- so you can jump to yet another page or two? Ah, the Internet! Well, maybe the I-Net isn't quite that bad. With the proper filtering software or parental direction, it can be a safe, educational and entertaining experience for children. For adults, the World Wide Web can be an invaluable tool to access programs and support for both personal and business needs, creating a new marketing revolution. Another Dimension

There's another dimension to cyberspace that they don't mention at the omputer store, one that can provide many of the same features as the Internet and some that it doesn't. It not the intention of this article to make comparisons or to infer that one is better than the other, as both are unique in their own ways. Rather I write hoping to educate the reader to an aspect in telecommunications that has served the community since before the World Wide Web was conceived, and has been somewhat overshadowed by the highly publicized and popular Web. This alternative is the "Bulletin Board System" (BBS), an online service offering a wide variety of online games, files, one-on-one chat, message areas, private mail, and participatory forums. All this can be found at many of the local BBSs via the communications software that came bundled with your operating system HyperTerminal for Window 95, Terminal for Win 3.x).

There are many different styles of Bulletin Board Systems; each BBS is customized in form and appearance by its system operator, the person known as the SysOp. Boards range in size from those operating over a single telephone line from a home PC to full-featured, multi- line systems run on a local area network. Their look and feel can range from straight black-and-white text to 256-color SVGA graphics. Many BBSs charge you nothing to call and offer 30-60 minutes access per day, while others might charge a nominal subscription fee to access the more popular features like multi-user chat or CD-ROM files areas, or to allow you more daily online time. Still others might offer full-fledged (and fee-based) Internet access in addition to their standard BBS services. The majority of these boards are operated by computer hobbyists who put their time, equipment and money at the disposal of the community simply for the joy of doing so. Quite often, the SysOp will run his BBS to promote a special area of interest, while others have a more general appeal.

One of the most enticing aspects of BBSs is the personal attention many SysOps give to their callers. Some even go out of the way to help their users with software and hardware problems, making them a valuable resource for technical assistance and advice. Opening an account is as easy as calling and answering a few simple questions. Most fee-based BBSs offer a free trial period to give you a feel for the system before subscribing. Free boards often have a Call Back Verifier which calls your computer to check your phone number and then automatically validates your account. Once a member, you will become part of a family of users who consider their favorite BBS a place to meet, play, share programs and ideas, and an indispensable resource for sending messages across town or around the world. At your BBS, you can truly enjoy a sense of closeness and community. SysOps often host gatherings where members can meet one another.

As mentioned above, there can be many activities available on BBSs that inform and inspire, entertain and enhance. Offering relatively safe alternatives to some areas of the Internet, BBS SysOps usually require phone number verification, real names for the user records (though aliases might also be allowed) and, where access to adult material is available, proof of age and sex. These requirements seek to guarantee a comfortable environment for both men and women, children and adults. It is not uncommon to see users ages 8 to 80.

Here are the features found at many BBSs in the your area. You're bound to find something enlightening on your very first call.

Messages

This was the main feature when BBSs appeared, hence the name Bulletin Board System. In message areas you can easily place or read an advertisement or announcement, post a question or answer, or browse through hundreds of specialized subject areas for interesting information. If your BBS is connected to a network of systems such as FidoNet, most messages will be "echoed" around the globe to some 50,000 other BBSs which pass messages and files via telephone line, satellite and the Internet. If you have problems with hardware or software, you'll find that many computer companies and programmers visit these message areas to answer questions and offer support. There are currently over 700 FidoNet echoes (topic areas) that cover more than 500 subjects.

Files

The local BBS is a great place to download the latest shareware, freeware, and public domain software. You will often have download privileges on your first call, and the compressed files you download are easily uncompressed with a variety of freeware or shareware unzipping programs. If your primary connection to the Internet is via modem, you're in for a couple pleasant surprises. First, file transfers from a BBS typically proceed more quickly than modem-based FTP (file transfer protocol) downloads from the Internet because you're not sharing the data line between you and the file source with anyone else. Or, maybe you've had a multi-megabyte transfer interrupted toward the end of the download. With FTP, all you can do is start over again. On the other hand, BBS's usually support download protocols that allow you to pick up where left off -- without having to re-download what's already on your system.

Chat

Multi-line BBSs may offer user chat, or even "forums" where any number of people can gather to discuss common issues. Once online, you can usually see a list of users who are also online and page someone for one-on-one chat, or invite them to a private chat room. This feature can really help to instill a sense of "family" and belonging.

E-mail

Where some smaller systems may have private e-mail strictly between users on that BBS, others might have mail across their network (NetMail), or even give you an Internet e-mail address. The SysOp may allow file attachments, enabling you to mail shareware games to a friend just like over the Internet.

Telnet FTP

If you join a board with multiple lines and an Internet connection, you'll have the ability to call out to other BBSs. This allows you to log on to another telnet-able BBS, anywhere in the world, with no long-distance phone charges. A multi-line BBS can also utilize open lines to access FTP sites, where you can obtain files that might not otherwise be available locally. Coupled with the home system's file bases, this creates an enormous resource for finding an unlimited variety of programs.

Faxing

Some systems have online fax capabilities that allow you to send a fax via the Internet, eliminating long-distance charges. This is usually as secure as sending e-mail.

Doors/Games

Last, but not least, are the ever-popular door games. Everything from Acey Deucy to Yahtzee can be played on a BBS. Card, dice, board, word search, adventure, and role-playing games abound. Even the new 3-D rendered games are possible at connections of 14,400 BPS or higher. You play these games while online against a computer opponent or another caller. If your BBS has more that one line, you can play many of these head-to-head against another person online. There are also many information doors such as skiing and road conditions, electronic magazines, stock quotes, weather, horoscope and matchmakers. Whether you are a kid stuck indoors on a rainy day, a mom with time between laundry loads, on lunch break at the office, disabled or retired, you are sure to get your fill of whatever sparks your interest at many of the locally run BBSs in your area. Why not strike up your modem and discover a whole new cyber-world right in your own back yard?

About the Author Bob Short is an aspiring BBS System Operator, having run his BS BBS for over a year in the Portland area.

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This article was originally published in theMarch 1998 issue of Computer Bits magazine, and is copyright(c) 1998 by Bitwise Productions,Inc., Forest Grove, OR, (503) 359-9107. All rights reserved.Disclaimer: Archival material isprovidedas-is.Linksarenot maintained.

Christopher Baker
1:18/14

This is an excerpt of a message I sent out a couple weeks ago to a select mailing list. There hasn't been any response so I'm going to a global audience [if anyone still reads FidoNews].

It originally included an entire timeline of my adult life but that seemed pretty boring for this audience so just the pertinent data is included in this version.

--- updated section ---

1998 17 Jan

14th anniversary did not go normally - first warning ignored;

1998 10 Feb

wife notified me she was quitting;

1998 11 Feb

wife notified me of another guy who could "communicate", abandons me, her son, her dog and her house;

1998

contemplated suicide as a recovery technique, failed both;

1998 6 Mar

wife hits two motorcyclists during Bike Week while maybe DUI w/boyfriend driving his car because he's too drunk to drive it;

1998 11 Mar

signed uncontested divorce papers with woman i never knew;

1998 13 Mar

female victim dies w/o regaining consciousness, male victim discharged from hospital w/facial injuries;

1998 18 Mar

awaiting blood work to determine if wife goes to prison;

1998 18 Mar

updated the previous timeline with bitterness and regret;

1998 31 Mar

new update - she WASN'T driving! she was lying for new boyfriend so he skates on DUI since they don't test passengers. she won't go to prison which is good for Matthew but they may prosecute for obstruction, conspiracy, and perjury. who knows? who cares now?

1998 5 Apr

created a new search page for a life partner at: http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/bakelook.html

--- end update ---

--- old info ---

1998 waiting to win the lottery. [fnord]

i'm still running my FidoNet system [http://www.fidonet.org for info on what this is] and have been since 1984 [hence the cbaker84 moniker] and currently edit the FidoNews which is published every Monday [http://www.fidonews.org].

if your desperate for more info, you can check out our personal pages at:

http://ddi.digital.net/~cbaker84/

and if you'd like to see my commercial efforts, check out:

http://www.pub44.com

among my other diversions.

i got two Java coding books [about 6 pounds apiece] for Christmas so it could get animated. [snicker]

i also have email addresses at:

cbaker84@aol.com
cbaker84@pub44.com
webmaster@pub44.com
Christopher.Baker@f14.n18.z1.fidonet.org

that last one is my FidoNet address converted to Internet format. the one that i'm using now [cbaker84@digital.net] is my primary address and the one i check daily. the others may go uninspected for weeks at a time.

is that enough? [whew!]

--- updated section ---

isn't it amazing how fast everything can turn to ashes?

i no longer edit FidoNews. i still belong to FidoNet and run a Node there but i do very little with it having lost most interest in life in general.

i have primary custody of my 12 y/o son and the house. i am going thru the motions for his sake only since i still cannot see the light at the end of this tunnel. everyone sez i will eventually but i don't believe it yet though light is beginning to filter in finally.

that's all the news from here for now. if it gets worse or better, i'll let you know. [grin]

--- update ends ---

thanks, for caring, and all the support during these dark days.

now, if everyone who called and wrote offering cash would send all they can to me at:

Christopher Baker
P.O. Box 471
Edgewater, FL 32132-0471

then maybe i won't have to declare bankruptcy [i'm on a fixed disability income] to survive this betrayal. i'm using the P.O. Box instead of my street address because she has no access to that.

i figure $20,000 should do it as i will be left with all the bills as well as the property not to mention psychiatric counseling for my son and myself [we've already started that at $100 a pop]. if i can get one dollar [or more if you can] from every Node in FidoNet, i'll be set since there are 23,000+ Nodes. so here is my appeal to you in FidoNews.

you can send moral support in lieu of cash if you think this request is too tacky [i certainly do]. [grin]

you can also tell me to buzz off. i won't take it personally.

thanks.

QOFM.
Chris
Rights On!
1:18/14
FidoNet since 1984