What I think really killed the "golden era" of BBSing was the growing availability of the Internet, regardless of whether the users were
running linux or Windows or ???.
On 17 Jul 2025, Dumas Walker said the following...
What I think really killed the "golden era" of BBSing was the growing availability of the Internet, regardless of whether the users were running linux or Windows or ???.
I experienced the same thing with CB radio. There was a group of
probably 30 of us within range at any given time. When the internet
took off that group shrank fast to a point where there were hardy
any regular users 1997-98
What I think really killed the "golden era" of BBSing was the
growing availability of the Internet, regardless of whether the
The internet was enticing, but also what was bad for bbses
is how sysops operated. many sysops were close minded and not eager to adopt new things. I think the best thing to do if it was affordable was to bridge bbsing into the internet and web.
The important thing to remember is that a bbs is a system for users to interact with. It's for socalizing, maybe gaming and maybe files.
By 1997 my BBS callers droped to the point that I pulled the plug on the Original Outwest BBS.
The internet was enticing, but also what was bad for bbsesThis is very true. Without the users it's just an empty platform.
is how sysops operated. many sysops were close minded and not eager to adopt new things. I think the best thing to do if it was affordable
was to bridge bbsing into the internet and web.
Also sysops were always in it for themselves, and that doesn't really build strength. Combine that with cliques that formed and that divides it more.
You can see cliques being bad for bbsing in the telnet age. I saw a
msg network that was elitist fall apart dude to lack of activity and interest. activity and interest is from diversity. if you dont have
that, you're dying a slow death. Another one now lets anybody in.
that might be too little too late.
The important thing to remember is that a bbs is a system for users to interact with. It's for socalizing, maybe gaming and maybe files.
If you don't look at it that way, you are doomed. if you are in it for yourself, all that will be there is yourself.
Since covid bbsing has lost even more users. I'm not sure if we will
ever get regular callers again. I'm not sure that we offer what people want. I myself spend a lot of time with friends on telegram talking
and posting vids and memes. that's more enjoyable than a bbs.
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
Well there might be an increase coming with all the age
verification crap that is happening on the internet where
Well there might be an increase coming with all the age
verification crap that is happening on the internet where
you mean with porn sites?
Well there might be an increase coming with all the age
verification crap that is happening on the internet where
you mean with porn sites?
Re: Re: ANSI art
By: MRO to multiplemiggs on Sun Oct 26 2025 22:23:26
Well there might be an increase coming with all the age verification crap that is happening on the internet where
you mean with porn sites?
Some countries, and now US states, appear to be looking to expand
the age verification beyond what most would consider "porn sites."
They want to be able to spy on what you are looking at.
For example, the Australian government wants to enforce age
verification for any social media. They consider Github social media,
by the way.
I experienced the same thing with CB radio. There was a
group of probably 30 of us within range at any given time.
When the internet took off that group shrank fast to a
point where there were hardy any regular users 1997-98
Hello multiplemiggs!
** On Saturday 25.10.25 - 22:48, multiplemiggs wrote to Dumas Walker:
I experienced the same thing with CB radio. There was a group of probably 30 of us within range at any given time. When the internet
took off that group shrank fast to a point where there were hardy
any regular users 1997-98
Why would the introduction of internet affect people who are invested
in CB radio?
On 17 Jul 2025, Dumas Walker said the following...
What I think really killed the "golden era" of BBSing was the growing availability of the Internet, regardless of whether the users were running linux or Windows or ???.
I experienced the same thing with CB radio. There was a group of
probably 30 of us within range at any given time. When the internet took off that group shrank fast to a point where there were hardy any regular users 1997-98
** On Saturday 25.10.25 - 22:48, multiplemiggs wrote to Dumas Walker:
I experienced the same thing with CB radio. There was a
group of probably 30 of us within range at any given time.
When the internet took off that group shrank fast to a
point where there were hardy any regular users 1997-98
Why would the introduction of internet affect people who are
invested in CB radio?
ever found someone in real life that used to call bbses when they were in their prime? i'd bet a lot of them wouldn't be interested in connecting to them again. because it was a means to an end. like having a car phone before there were cellulars that fit in your pocket. they just don't care about the bbs aspect of it at all, because something better replaced it. and that's specifically considering that they would have experienced bbsing "at it's best" with countless users..
Why would the introduction of internet affect people who are invested
in CB radio?
hey there's this new thing called cb simulator on compuserv. you can talk to tons of cool people instead of the neckbeard who lives in his parents shack and hasn't worked his entire life.
ever found someone in real life that used to call bbses when they
were in their prime? i'd bet a lot of them wouldn't be interested
in connecting to them again. because it was a means to an end. like
having a car phone before there were cellulars that fit in your
pocket. they just don't care about the bbs aspect of it at all,
because something better replaced it. and that's specifically
considering that they would have experienced bbsing "at it's best"
hey there's this new thing called cb simulator on compuserv.
you can talk to tons of cool people instead of the neckbeard
who lives in his parents shack and hasn't worked his entire life.
not familiar with compuserve cb simulator. was it actually
voice/audio thing like the real radio? sounds to me it was just text
based. if that's the case, seems unusual for dedicated cd (radio)
users to migrate to a text-based system.
fusion wrote to Ogg <=-
ever found someone in real life that used to call bbses when they were
in their prime? i'd bet a lot of them wouldn't be interested in
connecting to them again.
CB was just like that really. and for the most part the people i still hear on CB radio are there for the same reason we're here on BBSes now. some sort of "meta" experience where both the purpose of the BBS (communication) and the act of using a BBS are meaningful to us.
--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi
Nightfox wrote to fusion <=-
Also, BBSes tended to have a local user community due to avoiding long-distance phone charges, though that doesn't really happen much anymore with BBSes being on the internet.
Re: ANSI artMoebius works well on windows if you want to do some ANSI art in a full screen environment.
By: Retroswim to Lord Raptor on Wed Jul 16 2025 02:42 am
https://github.com/mkrueger/icy_tools
It has TheDraw font support, and half-block drawing like Moebius, but builds on it with layers+channels ala PhotoShop, SIXEL support, LUA plugins, and more! Highly recommend.
yeah it's not bad. i like how it shows previews of the fonts.
i forgot which ones i made custom.
i'm not so sure i would use all those fancy features.
i still prefer a full screen interface for drawing ansi. not that i draw ansi anymore.
i'm not so sure i would use all those fancy features. i still prefer
a full screen interface for drawing ansi. not that i draw ansi
anymore.
Moebius works well on windows if you want to do some ANSI art in a
full screen environment. Bob, telnet://ricksbbs/synchro.net:23
| Sysop: | KJ5EKH |
|---|---|
| Location: | Siloam Springs, Ar. |
| Users: | 4 |
| Nodes: | 4 (1 / 3) |
| Uptime: | 10:30:56 |
| Calls: | 3 |
| Files: | 127 |
| D/L today: |
2 files (15K bytes) |
| Messages: | 8,854 |