Ran a BBS from ~1988 - 1994, when I went off to college - it was a great experience, and I absolutely loved the community of users and other SysOps that emerged. It was very much a community that had to work together to overcome the technical obstacles that were inherent in computing at that time.
I remember towards the end, there was a shift in how emails and echoes got delivered from phone lines to satellite, which threatened to change how the community was organized and worked together. Obviously, in retrospect, it was like arguing about what was for dinner while an asteroid was bearing down on you. By the time I was out of college, BBSes were a total thing of the past, as was any sense of spatial community in the online world.
I must note that I and about 50-100 active posters are still keeping one of the big 90s BBSes, ISCA, up and running. It’s kind of delightful; a place where no matter what question you have, _someone_ knows the answer. Recommended for exploring, if you can find a telnet app: bbs.iscabbs.com, port 23. It’s not exactly high-scroll anymore, but still some fun people to talk to, at least if you like talking to middle-aged nerds.
Does recommending this book to you obligate me to upgrade my subscription? 😀
https://x.com/TDMix/status/1744734504101797900?t=9je0xoQuvVMs_mr2_OBD2g&s=19
Seriously, if X was all about sharing recommendations on obscure history of computing books I'd spend all my time there...
Yes actually
Comped you a free paid sub for 2 months
Thanks!
Ran a BBS from ~1988 - 1994, when I went off to college - it was a great experience, and I absolutely loved the community of users and other SysOps that emerged. It was very much a community that had to work together to overcome the technical obstacles that were inherent in computing at that time.
I remember towards the end, there was a shift in how emails and echoes got delivered from phone lines to satellite, which threatened to change how the community was organized and worked together. Obviously, in retrospect, it was like arguing about what was for dinner while an asteroid was bearing down on you. By the time I was out of college, BBSes were a total thing of the past, as was any sense of spatial community in the online world.
I must note that I and about 50-100 active posters are still keeping one of the big 90s BBSes, ISCA, up and running. It’s kind of delightful; a place where no matter what question you have, _someone_ knows the answer. Recommended for exploring, if you can find a telnet app: bbs.iscabbs.com, port 23. It’s not exactly high-scroll anymore, but still some fun people to talk to, at least if you like talking to middle-aged nerds.