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#bbs

29 posts21 participants0 posts today
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Wintermute_BBS

🚨 #WintermuteBBS - that's my second, #Linux based #BBS running the #MBSEBBS software - is now #back #online !

I've updated MBSE BBS to the latest version 1.1.0 (this is a pre-release but I don't mind) and purged quite a bunch of inactive users.

There will be smaller updates and changes throughout the next weeks, as some of the #rss #feeds no longer work and will either be updated or removed (most likely the latter) .

With the code to support plain #ASCII terminals being rewitten in this new release, I will try to rework some of the ASCII screens - but this is may take some time.

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vga256

back in the early and mid-90s, getting on the net meant you were a university student, or had corporate access through a big company. getting online wasn't easy.

worse, even if you had a dialup number and login, there was no such thing as a tcp/ip stack built-in to Windows 3.1.

even if you *did* have a winsock stack, you'd still need a file downloading protocol, gopher client, world wide web client, ftp client, email client. just getting your machine off the ground was nearly impossible unless you could grab these from a local BBS

to make things simpler, universities began offering dial-up internet software packages to their students and staff.

in 1994, my mom was an undergrad student at the University of Alberta. our family had just bought an IBM PS/1 with a 2400 baud modem, and i was abusing the hell out of our single phone line at night visiting local BBSes.

she somehow found out that the university was selling internet dial-up software for $10 to students, and brought home the diskette pack with her. along with a USR Sportster 14.4k modem, she gave me the install diskettes as a valentine's day gift.

it had a slick setup program that enabled SLIP using Trumpet Winsock, and provided a local (free!) dial-up number for access.

after 25 years, i finally tracked down a few versions of those diskettes. i've imaged them and uploaded them all to IA.

the first version of the dial-up package in 1994 was called WinSLIP. it had no PPP support yet, but contained some really cool shareware internet utilities like HGopher and NCSA Mosaic. this would have been the earliest programs offered for Windows 3.1

WinSLIP/MSKermit 1994/95:
archive.org/details/ua_winslip

The second version of the software was renamed to NetSurf. It stripped out most of the obscure shareware sadly, and replaced them with Netscape 2 and Eudora Light. The new version of Trumpet Winsock offered PPP which was a huge improvement:

NetSurf 1996/97:
archive.org/details/ua_netsurf

Now well into the Windows 95 era, the 1997/98 software was shipped on a CD with a hilarious "multimedia" installer/help program designed in Macromedia Director:

NetSurf 1997/98:
archive.org/details/netsurf-97

I hope this brings back some memories for fellow U of A alumni :)

The university of alberta's Computing and Network Services department home page, showing their Internet Clients and Communication Software page. It advertises the NetSurf internet communications package being sold to students for $10 on floppy disk.
#softwarePreservation#webPreservation#win31
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vga256

just found a treasure trove of extremely obscure BBS history stashed away on IA

thank you hard-working book scanners for preserving this rarity.

if you're familiar with BBSing in the 90s, you'll remember just how fast the vast majority of boards disappeared in 1995. it went from multinode 24/7 bbses to disconnected phone numbers in just a few months

this book accounts for the very small number of BBSes that made the transition from telco-only to "telBBS" or telnettable/web-accessible boards

3/4 of the book is a carefully curated list of 500 boards with screenshots of their homepages and bbs login/title screens. most importantly, the URLs of these boards is preserved so we have a chance to look them up on WBM some day.

archive.org/details/internetbb

The front cover of the book Internet BBSs: A Guided Tour, by Richard Scott Mark.
A screenshot of two pages from the book. Each page shows a screenshot of a BBS's homepage, or its login screen with ANSI graphics. Four boards are shown: Anarchy-X, The Annex!, AOP BBS and AppleWize OnLine.
The rear cover of Internet BBSs: A Guided Tour by Richard Scott Mark. It reads: . so you use the Internet. You’ve surfed some Web sites and maybe sent e-mail. But, chances are, you’ve overlooked the rich and really personal dimension of the Internet represented by the explosive growth of Internet BBSs. That’s because up till now BBS publications were limited in scope to the old era of dial-up BBSs. Until recently the world of BBSs was geographically compartmentalized: in practical terms only the BBSs within a local telephone call were accessible. Now, the Internet has made all Internet BBSs accessible to anyone in the world. Internet BBSs: A Guided Tour provides in-depth coverage of this new world of true BBSs now available world-wide. It is a valuable resource for anyone currently using the Internet. Users of the major on-line service forums and chat groups should also read it to find out how they can access a much richer variety of BBSs at less cost.
#bbs#webHistory#smallweb
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300baud

@Commodore1351 @Zitruskeks @heinz_hjo @Hal_9000 @torus

Neulich gabs einen überraschenden Besuch vom 8-Bit Guy in der 40 Jahre alten #Commodore64 Mailbox Snobsoft. Natürlich loggte sich David Murray nicht mit irgendeinem 0815-Rechner in den #BBS Dinoaurier ein, sondern stilecht mit seiner eigenen Retro-Computerkreation, dem Commander X16.
Snobsoft User DGeoffri haute ebenfalls an seinem X16 in die Tasten.

youtube.com/watch?v=bHzA5RgFOV

YouTubeC64 Usergroup von 1985 in BBS. 8-Bit Guy mit Commander X16 trifft 40 Jahre alten BBS DinosaurierBy The 300-Baud Guy
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Josh Renaud

For St. Louisans, March 14 is #314Day! ⚜️ ☎️ 🎉

In celebration, I'm sharing a tiny tech time capsule — a collection of textfiles related to St. Louis-area #BBS networks!

breakintochat.com/blog/2025/03

I gathered these 30 years ago when I was cosysop of "Something in the Attic BBS" and seeking to attract more users.

Brace yourself for all manner of capitalization! (PIllowNet, SPORKnet, StupidNET)

Ending "z"s!

And lots of exclamation marks!

#textfiles #bbsing #314 #stl #stlouis #retrocomputing

This screenshot shows the top of an application form for the CloudNet BBS message network, circa 1995.
Public
🦠Toxic Flange🔬⚱️🌚

Just back from seeing "Mickey 17" at a theatre I've been going to since Jr High or High School, with the #BBS friends I made during high school, one whom I've not seen in maybe 10 or 15 years!

And despite the gain in age, wrinkles, body pains gained over the years, in another way its like no time passed at all.

"Here could you hold my popcorn please, while i get up and remove my coat" "Sure!" says the friend, and proceeds to start eating it like we know it was going to happen :) Opening up a bag of Oh Henry's put in the chair slot between us, knowing its for everyone without even asking or offering.

I don't go out a heck of a lot anymore, but when I do these little things with these old friends, its like my batteries are recharged again, or a post-nut clarity :) I come down, feeling like I could do something fun or interesting mostly because I want to show or tell those friends some new thing I did, and even if its boring to them, they'll listen and play along.

These things make me realize, I've always been a social creature, more than I act or let on in life. I need this socialization, for the laughs, the recharge and to feel like I can be more productive.

I'm not the clever lone wolf sysadmin/hacker/programmer in the basement.

I'm just a mediocre post-middle-aged Gen X nerd, who needs the inspiration of a group to function, and I'm grateful that I can still talk to the friends I made ~30+ years ago.

And you know what? I'll count some of y'all in the #Fediverse amongst that group too. Its like a nice comfortable old BBS.. but with less DOOR games.. Someone make Fediverse door games already! (i know they still exist, but i wanna feel it integrated!)

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