I'm very new to this kind of stuff--and of the few boards I've browsed this one seems the nicest. I've been lurkingh ere for the past few days and I think I'd like to be active :)

I've always wanted to mess with BBS boards--ever since I learned of them when going on a rabbit hole dive once. I enjoy older technology (for a while the only PC I owned even was a Windows 98 PC (in 2024), and the thought of using something like a BBS instead of say social media or Discord even is interesting to me.

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS but is messing around with it for fun?

---
þ Synchronet þ Enigma BBS -=- enigma-bbs.com

On Mon, 5 May 2025 04:39:49 +0200
"Foriest Jan Smith" (VERT/NGMBBS) <VERT/NGMBBS!Foriest.Jan.Smith@endofthelinebbs.com> wrote:

I'm very new to this kind of stuff--and of the few boards I've
browsed this one seems the nicest. I've been lurkingh ere for the
past few days and I think I'd like to be active :)

I've always wanted to mess with BBS boards--ever since I learned of
them when going on a rabbit hole dive once. I enjoy older technology
(for a while the only PC I owned even was a Windows 98 PC (in 2024),
and the thought of using something like a BBS instead of say social
media or Discord even is interesting to me.

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS
but is messing around with it for fun?

---
þ Synchronet þ Enigma BBS -=- enigma-bbs.com

Welcome to the world of bulletin boards. I've been using them since the
80's so can't really answer your question but I remember when they were
new to me and being amazed at the possibilities. Hope you find plenty
of enjoyment in your new hobby.
--
End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23
---
þ Synchronet þ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com

Re: New BBS User!
By: Foriest Jan Smith to All on Mon May 05 2025 04:39 am

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS but is messing around with it for fun?

BBSing was not a thing in my country as far as I am aware. Good telecomms arrived a bit late here. I think even Usenet coverage was low.

So yeah, I am here for other reasons than the nostalgia factor. Which is funny when you think about it, because I like lots of old retro-vintage technology that predates myself because of non nostalgia reasons.


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

---
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: New BBS User!
By: Foriest Jan Smith to All on Mon May 05 2025 04:39 am

I'm curious if anyone else is like
me,
and not an oldtime user of BBS but
is
messing around with it for fun?

Sure - like many here, I'm an old-time user (since 1985 - with a long break, of course), and I still enjoy tinkering with old software. For example, I picked a German Commodore 64 BBS from 1985, which I've revived after nearly 40 years, complete with '80s content and the original user list from old C64 disks. :D

Anyway, have fun here! I think this place still has a lot of that old-school BBS vibe, mixed with newer elements. One feature I really love is the autosave Ä if something goes wrong while posting, the entire text isn't lost. Instead, the next time you log in, you're asked whether you want to continue right where you left off. Sure!

So, once again, welcome to the world of BBS!

---
þ Synchronet þ PartyBowlBBS - partybowlbbs.ddns.net

Re: New BBS User!
By: Arelor to Foriest Jan Smith on Mon May 05 2025 09:09 am

Re: New BBS User!
By: Foriest Jan Smith to All on Mon May 05 2025 04:39 am

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS but is messing around with it for fun?

BBSing was not a thing in my country as far as I am aware. Good telecomms arrived a bit late here. I think even Usenet coverage was low.

So yeah, I am here for other reasons than the nostalgia factor. Which is

i'm sure there were bbses there in the late 80s and 90s at least.
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::

Re: New BBS User!
By: MRO to Arelor on Mon May 05 2025 02:17 pm

BBSing was not a thing in my country as far as I am aware. Good telecomms arrived a bit late here. I think even Usenet coverage was low.

So yeah, I am here for other reasons than the nostalgia factor. Which is

i'm sure there were bbses there in the late 80s and 90s at least.

What I actually meant is that it wasn't a big thing.


--
gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

---
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Foriest Jan Smith wrote to All <=-

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS
but is messing around with it for fun?

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a
SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in their,
ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!


... Hey, what's that beeping noise? Where's that smoke coming from?
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: Jimmy Anderson to Foriest Jan Smith on Tue May 06 2025 07:43 pm

Foriest Jan Smith wrote to All <=-

I'm curious if anyone else is like me, and not an oldtime user of BBS but is messing around with it for fun?

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a
SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in their, ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!

... Hey, what's that beeping noise? Where's that smoke coming from?

i never wanted to be a sysop, i always enjoyed being a user.
then the late 90s came along and boards were shutting down so i put my own bbs up to help out the community.

I ended up having a real knack for it and my bbs was probably better than most the bbses i called in the past. I always put the users first and i think that's why it did well. i never "ran it for myself".
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::

Jimmy Anderson wrote to Foriest Jan Smith <=-

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in
their, ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!

I started off as a caller, then a co-sysop, managing a board from the
BBS interface, moving messages, updating file listings, and so forth.
Got the bug when I figured it was cheaper to set up a BBS and have
people send me files than to go out and get them from other boards, and
got sucked into the challenge of making handfuls of programs play nice
and talk to each other. Totally automating a DOS BBS through the One
Batch File was quite a challenge back in the 90s.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.

MRO wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

i never wanted to be a sysop, i always enjoyed being a user.
then the late 90s came along and boards were shutting down so i put my
own bbs up to help out the community.

I ended up having a real knack for it and my bbs was probably better
than most the bbses i called in the past. I always put the users first and i think that's why it did well. i never "ran it for myself". ---

Well, if there were a need for a dial up again, I'd consider it here. But
with everything 'on the web' now, no need for me to add to the space. :-)



... PCDOS&MSDOS&CP/M&WINDOWSI'LLFIDDLEWITHOS/2WOULDN'TYOU
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: Jimmy Anderson to MRO on Wed May 07 2025 12:57 pm

Well, if there were a need for a dial up again, I'd consider it here. But with everything 'on the web' now, no need for me to add to the space. :-)

I'm not sure about 'need', but a couple years ago, I added a (VOIP-based) dialup line to my BBS, for fun.

Nightfox

---
þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: Jimmy Anderson to MRO on Wed May 07 2025 12:57 pm

I ended up having a real knack for it and my bbs was probably better than most the bbses i called in the past. I always put the users first and i think that's why it did well. i never "ran it for myself". ---

Well, if there were a need for a dial up again, I'd consider it here. But with everything 'on the web' now, no need for me to add to the space. :-)

i had a guy who provided me with a dialup gateway and i think for about 7 years it was only used twice by the same person.
---
þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::

Re: New BBS User!
By: Snobsoft to Foriest Jan Smith on Mon May 05 2025 08:10:02

Thanks so much! :D I'm enjoying it already. I didn't mean to post this on dove net actually but I'm glad I didn't screw up lol. Also cool to hear about those C64s. If I had the space, time, and money I'd love to mess around with a Commodore Amiga... But if my time having to use a Windows 98 PC as a daily driver for half of 2024 taught me anything... the oldest I'll ever probably buy again is XP, unless I'm prepared...

---
þ Synchronet þ Enigma BBS -=- enigma-bbs.com

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: MRO to Jimmy Anderson on Tue May 06 2025 20:39:14

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in their, ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!

Oh, that's cool! I also love communicating. A while back (2024), I got tired of social media crap, got some penpals, and now I guess I'm going BBS once I get the hang of using Boards (I apologize if my posts look awkward as a result of my being a noob, LOL). Lot of great fun! :)

---
þ Synchronet þ Enigma BBS -=- enigma-bbs.com

poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Jimmy Anderson wrote to Foriest Jan Smith <=-

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in
their, ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!

I started off as a caller, then a co-sysop, managing a board from the
BBS interface, moving messages, updating file listings, and so forth.
Got the bug when I figured it was cheaper to set up a BBS and have
people send me files than to go out and get them from other boards, and got sucked into the challenge of making handfuls of programs play nice
and talk to each other. Totally automating a DOS BBS through the One
Batch File was quite a challenge back in the 90s.

Closest I ever got was when The Fridge went from 2 to 10 nodes and
added some nets, I became a moderator. :-)

Intelec? I think was the big one... And VOL_NET was one that was started
just for the ones in the area. Remember, this was still during long distance calling days. :-) It let us 'chat' with people in the area and surrounding areas without calling long distance.

This was Jackson, Tennessee. Funny thing is, Dyersburg, where I am now (actually Friendship, but Dyersburg is the closest) had a FIDO BBS at
the time, but I never got on it because it was long distance. :-)



... Shell to DOS... Come in DOS... Do you copy?
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Nightfox wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: Jimmy Anderson to MRO on Wed May 07 2025 12:57 pm

Well, if there were a need for a dial up again, I'd consider it here. But with everything 'on the web' now, no need for me to add to the space. :-)

I'm not sure about 'need', but a couple years ago, I added a
(VOIP-based) dialup line to my BBS, for fun.

That does sound like fun. :-)

Just for the novelty!


... I DID IT! I invented the unadoptable tagline! Try it. Won't work.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: New BBS User!
By: Foriest Jan Smith to Snobsoft on Thu May 08 2025 01:52 am

Thanks so much! :D I'm enjoying it
already. I didn't mean to post this
on
dove net actually but I'm glad I
didn't
screw up lol. Also cool to hear
about
those C64s. If I had the space,
time,
and money I'd love to mess around
with
a Commodore Amiga... But if my time
having to use a Windows 98 PC as a
daily driver for half of 2024 taught
me
anything... the oldest I'll ever
probably buy again is XP, unless I'm
prepared...

You're welcome! :D An Amiga would be too fiddly for me at the moment. They were always quite temperamental back in the day, I think. A C64 is much easier to handle.

Of course, as a daily driver, it's "ein anderer Schnack" as we say here in Germany (especially in the North - so, Hamburg).

I go with whatever I feel like - sometimes I enjoy messing around with my brand-new gaming PC, and other times it's fun to go back 40 years. Or sometimes, something in the middle like Synchronet, which I'm particularly enjoying right now

---
þ Synchronet þ PartyBowlBBS - partybowlbbs.ddns.net

Re: New BBS User!
By: Snobsoft to Foriest Jan Smith on Thu May 08 2025 02:33:42

Thanks for the well wishes! Yes, it definitely is fun. I'll have to look into more boards, at least ones that don't mind modern PCs using them, lol.

As someone who grew up with XP and Vista, I'd have to say I prefer XP to 98. I wasn't expecting how poorly 98 handles memory. Having a 8 GB sound font selected while using Office 2000 was enough to get a blue screen and lots of lag. But I was forced to have only that PC for half a year due to a poor paying job, and losing my only modern laptop... Until very recently (April) was I able to finally build my modern PC.

---
þ Synchronet þ Enigma BBS -=- enigma-bbs.com

Re: New BBS User!
By: Foriest Jan Smith to All on Mon May 05 2025 04:39 am

I'm very new to this kind of stuff--and of the few boards I've browsed this

Greetings and welcome aboard. I'm an old-timer, unfortunetly, but still hop on occassionally for fun and nostalgia. I first dialed into a BBS back in 1985 using a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer II and a Radio Shack DCM-3 300 baud modem. Yep, this is how we rolled back in the day, lol. For the full experience, you would need to slow everything down so it takes about five seconds for each 24 character line (or whatever the math yields out, its too late and I'm too tired to figure it out at the moment). I ran BBS's for a while also, both dialup and with packet amateur radio. Enjoy and have fun! :-)


---
þ Synchronet þ Emeraldhill BBS - telnet://bbs.emeraldhill.org - http://bbs.emeraldhill.org:8080

Foriest Jan Smith wrote to MRO <=-

Re: Re: New BBS User!
By: MRO to Jimmy Anderson on Tue May 06 2025 20:39:14

I'm an old guy - used it back in the day. Never had the desire to be a SYSOP though - but I LOVE communicating!!! So echonets caught me in their, ahem - 'net' - a long time ago!

Oh, that's cool! I also love communicating. A while back (2024), I got tired of social media crap, got some penpals, and now I guess I'm going BBS once I get the hang of using Boards (I apologize if my posts look awkward as a result of my being a noob, LOL). Lot of great fun! :)

Don't apologize! :-)

Your quoted stuff was actually what I said, so I'll reply...

Yeah - social media is not something I care for. I see too many people
(my wife included) swipe - swipe - swipe away. Now that's fine if that's
what someone wants to do. Heck I'm 'swiping' through messages on echonets,
but it's much easier to avoid the drama here. :-)

When people use social media and it makes them feel bad because they see
what someone else portrays as life, it can cause FOMO. But being a
Christian means having joy in ALL things - not just what the world calls
good. :-)

Anyway - welcome! Communicate all you want!!!


... I had a cat once... tasted like chicken.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Jimmy Anderson wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Intelec? I think was the big one... And VOL_NET was one that was
started just for the ones in the area. Remember, this was still during long distance calling days. :-) It let us 'chat' with people in the
area and surrounding areas without calling long distance.

Our network was set up roughly around toll areas, which kept it local.
Having gettogethers gave it a more friendly, less flamey feel. Each of
the sysops had a favorite place we'd use for getttogthers, luckily I
lived next door to a house turned coffee/beer/wine/tobacco pub with
lots of outdoor seating.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
þ Synchronet þ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.

Foriest Jan Smith wrote to Snobsoft <=-

Re: New BBS User!
By: Snobsoft to Foriest Jan Smith on Thu May 08 2025 02:33:42

Thanks for the well wishes! Yes, it definitely is fun. I'll have to
look into more boards, at least ones that don't mind modern PCs using them, lol.

Do sysops really care? LOL I use a MacBook Air M3. I use SyncTerm to telnet
in and MultiMail via iTerm2 and use micro for the replies. Nothing old
school about that except the 'text' of the terminal. :-)

As someone who grew up with XP and Vista, I'd have to say I prefer XP
to 98. I wasn't expecting how poorly 98 handles memory. Having a 8 GB sound font selected while using Office 2000 was enough to get a blue screen and lots of lag. But I was forced to have only that PC for half
a year due to a poor paying job, and losing my only modern laptop... Until very recently (April) was I able to finally build my modern PC.

Oh man - I used to LOVE to assemble parts into a working PC... Did it for family when they needed a new computer. Save them some money; I learned
a lot. :-)

Before the days of the $100 HP/Compaq that is...


... To get back on your feet, just miss two car payments.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Misfit wrote to Foriest Jan Smith <=-

Greetings and welcome aboard. I'm an old-timer, unfortunetly, but
still hop on occassionally for fun and nostalgia. I first dialed into
a BBS back in 1985 using a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer II and a Radio Shack DCM-3 300 baud modem.

My first computer was a CoCo II, but no modem at the time. :-) I graduated
high school in 85 and had had it for a bit before that. My friends had
Vic20's and moved to C64's, so talking BASIC was fun from different perspectives!

My first BBS dial up was a 2400 baud modem on an 8080 dual floppy
amber screen DOS machine. :-)




... Adam to Eve-> 'I'll wear the plants in this family'.
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Jimmy Anderson <=-

Jimmy Anderson wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Intelec? I think was the big one... And VOL_NET was one that was
started just for the ones in the area. Remember, this was still during long distance calling days. :-) It let us 'chat' with people in the
area and surrounding areas without calling long distance.

Our network was set up roughly around toll areas, which kept it local.
Having gettogethers gave it a more friendly, less flamey feel. Each of
the sysops had a favorite place we'd use for getttogthers, luckily I
lived next door to a house turned coffee/beer/wine/tobacco pub with
lots of outdoor seating.

I can't remember the name of the first one I connected to, but they would
have get togethers from time to time, so I got to meet people in person.

They would bring a couple of machines and play Doom on LAN as well. For
those that didn't work where things were networked, that was something
to see. :-)



... Federal Law prohibits the removal of this tagline
--- MultiMail/Mac v0.52
þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL