Sysops, I suggest if you want a timeout at all, put a 30 minute or hour timeout, then watch to see if anything bad happens. Adjust as necessary.
I posted this message on a local board but it really needed to be posted here I think, so...
Many Sysops are wondering why there is not more users connecting to their BBS's and staying around for a while. Here's why I think people are not hanging around:
I've been on several BBS recently and they have a very strick timeout, maybe 2 minutes so you really can't 'hangout' on a BBS when there is not enough time to go get a cup of coffee or research something on the internet and switch back over to the BBS. The other day I switched screens to spellcheck something and when I came back the BBS had kicked me off.
i've been told quite angrily that there is not a deficit of users and
it's only me that has that issue. They are of course, delusional.
i agree that these short timeouts on bbses are annoying, but there's
just been a huge slump in bbs users for 3 or more years. there's just other things to do out there that are more fun.
I posted this message on a local board but it really needed to be
posted here I think, so...
Many Sysops are wondering why there is not more users connecting to
their BBS's and staying around for a while. Here's why I think people
are not hanging around:
I've been on several BBS recently and they have a very strick timeout, maybe 2 minutes so you really can't 'hangout' on a BBS when there is
not enough time to go get a cup of coffee or research something on the internet and switch back over to the BBS. The other day I switched
screens to spellcheck something and when I came back the BBS had
kicked me off.
That timeout is what kills people, well me anyhow, from hanging around
to be available to chat etc.
Now that most people use telnet, etc to connect, what is the purpose
of such short timeouts?
Every BBS that I logon to, I always check to see who else is online
and the only one I ever see is _maybe_ the Sysop - usually 10 nodes setting there idol...
Sysops, I suggest if you want a timeout at all, put a 30 minute or
hour timeout, then watch to see if anything bad happens. Adjust as necessary.
Thoughts?
telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-
Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Daniel Path to Dennis Scott on Sun Apr 02 2023 08:19 pm
Good man. I think all BBSs should increase the timeout or eliminate it all together at this point in time.
Doing the Control-P trick works but why have to do that? There's plenty of bandwidth and nodes to go around most of the time...
Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Daniel Path to Dennis Scott on Sun Apr 02 2023 08:19 pm
Good man. I think all BBSs should increase the timeout or eliminate it all together at this point in time.
Doing the Control-P trick works but why have to do that? There's plenty of bandwidth and nodes to go around most of the time...
Nodes are a finite resource. Sysops don't want their systems to be subject to very simple "denial of service" attacks by users either accidentally or purposefully just "walking away from the keyboard" once connected and tying up all their nodes.
To: Rob Swindell
Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Rob Swindell to Dennis Scott on Tue Apr 04 2023 09:56 am
Nodes are a finite resource. Sysops don't want their systems to be subject to very simple "denial of service" attacks by users either accidentally or purposefully just "walking away from the keyboard" once connected and tying up all their nodes.
on datastream which was a very popular gaming bbs, i had some games rigged to not kick the user due to running out of time.
these people would rot on there for many, many hours.
some of them were using tradewars trainer programs and that screwed up.
i think a 5 min inactivity time out is decent.
to very simple "denial of service" attacks by users either accidentally or purposefully just "walking away from the keyboard" once connected and tying up all their nodes.
Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Rob Swindell to Dennis Scott on Tue Apr 04 2023 09:56 am
to very simple "denial of service" attacks by users either accidentally or purposefully just "walking away from the keyboard" once connected and tying up all their nodes.
DOS attacks are a real threat but that really should be handled on the front end of the BBS or at the firewall, I would hope anyhow.
When are you coming out with your 100 node version Rob?
Current versions of Synchronet support up to 250 nodes. Realistically, nobody configures anywhere near that many nodes mainly because configuring door games to support dozens of nodes (for many multinode doors, anyway), is a big hassle. It's much easier to just enforce a maximum duration of user inactivity and keep the number of configured nodes to some a number you'd reasonably expect to need for *active* user connections.
Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Rob Swindell to Dennis Scott on Thu Apr 06 2023 05:01 pm
Current versions of Synchronet support up to 250 nodes. Realistically, nobody configures anywhere near that many nodes mainly because configuring door games to support dozens of nodes (for many multinode doors, anyway), is a big hassle. It's much easier to just enforce a maximum duration of user inactivity and keep the number of configured nodes to some a number you'd reasonably expect to need for *active* user connections.
Is it realistic to have the BBS software dynamically open and close nodes as necessary, similiar to the way that Apache does?
If so, a Sysop could assign
say 5 nodes or so for doors and the rest of the nodes be dynamic if necessary.
What if there was a way for each Sysop to have an income from their BBS? Maybe not getting rich but paying for their equipment and bandwidth, etc. I think there is a way to do it and still keep the BBS system that's been around for decades.
doors, anyway), is a big hassle. It's much easier to just enforce a maximum duration of user inactivity and keep the number of configured nodes to some a number you'd reasonably expect to need for *active* user connections.
Is it realistic to have the BBS software dynamically open and close nodes as necessary, similiar to the way that Apache does? If so, a Sysop could assign say 5 nodes or so for doors and the rest of the nodes be dynamic if necessary.
What if there was a way for each Sysop to have an income from their BBS? Maybe not getting rich but paying for their equipment and bandwidth, etc. I think there is a way to do it and still keep the BBS system that's been around for decades.
Many Sysops are wondering why there is not more users connecting to their BBS's and staying around for a while. Here's why I think people are not hanging around:
I've been on several BBS recently and they have a very strick timeout,
maybe 2 minutes so you really can't 'hangout' on a BBS when there
is not enough time to go get a cup of coffee or research something
on the internet and switch back over to the BBS. The other day I
switched screens to spellcheck something and when I came back the BBS
had kicked me off.
What if there was a way for each Sysop to have an income from their BBS? Maybe not getting rich but paying for their equipment and bandwidth, etc. I think there is a way to do it and still keep the BBS system that's been around for decades.
You mean if something like paypal existed? It does. And sysops could require payment for access if they wanted to. I don't understand your point.
not only can we not get people to pay for subscriptions for our bbses, over the years i have seen systems that were not successful in doing cash prizes and other gifts to get users to call.
Dennis Scott wrote to Rob Swindell <=-
No, not at all. What if each BBS all over the world was connected
in real time in a distributed fashion. Think data center where
there are many computers sharing a load, like Twitter and/or
Facebook. On this new style BBS system, there could be everything
just like it is now but there also could be a section similiar to
Facebook Marketplace that charges customers a tiny fee per
completed transaction or charges the seller a small fee to post
the item. That fee would be distributed mainly to the BBS that
hosted the transaction but a small part of it goes to the
developer (Rob) for development costs. Say a user connects into
the system, the system detects his/her physical location and
instantly routes the "call" to the most local BBS. The user can
do all the things that the user normally does but there is at
least one new thing and that is the Marketplace.
Now you know why I was asking about dynamic nodes. To work, this
system would need to be able to adapt to the load.
This new BBS system would not affect the currect BBS system at
all. All of the BBSs running on old equipment would continue as
normal but if a Sysop decides to be part of the new BBS system,
they could, but there would some specific hardware and software requirements.
See my next message... no one is talking about a fee to use a BBS - never. what if you as a Sysop used your computer pretty much as you do now but mad little money each month? All you would need to do is insure that the comput is up and running properly, that you pay your utility bills each month. Pre much like you already do...
Dennis Scott wrote to Rob Swindell <=-
No, not at all. What if each BBS all over the world was connected in
real time in a distributed fashion.
Dennis Scott wrote to Jas Hud <=-
See my next message... no one is talking about a fee to use a BBS -
never. But what if you as a Sysop used your computer pretty much as you
do now but made a little money each month? All you would need to do is insure that the computer is up and running properly, that you pay your utility bills each month. Pretty much like you already do...
See my next message... no one is talking about a fee to use a BBS - never. But what if you as a Sysop used your computer pretty much as you do now but made a little money each month? All you would need to do is insure that the computer is up and running properly, that you pay your utility bills each month. Pretty much like you already do...
Sysops freaked out about sharing user info, but I liked the
telegram-like feel of it. Messaging had gone from multiple day
round-trips with dial-up star/backbone systems to real-time.
Rob Swindell wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
Current versions of Synchronet support up to 250 nodes. Realistically, nobody configures anywhere near that many nodes mainly because
configuring door games to support dozens of nodes (for many multinode doors, anyway), is a big hassle. It's much easier to just enforce a maximum duration of user inactivity and keep the number of configured nodes to some a number you'd reasonably expect to need for *active*
user connections.
Dennis Scott wrote to Rob Swindell <=-
What if there was a way for each Sysop to have an income from their
BBS? Maybe not getting rich but paying for their equipment and
bandwidth, etc. I think there is a way to do it and still keep the BBS system that's been around for decades.
Jas Hud wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
not only can we not get people to pay for subscriptions for our bbses, over the years i have seen systems that were not successful in doing
cash prizes and other gifts to get users to call.
Martin Kazmaier wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
Use netrunner. It sends NOOPs on a regular basis and generally doesn't disconnect.
Dennis Scott wrote to Rob Swindell <=-
No, not at all. What if each BBS all over the world was connected in
real time in a distributed fashion.
Dan Clough wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
So, you're advocating for us all to be "assimilated by the Borg"...
That's a hard "I'll pass" from me.
Nick Andre wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
Jee-zuz. What are you smoking...
Kurt Weiske wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
Sysops freaked out about sharing user info, but I liked the
telegram-like feel of it. Messaging had gone from multiple day
round-trips with dial-up star/backbone systems to real-time.
Kurt Weiske wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
If I had a way to transfer micropayments to sysops and artists, I'd certainly use it.
not only can we not get people to pay for subscriptions for our bbses, over the years i have seen systems that were not successful in doing cash prizes and other gifts to get users to call.
Like how nearly every MBBS system in the 90s charged a subscription because the software was so expensive?
Jee-zuz. What are you smoking...
As I said to Dan, every five years, a new sysop floats this very same idea and all of the experienced sysops' answers are always the same...
Nick Andre wrote to Sean Dennis <=-bbses,
not only can we not get people to pay for subscriptions for our
becauseover the years i have seen systems that were not successful in doing cash prizes and other gifts to get users to call.
Like how nearly every MBBS system in the 90s charged a subscription
the software was so expensive?
This is true.. If you bought either MBBS or TBBS it was an
investment that you wanted recouped. I never once saw a totally
"free" one of those systems until much later, when the novelty
wore off.
Jas Hud wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
not only can we not get people to pay for subscriptions for our bbses, over the years i have seen systems that were not successful in doing cash prizes and other gifts to get users to call.
Like how nearly every MBBS system in the 90s charged a subscription because the software was so expensive?
Kurt Weiske wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
Sysops freaked out about sharing user info, but I liked the
telegram-like feel of it. Messaging had gone from multiple day
round-trips with dial-up star/backbone systems to real-time.
Why not just use Telegram and leave the middleman out of it?
This is true.. If you bought either MBBS or TBBS it was an
investment that you wanted recouped. I never once saw a totally
"free" one of those systems until much later, when the novelty
wore off.
Do you recall how much it was back then? I ran a purchased/registered copy of PCBoard back in the 90's, and I think it was either $125 or
$150, which was a significant cost for me back then. Also registered
Nick Andre wrote to Dan Clough <=-
On 10 Apr 23 07:31:00, Dan Clough said the following to Nick
Andre:
This is true.. If you bought either MBBS or TBBS it was an
investment that you wanted recouped. I never once saw a totally "free" one of those systems until much later, when the novelty
wore off.
Do you recall how much it was back then? I ran a purchased/registered copy of PCBoard back in the 90's, and I think it was either $125 or
$150, which was a significant cost for me back then. Also registered
I can't remember exactly. I keep thinking MajorBBS was at least a
few hundred and they upsold you on the "Galaticboard" serial card
which was another couple hundred bucks.
Same with TBBS... You bought the license but needed the serial
board for anything beyond 2 nodes. Then Fidonet was an add-on.
Remote access was an add-on... I mean, any BBS that came with a
freaking VHS installation video you just knew was going to be a
bit out of your league.
https://archive.org/details/1993-bbs-tbbstape
To be fair TBBS was absolutely fascinating. You could get your
hands on a pirate copy but it was absolutely useless without the
printed manual. It was "the mother" of all Rube Goldberg lets-make-it-freaking-complicated contraptions. But when you
really began to understand why it did things the way it did... it
actually made sense. The manuals were very professional.
I was a huge fan and wrote some crude textfile-utils for John
Souvestre's hub system in the 90's. It seemed like him and many
TBBS Sysops jumped ship and started their own ISP businesses when
the author invented a router appliance and began pitching the
Internet as the future.
Nick Andre wrote to Dan Clough <=-
On 10 Apr 23 07:31:00, Dan Clough said the following to Nick
Andre:
This is true.. If you bought either MBBS or TBBS it was an investment that you wanted recouped. I never once saw a totally "free" one of those systems until much later, when the novelty wore off.
Do you recall how much it was back then? I ran a purchased/registered copy of PCBoard back in the 90's, and I think it was either $125 or $150, which was a significant cost for me back then. Also registered
I can't remember exactly. I keep thinking MajorBBS was at least a
few hundred and they upsold you on the "Galaticboard" serial card
which was another couple hundred bucks.
Same with TBBS... You bought the license but needed the serial
board for anything beyond 2 nodes. Then Fidonet was an add-on.
Remote access was an add-on... I mean, any BBS that came with a freaking VHS installation video you just knew was going to be a
bit out of your league.
https://archive.org/details/1993-bbs-tbbstape
Wow. How cool is that. I watched the whole video... Hahaha, the professionalism of the presentation is awesome. What a different time!
Rob Swindell wrote to Dan Clough <=-
Re: Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Dan Clough to Nick Andre on Mon Apr 10 2023 12:12 pm
Same with TBBS... You bought the license but needed the serial
board for anything beyond 2 nodes. Then Fidonet was an add-on.
Remote access was an add-on... I mean, any BBS that came with a freaking VHS installation video you just knew was going to be a
bit out of your league.
https://archive.org/details/1993-bbs-tbbstape
Wow. How cool is that. I watched the whole video... Hahaha, the professionalism of the presentation is awesome. What a different time!
I actually started to create a similar video for Synchronet
sysops around 1994 (I thought it was an original idea) and had
the video camera for (screen capture/recording wasn't really a
thing yet), high-end duplication quality SVHS VCR, script, etc,
but never really got around to finishing it before the sales
started to obviously slow down in 1995. Wish I had finished it.
:-(
Rob Swindell wrote to Dan Clough <=-
Re: Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Dan Clough to Nick Andre on Mon Apr 10 2023 12:12 pm
Same with TBBS... You bought the license but needed the serial
board for anything beyond 2 nodes. Then Fidonet was an add-on. Remote access was an add-on... I mean, any BBS that came with a freaking VHS installation video you just knew was going to be a
bit out of your league.
https://archive.org/details/1993-bbs-tbbstape
Wow. How cool is that. I watched the whole video... Hahaha, the professionalism of the presentation is awesome. What a different time!
I actually started to create a similar video for Synchronet
sysops around 1994 (I thought it was an original idea) and had
the video camera for (screen capture/recording wasn't really a
thing yet), high-end duplication quality SVHS VCR, script, etc,
but never really got around to finishing it before the sales
started to obviously slow down in 1995. Wish I had finished it.
:-(
Too bad, would have liked to have seen it. If you have even a start of
it, maybe convert if possible and upload to the YouTube channel?
Might look good next to the Blimp video. :-)
Rob Swindell wrote to Dan Clough <=-
https://archive.org/details/1993-bbs-tbbstape
Wow. How cool is that. I watched the whole video... Hahaha, the professionalism of the presentation is awesome. What a different time!
I actually started to create a similar video for Synchronet
sysops around 1994 (I thought it was an original idea) and had
the video camera for (screen capture/recording wasn't really a
thing yet), high-end duplication quality SVHS VCR, script, etc,
but never really got around to finishing it before the sales
started to obviously slow down in 1995. Wish I had finished it.
:-(
Too bad, would have liked to have seen it. If you have even a start of
it, maybe convert if possible and upload to the YouTube channel?
I would for sure, if I had it.
Might look good next to the Blimp video. :-)
It would, but unfortunately, not likely to happen. I started the
project on SVHS and returned the (expensive) recorder when it was
clear I wasn't going to complete it and I have no idea what
became of that/those SVHS tapes. I did some old VHS tape restoration/digitization a few years ago and did not come across
any tapes that looked like they had potential to be that project
(e.g. non were SVHS). But if I ever do, I'll be sure to digitize it/them...
Do you recall how much it was back then? I ran a purchased/registered copy of PCBoard back in the 90's, and I think it was either $125 or
$150, which was a significant cost for me back then. Also registered InterMail/InterEcho. Didn't have any subscription fees, although I did grant higher access levels for those who wanted to donate or register a door or something. I was surprised at how many actually did want to
do that.
T.J. Mcmillen wrote to Dan Clough <=-
Do you recall how much it was back then? I ran a purchased/registered copy of PCBoard back in the 90's, and I think it was either $125 or
$150, which was a significant cost for me back then. Also registered InterMail/InterEcho. Didn't have any subscription fees, although I did grant higher access levels for those who wanted to donate or register a door or something. I was surprised at how many actually did want to
do that.
I remember sending JoHo an international money order for $250 for FrontDoor 2.20 (which a few months later became 2.3x -- FREE
thank God. <G>) GEcho was $35, ALLFIX was $40ish ... $15/mo for
a FidoNet feed ... all the countless doors ... yeah I remember.
:)
I can't remember exactly. I keep thinking MajorBBS was at least a few hundred and they upsold you on the "Galaticboard" serial card which was another couple hundred bucks.
To be fair TBBS was absolutely fascinating. You could get your hands on
a pirate copy but it was absolutely useless without the printed manual. It was "the mother" of all Rube Goldberg
lets-make-it-freaking-complicated contraptions. But when you really
began to understand why it did things the way it did... it actually
made sense. The manuals were very professional.
I was a huge fan and wrote some crude textfile-utils for John Souvestre's hub system in the 90's. It seemed like him and many TBBS Sysops jumped ship and started their own ISP businesses when the author invented a router appliance and began pitching the Internet as the future.
I actually started to create a similar video for Synchronet sysops
around 1994 (I thought it was an original idea) and had the video camera for (screen capture/recording wasn't really a thing yet), high-end duplication quality SVHS VCR, script, etc, but never really got around
to finishing it before the sales started to obviously slow down in 1995. Wish I had finished it. :-( --
I have a TBBS instance set up myself that you can select from my "main" BBS which I use to really just expose people to its original games. They are so unique...moreso than MajorBBS, whereby all their unique doors kind of feel same (which is not a bad thing, mind you). There's currently a TBBS effort underway by some folks to reinvigorate interest in the platform.
I'd love to see these utils you wrote if you still have them, or if you hav anything TBBS related for that matter!
Jas Hud wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
people didn't need that and didn't want it.
Sean Dennis wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
Sysops freaked out about sharing user info, but I liked the
telegram-like feel of it. Messaging had gone from multiple day
round-trips with dial-up star/backbone systems to real-time.
Why not just use Telegram and leave the middleman out of it?
Sean Dennis wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
If I had a way to transfer micropayments to sysops and artists, I'd certainly use it.
You've never heard of Flattr?
Sean Dennis wrote to Dennis Scott <=-
You obviously have never tried to make money from a BBS...it was cool
in the 90s but BBSing is a small niche hobby these days.
Sean Dennis wrote to Jas Hud <=-
Like how nearly every MBBS system in the 90s charged a subscription because the software was so expensive?
Nick Andre wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
This is true.. If you bought either MBBS or TBBS it was an investment
that you wanted recouped. I never once saw a totally "free" one of
those systems until much later, when the novelty wore off.
If I recall, there were some other paid packages - Searchlight, Wildcat
and others were expensive (to me), but not in the range of the
multi-line BBSes. Those seemed more geared to the well-off sysop rather than the sysop looking to run a business off of his/her BBS.
Jas Hud wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
people didn't need that and didn't want it.
No, I recall you and I having conversations where you expressed concerns about the user information sharing between boards. The number of boards
running CoA was growing, but I get the feeling EC got bored of the noise
and pulled the plug.
Sean Dennis wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
Sysops freaked out about sharing user info, but I liked the
telegram-like feel of it. Messaging had gone from multiple day
round-trips with dial-up star/backbone systems to real-time.
Why not just use Telegram and leave the middleman out of it?
Because it was messages, chat, door games, files, and the potential for
much more - all done in a completely different way than the usual FTN,
store and forward means.
Sean Dennis wrote to Jas Hud <=-
Like how nearly every MBBS system in the 90s charged a subscription because the software was so expensive?
I don't miss the multi-line PCBoard/MBBS/whichever pay systems from the '90s.
How are you handling inbound connections on the TBBS instance? Interchange?
A long time ago I mooched everything off tbbs.org when that site was alive, I just gotta find it amongst boxes of CD-R's, LTO tapes, old IDE drives etc.
I was a huge fan of Searchlight as well, as it did Ansi lightbars and
Rip better than ANY other system... hands down. It was all native, totally amazing. Then there was the Spinnaker web server add-on which
was neat...
I was a huge fan of Searchlight as well, as it did Ansi lightbars and Rip better than ANY other system... hands down. It was all native, totally amazing. Then there was the Spinnaker web server add-on which was neat...
Well, now I'm curious to check it out...ugh...lol.
I'm hosting TBBS in DosBox and am using IPX within, and then there's a prog that handles the telnet->IPX connection called "tiad-NG". It works well eno :)
Fun fact... tbbs.org is back! Sorta. For a week or so now. There's a renew interest there :)
I was a huge fan of Searchlight as well, as it did Ansi lightbars and Rip better than ANY other system... hands down. It was all native, totally amazing. Then there was the Spinnaker web server add-on which was neat...
i think you're just making things up. you were a member. you should REALLY know instead of pulling shit out of your ass instead by saying "i get the feeling". why is it that i know more about it than you do and i wasn't even a member?
I was a huge fan of Searchlight as well, as it did Ansi lightbars and better than ANY other system... hands down. It was all native, totally amazing. Then there was the Spinnaker web server add-on which was neat
I was co-sysop of Just Say Yes, one of the more popular 415 BBSes. Dr. Strangelove ran lightbar menus on it, and it felt light-years ahead of all the ASCII BBS menus out there at the time.
Re: Re: BBS Software Timeout Values
By: Jas Hud to Kurt Weiske on Tue Apr 11 2023 03:52 pm
i think you're just making things up. you were a member. you should REALLY know instead of pulling shit out of your ass instead by saying "i get the feeling". why is it that i know more about it than you do and i wasn't even a member?
If anything, you're consistent.
If anything, you're consistent.
i could say the exact same thing about you.
Nick Andre wrote to Jas Hud <=-
i could say the exact same thing about you.
Now now Professor... I'm in Philly next week. I made an open
invitation in Z1C for beer and wings at my expense for anyone
that wants to meetup in person.
Oh wait... you missed the memo. You don't have a node number.
Nick Andre wrote to Ryan Fantus <=-
Let me know when you install Spinnaker, and come to find out that you cannot modify the "dynamic webpages" without.... wait for it....... Borland Paradox.
Nick Andre wrote to Jas Hud <=-
Now now Professor... I'm in Philly next week. I made an open invitation
in Z1C for beer and wings at my expense for anyone that wants to meetup
in person.
Nick Andre wrote to Jas Hud <=-
Oh wait... you missed the memo. You don't have a node number.
Let me know when you install Spinnaker, and come to find out that you cannot modify the "dynamic webpages" without.... wait for it....... Borland Paradox.
I'll put that right next to my Filemaker web server in the dark recesses
of my mind.
We should organize a traveling sysops meetup, now that we can't meet at
a local watering hole. I'm going to be in Boston some time in the next
few weeks, and maybe Texas again. Who's local?
I'll put that right next to my Filemaker web server in the dark
recesses of my mind.
Would those dark recesses also cross into Lotus Notes territory?
Nick Andre wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
Let me know when you install Spinnaker, and come to find out that you cannot modify the "dynamic webpages" without.... wait for it....... Borland Paradox.
I'll put that right next to my Filemaker web server in the dark recesses of my mind.
Would those dark recesses also cross into Lotus Notes territory?
Nick Andre wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
And that new Sysop usually vanishes a few months later. Usually with no notice to his Echomail hub either.
Jas Hud wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
well when i was writing that i'm talking about the telnet age, not
dialup age.
during the dialup years, i did subscribe to some of those and it was because they provided internet access when it was crummy in my area.
Jas Hud wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
he used a bad example. what it was, was the boards all had their data files linked. so same doorgames, msg areas, user files, etc.
Kurt Weiske wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
Because it was messages, chat, door games, files, and the potential for much more - all done in a completely different way than the usual FTN, store and forward means.
Kurt Weiske wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
Sean Dennis wrote to Kurt Weiske <=-
What Jaron Lanier was talking about was a micropayment system where you could compensate content on the web, in payments of fraction of cents
to sub-dollar amounts on a one-time basis to content creators in an unstructured way - imagine seeing a relevant post on Linkedin and
having the like button transfer 10 cents to the author. readers forward and share the content. Scale takes care of the rest.
Kurt Weiske wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
Where running a BBS became more lucrative was at the quarterly (or more often) get-togethers. Many pints of beer and coffee were bought for me which meant more than the subscriptions.
Jas Hud wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
well when i was writing that i'm talking about the telnet age, not dialup age.
I knew of several MBBS systems that supported both POTS and telnet in the 90s.
Jas Hud wrote to Sean Dennis <=-
he used a bad example. what it was, was the boards all had their data files linked. so same doorgames, msg areas, user files, etc.
To me that is not anything individulistic but more of a hivemind.
Sean Dennis wrote to Jas Hud <=-
My friend started a dialup ISP in the 90s and eventully sold it to Earthlink for a tidy profit.
| Sysop: | DaiTengu |
|---|---|
| Location: | Appleton, WI |
| Users: | 991 |
| Nodes: | 10 (0 / 10) |
| Uptime: | 119:24:38 |
| Calls: | 12,958 |
| Files: | 186,574 |
| Messages: | 3,265,634 |