If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20261003

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

it only took 25 years of checking ebay daily, but it finally arrived: the retail edition of FirstClass BBS server + client for the macintosh

it's big, it's heavy, and it's loaded with documentation. among the diskettes, you'll notice the "license disk" which is a key disk/dongle for running the server. it decides how many users can dial-in, or connect over appletalk

the best part was that it includes a pamphlet with their price list as of 1995. just look at those eyewatering prices: $35000 USD for 1000 users 😭

i'm excited to see what kind of license the previous owner bought (e.g. the max# of users they were able to afford).

#macintosh #vintageApple #bbs #retrocomputing

Alt...

The contents of the FirstClass BBS retail box. It has four diskettes: Forms Editor, Macintosh Server 2.7, Server License 2.6, and Client 2.7 The manuals included are: Forms Editor, Administrator's Supplement, Administrator Manual, and FC Client Getting Started.

Alt...

A pamphlet showing prices for FirstClass addons: 5 Regular User License $395.00 10 Regular User License $695.00 25 Regular User License $1495.00 50 Regular User License $2495.00 100 Regular User License $4295.00 250 Regular User License $9595.00 500 Regular User License $17995.00 1000 Regular User License $34995.00

til while listening to @tomjennings interview with jason for the bbs doc: the telebit trailblazer modem was capable of 19200 baud at a time when other modem brands were maxed out at 2400 baud

that is *8* times faster, and other brands and protocols didn't catch up to that speed for several years

it was possible thanks to telebit's proprietary PEP (packetized ensemble protocol), powered by an onboard motorola 68k cpu which made it roughly as powerful as an amiga or macintosh. yes: the modem was as fast as the machine it was connected to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telebit#PEP_and_the_TrailBlazer

the wikipedia article goes into some detail describing how PEP works, but what stood out to me was how robust it was with bad line noise: it was capable of retrograding to slower speeds in decrements of *10 bits/sec* to accommodate shitty telcos.

that is a huge difference from my bassackwards USR sportster 14.4kbaud, which would downgrade speeds in steps of 2400 baud or more with the slightest noise

the only problem with the trailblazer was that both calling and receiving parties needed a telebit modem to get the high speeds, and they were *insanely* expensive compared to other brands

i sure miss when every year brought exciting new computer hardware with actual technical innovation

#bbs #modems #retrocomputing

Alt...

The front panel of a Telebit Trailblazer Plus modem, showing its modem lights and an A/B switch. It has a functional yet elegant case design.

steve hannah recalls his days running macintosh BBS software like FirstClass and NovaLink Pro in vancouver

til: FC was only one of *several* graphical BBSes for the mac!

https://sjhannah.com/blog/2023/02/19/prime-time-bbs/

#bbs #macintosh #vintageApple #yvr

Alt...

The front end interface for Novalink Pro, running on a Mac with System 7. It looks like a plain old Finder window with custom icons for each BBS service.

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260926

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

and fwiw, if you run a home streaming/plex server of your own, i spent an entire year creating proper metadata for the bbs documentary raw interviews here:

https://thetvdb.com/series/bbs-the-documentary#seasons

with appropriate file renaming on your server (e.g. "BBS_Documentary_S00E01_Count_zero.mp4"), this means that the 140+ interviews will have proper names and descriptions attached to them

#bbs

holy shit. after 5+ years of asking for these, i just realized jason uploaded the missing BBS documentary interview tapes to IA last september

among the new uploads, i am beyond thankful that @tomjennings's interview is *finally* there!

https://archive.org/details/bbs_documentary?sort=-publicdate

#bbs #retroComputing

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260919

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

Happy 40th Birthday, Apple IIgs!

#AppleII #AppleIIgs #Apple #vintageApple #retrocomputing #retrocomputers #vintagecomputing #computing #computinghistory #vintagetech #tech #photo #CRT #floppydisk #nostalgia #BBS #messydesk #mydesk #setups #Woz #Apple2forever

Alt...

Apple IIgs computer logged into a Bulletin Board System

it took 25+ years of searches, but i finally struck paydirt this morning: a legit, retail copy of FirstClass BBS for the macintosh

the backstory: in 1995, my redneck farm school managed to get an entire lab of twenty Mac LC's, and one of the machines was tucked off in a corner to run "FirstClass" for the entire school using an external 14.4k Global Village Teleport modem.

i was already a bbs kid by this point, but i had never heard of FC. all of the boards i visited were PC/ANSI boards running software like Oblivion/2, Iniquity, PCBoard or Wildcat. i had never even *heard* of a macintosh bbs. our computer teacher managed to get a landline number for the modem, and encouraged me to call it from home.

when i connected from home, i was nonplussed - the board was black/white ASCII with some of the worst menus i had ever seen. i browsed a few of the conferences and logged out. a "lamer board" if i had ever seen one.

the next day, i made my opinion unswervingly clear to my computer teacher: "Your board sucks Mr. M!"

He chuckled, "What? First Class is great! It's you DOS guys that suck."

he motioned to a nearby LC and opened a program called FirstClass Client. it showed a login dialog; he hammered in his u/p and a few seconds later, he was logged in to the BBS over the LAN.

...... except, it was all graphical! the entire board was a rich mac OS gui. navigation between file areas and message conferences was by opening and closing windows, and clicking on buttons. no ascii/ANSI characters. downloading a file was just plain drag and drop from the server's folder to your desktop.

i had never seen anything like it: a bbs that functioned more like an operating system and windowing environment. it was a *decade* ahead of anything i had seen in ms-dos

that experience left a huge impression on me. i never found any bbs that felt as good as FC before or afterward, and spent years trying to find a legit copy of it. because it was insanely expensive ($800+) it was mostly sold to educational and corporate institutions, and very few copies ever showed up on ebay. until today. i can't wait to receive this in a few weeks, and begin documenting
and archiving the contents.

fwiw - i wrote a much longer version of this story, and many others about the 90s bbs era, in my book Mages & Modems: A Childhood Well-Wasted in the Golden Age of Personal Computers, Games, and Internet Piracy:
https://tomotama.com/books

#bbs #retroComputing #macintosh #vintageApple #books

Alt...

A brown cardboard box of FirstClass Server by SoftArc Inc. It shows a 3D globe illustration on the cover.

Alt...

A window running FirstClass Server in macintosh system 7. It shows a Desktop folder, with many sub-folders in it like Mailbox, News, Conferences, Help, Log Files and Hard Disk. The entire bbs is set up like a large collection of folders.

Alt...

Composing an e-mail in FirstClass Client 3.5. It shows a "send" postmark stamp on the sent email. Meanwhile, a file transfer is in process in a tiny window.

love this post: andrew milner recounts the creation of RemoteAccess BBS software, and the transition into a local ISP in western australia (Wantree) before it tailspins into a shitty poker playing company

https://www.reddit.com/r/bbs/comments/1wgmb8a/the_story_of_remoteaccess_and_what_came_after_by/

#bbs #1990s

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260905

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260829

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

1993 interview with @tomjennings in FringeWare mag:
https://archive.org/details/FringeWare.Review.Issue.1.1993/page/n19/mode/2up

source: /r/bbs /user/SnarkHabit

#bbs #anarchism #fidonet

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260822

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260815

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260808

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260801

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

i was so surprised and delighted to see BBSes, FidoNet, and MUDs/MUCKs get mentions in the anthropomorphic (furry) culture history documentary The Fandom (2020).

i always knew there was significant overlap between furry culture and networked computing, but i had never fully made the connection. it's so nice to see a real, non-corporate, grassroots culture grown through informal othernetworks. no wonder masto is so furry-rich!

trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF9DQQsUcs0

watch here (free):
https://archive.org/details/the-fandom-a-furry-documentary-full-movie

#bbs #fidonet #documentary #film #furry #othernetworks #mud #mush

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260725

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260718

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

if anyone knows of an ssh BBS theyd recommend let me know

(via terminals not browsers)

#ssh
#BBS

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260711

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260704

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

Brief interests resume:

#art #earth #music
#guitar #synths #modular #analog #progrock #ambient

#photography
#science #history #archeology
#space #scifi #sciencefiction #scifiart
#ufos #ovnis #paranormal

#linux #opensource
#MSDOS #DOSGaming #CPM
#retrogaming #retrocomputing #oldcomputers
#BBS #ANSI #ASCII #ansiart #asciiart #retro #vintage

#gaming #videogames #gamedev #indiegamedev #indiedev
#rpg #dnd #mmorpg #rogue #nethack #roguelike
#tetris

#reader #writer #blogger
etc..

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260627

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" THiS SATURDAY at 21:00 UK! (1pm PT/4pm ET)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260627

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

@peteorrall

Yeah, [trickle] is great for bringing back dialup shell access and #BBS vibes. XD

(As is SyncTerm for connecting to telnet BBSes. You can limit the baud rate in the client)

cc: @sjmulder

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260620

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

@dirkdierickx

It's all about the experience..

I'm still doing #BBS for example.
From #MSDOS.

I love to find old sites as they were.

Today, internet think for you.. and that's not good!

Pleased to announce the soft re-launch of https://www.telegard.net

Thanks to @vga256 for securing the domain and building out the mirror of the final Telegard website - what I'm hosting now is his initiative & work to recover the domain from a decade of squatting, and restore this piece of BBS history.

Down the road, I plan to keep adding content to the site, likely including a turnkey telnet DOSBox Telegard BBS, history, testimonials, a directory of active Telegard BBS's, etc.

#BBS #Telegard

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONiGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260613

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" THiS SATURDAY at 21:00 UK! (1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260613

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

RE: https://mastodon.cloud/@WoodooProd/113937912923571368

Thinking I still have an advanded save game there..

ZORK

#zork #infocom #adventure #text #games #gaming #retrogaming #retrocomputing #BBS #BBSing #ssh #EndOfTheLineBBS #bulletinboards #textmode #ANSI #ASCII #terminal #retrocomputing #oldschool

Rewatching my favourite talk from @FOSS North conference 🇸🇪 this year:
Dirty Tricks: Using nginx and Lua to thwart bots and skript kiddies by @ltning.

Retro computing, life wisdom and even some actually useful mitigations in one presentation. All done on a 80486 machine!

Embedded content

Dirty Tricks: Using nginx and Lua to thwart bots and skript kiddies - Eirik Øverby
by foss-north on PeerTube
#retrocomputing #telnet #captcha #bbs #bots

Usenet is an ever-living, Casper the friendly ghost of discussion networks.

Just a friendly reminder that Usenet still exists and access to text newsgroups is still FREE. Access is provided by volunteer sysops around the world. See links below.

Back in its glory days it seems that just about every academic institution had its own Usenet hierarchy of newsgroups.

Linux was revealed to the world via Usenet.

Open source philosophy gained its steam via Usenet.

Usenet is the original free speech network.

Usenet is the original 'social network'.

Simple and free access to text-only Usenet Newsgroups
https://eternal-september.org/

#Usenet #BBS #NetworkNews #EternalSeptember #usenet #nntp #decentralized #censorship #retro #freespeech

If you've done 6 impossible things this week, why not round it off with a trip onboard "thE grAvY trAIn" TONIGHT at 21:00 UK! (1pm Pacific/4pm Eastern)

https://erb.pw/y/tgt20260103

#DontPanic #thEgrAvYtrAIn #TextMode
#RetroComputing #BBS #ChipTunes #TrackerMusic #ANSIArt #ASCIIArt

@selfhosting@a.gup.pe @retro@a.gup.pe @usenet@a.gup.pe @bbs@a.gup.pe @linux@a.gup.pe @nostalgia@a.gup.pe @opensource@a.gup.pe @networks@a.gup.pe @infostorm@a.gup.pe

I have been away from the Internet for at least a couple months. I came to quickly check my feeds and I am sad to have found report of the passing away of a very cool hacker, Thom Miller, known by the handle, Retro Guy. According to his wife Kaylen Miller, Thom died about two weeks ago from pancreatic cancer. He had a years-long struggle with cancer and multiple therapies and surgeries. During all the time of his illness he continued to hack away providing network access and software updates absolutely free to his user base. He was a strong believer in the value of open and decentralized communication for all. His software is simple and awesome, and useful for censorship-resistant communication. (https://gitlab.com/rslight-public/rocksolid-light)

Thom, known as Retro Guy, created the Rocksolid Light NNTP forums and server software. He served the hacker community as a free speech advocate and provider of free speech communication networking. He refused to censor opinions that he found offensive or stupid on the principle of the golden rule. He endured a lot of annoyances to provide service for many. Thom maintained the software for years giving web-based NNTP access to countless users. Thom was always helpful and patient with users needing assistance, even when he was feeling ill and suffering. He pushed through his pain to serve others with something he believed was a necessary tool and blessing for the general public.

I am sad to learn of Thom's passing. He will be missed and remembered. I will remember him by continuing to run his software.

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=1024&group=rocksolid.nodes.help#1024

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=560&group=rocksolid.nodes.announce#560

More:
https://news.novabbs.org/rocksolid/article-flat.php?id=561&group=rocksolid.nodes.announce#561

More:
https://www.novabbs.com/interests/article-flat.php?id=25410&group=alt.obituaries

#obituary #rocksolidlight #usenet #nntp #freespeech #cancer #condolences #networknews #retroguy #novabbs #bbs

Usenet is an ever-living, Casper the friendly ghost of discussion networks.

Just a friendly reminder that Usenet still exists and access to text newsgroups is still FREE. Access is provided by volunteer sysops around the world. See links below.

Back in its glory days it seems that just about every academic institution had its own Usenet hierarchy of newsgroups.

Linux was revealed to the world via Usenet.

Open source philosophy gained its steam via Usenet.

Usenet is the original free speech network.

Usenet is the original 'social network'.

NovaBBS
https://novabbs.org

Simple and free access to text-only Usenet Newsgroups
https://www.i2pn2.org/

#Usenet #BBS #NetworkNews #EternalSeptember

@infostorm@a.gup.pe @academicchatter@a.gup.pe

https://www.telnetbbsguide.com/

#BBS #telnet #retro #networking