Back to the BBS

I was 16 years old when I got my first PC 386SX with a 2400 baud modem. These were pre-internet days, and I would connect to local BBS networks. This is what it meant to be ‘online’.

Each BBS was a different phone number, but they all offered similar features. A message board to read/post ideas, a game area (called Doors) to play some mostly text based games, and a files area to share (upload and download) files. Keep in mind we were talking small files here. An image or large game could take several hours to download at only 2400bps.

The BBS World

The world of going online was a lot different from what it is today. Firstly, we rarely shared our ‘real names’. You login was a handle, and people had some crazy handles, you were basically ‘anonymous’ and you could cultivate your own online personality. I could be way more outgoing and ‘dangerous’ chatting on board then I would ever be in the ‘real life’ world.

Chatting with others was a combination of meeting new people, sharing new ideas, and ‘bragging’ about things we had accomplished. Graphics were done in ANSI, and while not ‘high end’ graphics, they were ‘the bomb’ of the BBS world.

BBS Today

As the internet continued to grow in popularity, and modems slowly switched over to high speed internet, the BBS world saw an ongoing decline in usage, and came close to burning out completely. The good news, however, is that the BBS world still exists, as modem’s have been replaced with telnet connections and software like NetRunner and SyncTerm. Plus now you can “dial” up BBS services all over the world (without having to phreak your long distance charges.

Whether your new to the BBS world, or just want to re-live the “good ol’ days” of being online. Just grab a copy of one of the software’s above and check out the BBS guide to setup an account and ‘get online’…all over again!