[OT] Why are BBSes? [was Where's the junk coming from?]

[Terry Reedy]

On 6/28/2018 9:05 PM, Avon wrote:
> On 06/28/18, Grant Edwards pondered and said...
>   
>   GE> OK, I've got to ask...
>   GE> Why are there still BBSes?
>   GE>
>   GE> Who even has a modem these days?  [OK, I'll admit my 11 year old
>   GE> Thinkpad T500 has a built-in POTS modem, but it's never been used.]
> 
> Hi Grant.
> 
> How long do you have? :)
> 
> Most BBS are connected using the internet these days and mostly run for fun,
> nostalgic and curiosity reasons by former and new sysops. Most systems don't
> enjoy the caller numbers of the heyday 1990s but rather are largely used by
> the sysop to engage in message networks and the BBS community that exists in
> 2018.
> 
> I was a former sysop in my 20s in the 1990s and got back in to it around
> 2013. What I have found is that the scene is again growing, mostly due to
> nostalgia, but also out of a desire to escape big-brother social media e.g
> Facebook.

Being able to send messages by ham radio is useful in disasters as well 
as nostalgic.  I just don't know what people are doing these days.

> People also like the simple UI for reading messages etc.
> 
> As to the how... well, messages / files etc. are now largely sent via the
> internet not POTS (plain old telephone) and BinkP is a popular protocol using
> port 24554.
> 
> BBS software is still under active development by a few authors who have kept
> their offerings in step with 2018. So I use Mystic BBS (mysticbbs.com) and
> you will see it offers a bunch of services and runs on Linux, Windows,
> Raspberry Pi. I also run a message network called fsxNet (fun, simple,
> experimental network) that has nodes in USA, New Zealand, Europe, Asia etc.
> you can find out more by heading to bbs.nz or download an infopack at
> bbs.nz/fsxnet.zip. Lastly info about setting up Mystic can be found on a
> YouTube channel I set up called Mystic Guy (there ends the sales pitch :))
> 
> Other developers of BBS software active in 2018 include Synchronet BBS, now
> offerings including Magicka BBS, Enigma1/2 BBS... and WWIV is still about too.
> 
> Hope that helps, perhaps intrigues you further. I'm happy to answer any
> questions and/or offer support to folks interested in this stuff. Python is
> being added to Mystic as a scripting tool by the author at the moment so this
> newsgroup / mail list is of interest to a bunch of folks :)
> 
> Best, Paul
> 


-- 
Terry Jan Reedy