Amiga related BBS's

[illy5603]

I know this is an older thread but what happens is we set the BBS's back up, get all excited for a few weeks and then eventually take them down because there is little interest or in my case, lots of nagging issues I could never fully get resolved. The one that seems to be the most stable is Uzi Suicide.

uzisuicide.servebbs.org

My bbs is in my sig and I am considering putting it back online someday.

[Codetsu]

sadly this is how it goes
at first there is big interest when you say you
may start your bbs
after some week no one login :/

thats why i prefer that we setup own Fido
so we (Sysop) can support other BBS get some massage traffic
so they stay busy even no one call

hope see next year more Amiga BBS back online then goes offline
C64 BBS scene is in burst why not Amiga ?!?

[Amimal]

Things to be mindful of when running a BBS in 2017:

1. An unnecessarily complex, intrusive and privacy-undermining registration process; you don't need my real ID or any type of personal data. Just be content with a handle and let me move on.

2. Door games are not the thing anymore. In fact, I don't think I ever spent more than 5 minutes on any of them back when they were supposed to be fun. Time to let go of this ghastly fad.

3. PC-type ANSI art is overhyped and can be pretty annoying (because it's almost always overdone). Keep it plain ASCII, keep it 8 colors at most; keep it Amiga.

4. An empty or famished file section is depressing and likely to cause me not to return anymore. It is thus better not have any at all.

5. Getting your BBS behind an anonymous vpn and keeping it censorship-free will increase your chances of success because there's a real need for places like that.

[Codetsu]

maybe you have solution for all your point so please educate us ?!

1. that is buld in can't do nothing about that but you can answer what ever you like in there if you don't like it.

2. i like to play them you do not have to
3. it's part of art scene of BBS and again i like it
4. even i have 10000 files in there no one care but i like save my stuff in there
5. i think you prefer SSH. if i don't build totally new BBS sw this can't be done if you do not have source code of your BBS sw after that you need more horse power to your Amiga to run that thing and more memory.
and then i cut assess of 90% Amiga termina sw to log in my BBS

and what i do not like to do is buld some PC Synchronet BBS
there is no Amiga in there at all

[illy5603]

I will be putting my BBS back up for 48 hours starting at 18:00 EST this evening. Information is in my Signature, chances are I will validate you as soon as you finish the application so please call if you feel nostalgic. Address is in my signature and please remember the port is 1541 for my bbs as scripts hit port 23 too much.

Back to the discussion. Having a files area is mostly useless now but was why my bbs existed back in the day. I am not as interested in keeping WaReZ around anymore as much as I am interested in demos and text files. I agree with the comment about ascii vs ANSI, I much prefer ascii now. Door games, well, they never ran very well on Ami-Express so I never had any. What I really wish would happen, but I just don't see it happening, is for people to call in and post creative things. Thoughts, rants, memories... It used to be a big thing with my system before I stopped taking local callers and got into "the scene."

[Codetsu]

add spatulacity again my Term.
try to visit often then past

Good work 7o7

[Amimal]

Originally Posted by Codetsu

1. that is buld in can't do nothing about that but you can answer what ever you like in there if you don't like it.

I've never been a sysop myself so I speak purely from a user's standpoint (as well as that of somebody who's experimented with this type of software), yet I find it somewhat difficult to believe there's not a single BBS server package out there that offers more flexibility on this respect. Either way, I'd rather not register at all than go through more of this nonsense, which i understand used to serve a legitimate purpose back in the day, but it no longer does.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

2. i like to play them you do not have to

Personally I'd rather see more time going into ironing out the problems that will inevitably arise in the process of getting a BBS up and running than have it go to waste setting up this useless thing.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

3. it's part of art scene of BBS and again i like it

If it's an Amiga-oriented BBS, I'd say it should look and feel Amiga. There's quite a few generic, ANSI-friendly BBS' out there, but the authentic Amiga ones are pretty rare and seldom ever live long enough to build up a user base.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

4. even i have 10000 files in there no one care but i like save my stuff in there

If no one but you cares about these files, a private ftp would probably suit you better.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

5. i think you prefer SSH. if i don't build totally new BBS sw this can't be done if you do not have source code of your BBS sw after that you need more horse power to your Amiga to run that thing and more memory.
and then i cut assess of 90% Amiga termina sw to log in my BBS

and what i do not like to do is buld some PC Synchronet BBS
there is no Amiga in there at all

I prefer it over plain text but not over a proper VPN because it doesn't allow for anonymous connections. Get behind a TOR router (either with a hardware solution or by interfacing your Amiga with a modern computer) and conduct business as usual. I access regular telnet BBS' like this without any trouble; no need for source codes or overpowered Amigas.

[Codetsu]

this sounds like frightening familiar as if I were developing something new iron for my beloved Amigal

[Codetsu]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Codetsu View Post
>>1. that is buld in can't do nothing about that but you can answer what ever you like in there if you don't like it.

>I've never been a sysop myself so I speak purely from a user's standpoint (as well as that of somebody who's experimented with this type of software), yet I find >it somewhat difficult to believe there's not a single BBS server package out there that offers more flexibility on this respect. Either way, I'd rather not >register at all than go through more of this nonsense, which i understand used to serve a legitimate purpose back in the day, but it no longer does.

your right part of registration issues is not relevant in this time. but in the time,
they were one of the most important part of linking people together with Sysop's help.
In the time, the questions were in all systems the same because it was the
standard of time some asked less some more

no doubt there are BBS programs whose registration issues were manipulated
or they were written in the Arexx language whose editing is fairly easy.
but it does not remove the fact that we want to use the program we like
and we do not want to belong to the same syncronet stardard
programs are their relics and as such we like them
they never be mainstream again i repeat never
and their will never be interest to many.

you would like us to switch the program to another that would support your
desired features without knowing what kind of work it would be.
In this scenario, things do not work just like on the Internet

Quote:
Originally Posted by Codetsu View Post
>>3. it's part of art scene of BBS and again i like it

>If it's an Amiga-oriented BBS, I'd say it should look and feel Amiga. There's
>quite a few generic, ANSI-friendly BBS' out there, but the authentic Amiga ones
>are pretty rare and seldom ever live long enough to build up a user base.

i wonder why they die...
Initially, I was thinking of using the BBS Amiga letters,
but I abandoned that idea quite quickly when I noticed how limited the Topaz character set was
so my BBS is and remains Ansi


Quote:
Originally Posted by Codetsu View Post
>>5. i think you prefer SSH. if i don't build totally new BBS sw this can't be done
>>if you do not have source code of your BBS sw after that you need more horse power
>>to your Amiga to run that thing and more memory.
>>and then i cut assess of 90% Amiga termina sw to log in my BBS
>>and what i do not like to do is buld some PC Synchronet BBS
>>there is no Amiga in there at all

>I prefer it over plain text but not over a proper VPN because it doesn't allow for
>anonymous connections. Get behind a TOR router (either with a hardware
>solution or by interfacing your Amiga with a modern computer) and conduct business
>as usual. I access regular telnet BBS' like this without any trouble; no need
>for source codes or overpowered Amigas.

I do not see there any benefit why i would do so
this forum is not any more secure than my own BBS
I see no benefit of that only then if you are planning to throw shit
into my message areas or design any other horrors that someone else could not find out
why would I allow it ?

if I would allow it so then I would use SSH at both ends to
make sure nobody could figure out what my traffic would include
if i just use VPN and trasfer plain text like BBS trafic is
no government or a private person would have any trouble
finding out what my message was about if they knew where to look

I recommend that you use the channels that you have already found
to be working for you, as it is an easier solution for us all

Long-time sysop here.

Are we really splitting hairs over the "utility" of a bbs or what content is appropriate? Seriously?

There's no point in a bbs. It serves no purpose. It's simply fun. And having cool art screens, some stupid (yet fun) door games, and a handful of files you can find anywhere else, is akin to using an Amiga in 2017. It's just a silly fun hobby. I can't believe you're really arguing about this.

[Codetsu]

well say esc o7

[Amimal]

Originally Posted by Codetsu

you would like us to switch the program to another that would support your
desired features without knowing what kind of work it would be.
In this scenario, things do not work just like on the Internet

As I said before, the registration issue is something to be mindful of, a suggestion if you will; it's not a commandment or a demand.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

Initially, I was thinking of using the BBS Amiga letters, but I abandoned that idea quite quickly when I noticed how limited the Topaz character set was so my BBS is and remains Ansi

If you're shooting for and advertising specifically an Amiga-oriented BBS, it's implied that Amigas will be used and fonts will not be a problem. On the other hand, if you just want a more generic type of BBS that can be adequately accessed by anybody with a standard telnet client, surely ANSI is the safer choice.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

I do not see there any benefit why i would do so
this forum is not any more secure than my own BBS

You're confusing privacy and anonymity with security.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

I see no benefit of that only then if you are planning to throw shit
into my message areas or design any other horrors that someone else could not find out
why would I allow it ?

Just as with web sties, a VPN cannot keep your BBS safe from spam (or make it more vulnerable to it for that matter), and if there isn't a burden for freedom of speech to begin with, it wouldn't do anything for you either.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

if I would allow it so then I would use SSH at both ends to
make sure nobody could figure out what my traffic would include
if i just use VPN and trasfer plain text like BBS trafic is
no government or a private person would have any trouble
finding out what my message was about if they knew where to look

There's nothing stopping you from using SSH with a VPN; you don't have to choose between the two, just use both if you need to.

Originally Posted by Codetsu

I recommend that you use the channels that you have already found
to be working for you, as it is an easier solution for us all

I don't like the www as we get it today and I have hardly any use for it anymore, but there's always room for better things, and an anonymous BBS operating under improved privacy standards that would effectually put it beyond the reach of political so called correctness most certainly is one of them. Now that's what I'd to see, but it's not up to me. Take it or leave it.

[Amimal]

Originally Posted by esc

Long-time sysop here.

Are we really splitting hairs over the "utility" of a bbs or what content is appropriate? Seriously?

There's no point in a bbs. It serves no purpose. It's simply fun. And having cool art screens, some stupid (yet fun) door games, and a handful of files you can find anywhere else, is akin to using an Amiga in 2017. It's just a silly fun hobby. I can't believe you're really arguing about this.

I can see where you're coming from, but I genuinely believe that BBS' can still be successfully used for building virtual communities while providing a variety of relevant services to the same. It's just that most people don't know about them, let alone the multitude of advantages (to both users and owners) that they offer (if set up and run properly of course) in comparison to this vile, disgusting thing that more popular forms of communications have become.

BBS' via telnet, the gopherspace and ftp's; get them all to operate through secured connections and you've made the internet a usable place again

[illy5603]

I have been a Sysop, off and on, since 1990. I love nostalgia but will concede that everything that was once done on a BBS has a better equivalent in the modern web. FTP: for files, Slack or forums for messaging, even IRC, and of course, for better or worse, social media for building communities.

I am happy to throw the BBS up a few weekends a year to capture some of that old feeling, but it is simply that now, looking back on a more simpler time.

There are TWO areas I could see a BBS still being useful for.

1) ASCII art still looks best in a terminal program...
2) If you want a scene dedicated to the select few willing to learn how to navigate a BBS and message, it is a way to reduce the noise of forums or social media.

But it comes at the cost of dedicating such expensive hardware to that task or managing some sort of virtual environment. I did the later for a couple of years and it was nice to have the BBS back 24/7 it just wasn't the same logging on from a virtual Amiga on my Windows Laptop. It all feels better from a real Amiga for me.

Interestingly enough BBSing in Taiwan is extremely popular. For example, PTT BBS has upwards of 150k concurrent users online at once during peak hours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PTT_Bulletin_Board_System

But this is an entirely different approach to BBSing.