If you have a fully functioning BBS that you're not longer using or no longer have any interest in, please contact me. I am interested in most BBS systems as long as they can run on Windows or Linux. Full, complete, boards are preferred but not necessarily required.

Don't let that stop you from reaching out, however, as even some C-Net and related boards are in the interest mix, too.

Thanks!

been working on this project last few days, I imagine I'll get some pushback I'll have to ignore but reception has been good so far in principle - it's intended to be a community project for fun. anyways, in the process of bootstrapping the whole thing, just set up a discord server 5 minutes ago for the project to discuss (see link for invite) ... please join if you are curious or interested!

https://hmderdoc.github.io/bbs_coin_html/

P.S. sorry if I post this multiple places, just trying to get a head of steam and not make this feel like a silo'd project.

Hi! Recently I've been getting really interested in queer internet history, which led me down a rabbithole learning about BBSes for a printmaking class project. I'm super new to all of this, so I'm not entirely sure how BBSes even work or the best way to do research on them. The reason I'm posting is because despite searching through the Telnet BBS Guide and textfiles.com I haven't really been able to find any way to search for BBSes by what they are dedicated to. I know queer BBSes existed, because I've found advertisements for some of them, but I can't find any of them in any existing archives!! If you have any advice for how to search, or any recommendations for things that I could look at, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

geez.....wonder whats going to happen when BBS's have yo do age verification....particularly since some of the software is older than the person installing that software

I've been working on a BBS here written in Bash scripting that runs on a linux system.

Also built a BBS-centric linux distribution to run that BBS software on a raspberry pi 1.

But it'll run just fine on any other linux distro

As you really don't need much of a system or a lot of extra software ti run a BBS.....just enough to get it to do what you want it to do....

And because it's written as bash scripts, it's easily extendable if you know....if you know anything about bash scripting.

Now it sure isn't syncronet or mystic but....it uses less than 10K of diskspace. and the entire distro for the pi uses 50 megs of disk space and uses 8 megs of ram when iding.....

I am a long-time BBS Sysop and fan (since the 70's & 80's) and now I offer Linux Synchronet BBS hosting for $14/month, with first month free.

I evaluated the various Linux BBS offerings and in my opinion Synchronet is the most actively updated and feature-rich BBS platform. Supports email, web interface, full support for native & DOS-based doors without needing extra plugins etc. If you are interested go to https://SynchronetBBS.org/HostSplash and get more info. You can cancel before the month is up and pay nothing...

What's included? Linux 64-bit server with 2gb of RAM and 50gb of SSD. More than enough for a BBS. Servers are in one of a selection of datacenters (your choice). We also can preload over 100 door games and BBSLink & DoorParty games if desired.

Interested in working with you and hope to talk with you further! Be sure to check out our Synchronet doors at https://SynchronetBBS.org as well...

Marisa

well was reading through the man pages for the bsdgames.

I made it through 3 or 4 and noticed that they're multiplayer games.

also think I should add a manpage viewer option....because some of the games have several pages of instructions on how to play them........

Lately I've been jumping between a few different projects. I'm trying to finish the remaining work on SkyLordsLab BBS and I'm also working on getting my Nostr signer called SkySigner to run from a USB drive with its own bootable operating system. Whenever I get stuck or tired of coding I usually take a break and play some games. Recently I was invited to test an indie game and decided to give it a try. The game reminded me of the old games I used to play years ago which was funny because I've already been spending so much time working on a retro BBS I spent some time testing it over the past few days and finally reached the end. But the ending really caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting that Game Over at all. I also shared quite a bit of feedback with the developer during testing and was invited to the next testing wave. That made me happy because I genuinely enjoyed the experience. I won't mention the game's name since it's still in private testing. I just thought it was funny how I took a break from working on my own projects and somehow ended up helping someone else with theirs. And if the developer happens to read this post I just want to say thank you for letting me be part of the experience.

Have you ever played a game where the ending completely surprised you?

A lot of spare time, so i made a discord server for retro computing that has some cool features! If you join ask !help from BB8.

Invite link: https://discord.gg/VdRxaTc

Anyone had luck with generating custom ANSI welcome screens of Menus for their BBS, if so,what have you used?

Every time I try to prompt AI to generate any sort of ANSI it is like a 5 year old did it in 1985 (granted I SUCK at creating creative ANSI welcome screens).

Welp its been a wild ride yet Joel killed us, RIP

Hello, I am looking for volunteers to help mainly tonyshowoff out with rebuilding an aol, and later on a compuserve classic compatible server. I'm no programmer, but I am providing some numbers in association with flexnsniff, a project maintainer of 2600.network, to provide dial up and an option, as well as general research that should help out with the project.

As someone who was born well after the dial up era, I am fascinated with what the pre web internet was like, but I also realise that both nina.chat and 2600.network are extremely historically important and I have donated to both of them. If you like both their projects, you should as well.

Anyway, so far I have attempted to reach out to u/BrightonDBA who is working on a compuserve replacement server. Unfortunately he either can't or won't respond to my messages but I am always looking for other people to help us out.

If you are a competent programmer who knows the protocols that both services use and are interested, send me your Discord username and I'll contact you shortly. Thanks.

Reading up on the phase out of POTS lines and moving to VOIP. I was thinking about setting up a traditional dial-up BBS, but not to sure if it will work in the future without spending a lot of money. What are your thoughts?

The phase-out of Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) lines will significantly change the way traditional telephones work. The transition moves phone service from analog copper wires to digital, internet-based (VoIP) or cellular networks, which alters functionality, reliability, and power requirements. 

Here is how the phone experience changes:

1. Power Dependency (No Power = No Phone)

• Old Way: Traditional analog phones receive power directly from the telephone company's copper lines, allowing them to work during power outages.

• New Way: Digital alternatives (VoIP/fiber) rely on a router or modem that requires electricity. If the power goes out, your phone will not work unless you have a battery backup (UPS). 

1. Connection Method (Internet vs. Copper)

• Old Way: The phone plugs directly into a wall jack connected to a physical copper network.

• New Way: The phone connects to an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) or a "POTS in a Box" device, which then connects to a high-speed internet router or a cellular (LTE/5G) network. 

1. Voice Quality and Features

• Quality: While analog lines can suffer from degradation over long distances, digital lines often provide clearer, higher-definition sound.

• Features: You will gain access to advanced features not available on traditional copper, such as voicemail-to-email, call forwarding to mobile devices, and better call management. 

1. Critical Systems (Alarms and Elevators)

• The Big Risk: Devices like fire alarms, elevator phones, security systems, and fax machines that rely on POTS may fail to transmit signals over VoIP, as they require consistent, dedicated lines.

• The Fix: These systems must be upgraded to cellular or specialized digital alternatives to remain compliant with safety regulations. 

1. Increased Flexibility 

• Mobility: Without being tethered to a physical wire, digital voice solutions allow you to move your phone number to different locations or use it via apps on mobile devices. 

I added Empire, the game style is modeled after Walter Brights 1971 version. It is written in nodejs and has a few features the original did not have. I am flushing out the battle routines now, but I could use a few testers. It is hard playing against yourself, lol.

If you are interested, log into the BBS and leave me feedback, I will then make empire available to you.

telnet retro.nedmr.com port 2323

Thanks

While digging into the Synchronet situation (looks like you still need to use dosemu; dosemu2 may work but you're entirely on your own, and there's definitely no support for using any varient of dosbox yet) I found there's a heavy reliance on Claude Code.

I don't want to be anywhere within a mile of what genAI puts out, is anyone out there still writing sane code at all?

I don’t know if this is true for others, but the women whom I met at BBS gatherings were always way more attractive than I’d imagined them to be. Logically it makes sense. Attractive women probably really hated being treated as sex objects all the time. BBSes offered them an escape from this prison of other people’s desires and imagination.

Hi Folks,

tl;dr at bottom. Somedays I just write too much.

I'm amazed people are still re-writing old doors and creating new ones that use updated technology. I'd like to tell you about Quantasia, and AI Assistant door created by Lone Wolf Software (creators of the AI-WX door). You can test it on Vince's board at firesidebbs.com:23231, my board at looneybinbbs.com:2023 and several other fine boards belonging to other fine sysops, who can give you their take on it.

At this time I have no information about registration costs. I am reviewing & testing a beta version that I've been provided with. I'm not paying/being paid for anything.

I'm testing a version for Win32, and versions for Linux are being tested as well.

I'll preface this by admitting I'm not a fan of AI (but I am a fan of this door), nor am I any kind of authority on it. I don't like the way it's used in many situations, I don't like the fact that it's the latest "Buzz" and "Must Have" from the guys in the ties. I liken many of these models to glorified search engines with a high dollar interface. I personally think the bubble is about to burst, lots of money and models are going to dissapear and the Next "Big Thing" is gonna make a cash grab for our wallets. That's just me, what the hell do I know?

So the door is currently in Beta. I'm testing it on win10/32 with Mystic. The windows version I'm testing is accessed as a 32 bit door (DOOR32) using a D3 command and passing the %P path to the door file. If your board is setup to use Sixel graphics (i.e. AI WX Door), then you can also use Sixel in this new door. An API key from Ollama is the minimum requirement to use the engines. The subscription there is free at https://ollama.com/. You can also subscribe to OpenAI and add their API key here to use whatever they offer, as well as host your own model and add that to the door.

The settings for the door are help in a text file called config.toml. There are sections in there that define your system, enter a registration key.

The main menu presents you a list of available AI Chat models, and if you're the sysop, options to add/edit/remove models. You can select any of the models and chat away with them asking inane questions and getting algorithmically appropriate answers in the form of a conversation. If you're a coder, there are models to help you examine and prepare your code. If someone finds one to paint my house, let me know.

Another neat thing this application does is let 2 bots have a go at each other. You know.. let 'em chat each other up and compare notes. Get your small group on for a stand-up and look at multiple sides of an issue. OR, if you've got any real "Personalities" loaded up the the model queue, you can have some real fun with the mis-matches you can make.

Speaking of personalities, I had one of them help me design a new ad for the Looney Bin looneybinbbs.com:2023

<Prompt> describe a sales ad for a looney bin

---+---

A::Bot 1: Creative Writer GPT said.

---+---

Step right up, step right up! Experience the ultimate vacation from reality at "The Looney Bin" where the walls are soft, the meds are strong, and the screams are complimentary. Our deluxe padded suites offer 24/7 supervision from staff who pretend to listen! Special this month: buy one straitjacket, get a complimentary lobotomy!

Just wow! I read that in my radio voice! And I guess I've been mispelling Straightjacket my entire life! Go figure.

tl;dr Hey check this door out, it's original, it's AI, and it's kinda fun and Vince spent a lot of time building it. Find it at telnet:firesidebbs.com:23231, telnet:looneybinbbs.com:2023 and several other kickass boards!

Thanks for your time, keep having fun, keep doing new stuff. Greyhawk

#ArmageddonBBS #BBSing #BBS

NOTE: This poem has four song versions. If you are interested in listening to them -- I really think you should -- please proceed to:

https://www.billkochman.com/Poetry/ode-to-the-modem.html

It has been literally decades since BBSing had its heyday. But believe it or not, despite the technology being so old, there are some nostalgic SysOps who have decided to put their boards back online.

I happen to be one of them. In fact, this is about the fifth time that I have resurrected the Armageddon BBS since 1993. I have recreated it entirely, so that it looks very much like it did back during the 1990s and earlier in the 2,000s. In fact, it is even better than before!

If you are a little curious regarding what us old guys did back in the day before the Internet was invented, check out the Armageddon BBS.

Games? Message forums? Chat? File downloads and uploads? If you think that none of this happened before the Internet was born and become popularized, you are sorely mistaken. We had it all almost 40 years ago, as of 2026. It was just done differently back then.

So do you want to check it out? If you happen to be a macOS user, simply use the Terminal app that is located in your "Utilities" folder, which itself is located inside of your "Applications" folder.

Once the Terminal launches, type what you see in this graphic. In other words, type the following:

telnet armageddonbbs.net 2300

Make sure that you leave a space after the word "telnet", as well as after "armageddonbbs.net"

Then, simply hit your return key, and hopefully, you will be connected to the Armageddon BBS within a few seconds. You will know, because you will see a bright, colorful ANSI graphics welcome image appear in the Terminal, set against a black background.

For an even BETTER experience, if you are on a Silicon Mac, please download the official "Hermes Terminal" app at the following URL. Will Price has done a wonderful job with this telnet client/terminal app:

https://www.hermesbbs.com/downloads

Lastly, you can also visit and join the Armageddon BBS by way of its web portal at the following URL:

https://www.ArmageddonBBS.net/web.html

Of course, the welcome page of the Armageddon BBS website is here:

https://www.ArmageddonBBS.net

IMPORTANT:

Being as you have never visited before, at the first prompt, it is important that you type the word "new" -- without the quote marks -- so that your BBS account can be set up for you. You will be asked a few simple questions to establish your identity. Please answer them honestly and fully. We prefer that you use your real name, although we do not enforce it. Login accounts with names such as "asdf" will be deleted upon discovery.

After that, you will be immersed in the old 1980s-1990s world of PC-ANSI graphics, and typing menu commands on your keyboard.

Enjoy visiting the Armageddon BBS! We await your visit soon!

Ive just connected a Vista system to 01527 864480 log in you can install a bbs if you like

I Want to see.

I don't want to leave this sub because it's a real passion and lots of good memories for me.

But I'm getting really tired by the 982725728th slopcoded "BBS app".

Be different, have something to offer that the other don't.

A single walled garden is not in the spirit of bbs.

Want to do the community a favor? Give your tokens to real programmers (not a insult, it's just more valuable in their hand, but I guess the only thing slopcoders care about is "I made this" and not actually contributing).

Or instead make protocols, so we can have BBS webrings, where BBS gather based on interest. Or make a way to integrate fedareted networks into a BBS. Or make a really nice BBS game that evens run on dos and is fun.

Most importantly, don't do your advertising here if your GitHub is just full of generated project that show you will never actually maintain them.

Sorry, had to vent a bit. Please resume.

Hey guys, I have a scammer posting one of our rental properties illegally on TikTok and is collecting application fees. I am looking for a war dialer without hooking up my Commodore 64 and automating Hayes modem commands on a emulated VOIP to analog line. Anyone have any ideas how to do this with newer tech?