I've had my new BBS set up since last October and the only visitors I get are people trying to break in with bots or a lot of key-slapping.

So where is everybody? It looks like the only people using bulletin boards these days are other sysops. Here's the big question: How can we get more users? How can we spread the word, other than by using our own bulletin boards? Where do you think we can go to advertise? We have a lot of bulletin boards, but no one is using them. I think bulletin boards are a great means of communication. I had one for about 5 years back in the early 1990s and it was quite popular. I know the rest of you have some great boards. Let's find a way to get "ordinary" people onboard.

... If you can't make it good, make it LOOK good. -Bill Gates.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

On 23 Jun 2023 at 01:22p, Alonzo pondered and said...

I've had my new BBS set up since last October and the only visitors I
get are people trying to break in with bots or a lot of key-slapping.

So where is everybody? It looks like the only people using bulletin
boards these days are other sysops. Here's the big question: How can we get more users? How can we spread the word, other than by using our own bulletin boards? Where do you think we can go to advertise? We have a
lot of bulletin boards, but no one is using them. I think bulletin
boards are a great means of communication. I had one for about 5 years back in the early 1990s and it was quite popular. I know the rest of you have some great boards. Let's find a way to get "ordinary" people
onboard.

This seems to be a perennial problem in the BBS community.

It sounds glib, but the way to get way to get more users
is to offer them something that they cannot get anywhere
else. The issue, as I see it, is that the thing that a
BBS gives that is unique is just the BBS experience itself
and frankly, most "ordinary people" just aren't interested
in that. A few enthusiasts and fans of retro systems are.

BBSes had their heyday in the 90s because they sat at the
intersection of computing and telecommunications
availability; the Internet was far more advanced, USENET
was where the technical conent was, but neither was generally
accessible to the average person: BBSes, by design, were.
But once the Internet was opened to commercial use, BBSes
just couldn't compete, so they declined. Nothing fundamental
has changed in this area, so BBSes will never see a
resurgence in popularity to the levels they once enjoyed.

Honestly? The best bet for getting a BBS to be popular is
to have some kind of unique hook that users would find
interesting: running on vintage hardware or something that
would appear to some niche. Aside from that, I just don't
think it would be realistic.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

BY: Alonzo (21:1/130)

|11A|09> |10So where is everybody? It looks like the only people using bulletin|07
|11A|09> |10boards these days are other sysops. Here's the big question: How can we|07
|11A|09> |10get more users? How can we spread the word, other than by using our own|07
|11A|09> |10bulletin boards? Where do you think we can go to advertise? We have a|07
|11A|09> |10lot of bulletin boards, but no one is using them. I think bulletin|07
People upset about API's in Twitter, Reddit. We would have to make bbses accessable. Problem is many people do not want to go retro.


--- WWIV 5.9.0.3695[Windows]
* Origin: inland utopia * california * iutopia.duckdns.org:2023 (21:4/108)

Re: Re: Where is everybody?
By: tenser to Alonzo on Sat Jun 24 2023 05:46 am

I've had my new BBS set up since last October and the only visitors I
get are people trying to break in with bots or a lot of key-slapping.

So where is everybody? It looks like the only people using bulletin
boards these days are other sysops. Here's the big question: How can we get more users? How can we spread the word, other than by using our own

First off if your running a BBS to get callers your doing it wrong. You setup and run a BBS for yourself. To learn, to sharpen your computer skills. Do you have a web page or facebook page? How many visitors do you get? How long have you had your space on the web? Why do people want to visit? The more a SysOp customizes his/her BBS the more I call. That's because I've ran my own BBS and I know how much work it takes to make it your own. I haven't called your BBS but it will take a lot of customization before it gets added to my phonebook.


|12HusTler


...How does this work, is there an orientation?
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

So where is everybody? It looks like the only people using bulletin
boards these days are other sysops. Here's the big question: How can we get more users?

Good question.

boards are a great means of communication. I had one for about 5 years back in the early 1990s and it was quite popular.

The difference is that back then the average person didn't have access to the internet. BBS's were pretty much the way to talk electronically to other people, be they in your own city or on the other side of the world.

Fast forward a few years and the internet was no longer just for defence and academia and the nerds of the day, and the mums & dad's, started using that instead.

I enjoy the BBS world because my BBS mailbox isn't full of spam, multinationals aren't analysing everything I look at and using that information "against" me (to target advertising), and I enjoy retro computing.

Other people enjoy the BBS world for their own reasons :-)

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
* Origin: TassieBob BBS, Hobart, Tasmania (21:3/169)

On 24 Jun 2023, tassiebob said the following...

Fast forward a few years and the internet was no longer just for defence and academia and the nerds of the day, and the mums & dad's, started
using that instead.

i'd say from like 98-04 or so was basically a bunch of telnet BBSes fighting for the last of the BBS callers who figured out what telnet was. tbh they
were probably driven away. some big BBSes made the jump to telnet and then closed up soon after, and most newer ones were around a couple weeks and then disappeared.

no three words better describe BBSing back then: "Connection timed out..."

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

On 24 Jun 2023 at 04:02p, fusion pondered and said...

i'd say from like 98-04 or so was basically a bunch of telnet BBSes fighting for the last of the BBS callers who figured out what telnet
was. tbh they were probably driven away. some big BBSes made the jump to telnet and then closed up soon after, and most newer ones were around a couple weeks and then disappeared.

That sounds about right. It didn't help that a lot of
sysops coming out of the dial-up era were little mini-Stalins
and control freaks that got off on imposing their will on
their callers. Why bother with that when I get more
interesting, higher-quality content, without the stupid
shenanigans?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

Honestly? The best bet for getting a BBS to be popular is
to have some kind of unique hook that users would find
interesting: running on vintage hardware or something that
would appear to some niche. Aside from that, I just don't
think it would be realistic.

Thank you for this very thoughtful reply.

... A PC a day keeps the Apple away!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

Like I said, I'm not new to this. I ran a popular BBS for 5 years or so back in the 90s. I realize that those golden days are gone, but I just thought there would be a few ways to get new people involved in the hobby.

I've told some of my younger friends about computer bulletin boards and they seem quite interested. They've never heard of Telnet or Gopher or ANSI graphics or anything other than what they see on social media and commercial web sites. If we just talk to people, I think we can attract a whole new group of users who would enjoy using a BBS - if for no other reason, just out of curiosity.

We can introduce people to bulletin boards by volunteering to give talks at our local libraries or schools. Neighborhood community meetings. Everywhere. You say that if I am settting up and running a BBS for callers, I am doing it for the wrong reason. Well, what IS the reason? Are we just entertaining ourselves? Other Sysops? If so, that's pretty sad.

... Multitasking: Reading in the bathroom

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

We can introduce people to bulletin boards by volunteering to give talks at our local libraries or schools. Neighborhood community meetings. Everywhere. You say that if I am settting up and running a BBS for callers, I am doing it for the wrong reason. Well, what IS the reason?
Are we just entertaining ourselves? Other Sysops? If so, that's pretty sad.

I see this same sentiment in other hobbies like amateur radio. Just enjoy
your hobby without the constant _need_ to introduce other people to it.
Do stamp collectors run around with their collections trying to get people
to collect stamps? do coin collectors ... well you get the point
Just have fun with, even if it's a niche or dying hobby.
In the end it doesn't matter.


.:[ Exit stage left ]:.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

BY: 0zZ-U (21:1/172)

|110|09> |10I see this same sentiment in other hobbies like amateur radio. Just|07
|110|09> |10enjoy|07
|110|09> |10your hobby without the constant _need_ to introduce other people to it.|07
|110|09> |10Do stamp collectors run around with their collections trying to get|07
|110|09> |10people|07
Some people in our community want more people to engage in the hobby so there would be new voices posting messages and playing games on their systems.


--- WWIV 5.9.0.3695[Windows]
* Origin: inland utopia * california * iutopia.duckdns.org:2023 (21:4/108)

Hello 0zZ-U,

25 Jun 23 14:10, you wrote to Alonzo:

We can introduce people to bulletin boards by volunteering to
give talks at our local libraries or schools. Neighborhood
community meetings. Everywhere. You say that if I am settting up
and running a BBS for callers, I am doing it for the wrong
reason. Well, what IS the reason? Are we just entertaining
ourselves? Other Sysops? If so, that's pretty sad.

I see this same sentiment in other hobbies like amateur radio. Just
enjoy your hobby without the constant _need_ to introduce other people
to it. Do stamp collectors run around with their collections trying to
get people
to collect stamps? do coin collectors ... well you get the point
Just have fun with, even if it's a niche or dying hobby.
In the end it doesn't matter.

"We...Don't...Give...A...Shit, We are playing this song for us"
- Jaymz Hetfield from a Salt Lake City show just before playing "Ain't My Bitch" Jan. 2, 1997

==================

my 2 cents:
i like to play with old stuff and what i learn i try to sell in a modern curtain, for example:

in 2021 i bought a linksys pap2t adapter hooked up my old modem, learned to connect it to an asterisk server. i've learned how to set up an asterisk, inbounds-outbounds, etc. just because of the BBS...
6 month later i've made an asterisk server for a hotel with 300 rooms (lines). in the past 2 years i've made 4 other hotels. earned a huge amount of money with it. just because of the BBS...

a couple of years ago i've started to code assembly on my c64 just for fun... since that in my daily job i am coding much better, because i started to optimising my code, learned tricks, changed my thinking. i am
better, i am saving time -> i earn a huge amount of money.

sidenote: in january a company found me through a friend. this company produces industrial rings and it turned out that one of their test bed is a commodore64 running an old basic program. they are using it since 30+ years because it is much better than anything on this (small) market. suddenly the c64 gave up, so i borrowed them one and disassembled the code and rewrote it in python... but they decided to stay with the c64... anyways .. money came.

i bought an atari because i never had it and wanted to try, after a couple of month it ended up being my main computer in our music studio, perfectly syncing with ableton live and controls almost everything w/midi...

retro computers helps me focusing on things. when i use my mac (for coding, music, writing documentation, etc) there is always an "ALT-TAB" to an email or some social media shit. with retro computers this problem is gone..

i think it's up to you what you do with your useless hobby... or is it useless?... :)

Regards,
--
dp

telnet://bbs.roonsbbs.hu:1212 <<=-

... Uptime: 6d 11h 40m 54s
--- GoldED/2 1.1.4.7+EMX
* Origin: Roon's BBS - Budapest, HUNGARY (21:4/148)

That's the ultimate question. When you can just use the browser to surf the web why would you seek out a different software to use a BBS? I upgraded my graphics card this weekend and decided to switch from XFCE to KDE and now I can't use Netrunner on that system. I tried to figure out syncterm and seems I have to compile it just to use it. If I'm a new users I think hmm thats not worth it.

I do have the ftelnet thing setup so that allows web access but we still only catch a couple more. hard to say. If you figure it out share :D

|23|04Dr|16|12Claw
|16|14Sysop |12Noverdu |14BBS |20|15Radio|10@|14HTTP://Noverdu.com:88
|16|10 Standard ports for SSH/Telnet |04 WEB|14@|12HTTP://noverdu.com:808 |20|15Global Chat, Global Messaging and Games! |16|10Ditch the Unsocial Media

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Noverdu BBS (21:1/210)

i think it's up to you what you do with your useless hobby... or is it useless?... :)

Regards,
--
dp

I'm happy to hear you've been doing well for yourself and sounds like some great career launch! however, I've never expressed that it's a useless hobby. These are great success stories :) Keep on keeping on


.:[ Exit stage left ]:.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/64)
* Origin: The Bottomless Abyss BBS * bbs.bottomlessabyss.net (21:1/172)

I haven't used ftelnet myself but I will look into it. It would be nice if people could use a web browser to acccess our bulletin boards. Thanks for calling.

... Fer sell cheep: BBS spel chekker. Wurks grate.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

I figured out how to use ftelnet and it's really easy. Go to this page and fill out the information.

https://embed-v2.ftelnet.ca

After you fill out the information, it will give you the code to insert into the body of your web page. You can leave most of the information as-is, but be sure to fill in your proxy server hostname. For example, mine if woofer.v6.rocks. Whatever IP people go to in order to log onto your BBS. For the "What proxy is closest to you" information, you can just use the drop-down menu and pick one.

When you complete the form, it will give you the code at the bottom half of the screen. Put this into your web page and then upload the web page to where ever you host your web site. NOTE: The page has to actually be on a server before it will work. If you have any problems, let me know.

... He who conquers his ego, conquers life.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

I haven't used ftelnet myself but I will look into it. It would be nice if people could use a web browser to acccess our bulletin boards. Thanks for calling.

As a note, I'd suggest downloading the javascript and installing that on your website, as well as a proxy server so you don't need to rely on the free proxies when they go down, or if they are ever no longer offered. It can be
a little tricky (I never got ftelnetproxy working and use websockify), but is worth the effort, especially if you're hosting everything yourself!

---
Shurato, Sysop Shurato's Heavenly Sphere (telnet, pop3, ftp, nntp)
(ports 23, 110, 21, 119) shsbbs.net


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
---
* Origin: Shurato's Heavenly Sphere telnet://shsbbs.net (21:2/148)

On 28 Jun 2023, Shurato said the following...

As a note, I'd suggest downloading the javascript and installing that on your website, as well as a proxy server so you don't need to rely on the free proxies when they go down, or if they are ever no longer offered.

i would never use proxies someone else runs. with ftelnet configured like that you're specifically adding a "man in the middle" who can easily watch the traffic and steal your passwords.

then again, i duno if it's very exciting knowing someone's bbs password.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

On 28 Jun 2023, Shurato said the following...

As a note, I'd suggest downloading the javascript and installing that

on

your website, as well as a proxy server so you don't need to rely on

the

free proxies when they go down, or if they are ever no longer

offered.

i would never use proxies someone else runs. with ftelnet configured like that you're specifically adding a "man in the middle" who can easily watch the traffic and steal your passwords.

then again, i duno if it's very exciting knowing someone's bbs password.

Exactly, and exactly.

---
Shurato, Sysop Shurato's Heavenly Sphere (telnet, pop3, ftp, nntp)
(ports 23, 110, 21, 119) shsbbs.net


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
---
* Origin: Shurato's Heavenly Sphere telnet://shsbbs.net (21:2/148)

i would never use proxies someone else runs. with ftelnet configured
like that you're specifically adding a "man in the middle" who can
easily watch the traffic and steal your passwords.

Yeah, good point. Even if someone stole my password though, there's really nothing on my BBS worth stealing. It's all there for anyone who bothers to log in.

... There are three kinds of people: Those who can count, and those who can't

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

then again, i duno if it's very exciting knowing someone's bbs password.

WHAT?!? Your password is %PW ... ha ha ha ha ha ..... I miss 1993.

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)

then again, i duno if it's very exciting knowing someone's bbs password

WHAT?!? Your password is %PW ... ha ha ha ha ha ..... I miss 1993.

Yeah, it's not a big deal anyway. There's nothing on my bulletin board.

... They say there's always one weirdo on the bus, but I couldn't find them!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

Yeah, good point. Even if someone stole my password though, there's
really nothing on my BBS worth stealing. It's all there for anyone who bothers to log in.

That's the funny thing. I was thinking about my security on BBSes a while ago, then to realize that If I was compromised, first... nothing really confidential would be leaked. Only FTN that are logged for publicity anyway and on some boards, a few private messages with the sysops mainly.. more personal in nature, but nothing that breaks my security acumen in a critical way.

And it'd be so easy to find you damn sysops that if I come back to your boards you know how we can verify each other on multiple channels already.. that's what truly makes the admin-user relation special and trusted..

the rest... it's such a fucking niche.... who would bother? Somebody I pissed off on DOVENET? :>

We're all friends of 80x25x4bpp with limited dithering commonly known as ANSI... that's the art we appreciate.. that's the communication tool we use!

Amen to that, everybody!

-h1

... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

On 24 Jun 2023 at 09:13p, Alonzo pondered and said...

We can introduce people to bulletin boards by volunteering to give talks at our local libraries or schools. Neighborhood community meetings.

But for what purpose would those people use a BBS? For
many folks, it would be strictly a step down from using
web-based services (I'm thinking about, say, senior citizens
one might encounter at a library or community center).

Similarly with school-age students: what would they use
a BBS for? They're just not as capable as other offerings
in the "digital native" landscape.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not trying to discourage you or
BBS use, but I think one would have to really think through
the use-cases and what about them would be interesting and
attractive to make a persuasive case.

Everywhere. You say that if I am settting up and running a BBS for callers, I am doing it for the wrong reason. Well, what IS the reason?
Are we just entertaining ourselves? Other Sysops? If so, that's pretty sad.

Honestly? At this point that's pretty much what it is.
People do it for the nostalgia, and not much else.

Think of it this way: easy access to the Internet killed
the dialup BBS scene because the Internet gave users so
much more that was interesting; BBSes just could not
compete. Nothing has changed in this regard in the last
30 years, so what would entice users to "call" a BBS?
Some answers might be:

1. Nostalgia
2. It appeals to some kind of niche, such as retro
computing fans
3. The desire for interaction in a small community
4. Non-commercialized, DIY infrastructure (though
honesty, without the Internet, none of this is
viable)
5. Interest in the art scene

I think, if you really want more callers, the best way
forward is to hone in on one of the above (or perhaps
something else I haven't thought of?) and emphasize that.

This is similar to the issue with amateur radio, in my
opinion: new users aren't particularly interested in HF
for long-haul communications (why bother with finicky
propagation and slow data modes when the Internet lets
you enjoy world-wide, real-time voice and video chat for
no incremental cost over what you already pay for your
ISP?). Yet the powers that be complain that people don't
upgrade their license and that "the bands are dead",
without bothering to ask whether anyone wants the
expanded privileges of an upgraded license in the first
place?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

On 03 Jul 2023, tenser said the following...

Similarly with school-age students: what would they use
a BBS for? They're just not as capable as other offerings
in the "digital native" landscape.

4. Non-commercialized, DIY infrastructure (though
honesty, without the Internet, none of this is
viable)

tbh i could only see usership growing in an "underhanded" sort of way. have you ever looked at what the citadel bbs has turned into?

basically turn the bbs into a backwards hybrid of say 4chan, facebook, meme sites, etc. carefully curate the first users (this is tough obviously) but if you remember, this was the mystique of facebook pre-general-availability, early invites to gmail, etc. avoid making it look like a traditional forum at all costs. better if you can create an android/iphone app too.

the backend could still technically be read from with a telnet interface, but you'd instantly "ruin" every message network you were attached to, none of the door games would transfer over very well, etc.

it might be entertaining, but i don't know how many people will seek out the telnet interface side of it.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)

But for what purpose would those people use a BBS?

Just out of curiosity, maybe? A lot of people are interested in old technology and they would probably think bulletin boards were fun, even though we don't offer the same experience as social media sites and things like that, And a lot of people would enjoy the retro door games you can play on a BBS.

Plus, for me at least, the big draw would be being able to have an unpopular opinion or speak your mind about things without having to worry about being banned or censored. Free speech is a thing of the past now, but we may be able to use bulletin boards to revive it somewhat. A lot of people would appreciate that.

It all comes down to this - how interesting is your BBS and the things you offer on it? Is your BBS different somehow? Is it entertaining, or do you spend all of your time talking about nerdy computer stuff? It's up to Sysops to create something unique, fun, and entertaining.

If people are afraid of Telnet, you can set up your BBS so that it can be used with a web page. Use ftelnet, stick it on a page of your web site, and you can give access to people who can't see beyond HTTP.

... Old musicians never die. They just decompose!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

On 02 Jul 2023 at 05:09p, fusion pondered and said...

On 03 Jul 2023, tenser said the following...

Similarly with school-age students: what would they use
a BBS for? They're just not as capable as other offerings
in the "digital native" landscape.

4. Non-commercialized, DIY infrastructure (though
honesty, without the Internet, none of this is
viable)

tbh i could only see usership growing in an "underhanded" sort of way. have you ever looked at what the citadel bbs has turned into?

Yeah, Citadel is pretty gross these days. I'd hate
to be associated with what they've become, frankly.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

On 02 Jul 2023 at 07:33p, Alonzo pondered and said...

But for what purpose would those people use a BBS?

Just out of curiosity, maybe? A lot of people are interested in old technology and they would probably think bulletin boards were fun, even though we don't offer the same experience as social media sites and
things like that, And a lot of people would enjoy the retro door games
you can play on a BBS.

Yeah, it was a rhetorical question, but yeah, that
aligns with the retro thing I mentioned. An issue
with that is that curiosity might get someone to
"call", but likely isn't enough to sustain
engagement absent some other motivating factor.

Some people might be interested in doors, but I think
an issue here (and with ham radio, along similar
lines) are assumptions that people will want to do
a certain thing: for amateur radio, it's the HF thing,
where there's little evidence that people actually
care about HF, yet the powers-that-be assume people
want access to it (and are dismayed that more people
don't upgrade their licenses: again, no one seems to
have bothered to _ask_ people if they're interested
in HF). Similarly with BBSes. I think there's a bit
of an assumption that people will _want_ to use a BBS
if they just get a bit of exposure, but no one's
stopped to ask people if it they would use it as
anything other than a curiosity?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

in HF). Similarly with BBSes. I think there's a bit
of an assumption that people will _want_ to use a BBS
if they just get a bit of exposure, but no one's
stopped to ask people if it they would use it as

I've asked and several people have said that they want to use it. Mostly friends, really. We're just going to use the BBS as sort of a digital hangout. We're also going to use a guestbook as sort of a test for something we want to do on other platforms. It won't be a replacement for what you can do on the Internet. It will just be something extra.

... Computers all wait at the same speed!

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Windows/64)
* Origin: The Unmarked Van - 21:1/130 - Mt. Healthy, Ohio (21:1/130)

I think the answer really is in the small community and having boards specialize on a theme. Once you do that start producing new mods and doors around that theme. I think we need to focus on narrowing the community a bit.

I know coming back I had no idea.... still don't.. on which board I should be using. Which one has my focus on software development and modding? I had to do some digging to find a board I think will fit. I only had an idea of what to look for because of my exposer to the technology previously.

... Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: throwbackbbs.com -\- meriden, ct -\- (21:1/114)

On 03 Jul 2023 at 03:00p, Alonzo pondered and said...

in HF). Similarly with BBSes. I think there's a bit
of an assumption that people will _want_ to use a BBS
if they just get a bit of exposure, but no one's
stopped to ask people if it they would use it as

I've asked and several people have said that they want to use it. Mostly friends, really. We're just going to use the BBS as sort of a digital hangout. We're also going to use a guestbook as sort of a test for something we want to do on other platforms. It won't be a replacement
for what you can do on the Internet. It will just be something extra.

I think if you've kind of got a built-in community
you can make it work, but one has to be comfortable
with that community not really changing much in size
over time, or possibly contracting.

A group of folks I'm familiar with (mostly PLT and
OS people and former colleagues) run a private Matrix
instance (migrated off of Discord) hosted on a VPS.
Accounts on the underlying host were offered, but no
one was really interested except for a handful of us.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

Re: Re: Where is everybody?
By: tenser to Alonzo on Sat Jun 24 2023 05:46 am

Honestly? The best bet for getting a BBS to be popular is
to have some kind of unique hook that users would find
interesting: running on vintage hardware or something that
would appear to some niche. Aside from that, I just don't
think it would be realistic.

I totally agree with this. If some celeb (influencer, artist, whatever) *only* made their content available via a BBS, *that* BBS would be suddenly very popular and by extension likely other BBSes too. Cool/unique ANSI artwork or door games alone aren't going to do it.
--
digital man (rob)

Breaking Bad quote #32:
Don't think so hard it's gonna hurt your brain! - Hank Schrader
Norco, CA WX: 75.2°F, 58.0% humidity, 9 mph ESE wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs --- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: Vertrauen - [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net (21:1/183)

Honestly? The best bet for getting a BBS to be popular is
to have some kind of unique hook that users would find
interesting: running on vintage hardware or something that
would appear to some niche. Aside from that, I just don't
think it would be realistic.

I totally agree with this. If some celeb (influencer, artist, whatever) *only* made their content available via a BBS, *that* BBS would be suddenly very popular and by extension likely other BBSes too. Cool/unique ANSI artwork or door games alone aren't going to do it.

Or some mention on something like with Mr. Robot... Did wonders for gainning interest in Kali linux for better or worse.


--
Michael J. Ryan
+o roughneckbbs.com
tracker1@roughneckbbs.com
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* Origin: Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com (21:3/149)