• BBS Population

    From Irish_Monk@21:4/184 to All on Sun Oct 2 09:19:17 2022
    Hello All,

    So I am just curious. I have been back into BBSing for a few months now. Its a blast! I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more users, etc..". So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been? Did it pick up a couple years back with everyone being stuck in their homes for Covid? (Seems a lot of people got back into hobbies they did not have time for during this time period) Has it picked up a little lately? I noticed quite a few users like myself that were into BBSing years ago coming back to it within the last few years. On the telnet BBS guide, is that an accurate count of about how many BBS's are left? I know some people run multiple BBS with different software a lot of the times, it seems, probably because its fun setting them up and learning new softwares is probably a fun challange. Some people said it was really quiet during the summer months and picks up during the winter a little more?

    Sorry about the long message, I hope everyone has a good day, its nice to get on here and away from the stresses of every day life and just Relax.

    |10I|02rish_|10M|02onk

    ... I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Windows/64)
    * Origin: WarpeD SocieTy (21:4/184)
  • From roman@21:1/158 to All on Sun Oct 2 15:02:47 2022
    I closed my BBS in 2005 because I got ADSL. Well, basically now I'm reading echo conferences through Outlook. Did BBS die? Yes, who knows? I think they have always been.

    <Irish_Monk>
    Hello All,

    So I am just curious. I have been back into BBSing for a few months now.
    Its a blast! I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more
    users, etc..". So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been? Did it pick up a couple years back with everyone being stuck in their homes for Covid? (Seems a lot of people got back into hobbies they did not have time for during this time period) Has it picked up a little lately? I noticed quite a few users like myself that were into BBSing years ago coming back
    to it within the last few years. On the telnet BBS guide, is that an accurate count of about how many BBS's are left? I know some people run multiple BBS with different software a lot of the times, it seems,
    probably because its fun setting them up and learning new softwares is probably a fun challange. Some people said it was really quiet during the summer months and picks up during the winter a little more?

    Sorry about the long message, I hope everyone has a good day, its nice to get on here and away from the stresses of every day life and just Relax.

    |10I|02rish_|10M|02onk

    .. I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Windows/64)
    * Origin: WarpeD SocieTy (21:4/184)

    --- Mystic BBS/NNTP v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: thE qUAntUm wOrmhOlE, rAmsgAtE, uK. bbs.erb.pw (21:1/158)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Irish_Monk on Sun Oct 2 09:05:04 2022
    I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more users, etc..". Ir> So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, how has Ir> the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been?

    Hell no - l00k around; we got active FTNs, plenty of rad/active bbSes, modders, groups, ANSI - we've got a bbSphere!

    Did it pick up a couple years back with everyone being stuck in their Ir> homes for Covid?

    I think so - also, it seems to pickup every Christmas season - and drop off in the summer. I see waves; sometimes you see in influx of users - some YouTube video by a popular creator, or a product - a WiFi Modem for a large retro community, etc... waves.

    On the telnet BBS guide, is that an accurate count of about how many Ir> BBS's are left?

    I think its the biggest indicator of how many people 'want' to run bbSes - but so many stock ones that its not a 'guide'. (I love the telnet BBS guide, btw!) But you gotta dig in and kinda FIND the awesome, active bbSes that are up your alley.

    Long story short; I have many friends from the current bbS community. It ain't dead. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Nightfox to roman on Sun Oct 2 10:33:45 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: roman to All on Sun Oct 02 2022 03:02 pm

    I closed my BBS in 2005 because I got ADSL. Well, basically now I'm reading echo conferences through Outlook. Did BBS die? Yes, who knows? I think they have always been.

    Have always been what?

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Irish_Monk on Sun Oct 2 10:36:47 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Irish_Monk to All on Sun Oct 02 2022 09:19 am

    So I am just curious. I have been back into BBSing for a few months now. Its a blast! I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more users, etc..". So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been? Did it pick up a couple years back with everyone being stuck in their homes for Covid? (Seems a lot of people got back into hobbies they did not have time

    I stopped running my original 90s BBS in 2000 and started up again in 2007 when I realized some people still run and use BBSes. But even since 2007, it seems the BBS community is not nearly what it used to be at its height in the 90s. Lately, I mostly read & post on a couple message networks and I see some of the same names in both places. My current BBS does get some callers, but I remember getting more callers on my local dialup BBS in the 90s.

    Also, one sign of the low popularity of BBSes is when I try to search for BBS-related things on Google, sometimes relevant search results don't appear on the first page unless I use fairly specific terms related to BBSes. For example, if you just search for BBS on Google, the first search result (right now anyway) is BBS Wheels (for cars).

    Nightfox
  • From Irish_Monk@21:4/184 to paulie420 on Sun Oct 2 16:43:07 2022
    I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more users, etc..
    So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, ho
    the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been?

    Hell no - l00k around; we got active FTNs, plenty of rad/active bbSes, modders, groups, ANSI - we've got a bbSphere!

    I may have wrote that question wrong a little, but yeah, Im having a blast meeting people and messing around with the BBS stuff. It seems to me that theres quite a bit going on. I think the telnet BBS guide shows over thousand BBS's active.

    off in the summer. I see waves; sometimes you see in influx of users - some YouTube video by a popular creator, or a product - a WiFi Modem for
    a large retro community, etc... waves.

    I think that is how I got back into it. I think I came accross a BBS video on youtube and it sparked my interest again.

    Long story short; I have many friends from the current bbS community. It ain't dead. :P

    Thats awesome and really good to hear!! I am amazed how friendly people are here and so willing to help out. Being out of it for more than 25 years I definitely had needed help and tons of people have done that. I really appreciate it!!

    |10I|02rish_|10M|02onk

    ... Electricity is really just organized lightning.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Windows/64)
    * Origin: WarpeD SocieTy (21:4/184)
  • From Irish_Monk@21:4/184 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 2 16:48:22 2022
    I stopped running my original 90s BBS in 2000 and started up again in
    2007 when I realized some people still run and use BBSes. But even
    since 2007, it seems the BBS community is not nearly what it used to be
    at its height in the 90s. Lately, I mostly read & post on a couple message networks and I see some of the same names in both places. My current BBS does get some callers, but I remember getting more callers
    on my local dialup BBS in the 90s.

    Yeah I dont think we will ever see interest in BBSing like we did in the 90's. But its still a lot of fun!! and a lot of really cool people on here for sure.


    Also, one sign of the low popularity of BBSes is when I try to search for BBS-related things on Google, sometimes relevant search results don't appear on the first page unless I use fairly specific terms related to BBSes. For example, if you just search for BBS on Google, the first search result (right now anyway) is BBS Wheels (for cars).

    Yeah I have noticed that too. Fortunately a lot of the users on here end up helping me out also. Dont really find that in other places too much... at least not for free...

    |10I|02rish_|10M|02onk

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Windows/64)
    * Origin: WarpeD SocieTy (21:4/184)
  • From Nightfox to Irish_Monk on Sun Oct 2 14:44:12 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: Irish_Monk to Nightfox on Sun Oct 02 2022 04:48 pm

    Yeah I dont think we will ever see interest in BBSing like we did in the 90's. But its still a lot of fun!! and a lot of really cool people on here for sure.

    It is fun. I think it's cool that I can still run a BBS on a PC at home. I also have Plex Media Server and a couple other things installed on my BBS PC. The BBS is probably the reason I have it turned on all the time (for BBS users & events), but that also makes it easy for me to access my Plex media any time. Plex can also be used as a DVR to record broadcast TV content, so it helps to keep it turned on for that too (though I don't DVR much these days)..

    Nightfox
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Irish_Monk on Sun Oct 2 17:11:19 2022
    Thats awesome and really good to hear!! I am amazed how friendly people are here and so willing to help out. Being out of it for more than 25 years I definitely had needed help and tons of people have done that. I really appreciate it!!

    Its certainly not the bbS-heyday, by any means, but its still awesome technology. While I'm amazed at how fair 'connectivity' and networks have come, I still wonder what solutions we'd of found if we tried keeping things more self-hosted and/or federated as opposed to the current setup.



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 2 17:17:16 2022
    Plex can also be used as a DVR to record broadcast TV content, so it Ni> helps to keep it turned on for that too (though I don't DVR much these Ni> days)..

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better question is how can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV?? Reason I ask is that I use streaming and don't have any cable internet these days, and I've long been l00king for a solution to simply get Portland (local) news broadcasts daily - with no good fix... for 5 years.



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Gamgee@21:2/138 to paulie420 on Sun Oct 2 21:14:00 2022
    paulie420 wrote to Nightfox <=-

    Plex can also be used as a DVR to record broadcast TV content, so it Ni>
    h
    elps to keep it turned on for that too (though I don't DVR much
    these Ni> days)..

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one
    record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better question is
    how can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV?? Reason
    I ask is that I use streaming and don't have any cable internet
    these days, and I've long been l00king for a solution to simply
    get Portland (local) news broadcasts daily - with no good fix...
    for 5 years.

    I don't know how to use Plex to *record* broadcast TV, but hopefully
    Nightfox will answer that part. As for *capturing* local broadcasts,
    pretty much everything (local) is available these days (in high
    definition, no less) over the air; which can be received with an HDTV
    antenna (sort of like the old fashioned "rabbit ears" type thing).
    Available at somewhere like Walmart for $30-50, and they work
    surprisingly well. Doesn't even have to be on the roof or anything,
    just hang it in a window and it just works.



    ... ...and we had to chisel taglines into the walls of the cave.
    === MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From deon@21:2/116 to paulie420 on Mon Oct 3 13:39:28 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: paulie420 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 02 2022 05:17 pm

    Howdy,

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better question is
    how
    can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV?? Reason I ask is that I use streaming and don't have any cable internet
    these
    days, and I've long been l00king for a solution to simply get Portland (local) news broadcasts daily - with no good fix... for 5
    years.

    Easy peasy - I used to use one of these:
    https://youtu.be/mW9DRcv56yQ

    I've actually got one that I no longer use, which I'll probably put on Ebay.

    (I'd happily give it to you, but postage will probably be ridiculus...)


    ...δεσ∩
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to paulie420 on Mon Oct 3 09:23:22 2022
    *** Quoting paulie420 from a message to Nightfox ***

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better question is how can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV??

    There's a good video that was just published during "Plex Pro Week" that
    walks you though that:

    https://youtu.be/Dzk48EK5zNY

    TL;DR:

    You can use an HD Home Run to do it over the network (if you have your plex server running on a Pi or NAS for example) or use a PC with a TV tuner card installed and have the Plex Media Server running on that PC.

    One neat thing he pointed out in that video is plex can use more than one tuner, so you could have several HD Home Runs connected to different antennas (pointed in different directions) to get the most channels.


    Jay

    ... I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Nightfox to paulie420 on Mon Oct 3 07:19:15 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: paulie420 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 02 2022 05:17 pm

    Plex can also be used as a DVR to record broadcast TV content, so it Ni> h

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better question is how can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV?? Reason I ask is that I use streaming and don't have any cable internet these days, and I've long been l00king for a solution to simply get Portland (local) news broadcasts daily - with no good fix... for 5 years.

    I DVR occasionally but not a whole lot. You need a TV tuner compatible with your Plex server, and you also need to subscribe to Plex Pass for premium features (or buy the lifetime Plex Pass membership - Sometimes they have a sale on that). When you configure a TV tuner with Plex, it has a live TV function where you can view broadcast TV channels with it (Plex will stream it to your devices) - Plex has an interface similar to a TV Guide where you can choose what channel/program to watch, and there's an option to have it record TV shows/movies/other content being broadcast.

    I have a couple TV Tuners set up with my Plex PC - An internal PCI Express card:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZSVLTW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

    And also a HDHomerun Flex 4K (it's a network streaming tuner, which Plex works with as well):
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092GCN9NL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

    Nightfox
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to deon on Mon Oct 3 09:54:42 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: deon to paulie420 on Mon Oct 03 2022 13:39:28

    I read that you don't do it much anymore, but... how does one record broadcast TV thru Plex - or I guess the better
    question is how
    can I capture (and then record w/ Plex) broadcast TV?? Reason I ask is that I use streaming and don't have any cable
    internet these
    days, and I've long been l00king for a solution to simply get Portland (local) news broadcasts daily - with no good
    fix... for 5 years.

    see if you can find an HD Homerun 4 tuner box. you can still find them on amazon and i was looking at getting one myself
    as we don't have cable outside of internet. dont see point paying for something my missus can get for free lol

    regards
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Blue White@21:4/134 to Irish_Monk on Mon Oct 3 16:06:42 2022
    Irish_Monk wrote to All <=-

    more users, etc..". So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since 1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its
    been? Did it pick up a couple years back with everyone being stuck in their homes for Covid? (Seems a lot of people got back into hobbies
    they did not have time for during this time period)

    As best as I can tell, it did pick up some after COVID hit. There have
    also been a few people here and there who have said they are back because
    they are burned out on modern social media and/or don't trust it.

    Seems like some of the folks that came back have already gone on, but some others have stuck around.


    ... He does the work of 3 Men...Moe, Larry & Curly
    --- MultiMail/DOS
    * Origin: possumso.fsxnet.nz * SSH:2122/telnet:24/ftelnet:80 (21:4/134)
  • From Irish_Monk@21:4/184 to Blue White on Mon Oct 3 19:47:28 2022
    As best as I can tell, it did pick up some after COVID hit. There have also been a few people here and there who have said they are back because they are burned out on modern social media and/or don't trust it.

    Yeah, thats a huge reason I came back also. I just dont like modern day social media. Its way too commercialized. Of course, this is just me, but I think its weird how people have to have friends on facebook they really dont know anymore(from like elementary school, etc..). And then sorta invite them in, to see all your family pics, updates of exactly what you are doing. But, Im also the kind of guy who likes a small good quality friend circle and not quantinty. Everyone is different tho!!

    |10I|02rish_|10M|02onk

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Windows/64)
    * Origin: WarpeD SocieTy (21:4/184)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 4 17:07:34 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Nightfox to paulie420 on Mon Oct 03 2022 07:19:15

    I DVR occasionally but not a whole lot. You need a TV tuner compatible with your Plex server, and you also need to subscribe
    to Plex Pass for premium features (or buy the lifetime Plex Pass membership - Sometimes they have a sale on that). When you
    <CUT>
    And also a HDHomerun Flex 4K (it's a network streaming tuner, which Plex works with as well):
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092GCN9NL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title

    you better be right... for 200 bucks it better work LOL

    been looking for something like this anyway so the missus can watch TV and i can watch it in the living room LOL

    regards
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to Blue White on Tue Oct 4 17:10:00 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: Blue White to Irish_Monk on Mon Oct 03 2022 16:06:42

    As best as I can tell, it did pick up some after COVID hit. There have also been a few people here and there who have said they are back because they are burned out on modern social media and/or don't trust it.
    Seems like some of the folks that came back have already gone on, but some others have stuck around.

    i'm the opposite.. always had a hankering to get back on it, but telnet just isnt quite the same to me LOL

    that' said. Mine is up, don't get callers yet, btu then i havent advertisedd it either.

    it's mainly on for me more than anything else... maybe when i get it the way i like it then i'll start advertising it more :D

    one of these days though, im going to put it on the actual "retro" (omg lol) computer - a 286 i have here lying around that i want to run it on.

    but that said, i will need to do it the old school way and i just ain't got the time for that right now lol

    regards
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Nightfox to Charles Blackburn on Tue Oct 4 17:16:42 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Charles Blackburn to Nightfox on Tue Oct 04 2022 05:07 pm

    I DVR occasionally but not a whole lot. You need a TV tuner

    you better be right... for 200 bucks it better work LOL

    been looking for something like this anyway so the missus can watch TV and i can watch it in the living room LOL

    Even if you don't use Plex, you can plug a USB hard drive into the HDHomerun Flex 4K tuner and it has its own DVR functionality (though they say that requires a paid TV guide service; with Plex I haven't had to pay for any TV Guide service for its DVR).

    That unit also has 4 tuners, so you can be watching/recording up to 4 different TV stations at a time.

    Nightfox
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Irish_Monk on Tue Oct 4 23:33:00 2022
    Hello Irish_Monk!

    ** On Monday 03.10.22 - 19:47, Irish_Monk wrote to Blue White:

    Yeah, thats a huge reason I came back also. I just dont
    like modern day social media. Its way too commercialized.
    Of course, this is just me, but I think its weird how
    people have to have friends on facebook they really dont
    know anymore(from like elementary school, etc..). And then
    sorta invite them in, to see all your family pics, updates
    of exactly what you are doing. But, Im also the kind of
    guy who likes a small good quality friend circle and not
    quantinty. Everyone is different tho!!

    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of
    personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.



    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From claw@21:1/210 to Ogg on Wed Oct 5 07:44:35 2022
    On 04 Oct 2022, Ogg said the following...

    Hello Irish_Monk!

    ** On Monday 03.10.22 - 19:47, Irish_Monk wrote to Blue White:

    Yeah, thats a huge reason I came back also. I just dont
    like modern day social media. Its way too commercialized.
    Of course, this is just me, but I think its weird how
    people have to have friends on facebook they really dont
    know anymore(from like elementary school, etc..). And then
    sorta invite them in, to see all your family pics, updates
    of exactly what you are doing. But, Im also the kind of
    guy who likes a small good quality friend circle and not
    quantinty. Everyone is different tho!!

    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of
    personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.



    Maybe someone could make an add on for that. Your account credentials set up as a Profile page viewable on the web. Give that to them and they will come
    :D

    |23|04Dr|16|12Claw
    |16|14Sysop |12Noverdu |14BBS |04(|14Noverdu.com|04)
    |10Standard Ports for SSH/Telnet Web/HTTP://|14Noverdu.com:808
    |20|15fsxNet/MRC Chat/Registered Doors!/50Nodes/No Time Use! Stay On!|16|07

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Noverdu BBS (21:1/210)
  • From Nightfox to Ogg on Wed Oct 5 12:19:07 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Ogg to Irish_Monk on Tue Oct 04 2022 11:33 pm

    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of
    personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.

    I think MySpace was even more like that before FaceBook in that MySpace also let users control the look & feel of their account page via the use of CSS. But I heard a lot of people didn't like the inconsistent look & feel when viewing user accounts, and that's why people started to move away from MySpace and use Facebook instead (I thought that was a little weird - I think it gave a sense of peoples' personalities).

    These days, I've been hearing a lot of people don't use Facebook anymore and are using Instagram more often. But I don't really see Instagram as a replacement for Facebook, since Instagram only lets you post photos, whereas Facebook lets you post pretty much any kind of content.

    Nightfox
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Nightfox on Wed Oct 5 19:35:00 2022
    Hello Nightfox!

    ** On Wednesday 05.10.22 - 12:19, Nightfox wrote to Ogg:

    [...] and that's why people started to move away from
    MySpace and use Facebook instead (I thought that was a
    little weird - I think it gave a sense of peoples'
    personalities).

    Perhaps there is a certain "feel" of realiability when the FB
    interface is the same from user to user (same basic blue and
    white and the panels placed in the same spots between user to
    user)

    These days, I've been hearing a lot of people don't use
    Facebook anymore and are using Instagram more often. But I
    don't really see Instagram as a replacement for Facebook,
    since Instagram only lets you post photos, whereas Facebook
    lets you post pretty much any kind of content.

    I've heard the same that FB membership is on a decline, but I
    haven't heard what users are replacing it with. Instagram
    seems like a total waste of time to me; it doesn't foster comms
    - it foster's "look at me and my stuff!"

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Nightfox to Ogg on Wed Oct 5 18:31:10 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed Oct 05 2022 07:35 pm

    These days, I've been hearing a lot of people don't use
    Facebook anymore and are using Instagram more often. But I
    don't really see Instagram as a replacement for Facebook,
    since Instagram only lets you post photos, whereas Facebook
    lets you post pretty much any kind of content.

    I've heard the same that FB membership is on a decline, but I
    haven't heard what users are replacing it with. Instagram
    seems like a total waste of time to me; it doesn't foster comms
    - it foster's "look at me and my stuff!"

    I thought I had heard it was Instagram that people were using more often than Facebook these days. But yeah, I don't really think it's as useable as Facebook since it only lets you post photos.

    Nightfox
  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Ogg on Thu Oct 6 05:40:59 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Ogg to Nightfox on Wed Oct 05 2022 07:35 pm

    I've heard the same that FB membership is on a decline, but I
    haven't heard what users are replacing it with. Instagram
    seems like a total waste of time to me; it doesn't foster comms
    - it foster's "look at me and my stuff!"

    It loooks like IM from mobile platforms is the prefered substitute for facebook and other common social
    media, which sounds bonkers to me because they are not the same thing at all. However, that is how it
    seems to be :-)

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to claw on Fri Oct 7 00:51:45 2022
    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.



    Maybe someone could make an add on for that. Your account credentials
    set up as a Profile page viewable on the web. Give that to them and
    they will come :D

    DrClaw

    Less control than MySpace offered. Facebook offers little control actually.

    It's used because of a Network effect. I joined purely because someone else I knew wanted to post photos of their trip there to us, and didn't want to bother with e-mail. Others joined, and soon that is where the people where.

    Facebook by and large sucks, is pretty lousy. IT really only has one killer feature. You can find other people you know there and its kind of easy to use (though I found it quite difficult myself).

    ... The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to boraxman on Thu Oct 6 19:43:00 2022
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Friday 07.10.22 - 00:51, boraxman wrote to claw:

    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of
    personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.


    Less control than MySpace offered. Facebook offers little
    control actually.

    I *did* say "SENSE of control", and less fuss and bother of
    building a personal website.


    It's used because of a Network effect. [...]

    That too.


    Facebook by and large sucks, is pretty lousy. IT really
    only has one killer feature. You can find other people you
    know there and its kind of easy to use (though I found it
    quite difficult myself).

    Yes.. looking up and finding other people who are hopefully
    using FB is a plus. BBSes don't have that. Maybe if BBSes had
    something similar to looking up a name or alias, then people
    might like to enjoy participating on the same BBS or meet in
    similar echos.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Ogg on Fri Oct 7 22:38:24 2022
    I think FB has been largely successful because it gives people
    a sense of control over their content and emulates a kind of
    personal website. BBSes don't offer that for its users.


    Less control than MySpace offered. Facebook offers little
    control actually.

    I *did* say "SENSE of control", and less fuss and bother of
    building a personal website.



    It is easier, definately. Well, sort of. I administered both a FB page and a website once, and the FB page/group was a PITA.

    I must be missing something, but when I see an organisations FB page, it always seems so, bare, plain, and scant. But I'll admit bias, I've personally found FB to just be irritating in almost everyway

    It's used because of a Network effect. [...]

    That too.


    Facebook by and large sucks, is pretty lousy. IT really
    only has one killer feature. You can find other people you
    know there and its kind of easy to use (though I found it
    quite difficult myself).

    Yes.. looking up and finding other people who are hopefully
    using FB is a plus. BBSes don't have that. Maybe if BBSes had
    something similar to looking up a name or alias, then people
    might like to enjoy participating on the same BBS or meet in
    similar echos.


    That is one thing I did find useful, I could look up, and get into touch with old school colleagues. It didn't really result in much, so in the long run, it was nothing which changed anything. The downside of this, is that to be found, to find people, we all have to feed Zuckerburgs panopticon. The idea that we have to give an American Silicon Valley behmoth our personal data so we can be sold ads, manipulated and tracked just to chat to people we went to school with is horrifying. It's like selling your soul to the devil.

    I don't think that BBS's could do that, unless you pooled user lists, but then, that is a privacy issue, and people like me and you use aliases anyway.

    The problem could be solved by having a distributed system, ie, people hosting their own personal servers, which share a common protocol, where people can be indexed and found. I've thought of each house having like a Pogoplug or Raspberri Pi device with a Social Media server. It could even be installed on your router. Register with an index server and people can search you, and you can "allow" then access to your server.

    It wouldn't work of course, because we developed a culture where people default to being passive consumers of product and services, instead of building their own world and helping themselves. In which case, I'm happy to say that I'd rather then that Social Media didn't exist at all, and this would be better than what we have now.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Oli@21:3/102 to Arelor on Fri Oct 7 11:23:25 2022
    Arelor wrote (2022-10-06):

    It loooks like IM from mobile platforms is the prefered substitute for facebook and other common social media, which sounds bonkers to me
    because they are not the same thing at all. However, that is how it seems to be :-)

    like BBSing: messages, chat and ascii art ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H photos.




    ---
    * Origin: War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. (21:3/102)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to boraxman on Sat Oct 8 08:51:00 2022
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Friday 07.10.22 - 22:38, boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    That is one thing I did find useful, I could look up, and
    get into touch with old school colleagues. [...] The idea
    that we have to give an American Silicon Valley behmoth our
    personal data so we can be sold ads, manipulated and
    tracked just to chat to people we went to school with is
    horrifying. It's like selling your soul to the devil.

    It is terrible how that info was processed. Cambridge-Analytica
    anyone?


    I don't think that BBS's could do that, unless you pooled
    user lists, but then, that is a privacy issue, and people
    like me and you use aliases anyway.

    The fidonet sysop at net 460 has a lookup that works like
    FILEFIND. It can search for anything in an echomail message.


    It wouldn't work of course, because we developed a culture
    where people default to being passive consumers of product
    and services, instead of building their own world and
    helping themselves. In which case, I'm happy to say that
    I'd rather then that Social Media didn't exist at all, and
    this would be better than what we have now.

    In the end, it's probably wise to be NOT easily discoverable.
    Privacy is emerging as the single-most thing that we ought to
    have control of.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Ogg on Sun Oct 9 02:07:34 2022
    That is one thing I did find useful, I could look up, and
    get into touch with old school colleagues. [...] The idea
    that we have to give an American Silicon Valley behmoth our
    personal data so we can be sold ads, manipulated and
    tracked just to chat to people we went to school with is
    horrifying. It's like selling your soul to the devil.

    It is terrible how that info was processed. Cambridge-Analytica
    anyone?


    I don't think that BBS's could do that, unless you pooled
    user lists, but then, that is a privacy issue, and people
    like me and you use aliases anyway.

    The fidonet sysop at net 460 has a lookup that works like
    FILEFIND. It can search for anything in an echomail message.


    It wouldn't work of course, because we developed a culture
    where people default to being passive consumers of product
    and services, instead of building their own world and
    helping themselves. In which case, I'm happy to say that
    I'd rather then that Social Media didn't exist at all, and
    this would be better than what we have now.

    In the end, it's probably wise to be NOT easily discoverable.
    Privacy is emerging as the single-most thing that we ought to
    have control of.


    I agree, privacy and autonomy. I think the latter may end up being the bigger issue in the near future. We can control to a reasonable degree what information we submit, but how that is done, by what mechanisms, and how free we are is another matter.

    Even if Facebook was pretty good in terms of privacy, there is still the issue of one single entity having so much POWER, being able to cancel you, so to speak, to have their policies override yours.

    There is a danger that were given back privacy, but still lose autonomy. We still can be cut off from others arbitrarily, or because we don't align with some foreign companies values. I'm in Australia, and for me to be booted off Social Media, cutting me from communication with people who I went to school with here, because that company thought something I posted didn't match their foreign, values, kind of doesn't sit well with me.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to gamgee/Deon on Sat Oct 8 14:38:07 2022
    As for *capturing* local broadcasts, pretty much everything (local) is Ga> available these days (in high definition, no less) over the air; which Ga> can be received with an HDTV antenna (sort of like the old fashioned Ga> "rabbit ears" type thing).

    Ahhhh - I've seen them before; didn't even think that I could sniff the airwaves w/ the new digital HDTV stuff. I didn't even think about that; thanks.

    Easy peasy - I used to use one of these:
    https://youtu.be/mW9DRcv56yQ

    Ahhh; thanks too - another option. Yea, I'm in the US but appreciate the info most. Thanks.



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Warpslide on Sat Oct 8 14:39:17 2022
    There's a good video that was just published during "Plex Pro Week" that walks you though that:
    https://youtu.be/Dzk48EK5zNY

    Dude, thanks - yet ANOTHER option. I'd prefer to doso w/o hardware, so I'll be giving this link a watch today. Again, thx Warp!



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Sat Oct 8 14:41:40 2022
    I DVR occasionally but not a whole lot. You need a TV tuner compatible with your Plex server, and you also need to subscribe to Plex Pass for premium features (or buy the lifetime Plex Pass membership - Sometimes they have a sale on that). When you configure a TV tuner with Plex, it has a live TV function where you can view broadcast TV channels with it (Plex will stream it to your devices) - Plex has an interface similar to
    a TV Guide where you can choose what channel/program to watch, and
    there's an option to have it record TV shows/movies/other content being broadcast.

    I have a couple TV Tuners set up with my Plex PC - An internal PCI
    Express card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZSVLTW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_t

    And also a HDHomerun Flex 4K (it's a network streaming tuner, which Plex works with as well): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092GCN9NL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_t

    Super cool; some others already suggested the HDHomerun, but the Flex 4K is prolly just a better model. This is rad, and I think I'm gonna add SOME TV tuner into my Plex setup.

    While I don't 'want' for much thru cutting the cable cord, this would be the final piece. I just want local news and some other local stuff - sounds like I can iron it out w/ just a bit more hardware... have most everything else in place.

    Appreciate it everyone who responded. Thanks!!!



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Nightfox to paulie420 on Sat Oct 8 15:14:36 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: paulie420 to gamgee/Deon on Sat Oct 08 2022 02:38 pm

    As for *capturing* local broadcasts, pretty much everything (local) is Ga>

    Ahhhh - I've seen them before; didn't even think that I could sniff the airwaves w/ the new digital HDTV stuff. I didn't even think about that; thanks.

    What do you mean by "sniff the airwaves" and "the new digital HDTV stuff"? Over-the-air TV stations have been broadcasting in digital high-definition in the US since at least 2009, when the legally mandated switchover happened.

    Nightfox
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to boraxman on Sat Oct 8 19:24:00 2022
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 09.10.22 - 02:07, boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    There is a danger that were given back privacy, but still
    lose autonomy. We still can be cut off from others
    arbitrarily, or because we don't align with some foreign
    companies values. I'm in Australia, and for me to be
    booted off Social Media, cutting me from communication with
    people who I went to school with here, because that company
    thought something I posted didn't match their foreign,
    values, kind of doesn't sit well with me.

    In that case, the only alternative you might have is to use a
    paid system. A service that collects a fee for comms wouldn't
    boot off its users.

    A couple of free social media types could still work: Briar,
    and Session. Both have private channels, as well as groups and
    forums.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to paulie420 on Sat Oct 8 20:04:56 2022
    *** Quoting paulie420 from a message to Nightfox ***

    Super cool; some others already suggested the HDHomerun, but the Flex
    4K is prolly just a better model. This is rad, and I think I'm gonna
    add SOME TV tuner into my Plex setup.

    It's worth noting that you need Plex Pass to use the DVR functions if you wanted to record anything.

    While I don't 'want' for much thru cutting the cable cord, this would
    be the final piece. I just want local news and some other local stuff
    - sounds like I can iron it out w/ just a bit more hardware... have
    most everything else in place.

    We particularity like having access to over-the-air local news for things like elections or other important events. We're fortunate to be located smack
    dab between Toronto & Buffalo so we get the best of both worlds (NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, CW, FOX, CBC, CHCH, CTV & CTV2, GLOBAL, CITY) as well as their sub channels like GRIT, BOUNCE, ANTENNA, REWIND, GET, LAFF, etc.


    Jay

    ... I tried calling the tinnitus hotline, it just kept ringing

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Boraxman@21:3/136 to Ogg on Sun Oct 9 22:06:00 2022
    Ogg wrote to boraxman <=-

    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 09.10.22 - 02:07, boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    There is a danger that were given back privacy, but still
    lose autonomy. We still can be cut off from others
    arbitrarily, or because we don't align with some foreign
    companies values. I'm in Australia, and for me to be
    booted off Social Media, cutting me from communication with
    people who I went to school with here, because that company
    thought something I posted didn't match their foreign,
    values, kind of doesn't sit well with me.

    In that case, the only alternative you might have is to use a
    paid system. A service that collects a fee for comms wouldn't
    boot off its users.

    A couple of free social media types could still work: Briar,
    and Session. Both have private channels, as well as groups and
    forums.

    This is what Jaron Lanier has been suggesting. He has some good talks on Social Media, though I'm skeptical of people who help developed social media THEN realised it was flawed. Unfortunately, we hear from tech-bros that change their mind more than we do from people who knew from the start it would be a problem.

    http://jaronlanier.com/

    Because the user isn't paying, the incentive is to monetise the user. We got spoiled with free services, because the true cost was hidden from us. I'd be OK with a paid service, or even a service which was bundled with the ISP's package.

    === MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.11-Linux
    * Origin: .:MiNDS EYE BBS:..Melb, Australia..mindseye.synchr (21:3/136)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to paulie420 on Sun Oct 9 08:19:41 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: paulie420 to gamgee/Deon on Sat Oct 08 2022 14:38:07

    As for *capturing* local broadcasts, pretty much everything (local) is Ga>> available these days (in high definition,
    As for *capturing* local broadcasts, pretty much everything (local) is Ga>> no
    less) over the air; which Ga> can be received with an HDTV antenna (sort of like the old fashioned Ga>> "rabbit ears"
    thing).

    missed the context of this, but yea for the most part what I want to to watch is streamed for free on various services.

    the missus likes the news etc and we have an OTA antenna for that and just in case some windbag decides to come and park it's backside over central florida for a day or two like the other week :D

    just got one of them hd homeruns, it seems to work, but the cable line layout of this house isnt conducive right now, we're moving at the ened of the month so i'll get it setup properly then.

    Ahhhh - I've seen them before; didn't even think that I could sniff the airwaves w/ the new digital HDTV stuff. I didn't
    even think about that; thanks.

    i've tried it with my hanckRF-one... over here the RTL SDRs don't have enough bandwidth or understand ATSC. be nice if there was DVB broadcasts, but you know... europ has to be different :D

    Ahhh; thanks too - another option. Yea, I'm in the US but appreciate the info most. Thanks.

    the hd homerun 4k that was posted in another message worked fine for me. 4 tuners, can plug in a usb hard drive... that's all the missus wants lol

    regards

    Charles Blackburn
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET




    ... Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned.
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to paulie420 on Sun Oct 9 08:22:21 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: paulie420 to Nightfox on Sat Oct 08 2022 14:41:40

    I have a couple TV Tuners set up with my Plex PC - An internal PCI
    Express card: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZSVLTW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_t
    And also a HDHomerun Flex 4K (it's a network streaming tuner, which Plex works with as well):
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092GCN9NL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_t
    Super cool; some others already suggested the HDHomerun, but the Flex 4K is prolly just a better model. This is rad, and I
    think I'm gonna add SOME TV tuner into my Plex setup.

    yea i literally got a flex 4k the other day, plugged it in the living room and it worked. the only issue i have is like everything else, IT DOESNT WORK ACROSS SUBNETS/VLANS!!!

    so what you want to watch it on has to be on the same subnet as the damn box... it pisses me off, it's why i can't chromecast from my pc to the living room tv. I dont know why people can't just make a damn box that you can load their software up with and tell it... HERE IS THE IP ADDRESS ..... don't multicast search the bullshit.. pisses me off.

    While I don't 'want' for much thru cutting the cable cord, this would be the final piece. I just want local news and some
    other local stuff - sounds like I can iron it out w/ just a bit more hardware... have most everything else in place.

    that's all we have it for. local news etc and something different than what's on pluto, and other free streaming channels.

    regards

    Charles Blackburn
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET




    ... All work and no play make Jack a dull boy and Jill a wealthy widow.
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Warpslide on Sun Oct 9 10:02:00 2022
    Hello Warpslide!

    ** On Saturday 08.10.22 - 20:04, Warpslide wrote to paulie420:

    We particularity like having access to over-the-air local
    news for things like elections or other important events.
    We're fortunate to be located smack dab between Toronto &
    Buffalo so we get the best of both worlds (NBC, CBS, ABC,
    PBS, CW, FOX, CBC, CHCH, CTV & CTV2, GLOBAL, CITY) as well
    as their sub channels like GRIT, BOUNCE, ANTENNA, REWIND,
    GET, LAFF, etc.

    GlobalTV (channel 2) went off-air a few weeks ago, and moved to
    digital (another tower, much farther away, and lower power).

    .: no tv for me! I think I'm getting the best of the world NOW.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Nightfox to Warpslide on Sun Oct 9 10:25:00 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Warpslide to paulie420 on Sat Oct 08 2022 08:04 pm

    It's worth noting that you need Plex Pass to use the DVR functions if you wanted to record anything.

    Sometimes Plex has a discount on the lifetime Plex Pass (buy once and have access to it forever). Last I saw, normally it's $120, but a few years ago they had it for $80, and I decided to go ahead and get that.

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Charles Blackburn on Sun Oct 9 10:28:19 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Charles Blackburn to paulie420 on Sun Oct 09 2022 08:22 am

    yea i literally got a flex 4k the other day, plugged it in the living room and it worked. the only issue i have is like everything else, IT DOESNT WORK ACROSS SUBNETS/VLANS!!!

    so what you want to watch it on has to be on the same subnet as the damn box... it pisses me off, it's why i can't chromecast from my pc to the living room tv. I dont know why people can't just make a damn box that you can load their software up with and tell it... HERE IS THE IP ADDRESS ..... don't multicast search the bullshit.. pisses me off.

    In addition to the HDHomerun, I also got a Hauppauge PCI Express tuner card for my Plex system, so it would have a tuner that's always accessible. The downside is, the Hauppauge tuner doesn't tune in ATSC 3.0 channels.. Plex still doesn't yet have support for ATSC 3.0 audio though, which is frustrating. With the HDHomerun, Plex can get the video for ATSC 3.0 channels but not the audio.

    Nightfox
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 9 14:39:30 2022
    *** Quoting Nightfox from a message to Warpslide ***

    Sometimes Plex has a discount on the lifetime Plex Pass (buy once and
    have access to it forever). Last I saw, normally it's $120, but a
    few years ago they had it for $80, and I decided to go ahead and get
    that.

    Yeah, for Plex Pro Week they had 20% off again, so I pulled the trigger on lifetime which was CAD$128 even after the discount. $80 would have been nice... lol


    Jay

    ... You've got to miss them to score sometimes

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 9 17:33:49 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Nightfox to Charles Blackburn on Sun Oct 09 2022 10:28:19

    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Charles Blackburn to paulie420 on Sun Oct 09 2022 08:22 am

    yea i literally got a flex 4k the other day, plugged it in the living room and it worked. the only issue i have is
    like everything else, IT DOESNT WORK ACROSS SUBNETS/VLANS!!!

    In addition to the HDHomerun, I also got a Hauppauge PCI Express tuner card for my Plex system, so it would have a tuner
    that's always accessible. The downside is, the Hauppauge tuner doesn't tune in ATSC 3.0 channels.. Plex still doesn't yet
    have support for ATSC 3.0 audio though, which is frustrating. With the HDHomerun, Plex can get the video for ATSC 3.0
    channels but not the audio.

    yea i have an older analog tv tuner card... a good ol' win pctv lol.... i may get a tv tuner card, but my issue is my plex is in a VM so yea.... too lazy to scrwe around with pci passthrough

    regards

    Charles Blackburn
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET




    ... Extremely happy and extremely unhappy men are alike prone to grow hard-hea --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Nightfox to Charles Blackburn on Sun Oct 9 16:38:00 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Charles Blackburn to Nightfox on Sun Oct 09 2022 05:33 pm

    yea i have an older analog tv tuner card... a good ol' win pctv lol.... i may get a tv tuner card, but my issue is my plex is in a VM so yea.... too lazy to scrwe around with pci passthrough

    The HDHomerun tuners are standalone devices and connect to your network, and Plex is able to use those. I imagine Plex running in a VM could still make use of one of those.

    Nightfox
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 07:08:48 2022

    The HDHomerun tuners are standalone devices and connect to your network,
    and Plex is able to use those. I imagine Plex running in a VM could still make use of one of those.

    You can also use an Nvidia Shield to run all those various apps. It will run Plex, Kodi, HDHomerun, and all the main streaming apps.

    I use the Nvidia Shields on all TVs to run the various apps. I used to have several HDHomerun cable card units back before I was 100% streaming and they worked very well. I'm sure the antenna/local channel version is nice as well.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Weatherman on Tue Oct 11 08:25:02 2022
    On 11 Oct 22 07:08:48, Weatherman said the following to Nightfox:

    I use the Nvidia Shields on all TVs to run the various apps. I used to have several HDHomerun cable card units back before I was 100% streaming and they worked very well. I'm sure the antenna/local channel version is nice as wel

    I'm a huge fan of Tablo which I think is a clone of Hdhomerun, have the net-version in the home-rack, streaming all of my TV's here for the OTA stuff via Amazon Fire. Works perfectly.

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Atreyu on Tue Oct 11 09:46:04 2022
    *** Quoting Atreyu from a message to Weatherman ***

    I'm a huge fan of Tablo which I think is a clone of Hdhomerun, have
    the net-version in the home-rack, streaming all of my TV's here for
    the OTA stuff via AmazonFire. Works perfectly.

    That's what we have going here as well. A 4 tuner box which gets worryingly hot, but were told that that's normal. We put thick rubber feet on the
    bottom and made sure it has plenty of space on all sides to that it can breathe.

    We mostly watch pre-recorded stuff so we can skip though commercials, about the only time we watch live TV is for things like elections or other
    important events.

    We have a "stacked" antenna with one pointing towards Toronto and the other towards Buffalo, it works well enough though it can sometimes cut out during bad weather.


    Jay

    ... Pros are those who do their jobs well, even when they don't feel like it

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Warpslide on Tue Oct 11 11:21:20 2022
    On 11 Oct 22 09:46:04, Warpslide said the following to Atreyu:

    We have a "stacked" antenna with one pointing towards Toronto and the other towards Buffalo, it works well enough though it can sometimes cut out during bad weather.

    I only have the dual-tuner Tablo and an outdoor antenna sitting in my
    apartment window... I'm only a few blocks from lake Ontario... 35th street.

    I can pick up about a dozen channels, some from Buffalo. But I really only watch Fox, MyTV and the Charge channel. I don't care for the local stuff.

    The Tablo runs warm and sometimes looses the USB-connected hard drive; wishing stuff could be PVR'd to a Nas or network share instead of USB. Once in awhile the whole unit just drops off the network. Just vanishes to nowhereville
    until its power cycled. Debating on putting it on a mechanical outlet timer.

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Nightfox to Weatherman on Tue Oct 11 09:18:39 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Weatherman to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 2022 07:08 am

    The HDHomerun tuners are standalone devices and connect to your
    network, and Plex is able to use those. I imagine Plex running in a
    VM could still make use of one of those.

    You can also use an Nvidia Shield to run all those various apps. It will run Plex, Kodi, HDHomerun, and all the main streaming apps.

    I think he was takling about Plex media Server and it having access to TV tuners.

    As far as the Plex client app & others, I don't have an Nvidia Shield, but I do have a couple of Roku devices which run all those apps. Does the Nvidia Shield do something that Roku & other platforms don't?

    Nightfox
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 16:21:03 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Nightfox to Charles Blackburn on Sun Oct 09 2022 16:38:00

    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Charles Blackburn to Nightfox on Sun Oct 09 2022 05:33 pm
    yea i have an older analog tv tuner card... a good ol' win pctv lol.... i may get a tv tuner card, but my issue is my plex is in a VM so yea.... too lazy to scrwe around with pci
    passthrough
    The HDHomerun tuners are standalone devices and connect to your network, and Plex is able to use those. I imagine Plex running in a VM could still make use of one of those.

    yea The hd-homerun is fine, but the pci tuner card requires pci-passthrough in proxmox and to be supported by the bios etc. same as for gpu passthrough

    i havent played around with it that much to be honest, saw the HDHR on amazon and bought it. LOL

    regards
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET




    ... Whosoever diggeth a pit shall falleth therein.
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Charles Blackburn@21:1/221 to Atreyu on Tue Oct 11 16:24:44 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Atreyu to Warpslide on Tue Oct 11 2022 11:21:20

    On 11 Oct 22 09:46:04, Warpslide said the following to Atreyu:


    The Tablo runs warm and sometimes looses the USB-connected hard drive; wishing stuff could be PVR'd to a Nas or network share instead of USB. Once in awhile the whole unit just drops off
    the network. Just vanishes to nowhereville
    until its power cycled. Debating on putting it on a mechanical outlet timer.

    you could put it on a bootbox and reboot it from your armchair over the network :D I did that with the kids computer when he was younger and refused to go to bed

    he's fine now LOL

    regards
    ===

    Charles Blackburn
    The F.B.O BBS 21:1/221 618:250/36
    bbs.thefbo.us IPV4/V6
    DOVE-Net FSX-Net MicroNET USENET




    ... When Chuck Norris crosses the street, the cars have to look both ways.
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: The FBO BBS - bbs.thefbo.us (21:1/221)
  • From Nightfox to Atreyu on Tue Oct 11 13:56:13 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Atreyu to Weatherman on Tue Oct 11 2022 08:25 am

    I'm a huge fan of Tablo which I think is a clone of Hdhomerun, have the net-version in the home-rack, streaming all of my TV's here for the OTA stuff via Amazon Fire. Works perfectly.

    I bought a Tablo network TV tuner last year, and I thought it was actually fairly nice. I heard Tablo doesn't tune ATSC 3.0 channels though, which is the main reason I returned my Tablo and bought a HDHomerun Flex 4K. I thought the Tablo app had a bit better/more intuitive UI though.

    Also, Plex can use the HDHomerun, but it seemed Plex didn't detect the Tablo and wasn't able to make use of it.

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Warpslide on Tue Oct 11 13:57:22 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Warpslide to Atreyu on Tue Oct 11 2022 09:46 am

    That's what we have going here as well. A 4 tuner box which gets worryingly hot, but were told that that's normal. We put thick rubber feet on the bottom and made sure it has plenty of space on all sides to that it can breathe.

    Yeah, I had heard the Tablo had some heating issues, especially if you put a platter HDD inside. I remember reading that some people opted to put an SSD inside (for DVRing content) rather than a platter HDD since SSDs don't generate as much heat.

    Nightfox
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 17:51:17 2022
    On 11 Oct 22 13:56:13, Nightfox said the following to Atreyu:

    I bought a Tablo network TV tuner last year, and I thought it was actually fairly nice. I heard Tablo doesn't tune ATSC 3.0 channels though, which is the main reason I returned my Tablo and bought a HDHomerun Flex 4K. I thoug the Tablo app had a bit better/more intuitive UI though.

    Yeah the Tablo UI seems fairly decent. A bit sluggish at times on the Amazon Fire sticks but that could be a number of things.

    Also, Plex can use the HDHomerun, but it seemed Plex didn't detect the Tablo and wasn't able to make use of it.

    Well as I wrote elsewhere here, I'd love it if Tablo could store PVR recordings on an SMB/Samba share on my Nas drives instead of the flakey USB external thats on there now. Does HD-Homerun do that? I may be misunderstanding your explanation. I vaguely remember looking at Plex a long time ago but just settled for the VLC app. Its good enough for the moderate- sized collection of goodies here.

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Charles Blackburn on Tue Oct 11 17:52:05 2022
    On 11 Oct 22 16:24:44, Charles Blackburn said the following to Atreyu:

    you could put it on a bootbox and reboot it from your armchair over the network :D I did that with the kids computer when he was younger and refuse to go to bed

    I have lots of mechanical timers from owning lizards, fish, snakes etc. I'm convinced its a long-time bug in the Tablo OS but its so rare its not enough to be annoying by any means.

    he's fine now LOL

    Lol, been there done that!

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to Ogg on Tue Oct 11 17:33:35 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Ogg to boraxman on Sat Oct 08 2022 07:24 pm

    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Sunday 09.10.22 - 02:07, boraxman wrote to Ogg:

    There is a danger that were given back privacy, but still
    lose autonomy. We still can be cut off from others
    arbitrarily, or because we don't align with some foreign
    companies values. I'm in Australia, and for me to be
    booted off Social Media, cutting me from communication with
    people who I went to school with here, because that company
    thought something I posted didn't match their foreign,
    values, kind of doesn't sit well with me.

    In that case, the only alternative you might have is to use a
    paid system. A service that collects a fee for comms wouldn't
    boot off its users.

    A couple of free social media types could still work: Briar,
    and Session. Both have private channels, as well as groups and
    forums.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)

    Even paid customers are likely to be booted off in the current climate. I have seen
    RPG publishers outright declare that they don't want a specific profile of person
    playing their games and even offered them refunds (ie. "If you voted for Jack, I don't
    want you to play Horses and Halters, and I'd rather refund your copy of Horses and
    Halters than see you playing games published by my house").

    It is so crazy.

    Then there are games that glorify killing a specific profile of person (ie. official
    adventures make it clear that killing Jack's supporters is acceptable in-game) so you
    can bet they are booting off their customer base any real Jack supporter.

    Don't get me started in payment processors who kick people out for political reasons
    despite the fact they were making money out of them. You may think that your 50k
    USD/month revenue is impressive, but it is nothing for the paypals of this world.


    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From Nightfox to Atreyu on Tue Oct 11 16:34:39 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Atreyu to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 2022 05:51 pm

    Well as I wrote elsewhere here, I'd love it if Tablo could store PVR recordings on an SMB/Samba share on my Nas drives instead of the flakey USB external thats on there now. Does HD-Homerun do that? I may be

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm unfamiliar with the term PVR.

    HDHomerun can record to a USB drive, but I haven't used that feature of it. I have used Plex to record TV broadcasts (Plex will use any tuner it has configured), and Plex will write those recordings to its "TV Shows" section (it may even be able to tell if it's recording a movie and save that to its "Movies" section). You can configure Plex's media library directories anywhere you want. Currently I have Plex using an internal hard drive, but I suppose you could configure Plex's media directories to be on a SMB share if you wanted to.

    Nightfox
  • From Exodus@21:1/176 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 20:09:50 2022
    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm unfamiliar with

    OLD term ... BEFORE DVR ... (Personal Video Recorder)

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Nightfox to Exodus on Tue Oct 11 18:03:23 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Exodus to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 2022 08:09 pm

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm
    unfamiliar with

    OLD term ... BEFORE DVR ... (Personal Video Recorder)

    Ah, I see. Maybe I missed that at the time. I thought the industry went from VCR right to DVR. :)

    Nightfox
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 20:43:04 2022
    *** Quoting Nightfox from a message to Atreyu ***

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm
    unfamiliar with the term PVR.

    PVR = Personal Video Recorder

    It was popularized by Bell Canada here when they first came out with their satellite TV service. PVR is the same thing as DVR.


    Jay

    ... I don't tell satellite jokes, they're always over your head

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Nightfox to Warpslide on Tue Oct 11 18:04:55 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Warpslide to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 2022 08:43 pm

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm
    unfamiliar with the term PVR.

    PVR = Personal Video Recorder

    It was popularized by Bell Canada here when they first came out with their satellite TV service. PVR is the same thing as DVR.

    Ah, I hadn't noticed if PVR was used in the US. I remember DVR being common.

    Nightfox
  • From Bex to paulie420 on Mon Oct 10 15:00:00 2022
    paulie420 said to Irish_Monk: <=-

    I see a lot of chatting about "making more popular, more users,
    So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since
    the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been?

    Hell no - l00k around; we got active FTNs, plenty of rad/active bbSes, modders, groups, ANSI - we've got a bbSphere!

    I could be wrong, because I was out of the BBS scene since I shut down my
    last board in the late-90s, so I have no actual data on this, but it seems
    like there was a major lull around 2008-2016 or so, and then things started
    to make a comeback about then. Then another lull around, and then the
    pandemic.

    I do still think that we are in the end BBS times, once this group of nostalgia-seeking Gen Xers (I'm proudly in that group) moves on, there
    isn't going to be anyone who wants to bring it back. The nostalgia window
    is a moving window, driven mostly by people in their 40s and 50s. As they
    age out, the new group is nostalgia for other experiences.

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max before
    all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    -*- Bex <3

    * Q-Blue 2.4 *
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 23:07:32 2022
    On 11 Oct 22 16:34:39, Nightfox said the following to Atreyu:

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm unfamiliar with the term PVR.

    Same as DVR. Its likely a Canuck mannerism...

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Exodus@21:1/176 to Nightfox on Tue Oct 11 23:34:01 2022
    PVR = Personal Video Recorder

    It was popularized by Bell Canada here when they first came out with th

    Yeah .. Dish Network used it when their DVR first came out ... (or maybe it was DirecTV) .... I forget which, I sold both back then.

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Atreyu on Wed Oct 12 09:30:04 2022

    I'm a huge fan of Tablo which I think is a clone of Hdhomerun, have the net-version in the home-rack, streaming all of my TV's here for the OTA stuff via Amazon Fire. Works perfectly.

    Do you have to pay anything for TV guide data farther out than 24 hours? I have never heard of Tablo, thanks for sharing the info.

    I was using Locast to stream local channels for free until they were sued and had to terminate their service.

    I think Pluto and Tubi offer some limited local channels. Around here, our local channels are all crap "news" channels that I'm fine with not having.

    The only streaming service I pay for is Philo. Everything else is free content or downloaded.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Nightfox on Wed Oct 12 09:42:20 2022

    As far as the Plex client app & others, I don't have an Nvidia Shield, but
    I do have a couple of Roku devices which run all those apps. Does the
    Nvidia Shield do something that Roku & other platforms don't?

    You can hook up gaming controllers to the Shield and play games on it. It also has bluetooth, which is what the remote uses to communicate with it.

    I believe the shield has more local storage which comes in to play if you run Kodi locally on it. The shield will do 4k, but I believe the new Rokus will do that as well.

    It is pretty quick on loading stuff, too, but I have never used a Roku other than a TV integrated one which isn't really the same thing.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Atreyu on Wed Oct 12 09:51:32 2022

    Well as I wrote elsewhere here, I'd love it if Tablo could store PVR recordings on an SMB/Samba share on my Nas drives instead of the flakey
    USB external thats on there now. Does HD-Homerun do that? I may be misunderstanding your explanation. I vaguely remember looking at Plex a
    long time ago but just settled for the VLC app. Its good enough for the moderate- sized collection of goodies here.

    Not sure, but I when I had (2) HDHomeRun Prime tuners (back when I had cable TV and cable cards), I used Windows Media Center as my DVR which could save to share locations.

    WMC could see the HDHomerun tuners on the network and I could schedule recordings and save them on shares. I would then use another program to strip commercials and re-encode them to MKV files.

    Speaking of saving shows, I just used Allavsoft to download all the series to several old TV shows from the 80s from both Tubi and Pluto TV. This helps feed my data hoarding itch.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Nightfox to Weatherman on Wed Oct 12 07:49:43 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Weatherman to Nightfox on Wed Oct 12 2022 09:42 am

    As far as the Plex client app & others, I don't have an Nvidia
    Shield, but I do have a couple of Roku devices which run all those
    apps. Does the Nvidia Shield do something that Roku & other platforms
    don't?

    You can hook up gaming controllers to the Shield and play games on it. It also has bluetooth, which is what the remote uses to communicate with it.

    Ah, interesting. I looked it up and I see it runs Android. I'd heard of the Nvidia Shield but I didn't really know much about it. Sony tried something like that once (with their NSZ-GT1) - They had an Android TV-based smart blu-ray player that had a remote control shaped like a game controller, since they wanted it to basically be a gaming platform too.

    Nightfox
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Weatherman on Wed Oct 12 10:30:16 2022
    On 12 Oct 22 09:30:04, Weatherman said the following to Atreyu:

    Do you have to pay anything for TV guide data farther out than 24 hours? I have never heard of Tablo, thanks for sharing the info.

    Not sure but I think I can scroll the guide as far as a week in advance.

    They apprently have some sort of enhanced guide subscription for a one-time fee which also enables "remote streaming" but I can connect via. OpenVPN to
    my home network and stream my Tablo perfectly. Even works from my Iphone...

    I think Pluto and Tubi offer some limited local channels. Around here, our local channels are all crap "news" channels that I'm fine with not having.

    I don't think we have the same Pluto/Tubi experience in Canucksville.

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Weatherman on Wed Oct 12 10:39:43 2022
    On 12 Oct 22 09:51:32, Weatherman said the following to Atreyu:

    Speaking of saving shows, I just used Allavsoft to download all the series t several old TV shows from the 80s from both Tubi and Pluto TV. This helps feed my data hoarding itch.

    I have 17 thousand DVD's of hoarding... half of it is stuff absolutely no longer available, anywhere, seriously. Collecting obscure TV shows from the 80's and 90's was my "specialty" at one time. B-movies, exploitation flicks, foreign, almost every horror/scifi flick ever made was another.

    That and every episode of Dr. Who, every episode of WWF wrestling with all the pay-per-views, all the wonderful trashy/sleezy Lifetime TV movies with their many variations on the themes of fucking the babysitter/teacher/authority figure/etc... you name it. Also a very large collection of vintage erotica...

    There's no way I'd have the time or patience to recode/re-rip these to MKV.

    The thing is, if something happens to me, nobody wants it, right now its still packed up in boxes stacked floor to ceiling occupying the entire hallway of my apartment. So my kid's not going to lug this to a college dormroom, nobody wants physical media anymore especially DVD-R's that cannot be resold or taken in by a goodwill store. Its really only of value to another crazy hoarder.

    I wish there was a hoarder "swap meet", that would be a good idea for an app or website. Remember that episode of A&E Hoarders where the crazy grandma was spending every waking moment taping every single sleezy talkshow and soap from the 80's to the 90's... on VHS. *THAT* is the type of hoarding collection I'd gladly pay for and take the time to convert to MKV.

    But it has to be a complete collection, no missing episodes. All or nothing.

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Nightfox to Bex on Wed Oct 12 08:08:49 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: Bex to paulie420 on Mon Oct 10 2022 03:00 pm

    I could be wrong, because I was out of the BBS scene since I shut down my last board in the late-90s, so I have no actual data on this, but it seems like there was a major lull around 2008-2016 or so, and then things started to make a comeback about then. Then another lull around, and then the pandemic.

    I ran a BBS from 1994 to 2000 and then started a BBS up again in 2007 when I realized they were still around. I'm not sure about major lulls, but it seems there have been ups and downs, at least from what I see of message network activity. For the downs, sometimes people say people might just be busy, either traveling (if it's summer) or for the holidays (in the fall/winter).

    I do still think that we are in the end BBS times, once this group of nostalgia-seeking Gen Xers (I'm proudly in that group) moves on, there isn't going to be anyone who wants to bring it back. The nostalgia window is a moving window, driven mostly by people in their 40s and 50s. As they age out, the new group is nostalgia for other experiences.

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    I feel like it's hard to know when (or if) BBSes will disappear. I've been running my current BBS more than twice as long as I ran my original BBS in the 90s. It's a hobby I enjoy, and I plan to keep running it and using it as long as there is some BBS activity. I've also developed some scripts/mods for Synchronet, and I enjoy working on those.

    I'm a little younger than gen-X (I think I'm just borderline between gen-Y and millennial), but there is the nostalgia factor. For me I still enjoy BBSing though, and I don't think it's something that I'll get bored of.

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Weatherman on Wed Oct 12 08:16:16 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Weatherman to Atreyu on Wed Oct 12 2022 09:30 am

    I was using Locast to stream local channels for free until they were sued and had to terminate their service.

    I was also using Locast until they had to terminate their service. I had just started using Locast earlier in 2021 and had given them a 1-year donation a couple weeks before they terminated..

    Nightfox
  • From Gamgee@21:2/138 to Bex on Wed Oct 12 17:37:00 2022
    Bex wrote to paulie420 <=-

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years
    max before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    That's what was being said about FidoNet back around 1998-ish...



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    === MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Nightfox on Wed Oct 12 19:47:45 2022

    Ah, interesting. I looked it up and I see it runs Android. I'd heard of
    the Nvidia Shield but I didn't really know much about it. Sony tried something like that once (with their NSZ-GT1) - They had an Android
    TV-based smart blu-ray player that had a remote control shaped like a game controller, since they wanted it to basically be a gaming platform too.

    Yes, I think of it as the Android equivalent to Apple TV. I'm an Android fan and also really like Nvidia, so this was a natural fit.

    The real test is the wife seal of approval, which I can say is 100% approved. She likes it better than traditional cable, so that is the real win.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Atreyu on Wed Oct 12 19:51:33 2022

    Not sure but I think I can scroll the guide as far as a week in advance.

    I used to subscribe to Schedules Direct back when I was still using Windows Media Center. That gave me months of guide data, and I think was around $20/year. That was my DVR back then.

    I don't think we have the same Pluto/Tubi experience in Canucksville.

    I could be incorrect about the local channels here on Pluto/Tubi. I might have glanced and seen something at one point, but I really have zero interest in the local channels around here. All garbage "news" channels for the most part.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Atreyu on Wed Oct 12 19:57:45 2022

    I have 17 thousand DVD's of hoarding... half of it is stuff absolutely no longer available, anywhere, seriously. Collecting obscure TV shows from
    the 80's and 90's was my "specialty" at one time. B-movies, exploitation flicks, foreign, almost every horror/scifi flick ever made was another.

    Awesome! I have a friend that has the same, except it is music CDs/albums/etc. He has more CDs/albums than anyone I have ever seen in my life.

    I wish there was a hoarder "swap meet", that would be a good idea for an
    app or website. Remember that episode of A&E Hoarders where the crazy grandma was spending every waking moment taping every single sleezy
    talkshow and soap from the 80's to the 90's... on VHS. *THAT* is the type
    of hoarding collection I'd gladly pay for and take the time to convert to MKV.
    But it has to be a complete collection, no missing episodes. All or
    nothing.

    I have 90+TB of collections of vintage shows, all complete. I used to have CDs/DVDs, etc, but threw all of them away in favor of going all digital on hard drives. I converted all the rare stuff before tossing the media.

    I will say that I have become a bit of a hoarding snob on the shows these days. I have been re-freshing all my content with the highest resolution available. Anything new, is 4k if it is available.

    So I have become a bitrate snob.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From Weatherman@21:1/132 to Nightfox on Wed Oct 12 20:19:30 2022

    I was also using Locast until they had to terminate their service. I had just started using Locast earlier in 2021 and had given them a 1-year donation a couple weeks before they terminated..

    I didn't use their service that often, but it was a good idea and worked well while it lasted. Unfortunately the big media companies sued them and they lost. Then terminated their platform. Sad, but at the same time that means less people watching their propaganda.

    - Mark
       
    --- WWIVToss v.1.52
    * Origin: http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (21:1/132.0)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Bex on Wed Oct 12 17:44:33 2022
    Hell no - l00k around; we got active FTNs, plenty of rad/active bbSes, modders, groups, ANSI - we've got a bbSphere!

    I could be wrong, because I was out of the BBS scene since I shut down my last board in the late-90s, so I have no actual data on this, but it
    seems like there was a major lull around 2008-2016 or so, and then
    things started to make a comeback about then. Then another lull around, and then the pandemic.

    LOL - Yer prolly right; I came back around in 2o17 or so. :P HA.

    I do still think that we are in the end BBS times, once this group of nostalgia-seeking Gen Xers (I'm proudly in that group) moves on, there isn't going to be anyone who wants to bring it back. The nostalgia window is a moving window, driven mostly by people in their 40s and 50s. As they age out, the new group is nostalgia for other experiences.

    I don't think we're in the end - but more of the aftermath. I mean back in the bbS heyday, the activity and userspace of bbSes was HUGE; weaving all over America and other countries the same... it was the 'pre-internet' - it'll never be that again, but I'm hoping that WE can keep bbSes at the current level for the unforeseeable future.

    I know that for as long as I have internet and a homelab, I'll be running 2o - thats the commitment that I'm giving to the 'bbS world'... I think with US, THIS is the new 'bbSphere'. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Wed Oct 12 17:48:18 2022
    I feel like it's hard to know when (or if) BBSes will disappear. I've been running my current BBS more than twice as long as I ran my original BBS in the 90s. It's a hobby I enjoy, and I plan to keep running it and using it as long as there is some BBS activity. I've also developed
    some scripts/mods for Synchronet, and I enjoy working on those.

    Same as what I've posted - thats my commitment for the unforeseeable future; I'll host 2o as long as I'm... hosting anything.

    After, I fully intend to put the archive/backup/data somewhere such are archive.org. I'm sure in decades time the size won't be a factor.

    I think theres a lot of us that are committed, and want to, continue running these systems - especially with how easy it is to emulate and host almost anywhere... its up to us. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Avon@21:1/101 to Bex on Thu Oct 13 15:56:38 2022
    On 10 Oct 2022 at 03:00p, Bex pondered and said...

    I could be wrong, because I was out of the BBS scene since I shut down my last board in the late-90s, so I have no actual data on this, but it
    seems like there was a major lull around 2008-2016 or so, and then
    things started to make a comeback about then. Then another lull around, and then the pandemic.

    I do still think that we are in the end BBS times, once this group of nostalgia-seeking Gen Xers (I'm proudly in that group) moves on, there isn't going to be anyone who wants to bring it back. The nostalgia window is a moving window, driven mostly by people in their 40s and 50s. As they age out, the new group is nostalgia for other experiences.

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max
    before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    I'm a Gen X boy. While I don't disagree with the assessment of who is returning to the scene I'd argue there are some younger folks also testing the waters / curious to know what this medium etc. is like.

    My hope is that this continues and your guesstimate of 5 years max is far to low. :)

    Heck, I plan on sticking around for as long as body and fingers to type with let me :)

    Kerr Avon [Blake's 7] 'I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid and I'm not going' avon[at]bbs.nz | bbs.nz | fsxnet.nz

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Atreyu on Thu Oct 13 13:58:00 2022
    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm unfamiliar

    Same as DVR. Its likely a Canuck mannerism...

    Its really, Professional Video Recorder, won't record an amateur video :P

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: Good Luck and drive offensively! (21:3/101)
  • From Atreyu@21:1/176 to Spectre on Thu Oct 13 01:37:40 2022
    On 13 Oct 22 13:58:00, Spectre said the following to Atreyu:

    What is PVR? I know DVR is Digital Video Recorder, but I'm unfamili

    Same as DVR. Its likely a Canuck mannerism...

    Its really, Professional Video Recorder, won't record an amateur video :P

    Canuck shows are all amateur...

    Atreyu

    --- Renegade vY2Ka2
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (21:1/176)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Atreyu on Thu Oct 13 19:27:00 2022
    Its really, Professional Video Recorder, won't record an amateur video

    Canuck shows are all amateur...

    That my friend is a bit harsh...

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: Good Luck and drive offensively! (21:3/101)
  • From Nightfox to paulie420 on Thu Oct 13 09:05:16 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: paulie420 to Bex on Wed Oct 12 2022 05:44 pm

    I don't think we're in the end - but more of the aftermath. I mean back in the bbS heyday, the activity and userspace of bbSes was HUGE; weaving all over America and other countries the same... it was the 'pre-internet' - it'll never be that again, but I'm hoping that WE can keep bbSes at the current level for the unforeseeable future.

    I had heard there's still a big BBS (mainly underground) scene in China due to their information censorship. I've been curious to see if I can try using some of them, but I imagine most of them are probably in Chinese, which I don't read..

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Atreyu on Thu Oct 13 09:07:05 2022
    Re: Re: Plex Broadcast Recording
    By: Atreyu to Spectre on Thu Oct 13 2022 01:37 am

    Canuck shows are all amateur...

    I've seen bits of The Murdoch Mysteries and it seems like a pretty good show..

    Nightfox
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Thu Oct 13 18:28:36 2022
    I don't think we're in the end - but more of the aftermath. I mean ba the bbS heyday, the activity and userspace of bbSes was HUGE..

    I had heard there's still a big BBS (mainly underground) scene in China due to their information censorship. I've been curious to see if I can try using some of them, but I imagine most of them are probably in Chinese, which I don't read..

    Yea, so - I also know the Taiwanese PTT/PTT2(etc) bbSes are still r0cking strong. They used to have hundreds of thousands of users, even dwarfing what was our bbS 'normal' back in the heyday...

    Concerning those two countries' bbS communities, I wonder what it would take to login and see their bbSes... w/ PTT, I think you'd need a Taiwanese font (and a translator program). Previously I tried to make a user account, by using Google Picture Translate, but never got a user account fully created..

    PTT is supposed to have great ANSI (or textmode anyway) art, and I bet the 'underground' Chinese bbSes would be a cool community to be able to get into... I suppose you'd really need to go at in on a different angle, and get a local bbS user to help. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Nightfox to paulie420 on Fri Oct 14 09:07:56 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: paulie420 to Nightfox on Thu Oct 13 2022 06:28 pm

    Yea, so - I also know the Taiwanese PTT/PTT2(etc) bbSes are still r0cking strong. They used to have hundreds of thousands of users, even dwarfing what was our bbS 'normal' back in the heyday...

    take to login and see their bbSes... w/ PTT, I think you'd need a

    get a local bbS user to help. :P

    You keep saying bbS .. Why bbS and not BBS? Normally it's all capitalized..

    Nightfox
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Weatherman on Fri Oct 14 22:26:26 2022
    *** Quoting Weatherman from a message to Atreyu ***

    Do you have to pay anything for TV guide data farther out than 24
    hours? I have never heard of Tablo, thanks for sharing the info.

    Yeah, it's US$5 /mo or $50 /year:

    https://www.tablotv.com/tv-guide-data-subscriptions/

    They offered a lifetime plan up until August of 2022 (which is what we have).

    For an additional US$2 /mo or $20 /year you can add on Automatic Commercial Skip:

    https://www.tablotv.com/tablo-premium-service/


    You don't HAVE to get these subscriptions, it'll show you guide data that it gets over-the-air if you don't. The subscription also enables out-of-home streaming.


    Jay

    ... ((((( (((( ((( (( ( In Stereo Where Available ) )) ))) )))) )))))

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Spectre on Fri Oct 14 22:51:46 2022
    *** Quoting Spectre from a message to Atreyu ***

    Canuck shows are all amateur...

    That my friend is a bit harsh...

    It's kind of true. You can just tell when it's a Canadian show based on the quality of production. A lot of US movies & TV shows are filmed in Canada due to the tax breaks (a lot of Gotham was filmed in my city), and those look awesome. A Canadian show filmed in the same city just isn't the same.

    Just look at the "official" video of when Charles was declared King of
    Canada:


    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/accession-proclamation-king-charles-1.6578457

    It might as well have been produced by the AV club of a high school in
    Ottawa.

    The only two shows that actually seem kind of higher budget is Big Brother Canada & The Great Canadian Baking show, those are actually pretty good quality.


    Jay

    ... I don't have any solution, but I certainly admire the problem

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to Nightfox on Fri Oct 14 17:57:05 2022
    get a local bbS user to help. :P

    You keep saying bbS .. Why bbS and not BBS? Normally it's all capitalized..

    I duno; I still love the stupid letters from the 9os; 2o fOr beeRS, bbSphere, bbS, etc. dERP.



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From Spectre@21:3/101 to Warpslide on Sat Oct 15 16:06:00 2022
    It might as well have been produced by the AV club of a high school in Ottawa.

    Maybe it was... the only film crew available :P

    It's kind of true. You can just tell when it's a Canadian show based on the quality of production. A lot of US movies & TV shows are filmed
    in Canada due to the tax breaks (a lot of Gotham was filmed in my
    city), and those look awesome. A Canadian show filmed in the same
    city just isn't the same.

    Perhaps I'm confusing filmed in Canada, with local production in Canada.
    Never thought about it that hard, and don't think I've actually come across Canadian production. What comes to mind is a raft of series that were
    located in Canada... some of Stargate? I forget now. I have recollections of
    a lot being done there though.

    Spec


    *** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
    --- SuperBBS v1.17-3 (Eval)
    * Origin: Good Luck and drive offensively! (21:3/101)
  • From Blue White@21:4/134 to Gamgee on Mon Oct 17 11:19:34 2022
    Gamgee wrote to Bex <=-

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years
    max before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    That's what was being said about FidoNet back around 1998-ish...

    And, IIRC, BBSing in general. Yet, here we are. :)




    ... So easy, a child could do it. Child sold separately.
    --- MultiMail/DOS
    * Origin: possumso.fsxnet.nz * SSH:2122/telnet:24/ftelnet:80 (21:4/134)
  • From Gamgee@21:2/138 to Blue White on Mon Oct 17 16:26:00 2022
    Blue White wrote to Gamgee <=-

    Gamgee wrote to Bex <=-

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years
    max before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    That's what was being said about FidoNet back around 1998-ish...

    And, IIRC, BBSing in general. Yet, here we are. :)

    Indeed! ...and with no intention on going anywhere, for much longer
    than 5 years from now! ;-)



    ... A woman drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her.
    === MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Bex on Sun Oct 23 08:40:00 2022
    Bex wrote to paulie420 <=-

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max
    before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    Every once in a while we get an influx of kidz who read about retro networks and chime in, but I don't think any of them have hung around.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to paulie420 on Sun Oct 23 08:44:00 2022
    paulie420 wrote to Bex <=-

    I know that for as long as I have internet and a homelab, I'll be
    running 2o - thats the commitment that I'm giving to the 'bbS world'...
    I think with US, THIS is the new 'bbSphere'. :P

    I think momentum is a big part of continuing to run a BBS. If mine crashed hard and took some effort to get back up it might give me pause. With a homelab as a hobby and work tool the BBS gets a free ride and doesn't
    require a lot on its own for upkeep.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Nightfox on Sun Oct 23 08:48:00 2022
    Nightfox wrote to paulie420 <=-

    I had heard there's still a big BBS (mainly underground) scene in China due to their information censorship. I've been curious to see if I can try using some of them, but I imagine most of them are probably in Chinese, which I don't read..

    China doesn't have a lot of copper lines, so analog modems would have a problem. BBS networks with analog modems passing data posed a monitoring challenge that made them ideal for information passing. With a population
    with cell phones I'm not sure how you'd do it.

    BBSing is notoriously insecure, with passwords and data sent in cleartext by default. There's some options to run bink with TLS and others have created mesh VPNs between nodes, but there's a long way to make it easy.


    ... Don't avoid what is easy
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Oct 23 13:01:33 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sun Oct 23 2022 08:48 am

    I had heard there's still a big BBS (mainly underground) scene in
    China due to their information censorship. I've been curious to see
    if I can try using some of them, but I imagine most of them are
    probably in Chinese, which I don't read..

    China doesn't have a lot of copper lines, so analog modems would have a problem. BBS networks with analog modems passing data posed a monitoring challenge that made them ideal for information passing. With a population with cell phones I'm not sure how you'd do it.

    BBSing is notoriously insecure, with passwords and data sent in cleartext by default. There's some options to run bink with TLS and others have created mesh VPNs between nodes, but there's a long way to make it easy.

    I imagined their BBSes would be over the internet, like most of ours now, rather than using dialup over copper lines. I'd heard there's still a fairly big BBS scene there.. I don't know if people use SSH or something if they're concerned about security, or maybe their government just doesn't monitor it much so they don't worry about it. I don't know..

    Nightfox
  • From Arelor@21:2/138 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Oct 23 16:49:15 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sun Oct 23 2022 08:48 am

    Nightfox wrote to paulie420 <=-

    I had heard there's still a big BBS (mainly underground) scene in China due to their information censorship. I've been curious to see if I can try using some of them, but I imagine most of them are probably in Chinese, which I don't read..

    China doesn't have a lot of copper lines, so analog modems would have a problem. BBS networks with analog modems passing data posed a monitoring challenge that made them ideal for information passing. With a population with cell phones I'm not sure how you'd do it.

    BBSing is notoriously insecure, with passwords and data sent in cleartext by default. There's some options to run bink with TLS and others have created mesh VPNs between nodes, but there's a long way to make it easy.


    ... Don't avoid what is easy
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

    You'd be surprised. Some censors don't bother censoring primitive protocols because it
    is so much work. For example, I have heard Gopher is not controlled in Iran. It is
    just not worth their effort.

    Obviously, such safety only lasts until something turns popular.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken
    --- SBBSecho 3.15-Linux
    * Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (21:2/138)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to poindexter FORTRAN on Mon Oct 24 22:52:49 2022

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    Every once in a while we get an influx of kidz who read about retro networks and chime in, but I don't think any of them have hung around.



    I was only in the BBS scene back in the 90's for 5 years, and that is being generous. So even if this all fizzes out, I would have used BBS's more frequently, and for longer, than back "in the day".

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From paulie420@21:2/150 to poindexter FORTRAN on Wed Oct 26 18:58:08 2022
    I know that for as long as I have internet and a homelab, I'll be running 2o - thats the commitment that I'm giving to the 'bbS world'. I think with US, THIS is the new 'bbSphere'. :P

    I think momentum is a big part of continuing to run a BBS. If mine
    crashed hard and took some effort to get back up it might give me
    pause. With a homelab as a hobby and work tool the BBS gets a free ride and doesn't require a lot on its own for upkeep.

    I almost feel like I'm cheating, but 2o22 makes it easy. 2o runs on a ProxMox server - and a separate PBS backup system makes it so even with a full failure I can just jump back to a working system with ease. YES, if I lost everything like one might back in the day I'd really have to think about putting all that effort back in - but I can handle a ProxMox backup. :P



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to paulie420 on Thu Nov 3 06:29:00 2022
    paulie420 wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I almost feel like I'm cheating, but 2o22 makes it easy. 2o runs on a ProxMox server - and a separate PBS backup system makes it so even with
    a full failure I can just jump back to a working system with ease. YES,
    if I lost everything like one might back in the day I'd really have to think about putting all that effort back in - but I can handle a
    ProxMox backup.

    So true. My first experiences with virtualization was running VMWare Workstation, and being able to take a VM snapshot before upgrades and on a weekly basis made things easier.

    I haven't tried PBS, but I'm backing up using the built-in Proxmox backup
    tool to an external drive, as well as dumping the BBS directory to an
    external on a regular basis.




    ... Happy, happy. Joy, joy.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Bex to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Nov 10 09:39:00 2022
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Bex <=-

    This BBS renaissance is great, but it probably only has 5 years max
    before all but the most devoted move on to something else.

    Every once in a while we get an influx of kidz who read about retro networks and chime in, but I don't think any of them have hung around.

    You just made me think of a really good analogy: we are a roadside
    attraction, like the Giant Tumbleweed or the World's Largest Ball of
    String! Many people stop by to see it when driving from Point A to Point B. Some people make us a destination attraction - they come by and spend some
    time in the attraction's little town. Most people drive on the major
    highways and have no idea that there's a little town with a small roadside attraction along the old roads that most people have long since abandoned.

    And then there's us. We are the townies. We keep the attraction pretty, we
    make sure there are plenty of flowers to brighten up the place, we have our little five and dimes where we try to get tourists to spend a little bit of money and time. And then we wave goodbye as the tourists move on.

    Our little town is dying, the flow of tourists are mostly going somewhere
    else. We'll stay in our town and convince ourselves that things will turn around in just a couple of weeks. We hold on to the hope that someday our little town will return to its former glory.

    But it isn't going to happen, and our little town will just keep turning
    into a ghost town.



    -+- Brightening your day. -Bex <3

    ... "Not all who wander are aimless, especially those who seek truth beyond trad
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Bex on Fri Nov 11 19:05:00 2022
    Hello Bex!

    ** On Thursday 10.11.22 - 09:39, Bex wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

    You just made me think of a really good analogy: we are a
    roadside attraction, [...]

    But it isn't going to happen, and our little town will just
    keep turning into a ghost town.

    That'a ALMOST a really good analogy. These people will still
    want to spend their dollars with modern PayPass, ApplePay,
    GooglePay. Or use the devices of THEIR choice to take
    pictures, pay, research, etc.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Bex to Ogg on Sat Nov 19 20:25:00 2022
    Ogg said to Bex: <=-

    That'a ALMOST a really good analogy. These people will still want to
    spend their dollars with modern PayPass, ApplePay, GooglePay. Or use
    the devices of THEIR choice to take
    pictures, pay, research, etc.

    Ummm... you kinda lost me there. Can you un-confuse me?

    -*- Bex <3
    Mushu: Stand watch, Mushu, while I blow our secret with my stupid girly habits. Pfft! Hygiene.

    * Q-Blue 2.4 *
  • From SoDa7@21:2/150 to Irish_Monk on Wed Nov 23 13:24:53 2022
    So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since
    1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been?

    First of all, welcome back to the BBS world!

    Well, actually, I got no idea about how the BBSes worked in the early 90s as I'm relatively new into this, I discovered BBSes at the start of this year and I'm still browsing through these to find old and new relics.

    I actually think there are some active ones with a nice community and some active local boards aswell (actually, local boards are an advantage to not overlook) and, despite the fact that actually I wish there's a bit more people interacting, I like it more here than on a modern social media, where it seems like the algorithm want you to see only drama and gossip rather than new art or whatever you wish to see.

    Plus, the fact that BBSes doesn't require new technology makes it possible to even use old computers such as the AMIGA 500 to call the boards and interact!

    Anyway, I know there are lots of returning old users, but there's also hope since I'm not one of them, I just found out the boards and I'm enjoying them!

    ... Jenkinson's Law: It won't work.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/07/15 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to SoDa7 on Fri Nov 25 21:22:16 2022
    So my question is, since I havnt been around BBS's since
    1995, how has the BBS world been? Is this the most "dead" its been?

    First of all, welcome back to the BBS world!

    Well, actually, I got no idea about how the BBSes worked in the early
    90s as I'm relatively new into this, I discovered BBSes at the start of this year and I'm still browsing through these to find old and new
    relics.

    I actually think there are some active ones with a nice community and
    some active local boards aswell (actually, local boards are an advantage to not overlook) and, despite the fact that actually I wish there's a
    bit more people interacting, I like it more here than on a modern social media, where it seems like the algorithm want you to see only drama and gossip rather than new art or whatever you wish to see.

    Plus, the fact that BBSes doesn't require new technology makes it
    possible to even use old computers such as the AMIGA 500 to call the boards and interact!

    Anyway, I know there are lots of returning old users, but there's also hope since I'm not one of them, I just found out the boards and I'm enjoying them!

    ... Jenkinson's Law: It won't work.

    Using BBS's has never been better. No tying up the phone line. Fast, FAST speeds. Being able to multitask while you BBS (I generally don't), fast transfer speeds, being able to access any BBS in the world without running up a high phone bill.
    Just a shame that the quantity of users and boards isn't what it used to be.

    I've used BBS's more so in the last few years, far more, than "back in the day".

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to boraxman on Fri Nov 25 19:45:00 2022
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Friday 25.11.22 - 21:22, boraxman wrote to SoDa7:

    Using BBS's has never been better. No tying up the phone
    line. Fast, FAST speeds. Being able to multitask while
    you BBS (I generally don't), fast transfer speeds, being
    able to access any BBS in the world without running up a
    high phone bill. Just a shame that the quantity of users
    and boards isn't what it used to be.

    Sysops don't think outside the box, literally.

    Back in the day.. we had Boardwatch magazine that did the work
    for bbs promotion.

    Advertising within the medium that you want to attract people
    too (eg. BBS AD echos) is not going to reach people outside the
    realm.

    Telnet BBS Guide is a fine tool, but it does nothing to
    convince people WHY they ought to try a BBS.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Utopian Galt@21:4/108 to Ogg on Fri Nov 25 16:59:46 2022
    BY: Ogg(21:4/106.21)


    |11O|09> |10Telnet BBS Guide is a fine tool, but it does nothing to |07 |11O|09> |10convince people WHY they ought to try a BBS.|07
    Articles on tumblr or substack might help.


    --- WWIV 5.8.0.3608
    * Origin: inland utopia * california * iutopia.duckdns.org:2023 (21:4/108)
  • From Nightfox to boraxman on Fri Nov 25 20:19:57 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: boraxman to SoDa7 on Fri Nov 25 2022 09:22 pm

    Using BBS's has never been better. No tying up the phone line. Fast, FAST speeds. Being able to multitask while you BBS (I generally don't), fast transfer speeds, being able to access any BBS in the world without running up a high phone bill. Just a shame that the quantity of users and boards isn't what it used to be.

    What you're describing is more like broadband internet which came after BBSes.. One reason why BBSes generally have tended to use a text-based (ANSI) interface is due to the fact that they were typically dialup systems.

    I agree it's nice to use BBSes these days though. And being able to connect to any BBS in the world is good - though in the dialup days, I think one cool thing about BBSes is that since they tended to be local, pretty much all the users were in the same area, so there was a sense of local community there. Some BBSes had meetups too, but that's not easy if most of the users are spread out across the world.

    Nightfox
  • From Nightfox to Ogg on Fri Nov 25 20:42:43 2022
    Re: BBS Population
    By: Ogg to boraxman on Fri Nov 25 2022 07:45 pm

    Sysops don't think outside the box, literally.

    Back in the day.. we had Boardwatch magazine that did the work
    for bbs promotion.

    Wasn't Boardwatch a national magazine though? I don't remember how BBS listings were organized in it though.. There was a local computer magazine in my area that had BBS listings in the back, and I often learned about local BBSes from there. There was also a local BBS list as a text file that was shared among local BBSes in my area.

    Nightfox
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to Nightfox on Sat Nov 26 08:05:00 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Ogg <=-

    Wasn't Boardwatch a national magazine though? I don't remember how BBS listings were organized in it though.. There was a local computer magazine in my area that had BBS listings in the back, and I often

    In the San Francisco Bay area, we had MicroTimes and Computer Currents, two free magazines you'd find at local newsracks. They had free BBS listings, as long as you renewed them every couple of weeks.

    They were also handy for the white-box computer store ads - there was fierce competition for PC sales back then.


    ... Cluster analysis
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)
  • From Nightfox to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Nov 26 10:31:15 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sat Nov 26 2022 08:05 am

    In the San Francisco Bay area, we had MicroTimes and Computer Currents, two free magazines you'd find at local newsracks. They had free BBS listings, as long as you renewed them every couple of weeks.

    They were also handy for the white-box computer store ads - there was fierce competition for PC sales back then.

    The computer magazine in the Portland area was similar. It was called Computer Bits, and was found at many local newsracks. I'd often get one from a convenience store or grocery store if they had one.

    Nightfox
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Ogg on Sun Nov 27 12:51:36 2022
    Using BBS's has never been better. No tying up the phone
    line. Fast, FAST speeds. Being able to multitask while
    you BBS (I generally don't), fast transfer speeds, being
    able to access any BBS in the world without running up a
    high phone bill. Just a shame that the quantity of users
    and boards isn't what it used to be.

    Sysops don't think outside the box, literally.

    Back in the day.. we had Boardwatch magazine that did the work
    for bbs promotion.

    Advertising within the medium that you want to attract people
    too (eg. BBS AD echos) is not going to reach people outside the
    realm.

    Telnet BBS Guide is a fine tool, but it does nothing to
    convince people WHY they ought to try a BBS.


    Good point. I can't remember how I found that BBS's were still alive. I think I was deliberately looking to see if any were still accessible just purely out of interest, and discovered that they were! They were on the Internet over Telnet.

    But I haven't seen them mentioned outside of the boxes you speak of. There is an advantage, no tracking, no crappy ads, no political censorship, a fast simple interface.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From boraxman@21:1/101 to Nightfox on Sun Nov 27 12:58:37 2022
    Using BBS's has never been better. No tying up the phone line. Fast, speeds. Being able to multitask while you BBS (I generally don't), fa transfer speeds, being able to access any BBS in the world without ru up a high phone bill. Just a shame that the quantity of users and boa isn't what it used to be.

    What you're describing is more like broadband internet which came after BBSes.. One reason why BBSes generally have tended to use a text-based (ANSI) interface is due to the fact that they were typically dialup systems.


    Well, I would say the interface is an integral part of the experience. Otherwise, it is just a web forum, or a web site, or Usenet. I do recall using once or two BBS's with images but it seemed just like a webpage.

    I agree it's nice to use BBSes these days though. And being able to connect to any BBS in the world is good - though in the dialup days, I think one cool thing about BBSes is that since they tended to be local, pretty much all the users were in the same area, so there was a sense of local community there. Some BBSes had meetups too, but that's not easy
    if most of the users are spread out across the world.

    Nightfox

    I do tend to only call a few BBS's now, and those are "local". Though the one I'm on now is in NZ. Melbourne BBS's seem very very empty, which is odd because FSXNet seems to have a few Melbournians here. One I use is Minds Eye.

    There probably are only enough BBS users in Melbourne, Victoria to support maybe one board. It would be fantastic to bring back that locality.

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
    * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Ogg on Sun Nov 27 09:02:36 2022
    *** Quoting Ogg from a message to boraxman ***

    Back in the day.. we had Boardwatch magazine that did the work for
    bbs promotion.

    Advertising within the medium that you want to attract people too
    (eg. BBS AD echos) is not going to reach people outside the realm.

    I had an ad up on Kijiji (kind of like a Canadian Craigslist) for my board once-upon-a-time. I got at least one new user out of it, it also helps you reach people in your own area.


    Jay

    ... What do you call an apology written in dots and dashes? Re-Morse code

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Warpslide on Sun Nov 27 09:24:00 2022
    Hello Warpslide!

    Advertising within the medium that you want to attract people too
    (eg. BBS AD echos) is not going to reach people outside the realm.

    I had an ad up on Kijiji (kind of like a Canadian Craigslist) for my board once-upon-a-time. I got at least one new user out of it, it also helps
    you reach people in your own area.

    I remember you mentioning that. Perhaps people could also
    include a simple block of text in their email signatures when
    using email day to day. Never know who might like to check it
    out.

    Even placing a simple postcard-size ad on a physical bulletin
    board in one's own area (laundromat, grocery store, post
    office, dental office, etc) could be a good outreach.

    But one thing is for certain, if one just goes online with a
    BBS, there is no surefire way that the *newly arrived online*
    status will reach the myriad of laptop/desktop users (not to
    mention perhaps the even greater myriad of smartphone users) if
    there is no ad or announcement campaign. Just relying in
    ipingthereforeiam or telnetbbs guides is not going to cut it.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Dr. What@21:1/616 to Nightfox on Sun Nov 27 14:50:48 2022
    Nightfox wrote to Ogg <=-

    Wasn't Boardwatch a national magazine though? I don't remember how BBS listings were organized in it though.

    Heading over to archive.org and looking at the March 1994 copy of Boardwatch.

    There was a section that was like a Classified Ad section and it looks like it was ordered by phone number. This section was probably a "pay" section, and most sysops probably didn't want to do that.

    Then there was the National List of BBSs. That looks to be ordered alphabetically (which really makes no sense to me). Each BBS gets a single line, as opposed to a paragraph in the "Classified Ads" area.

    There was a local computer
    magazine in my area that had BBS listings in the back, and I often
    learned about local BBSes from there.

    Lucky you. I never lived in a area that could support a local computer magazine (except as part of a club).

    There was also a local BBS list
    as a text file that was shared among local BBSes in my area.

    In my area, there was a guy who would compile a list of all BBSs in the area code. Periodically (like maybe 2-3 times per year), he'd call all of them. Of course, BBSs would advertize other BBSs and he'd get more systems for his list.
    The end result was that he would publish out his list and you often found new BBSs to call.


    ... Plastic explosives will be appropriate later in the week.
    ___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

    --- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
    * Origin: cold fusion - cfbbs.net - grand rapids, mi (21:1/616)
  • From HusTler@21:1/188 to Nightfox on Sun Nov 27 08:13:53 2022
    In the San Francisco Bay area, we had MicroTimes and Computer Current two free magazines you'd find at local newsracks. They had free BBS

    The computer magazine in the Portland area was similar. It was called Computer Bits, and was found at many local newsracks. I'd often get one


    What's a "local newsrack"? You mean like they have in New York City? I lived 80 miles from the city. We had newspaper delivery and magazines could be bought at the Grocery Store. Once computer stores popped up you could find pc mag and others. By that time the BBS had died and the Internet was the olace to be. BBS usage was strickly for pirating.

    ... Press SPACEBAR once to abort, or twice to save changes

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 2022/04/26 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: ACiD Underworld // acidunderworld.com:31337 (21:1/188)
  • From Nightfox to HusTler on Mon Nov 28 14:20:04 2022
    Re: Re: BBS Population
    By: HusTler to Nightfox on Sun Nov 27 2022 08:13 am

    In the San Francisco Bay area, we had MicroTimes and Computer
    Current two free magazines you'd find at local newsracks. They
    had free BBS

    The computer magazine in the Portland area was similar. It was
    called Computer Bits, and was found at many local newsracks. I'd
    often get one

    What's a "local newsrack"? You mean like they have in New York City? I

    I was referring to the stacks of newspapers and magazines you could typically find for sale (or sometimes for free) at convenience stores, grocery stores, etc..

    I don't know what New York City specifically has.

    Nightfox
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Warpslide on Sun Dec 4 10:31:00 2022
    Hello Warpslide!

    ** On Sunday 27.11.22 - 09:02, Warpslide wrote to Ogg:

    I had an ad up on Kijiji (kind of like a Canadian Craigslist) for my board once-upon-a-time. I got at least one new user out of it, it also helps
    you reach people in your own area.

    How's your latest attempt with the postings in mastodon working
    out?


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From Warpslide@21:3/110.1 to Ogg on Sun Dec 4 11:13:08 2022
    *** Quoting Ogg from a message to Warpslide ***

    How's your latest attempt with the postings in mastodon working
    out?

    Got two new users who each called once and then not again (yet?), both reference Mastodon in the "Where did you hear about us?" field.

    I also have a Kijiji ad up that hasn't yielded any new calls this time
    around.


    Jay

    ... No one hates a job well done!

    --- Telegard v3.09.g2-sp4/mL
    * Origin: Northern Realms | tg.nrbbs.net | 289-424-5180 (21:3/110.1)
  • From Ogg@21:4/106.21 to Bex on Sun Dec 4 11:12:00 2022
    Hello Bex!

    ** On Saturday 19.11.22 - 20:25, Bex wrote to Ogg:

    Ogg said to Bex: <=-

    That'a ALMOST a really good analogy. These people will still want to
    spend their dollars with modern PayPass, ApplePay, GooglePay. Or use
    the devices of THEIR choice to take
    pictures, pay, research, etc.

    Ummm... you kinda lost me there. Can you un-confuse me?

    I'll try. You mentioned that "people are driving along.." well,
    they are probably driving in the modern cars of their
    preference (eg. analogous to smartphones). They are not driving
    with old pcs from the 80's. From those same devices, they take
    pictures and pay for their experiences.

    My point is that the roadside attractions (BBSes) need to adapt
    to what people are driving and using.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: (} Pointy McPointFace (21:4/106.21)
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@21:4/122 to HusTler on Wed Nov 30 06:55:00 2022
    HusTler wrote to Nightfox <=-

    What's a "local newsrack"? You mean like they have in New York City?

    Sidewalk boxes where you can pick up one of the free or paid newspapers. They're waning in popularity along with print media.




    ... Slow preparation, fast execution
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    * Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)