[ASCII] Sysops vs. Users
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All on Thu Jul 4 03:08:17 2019
Bulletin Board Systems
SysOps vs. Users
by: Jon Justvig, Sp00knet Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever wondered what it was like before the internet? Well, I tell
you, a lot of people were into Bulletin Board Systems before this new modern age era.
A bulletin board back in the 80's and early 90's were a lot like how the internet is today. You had message base conference areas much like a large audience of people like social media. There was also netmail which is like private messages such as today's e-mail system. There were even text based on-line games people played which could be played across the world; these
games had to exchange data files called game packets from a central hub and distribute it out to other hubs throughout other countries. It was quite costly back then to even afford ten phone lines and the equipment tied into
it. There was teleconferencing much like texting on your phone. BBSing
simply is a retro/vintage type of spreading information and entertainment
much like we see today.
A SysOp or a System Operator had much control over the BBS. Some had Co-SysOp(s) to help maintain it and moderators to filter unwanted content. There were a lot fewer systems back then. Overall there were a lot more bbses than there presently are, however they were very limiting in which ones you could use do to the major problem of long-distance charges. It was more of a userbase then, of hundreds of thousands of users across the globe.
Today, just about anybody can setup a BBS so the SysOp vs. User ratio has changed dramatically in the past decades. A lot of software is cheap and
the price to run one can be cheap as well. I encourage more users on
existing systems to motivate the BBS scene by posting messages,
participating in teleconference chats, perhaps get a little gaming in there
for those interested, upload more files than download.
Together, let's work for a common purpose. That purpose being to keep the
BBS community alive and well, to spread information technology to those
that have an eager passion for it. Information should by all means be free just like living water. Take a step up and spread the word to your friends what BBSing means to you in a positive way. It can be fun for all ages and
you can possibly make a lot of friends and spend time learning something
new each and every day.
So, the question is: Is BBSing better than the Internet? I believe the Internet is laziness; just point and click to anything you want. BBSing
took a lot of time, hard work and felt a lot like more of a real community.
Now that you know a little about the past, lets not reinvent the wheel, but cange its direction. Lets keep the dreams of BBS SysOps and BBS Users
alive by spending quality time on them. I encourage it.
--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A43 2019/03/02 (Linux/64)
* Origin: PHATstar Fishingnet (700:100/50)