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Birmingham Telecommunications News 031
BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
COPYRIGHT 1990
December 1990 Volume 3, Issue 11
Table Of Contents
-----------------
Article Title Author
Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Staff
Editorial: Evolution of a BBS.................Randy Hilliard
Windows Column: WinQVT 4.36....................Eric Hunt
Who Cares What You Think?......................Dale Carter
The Modem Politic..............................Scott Hollifield
ProFile: The Plastic Crab.....................Chris Mohney
? Why I Compute ?..............................Eric Hunt
Reflections Of A Colby Dude(r).................Colby Gibson
Special Interest Groups (SIGs).................Barry Bowden
Known BBS Numbers..............................Staff
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Disclaimer and Statement of Policy for BTN
We at BTN try our best to assure the accuracy of articles and
information in our publication. We assume no responsibility for
damage due to errors, omissions, etc. The liability,if any for BTN, its
editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or omissions,
etc., shall be limited to the cost of a one year subscription to BTN,
even if BTN, its editors or writers have been advised of the likelihood
of such damages occurring.
With the conclusion of that nasty business, we can get on with our
policy for publication and reproduction of BTN articles. We publish
monthly with a deadline of the fifteenth of the month prior to
publication. If you wish to submit an article, you may do so at any
time but bear in mind the deadline if you wish for your work to appear
in a particular issue. It is not our purpose to slander or otherwise
harm a person or reputation and we accept no responsibility for the
content of the articles prepared by our writers. Our writers own their
work and it is protected by copyright. We allow reprinting of articles
from BTN with only a few restrictions. The author may object to a
reprint, in which case he will specify in the content of his article.
Otherwise, please feel free to reproduce any article from BTN as long as
the source, BTN, is specified, and as long as the author's name and the
article's original title are retained. If you use one of our articles,
please forward a copy of your publication to:
Mark Maisel
Editor, BTN
221 Chestnut St.
BHM, AL 35210-3219
We thank you for taking the time to read our offering and we hope that
you like it. We also reserve the right to have a good time while doing
all of this and not get too serious about it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
N E W S F L A S H
We are planning another party. This one will be a bit more low key than
the others have been. It will be a casual get-together wherein we shall
engage in friendly social intercourse and celebrate this merry season.
In other words...
THIS IS NOT ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO GET STINKING DRUNK, TRY TO
FEEL MAGGIE'S BREASTS, AND/OR THROW UP ON MY ROSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I realize that many of you will be busy during the season and that is
fine by me. This party is for those of you who are available.
Dean: "Are you saying that this party is only for social misfits who
have nowhere else to go?"
Mark: "Shut up Dean. You are going to scare them away. They have
enough problems without you pointing them out."
Anyway, back to the invitation: the party will be:
Where: Mark Maisel's House a map will follow this
221 Chestnut Street invitation
205-956-0176
When: December 15th, 1990
6:00 p.m. until it ends
Rules: Don't bring anything that will get you or me arrested.
If you wish to imbibe legal substances, then BYOS*.
Use discretion and intelligence when parking. The police may
not be so nice next time. The front yard is not for parking.
We have gone to great expense to shape it into its present form.
The side yards in front of and behind the hedge are fair game
though.
*Bring Your Own Substances
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
M o n t c l a i r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÂÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
Bruno's³O³ Texaco : McDonalds³ ³ apartments³ ³ dead³ THERE WILL BE
Super ³p³ : ³ ³ & ³ ³ end ³ A SIGN IN FRONT
Market ³oÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ³ houses ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄ´ OF THE HOUSE SO
³rÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ ÀÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ YOU CAN FIND IT
³t³Express : office ³ ³ ³ ³ EASIER!!!
³o³Oil Change: bldgs ³ ³ ³ ³
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
M o n t e v a l l o - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *TO INTERSTATE*
ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ
³R³ ³R³ INSTRUCTIONS!!! ³A³ ³B³Wes-³C³ ³D³ ³E³
³o³ ³e³ ³l³ ³u³lyan³h³ ³a³ ³l³
³s³ ³d³ Look on Chestnut ³p³ ³s³Chu-³e³ ³l³ ³d³
³e³ ³w³ after Shades and ³i³ ³h³rch ³s³ ³y³ ³e³
³w³ ³o³ my home is 221, ³nÀÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÄÙtÀÄÄÄÄÙ ÀÄÄÄÙrÀÄÄÄÄ
³o³ ³o³ the 3rd house ³e n S h a d e s
³o³ ³d³ on the left. Call ³ ÚÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ¿u ÚÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄ¿ ÚÄÄÄÄ
³d³ ³ ³ 956-0176 if you ³ ³ ³ ³ ³t ³3rd³ ³ ³ ³
³ ³ ³ ³ need further ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³one³ ³ ³ ³
³ ³ ³ ³ direction. ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³
³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³ ³
**********************************************
*If you have any news, especially you sysops,*
*that you want to get out to the readership *
*of this august publication, let me know and *
*it will be placed in this space. MM *
**********************************************
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F R E E B I E : G E T I T W H I L E I T S H O T !
The following boards allow BTN to be downloaded freely, that is with no
charge to any existing upload/download ratios.
The Connection LZ Birmingham Alter-Ego
Channel 8250 Little Kingdom Joker's Castle
Crunchy Frog Myth Drannor Posys BBS
If you are a sysop and you allow BTN to be downloaded freely, please let
me know via EzNet so that I can post your board as a free BTN
distributor. Thanks.
MM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial: Evolution of a BBS
by Randy Hilliard
SysOp of Channel 8250
(Chuckle) Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the
water... I'm back.
At any rate, blame Maisel since he is the one that put me up to it.
Mark has a firm belief that he can contact me on short notice and that I
can provide 'a ream or so' of text that can be masqueraded as an article
in time of need. This time he wanted something about 1990 in review.
Thinking to skip out on this one I told him that all I could pull dates
on was my own system and to my dismay, he said 'Fine!' So here is a
short history of the evolution of Channel 8250 since I have had it and
the software & hardware changes that it has gone through. I expect this
to be about as exciting as reading Linear A and probably just as
popular.
I inherited Channel 8250 from Ed O'Neill in March of '89 as an
established BBS. The BBS originally ran on a 4.77 XT with a 20 MB hard
disk which was also borrowed from Ed. At this time it was a single node
system running at 2400 baud maximum.
Channel 8250 stayed essentially the same while I learned the in and
outs of running the system locally rather than from remote. In August
of '89 I heeded the call of the wild and purchased an HST Dual Standard
and installed it on the BBS. With the HST came new horizons in the form
of Jeff Freeman, who invited me to join Metrolink which was a nationwide
mail echo of a hundred or so BBSs. For the first time since David Alge
took down Pinson Vally BBS there was a PC Board in Birmingham hooked
into a national echo.
Local BBS users took to Metrolink very rapidly since this gave them
a new set of people to discuss (read argue) issues with. System
activity picked up considerably and in December I installed a Markmail
door to help ease congestion. Surprisingly, not many people took to the
MM door at first since it was new and different. I upgraded the
hardware to a 12 mhz XT with a 60 meg drive to help ease hardware
congestion brought on by Metrolink access. I also upgraded PC Board to
the 14.2/E3 version giving me the capability of having three nodes.
Three nodes indeed went up but only node 1 was hooked to a telephone;
nodes 2 and 3 were local nodes for my wife and I which eleminated our
consuming time that a user could utilize.
Usage continued to climb and in March of 90 my wife grudgingly
donated her node to the users and node 2 went public at 2400 baud but
was for message base usage only. The 60 meg drive got replaced with a
120 megger to help keep up with the need for more file space. In April
the Channel was the first Birmingham board to upgrade to the beta
version of PCB 14.5 / Prodoor 3.3. At the end of April I donated my HST
to node 2 so that both nodes were now running at 9600 baud.
Around July I added two Co-Sysops to help manage the system since
with the local and the national mail I could not cover all of the bases
by myself any longer.
In August I installed a 20 mhz 80386 as node 1 and fileserver and
replaced the 4.77 mhz XT on node 2 with the 12 mhz XT; comparitively
speaking, we were now cooking with gas on both nodes. A flakey hard
disk controller card gave me system lock-ups galore for several weeks.
Since I made the mistake of believing it was a network configuration
problem I nearly pulled all of my hair out before realizing my mistake.
Until I sat down and made my notes on what changes that had been
made I really had not realized how many changes there were. A lot of
stuff like minor doors , minor hardware problems, and Netmail problems
got left out of the article. Channel 8250 is still the same board that
it used to be; it is just a little faster, a little bigger, and has a
few more bells and whistles. Users are what make all of this possible
and after looking back on the last 20 months I don't believe that I
could honestly say that it hasn't been fun.
Thank you, Merry Christams, and have the best year that 1991 can
bring to you & yours.
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Windows Column: WinQVT 4.36
by Eric Hunt
WinQVT version 4.36 is a welcome change from other Windows
communications programs that are a constant nag or cripple ware, or are
simply too "busy" looking onscreen. WinQVT is a completely functional
shareware package, but without a user manual. Hey, it's Windows, it
doesn't NEED a user's manual! The shareware price is $50.
Promoted generally as a terminal emulator for DEC vVT-52, 100, and
200 terminals, WinQVT also earns acceptable marks in the area of BBSing.
In addition to its terminal emulation, it supports a fairly diverse
range of file transfer protocols: X, Y, and (most importantly) ZMODEM,
Kermit (for talking to those VAX'es) and interestingly -- Compuserve
Quick B. The addition of Compuserve's protocol indicates that WinQVT WAS
written for more than just business use. Support for COM ports 1-3 and
baud rates up to 9600 is also nice, although some of the HST dual
standard owners wouldn't like the "low" baud rate ceiling. ANSI support
is possible, although it is still quite buggy and no IBM graphics
characters are present, since it uses the VT font that the DEC terminals
have. The ANSI is especially annoying on WWIV systems, but is is quite
reasonable for PCBoard systems. The "bugs" seem to show up when there
are large amounts of color changes, and many times you will be left with
things like yellow on light blue or even blue on blue (unreadable!) and
then you are forced to reset the colors using dialog boxes.
I have been using the program for some time now, and the performance
from it has been quite acceptable. My main attraction is the totally
blank terminal screen, with only the menu and status bar across the top.
This screen is much more readable than the heavily cluttered screen that
Unicom presents, and causes less eyestrain. There are several problems
first of all that warrant me not sending in my $50, the first of which
is the incomplete ANSI. The next problem is WinQVT's treatment of line
noise. The program seems to have a death wish for line noise, for
whenever a quick, unexpected burst comes through, many times the machine
(or most likely, the program) freezes. The only way to recover control
is to reboot. Luckily, all is not lost, for (at least on my 386sx,) the
connection is not broken, and you can pick right back up where you left
off. This is the bug that needs to be addressed first in future
releases. Another bug (in my opinion at least) is the program's
inability to to do totally minimized background file transfers. For a
transfer not to abort, the transfer status screen MUST remain on the
desktop somewhere (it can be obscured by other programs.) For some
people, this would be nothing to really worry over, but it IS strange
neverth'less. Finally, specifying a download directory other than the
directory WinQVT resides in for ZMODEM transfers causes the file
transfer to abort.
Even though there are many negatives that can be found in the
program, there are also several positive aspects that deserve mention.
One of the advantages of Windows that I have come to use and enjoy is
cut and paste. WinQVT allows full cut and paste from the terminal screen
to the clipboard. What this means to the average Joe User is that he can
now quote messages much more easily on systems that have cryptic quoting
devices, and allows quoting on systems with no facilities for quoting
whatsoever! The only time when this does not work occurs when the board
you are calling clears the screen when you reply to a message.
Customization is another positive area. All options that are
customizable can be customized, down to assigning each F key a string to
be output whenever that key is pressed. Interestingly, WinQVT has no
central dialing directory, and this is a welcome change from the Windows
comm programs that seemed to only be carbon copies of their DOS
counterparts. Instead of a dialing directory, WinQVT loads a different
configuration file for each BBS that you call. This enables you to
create an icon attached to a WinQVT config file, thereby allowing you to
double click on that icon and have the comm program loaded and the board
dialed automatically. Each config file can hold up to ten numbers, which
is handy for multi-node systems not running a master roll over number.
WinQVT also allows you to choose from two different window sizes: Small
and Large. Large is what you would expect , and it has approximately 8-9
point type. On the other hand, Small is really SMALL! Small changes over
to 4-5 point type in a window that is a complete 80x25 screen but it is
only about 2 inches square on the screen. Such a small screen allows you
to monitor the progress of a comm session while working with other
things on the desktop. Lastly, one of the best features is also the
strangest. Normally, when a configuration file is loaded, the dialer
appears automatically with the BBS number all ready and waiting for you
to click the "dial" button. This new feature allows you to skip having
to press the "dial" button, for it causes the dialer to start dialing
the number as soon as the file is loaded. This is strange feature
because you have to exit WinQVT and load the config file into notepad
and MANUALLY insert the statement into the file that causes the
autodialing to happen. Why a dialog box or a radio button somewhere was
not developed for this is beyond my comprehension.
WinQVT, with its strong suit of transfer protocols and uncluttered
screen has the potential to become the Lotus 1-2-3 of Windows
communications programs. The presence of several major problems,
including the line noise lockups and the poor ANSI and IBM graphics
support, is the only thing keeping that revolution from coming. Get
WinQVT if you don't mind small to medium sized hassles and need a good
core comm program, but if you need clean, easy, hassle free
communications within Windows, wait a little longer.
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Who Cares What You Think!
By Dale Carter
A while back I was bellowing long and loud about the pathetic
quality of music critics in Birmingham. As I continued to push my luck,
I was challenged by a now ex-friend to put up or shut up. Thus was born
this column. It began as an album review column, but I realized that
there were numerous publications that would render my words redundant in
the extreme. Then a friend suggested that I review LIVE performances
much like Bob Carlton (my least favorite critic, BTW) did in the now
defunct "I Cover The War".
Before I begin my rant, I feel I should present some of my
background (credentials?). I have performed and recorded on a
professional level for the past seven years. I have worked as a sound
man for professional bands in jazz and rock. I am incredibly opinionated
and often biased. That said, if you don't like it then that is just too
bad! I will review my friends and when I have a personal connection,
good or bad, I will make it very clear. With that said, away we go.....
Eric Essix
Homegrown modern jazz that is as good as any to be found. Eric is a
superb guitarist and bandleader. Song writing (solo and co-writer),
performance, appearance, personality and all other aspects of
personality and talent are first rate. One of Eric's greatest talents
may be his ability to surround himself with other talented people. The
live performance band features Kelly O'Neal on saxophone. This guy is
one of my favorites with a real talent for blistering solos. Drummer
James Blair is a funky groove master from the word go. He has everything
a drummer needs (in my opinion). Bassist Sean Ray is a good friend and a
real funk dude in the vein of Verdine White (Earth Wind & Fire) and
Nathan East (Eric Clapton and every other artist you can think of).
Finally, Scott McDavid is a killer on keyboards. I first met him when he
was with Split The Dark and he has always been a class act with talent
to spare. Solos reminiscent of Chick Corea and groove chops to die for.
This band has a previously released CD on the and is available in
local record stores. They have just finished recording their second
release at Bates Brothers (Eugene and Eric Bates may be the best kept
secret in Birmingham recording, perfect attitudes and loads of talent)
and it should be released in the near future. The first album featured
such local talent as killer Mark Lanter (Bova Nova, formerly The Cast)
on drums and Elbert Phillips on keyboards. There were guests artists on
the new album, but I haven't got a complete list yet, so I would rather
not give an incomplete listing.
Can you tell I really like these guys? That is why I do my best to
make them sound as good as I can when I mix their live sound. I asked
for the job AFTER I heard how talented they were. It is easy to make
them sound good and it is a pleasure to work for such professional
people. If you like modern guitar/sax jazz, do what it takes to see them
perform.
The Vallejos
These three young brothers are among the most talented players I
have seen perform locally in several months. Hard and fast
rock/funk/thrash, as is currently brought into vogue by bands such as
the Red Hot Chili Peppers, that is loaded with energy.
Omar Vallejo handles the bass with a great degree of skill and
groovitude, but he really blew me away with his trumpet! That's right, a
trumpet! In a HARD ROCK band? Killed me. Alex Vallejo is the drummer and
is everything a drummer should be in this band. Loud, strong, steady
and wide grooves that make me feel good. I really appreciate an
obviously talented and chop-loaded player who knows the meaning of
taste (especially in this type of music) and restraint. He does the job
without the excess baggage carried by so many players. Which leads
me to A.J. The singer/guitarist is talented, but, in a town full of
blistering guitarists, it take more than just "good" to impress me as
much as his brothers. He does his job well though and a player with more
chops might get in the way of the other two players. All in all he
blends with them well and is an adequate vocalist.
The best thing about these guys is the amount of sound that the
three of them can produce. The worst is the arrogance with which they
conduct themselves. They are, however, young and I hope they mature
rather quickly. I appreciated the fact that they performed a rather
lengthy set of all original material (even if it did sound like Red Hot
Chili Peppers material) and stick to it in all their shows (to the best
of my knowledge). In my opinion, worth a trip to a local club .
These two groups represent extremes of the Birmingham music scene
and also illustrate the cutting edge in local entertainment. I am
interested in suggestions for local bands to review, preferably
those who perform a sizable amount of original material. Leave
comments at The Crunchy Frog. Next time a possible essay on how I
feel about New Kids On The Block and Poison. You may be surprised.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Modem Politic
by Scott Hollifield
I've been using local bulletin board systems for about six years
now. Actually, it's probably between five and six. I really can't
remember because I've spent too much time "upping" the number of years
in casual word-battles with people whom I don't want to admit have been
using them longer than I have. Accurately, five to six years is about
right. Over that period of time, I like to think that I've sort of
grabbed onto some kind of significant wavelength, a common central
social theme that would make a good masters thesis if I were to suddenly
start dropping acid. What I've come to realize, however, is that it's
not such a cut-and-dried topic to analyze.
If the last couple of sentences didn't lose you, let me rephrase:
there are a lot of fundamental misconceptions about the way the
so-called "BBS world" works, and the people that most strongly hold them
are the people who've used BBSs the longest and the most. I've suddenly
stopped liking that phrase: "BBS world". It's really a tacky rubric
that conjures images of a swirling techno-miasma of intrigue,
interesting people, and good intentions. The blatant and sorry sad
truth is that the BBS scene is not Society in microcosm. Apparently,
it's possible to get by *treating* it as such, inadvertently or not,
because that's what I did for years on end, and will probably keep doing
for the rest of my days. It's instinct; when you're an armchair
sociologist, like so many of us highbrow in-home debaters, you tend to
think of yourself as a being that gallantly wades into shallow waters
that represent a whole other culture, when the fact is that local BBS
"continuity" (the only term left dignified enough to describe it, I
feel) both mirrors our culture at its most sordid and contrasts it
bluntly enough to confuse most of the people most of the time.
The reflection isn't a point-for-point doppleganger; instead, it's
more of a funhouse mirror effect. One particularly ingrained myth is
that BBS systems act as "the great equalizer". "Everyone is the same,"
proponents of this theory will proclaim in a deep but pretentiously
humble timbre, "because no one can see what anyone else looks like!" I
think that I've known all along that this idea was pure crap. The
implication is that BBS's provide a model utopia, or close enough,
because everyone is treated equally without prejudice toward physical
appearance. The basic flaw in this idea is the assumption that physical
appearance is not only the primarily factor that motivates social
interaction in the "real world", but is the ONLY factor that does so.
I've learned, through both the easy way and the hard way, that MUCH more
important than this are a person's words, or more specifically the way
he says them.
A few months ago, I tried to get this idea across in a rather lazily
written article for BTN called "Conversational Telecomm- unicating", a
piece of near-fluff that sort of pretended to be instructive while
failing miserably at any possible potential aim, with the exception of
maybe a few good jokes and a humorous mention of Dean Costello. In this
article, I tried to sell my own writing skill via the Charles Atlas
route: look kids, I can make my messages funny, attention- getting AND
significant - and so can YOU! I can tell that this idea was headed in
the wrong direction through and through by merely noticing that the net
intellectual content of all the BBS messages in Birmingham hasn't
experienced any obviously sharp rise since the article was published.
So the lesson I learned from that is something I guess I should have
already been aware of: Social skill cannot be taught, it must be
learned. Being stuck on the passive end of this equation is something
that can make life in the BBS universe frustrating for someone who isn't
accustomed to making his or her every nuance and expression translate
cleanly into ASCII.
So there are varying levels of something that I will nominally call
"sociability". This, in turn, leads to rudimentary structures of castes
and cliques, a fact that is painfully aware to me because of my
membership in what some of its members regard as one of the higher BBS
cliques in town. Divvying up a group of people into an at least
partially arbitary hierarchy is bound to be disconcerting to a lot of
people, not the least of which is the divvyier. The peasants don't like
to think of themselves as peasants because it's harmful to the ego, and
the elite, unless they're chronically snobby, don't like to think of
themselves as elite because it's harmful to other less prevalent
sensibilities. The fact that these class divisions exist is usually all
one needs to justify the mistaken belief that BBS's are an accurate
re-depiction of society, usually by BBS elite who may not be considered
"elite" in the real world, especially where such divisions are murkier
and wisely, usually, left unpondered.
It's possible to break these rules by merely seeming ignorant that
any rules exist. Mark Maisel does this trick with astonishing ease. By
treating Dean Costello and Ricky Eanes with *precisely* the same amount
of respect, civility and sense of self, he causes the phosphor glare of
EGA/CGA/VGA caste divisions to fade away into the recesses of the
collective conscience just as if someone had pressed the power button.
It's a neat stunt and a swell ideal, though I have yet to see it
replicated on either a private or public scale.
The rest of us will probably have to be content with eating cake.
Every time Brett Thorn and Jay Enterkin have a political squabble on
EZNet, the underlying yield is a perceived social triumph, like baronets
being afforded the luxury of arguing over silver or electrum dinnerware.
It means that those on top don't *have* to worry about upload/download
ratios; they're not forced to walk through the ghettos of Commodore 64
pirate boards late at night, or meet yesterday's headline-grabbing
pre-pubescent hacker on equal footing. In that respect, BBS's aren't so
much a distortion so much as a re-allocation. In the world of 2400 baud
computer systems, you can have your own social class made to fit,
tailored to order, while you wait. It's only a clip-on, of course, and
you take it off when you get home. Or sometimes you don't, depending on
how many hours a day you spend immersed in the fake world before you
come out squinting into the real sun.
Can it really be so simple, though? From my perspective, it's
certainly easy to argue so. It's a little like the school of thought
which suggests that everyone consciously chooses to be intelligent or
not at some point in life. The intelligent ones can't say it isn't so,
but that's because they generally don't associate with the unintelligent
ones enough to increase their vantage point. In that respect, I'm sort
of a Horatio Alger for the BBS set. I started from only a Commodore
Vic-20, a 300 baud modem, a cassette drive and the shirt off my back,
and made an unusually *early* mark on BBS discussions. Once you start
relating thoughful ideas and opinions, you get noticed by some, but it's
not until you start relating them in a thoughtful WAY that you get
noticed by everyone. It's been long enough for me not to be able to
remember if I hit upon this method by trial-and-error or simply sheer
luck. I didn't have to have an IBM compatible, a hard drive, 2400 baud
or PKUNZIP to play with the big boys; now I have all of it and more, and
it clouds my view a little because I tend to think that the BBS
superscene has since become a little more disjointed and geared toward
the haves, away from the have-nots. Computers have advanced, sure, but
what has really significantly - and under everyone's noses - evolved is
the technology of thought. The process of rationalization among people
who talk to other people over computers has advanced so rapidly, that
it's beyond the capability of fiber optics and 19.2Kbps to keep up.
That's sort of the rationale behind this article, I guess. Every
time - and I mean EVERY time - I try to say something serious or
significant on the boards, or here in BTN, people like it; but it never
seems to work out for ME. I'm never able to verbalize more than 10% of
what I feel like I really should be saying. This is really due to the
limitations of hardware than to any unlimited wealth of information that
may exist in my own head. By spelling out some of my reservations
concerning the current system, it somewhat eases the burden of heavy
facts and factoids upon my oxcart.
This is relevant, I feel, because people call this the "information
age". Cyberpunk novels depict a future in which information is the next
street drug; I see it more becoming a necessary kitchen-cabinet grocery
list item for the average American, one that everyone needs but everyone
complains about needing, like gasoline. Computer BBS's allow us to
glimpse into the future of information exchange, but it's a mixed
blessing; we're having to lick droplets of the new technically superior
grade of gasoline that will one day cost $3.00 a gallon, but only
because the cars we drive won't be able to get along without it.
How does that fit into a local scale? Birmingham has a richly
diverse BBS community, but seen from the truly objective angle, it's
like looking at anthills whose main point of interest is that some are
different sizes and may harbor fire ants. We have the BBS equivalents
of Inverness, Avondale and Inglenook; but the only real benefit we get
from knowing about the different neighborhoods is the sense of
perspective that allows us to avoid the ones we don't want to visit.
I think I've decided that there is an element of "equalization" in
local BBSs. Whatever mysterious factor it is, allows me, a college
dropout who's barely 21, a stunning and sometimes frightening power over
the perceptions of other people who are hardwired into this strange and
sometimes banal world. Is it inborn? I have, at this time, more BBS
friends than friends who don't use BBS's. This hasn't always been so,
which suggests a rather scary variant on the law of diminishing returns.
The only concrete conclusion I can draw from this, from ANY of this, is
that, no, this isn't the real world. It's not anything like the real
world. It IS, however, a world in it's own right, with enough unreality
or semi-reality as one is willing to give it. The rules are simple
because you either get to make them up or ignore them. The object is
not to win; it's to figure out enough to make you want to stay, but not
so much that you suddenly have no choice. By being a malleable town, a
community whose borders can be arbitrarily moved about by the dwellers,
it's really the best of ALL worlds - and the worst.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ProFile
by Chris Mohney
The ProFile is a short, half-serious biographical sketch given to
various computer telecommunications personalities around Birmingham.
Victims are selected randomly from a group of names put into the
notorious Hat. Anyone who thinks himself brave or witty enough may
petition for admittance to the Hat by leaving E-Mail to me (Chris
Mohney, most boards around town) to that effect. Anyone who wishes to
suggest more questions or sneakily nominate someone without their
knowledge may take the same route....
(A special guest this month. Don't ask.)
---------
Pro File on THE PLASTIC CRAB
---------
Age: 4
Birthplace: Destin, Florida
Occupation: I sit on top of Chris Mohney's stereo and glare balefully
at anyone in the room
My hobbies include: Absorbing the heat from the stereo receiver,
reading James Michener novels
Years telecomputing: I don't really telecompute, but Chris channels me
occasionally and thus I get some vicarious thrills
Sysop, past/present/future of: Never been a sysop. Still, I think I
someday like to run an underground BBS to encourage the freedom of
my plastic crab brethren who are being melted down for use in the
construction of Atari ST's, like the one owned by Dean Costello
My oddest habit is: Shouting obscenities at visitors, who then think
Chris said it
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is: To get that Jay Enterkin alone for
just a few minutes. I bet he's
never had a synthetic crustacean.
The single accomplishment of which I am most proud is: Saving the kid
from the evil spirit of Charles Lee Ray in Child's Play 2. Just be
glad the bad guy didn't possess ME.
My favorite performers are: Cher (another crab with a lot of plastic)
and Jet Thomas. It is much easier to understand Jet if you think
from the perspective of a plastic crab such as myself.
The last good movie I saw was: Crybaby. That Johnny Depp! Reminds me
of Jay Enterkin.
The last good books I read were: "Love in the Time of the Cholera" by
Gabreil Garcia-Marquez and "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. Also
"Wet Sexy Nurse" by anonymous.
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part played
by: the Rasta Farian crab in "The Little Mermaid."
My pet peeves are: Lynyrd Skynyrd songs (they smell bad) and the fact I
can't regenerate this leg I lost when Chris stepped
on me a while back.
When nobody's looking, I like to: That's the basic problem. People are
NEVER looking at me, so it doesn't matter one tinker's damn what I
do or say. So the next time you're in a seafood restaurant where
they have that netting strung up on the wall with all the plastic
sea creatures stuck in it, take a minute and give the plastic crabs
and affectionate stroke, just to show that you care. We'll enjoy
it, and it doesn't cost you anything but a few strange looks from
the employees, and considering the appearance most of you bozos
present you're probably used to that anyway.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why I Compute"
by Eric Hunt
Why do any of us compute? I suppose we all asked ourselves this
question when we first bought or obtained a computer. I was attracted to
the idea of computing because it was a new technology that had exciting
possibilities. Now there are many reasons why I continue to compute, the
first of which is the enjoyment I get from it. Everyone needs a hobby to
spend their free time on, and mine is computing. Just as model
railroaders or baseball card collectors strive to improve and enhance
their train set ollection, I strive to make my computer system the best
I can make it, be it through the addition of software (usually via BBS)
and/or hardware.
What else does one compute for? Escaping reality comes to mind.
After a hard day's work, Leisure Suit Larry or Welltris can be mighty
helpful in dealing with a rabid boss and hateful coworkers. For those
with a modem, calling up your favorite board just might be the perfect
release: a land where you're known as the "Grand Inquisitor" and can
play TradeWars or Dragon's Hoard forever. I come home from school and
work and turn the computer on and dial the modem so that I can be
immersed in a world that ve control over, one where I call the shots,
determine what gets done and when, and can relax. BBSing is the perfect
release for me after a long day of being a subordinate. Computing can
let you be whoever you want with no one else knowing.
"Gosh, I gotta get this paper done tonight, and the computer room is
closed!" Time is money, and for students, time is a grade. Computing
allows you to not only escape and waste time, but it allows you to save
time when a project or deadline is coming. I routinely save tons of time
by typing all my papers at home and simply taking them to school to be
printed on the laser there, than hoping I can get it typed, edited and
printed all at school. I also save traveling time (for I am a commuter
student) ng all my programming at home, via a modem linkup, to the mini
that we are required to do programming on. Computers, if properly
understood and utilized, can be wonderful time savers.
Finally, one who has already been computing for a period of time can
continue to use computing as a way to help others who are having grave
difficulties answering that initial question: "Why [will] I compute?" I
enjoy helping others to move away from that archaic typewriter or
rolodex and move into a more advanced world. DOS, the operating system
everyone loves to hate, has been one of the largest areas in which I
help people with. Many new computer users have the capability to learn,
understand, an e proficient at DOS, but they are simply afraid of what
might happen if the wrong command is executed or a strange
key-combination is pressed. Assisting others with DOS, the latest new
program, or anything computer related, is one of the biggest reasons
"why I compute."
Computing is the fresh breeze at the end of the day, the warm bath
after coming in from the cold. It allows you to release yourself and
forget about the worries of the day. Control is regained over a
sometimes controlled OR uncontrollable life. With it, you can improve
your mind, or even earn more money while having fun in the process.
Lengthy projects are reduced to manageable size, and efficiency is
increased. "Why do I compute?" I enjoy it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflections Of A Colby Dude(r)
by Colby Gibson
Sometimes, when I get to thinking about it, telecomputing has come
quite a long way in the past few years. The new technological
innovations, the faster modems, and 80386-80486 machines have made this
fast-paced world very amazing indeed.
But, as many of you have seen, I do stray around the boards a bit,
leaving messages here and there, especially in the EZNET forum. I also
run a Battletech RPG in conference 29 of The MATRIX. But, I was provoked
to remember about the old days by a friend in my class who was indeed
very excited about getting his first system.
If I can remember right, it was about the middle of December, 1985
when I first got the indication of owning a system. My mother had
brought home a portable PC one time which had gotten me hooked on these
nice little coomputers. But, to the first time computer user, here is
what it seemed like to me.
A few days after I got my system, which was an XT with CGA, I had a
1200 baud modem installed. It wasn't working quite right, and after
finding out from a more knowledgeable user that the com port was set
incorrectly, my introduction into the BBS world began.
To me, the BBS's seemed like a world where these immense people sat
around and plotted the doom of the world, and I was just this tiny
person that could be destroyed at any moment. Well, the first board my
system ever connected to was the Birmingham BBS, run by the now infamous
Rocky Rawlins. I thought it to be pretty cool at first, with all the
message bases and files. Then, I logged on to other boards and such, and
quickly learned what upload/download ratios were.
I made several friends, some of which didn't stay friends for very
long, and yes, you know who you are. I began calling these boards that
you see one day and don't see the next. I heard about all of these
extraordinary people that knew more about computers than God did at the
time. Omega Ohm was the one of the main people in mind. But, my
knowledge of these things grew and grew, and I began to think of myself
on a different plane of existence in the BBS world, that I was one of
the continuum. That's when my floppy drive began eating my disks.
I heard about all of these wonderful systems that ran faster than
mainframes and these games that were so incredible. Well, by today's
standards they wouldn't cut hot butter.
It brings me to where I am now. I moved from and XT to a 80386, and
I upgraded to VGA. And today, it seems that 286's and 386's are needed
even more to run those complex programs. Hopefully they will become
standard.
Hopefully what I have just said will give the user that has just
started out some insight on how other more experienced users came about.
I wonder about that lost time, long ago... When miracle upgrades seemed
right around the corner.....But were so far away....
Dude(r) a registered trademark owned by Colby Gibson
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
BEPCUG CCS
Birmingham East PC Users Group Commodore Club South
Jefferson Sate Jr. College Springville Road Library
Ruby Carson Hall, Rm 114 2nd & 4th Tuesday (C64/C128)
3rd Friday, 7-9 PM 3rd Monday (Amiga)
Paula Ballard 251-6058 (after 5PM) 7:30-10 PM
Maurice Lovelady 684-6843
BCCC BIPUG
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club Birmingham IBM-PC Users Group
POB 59564 UAB Nutrition Science Blg
Birmingham, Al 35259 RM 535/541
UAB School of Education, Rm 153 1st Sunday (delayed one week
2nd and 4th Sundays, 2 PM if meeting is a holiday)
Rusty Hargett 854-5172 Marty Schulman 967-5883
BACE FAOUG
Birmingham Atari Computer First Alabama Osborne Users
Enthusiast Group
Vestavia Library, downstairs Homewood Library
2nd Monday, 7 PM 1st Saturday, 1PM
Benny Brown 822-5059 Ed Purquez 669-5200
CADUB
CAD Users of Birmingham
Homewood Library
3rd Tuesday, 6:30PM-8:30PM
Bobby Benson 791-0426
If you belong to or know of a user group that is not listed,
please let us know by sending E-Mail to Barry Bowden on
The Matrix BBS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES MODEM BBS SOFTWARE
SUPPORTED TYPE
* Alter-Ego BBS 925-0707 300-2400 ProBBS/ProDoor
* American BBS 674-1851 300-2400 PC Board 14.5
* Byte Me! 979-BYTE! 9600 HST/V.42 WWIV 4.12
Camelot BBS 856-0679 300-2400 Teleguard 2.5
-* Channel 8250 Node 1 744-8546 300-9600 HST/V.42 PC Board 14.5
-* Channel 8250 Node 2 744-5166 300-9600 HST PC Board 14.5
* Crunchy Frog 956-1755 300-9600 HST/V.42 PC Board 14.0
D3 Systems BBS 663-2759 300-9600 HST/V.32 Quick BBS 2.04
Draco's Tavern 664-5589 300-2400 MNP4 PC Board 14.2
+ Duck Pond BBS 822-0956 300-9600 HST/V.32 Opus-CBCS 1.03c
EzNet Central 785-7417 1200-9600 HST PC Board 14.2
Graphics Zone Node 1 870-5306 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
Graphics Zone Node 2 870-5329 300-9600 MNP4 TBBS 2.1(16)
+ I.S.A. BBS 995-6590 300-9600 HST TCOMM
* Joker's Castle 744-6120 300-2400 PC Board 14.0
K-9 Corner 424-8202 300-2400 Image 1.2
*& Little Kingdom Node 1 969-0007 300-9600 HST/V.42 PC Board 14.5
*& Little Kingdom Node 2 969-0008 300-2400 MNP4 PC Board 14.5
LZ Birmingham 870-7770 300-2400 PC Board 14.5
* Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300-9600 HST PC Board 14.2
@ Missing Link 853-1257 300-2400 Image 1.2
^ Myth Drannor 699-5811 1200-2400 MNP4 WWIV 4.11
Outside It's America 951-2473 300-2400 MNP4 WWIV 4.11
Owl's Nest 680-0851 300-2400 PC Board 14.2
@ Pirate's Cove 942-7429 300-1200 Image 1.2
Posys BBS 854-5131 1200-2400 RBBS CPC17.3
* Radio Free Troad 979-6183 300-9600 HST/V.42 PC Board 14.2
Safe Harbor 665-4355 300-2400 GT Power 15.00
Shadetree BBS 787-6723 300-2400 Phoenix 1.36
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300-9600 Hayes PC Board 14.5
* ST BBS 836-9311 300-2400 PC Board 14.2
@ The Commodore Zone 856-3783 300-2400 Image 1.2
The Connection Node 1 854-9074 1200-2400 PC Board 14.1
The Connection Node 2 854-2308 1200-2400 PC Board 14.1
The Dog House 425-9255 300-1200 Image 1.2
The Dragon's Hoard 833-3790 300-2400 WWIV 4.12
The Hanging Tree 938-2145 300-2400 WWIV 4.11
- The Matrix Nodes 1-4 323-2016 300-2400 PC Board 14.5
- The Matrix Node 5 251-2344 300-9600 HST PC Board 14.5
The Outer Limits 985-1725 1200-2400 Teleguard 2.5i
VCM(ee) BBS Node 1 655-4059 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
VCM(ee) BBS Node 2 655-4065 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
Vampire's Crypt 833-8494 300-2400 MNP4 WWIV 4.12
Victory Express 425-0821 300-1200 Image 1.2
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300-2400 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 3 979-7743 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
Willie's DYM Node 4 979-8156 300-1200 Oracomm Plus
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300-1200 Unaxess
Boards with a "*" before their name are members of our local network,
EzNet, and public messages left in the EzNet Conferences of any of these
boards will be echoed to all members.
Boards with a "@" before their name are members of our local Commodore
network, Image Network, and e-mail left on any member board may be
directed to any other member board.
Boards with a "+" before their name are members of FidoNet, an
international network that provides a variety of public forums as well
as private mail services all over the world.
Boards with a "-" before their name are members of MetroNet, an
international network that provides a variety of public forums as well
as private mail services all over the world.
Boards with a "^" before their name are members of WWIV-Net, an
international network that provides a variety of public forums as well
as private mail services all over the world.
Boards with a "&" before their name are members of Intellec, an
international network that provides a variety of public forums as well
as private mail services all over the world.
If you have any corrections, additions, deletions, etc., please let us
know via EzNet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EzNet Multiple Echo List
EzNet now supports multiple conference echoing but there are a few
things you should be aware of regarding private mail.
A. You have one 'address' for private mail. If you are registered for
private mail on Channel 8250 and someone sends you a private
message in the MS-DOS conference from Crunchy Frog it will wind
up in the Hardware conference on Channel 8250 as it should.
However, if you were registered for private mail on Magnolia and
someone sends you a private message in a conference that Magnolia
does not support (echo) then the message will wind up in the
twilight zone.
B. If you go by a handle on one BBS and your real name on another even
if the private message goes where it is supposed to, you will not
be able to read it because it is addressed to someone else as far
as PC Board is concerned. PC Board has no way of knowing that Red
Foxx and John Doe are the same person. No tickee, no washee.
Advice on sending private mail: If you don't know if the person you
are sending private mail to is registered for private mail then keep a
copy of the message in case you have to find an alternate route. EzNet
Central will delete your private, undelivered message and inform you
that the user you attempted to reach is not registered for private mail
on any EzNet Node.
This is a list of the current echoes that we are aware of. More
are in the making and will be posted in future issues. If you are a
sysop and are running an echo not listed for your board, please make us
aware of it so we may correct it next issue.
Eznet Program IBM Adult Scitech BTNWA
Alter-Ego ........... * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
American BBS ........ * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
Byte Me! ............ * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... ..... ..
Channel 8250 ........ * ..... * ..... * ..... ..... * ..... * ..
Crunchy Frog ........ * ..... ..... * ..... * ..... ..... * ..
Joker's Castle ...... * ..... ..... * ..... ..... ..... ..
Little Kingdom ...... * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... * ..... ..
Magnolia BBS ........ * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
Radio Free Troad .... * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
ST BBS .............. * ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..
