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Birmingham Telecommunications News 007
BTN: Birmingham Telecommunications News
COPYRIGHT 1988
November 1988 Volume 1, Issue 7
Table Of Contents
-----------------
Article Title Author
Policy Statement and Disclaimer................Mark Maisel
Editorial Column...............................Mark Maisel
PKWARE: Don't BBS Without It..................Tim Straughn
The Birmingham BBS Survey: An Update..........Tyros
Friend Of Mice.................................Fred Spice
Message Board..................................Barry Bowden
Whatever Happened To...........................Christian Minton
Profile: Osman Guner..........................Chris Mohney
Known BBS Numbers..............................Mark Maisel
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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, ommisions, etc. The liability,if any for BTN, its
editors and writers, for damages relating to any errors or ommisions,
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.
Othewise, 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.
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Editorial
by Mark Maisel
This issue is short and sweet. Our Known BBS List is also sweet but it
is anything but short. I would not be surprised if there are states
with fewer BBS' than we have here in Birmingham. Most of these systems
have a track record now and are not here today, gone tomorrow
operations. I find it most impressive that we are able to maintain so
many and still keep them busy and, for the most part, interesting.
Please take some time and check out a few of the boards on our list.
The sysops appreciate the traffic and you will most likely find
something that you will appreciate. You need to remember that when you
are on someone's system, you are a guest and you should act accordingly.
We have a varied selection of emotions to choose from this month in our
articles. Tim Straughn has taken issue with the outcome of the first
major law suit between shareware producers. This issue has become very
hot, particularly among our nations and communitys sysops. Please read
what Tim has to say and if you feel inclined, download and read the
indictments posted on most boards in town and make up your mind. If you
should disagree with Tim, then tell us how you feel with a rebuttal.
Serious replies will be published here in subsequent issues. Fred
Spice, a friend of sysop, Chrisian Minton, took the time to organize his
disagreements with Bob Talley, who is offended by mice and object
oriented user interfaces. His rebuttal is amusing and informative.
Speaking of emotion, check out our Profile victim this month. Every
gamer in town would like to know more about Osman Guner. Christian
Minton expresses his views on a new trend appearing on our local systems
and invites your response so you know what to do; read and reply!
We have a new feature beginning this month called Message Board. It is
compiled and produced by Barry Bowden. I will not say anymore about
Barry as he will be a victim of Profile one day soon. If you have any
items that you feel are appropriate for Message Board, please leave
messages to Barry on America Online or The Bus System.
In closing, I would re-emphasize that this issue is small but packed
with some of the most fascinating reading we have ever offered. We have
some big plans in the making for upcoming issues and you can be a part
of it. Merely leave me a message on any board on the list and I will
offer some details.
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PKWARE: Don't BBS Without It!
by Tim Straughn
I know little of the actual litigation brought on Phil Katz by SEA
concerning his use of the word ARC in the naming of his infamous PKARC
shareware, but I do know that I disagree totally with SEA's litigation
against Phil Katz for using the word ARC saying that this constitutes
"piracy" of their work. This is pure unadulterated BULL!!!.
Phil Katz, in my opinion, has taken the Compression concept to new
realms for those of us who have to archive everything because of the
masses of information we store on Bulletin Board services. When it
comes right down to it, I have sampled SEA's version of compression, and
it was just about as user friendly as a Mack Truck. The complicated
commands needed for SEA's archiving utility, not to mention the somewhat
less than optimal storage methods used, made it a real pain in the
posterior to get along with. Then I discovered PKARC ver. 3.4 on Genie.
I said to myself "Self, download that and give it a try". I grabbed up
a couple of more or less useless files and used both programs on them,
and lo and behold, PKWare saved me nearly 25% more disk space than SEA's
program did. I was a little paranoid at first, because of some of the
terms that popped up on my screen while the program was at work, such as
Scrunching, Squeezing, etc., etc. When I found out that they worked
just as well as the other, and were indeed where the space saving was
coming from, I decided to go ahead and start using the software. So, I
filled out the registration forms and started to mail them in. The next
day, I saw version 3.5, so I said, HOLD IT!. I was a little leery of
something that had already undergone a major revision so quickly, so I
got the new version and tried it. No problems here, and this was some
good stuff!. So, I filled out the registration form again. Then comes
version 3.6. Along with version 3.6, some kind of wild rumor that 3.6
was a hacked version with a built-in Trojan to wreck my hard disk, so I
said HOLD IT again. Then, I found on Genie a letter from the man
himself, Phil Katz, that if the version was downloaded from Genie that
it was safe from the phantom virus, and that PKWare also had checks and
safety's in it to prevent such a fiasco. So, I got version 3.6 and
filled out the registration form again. Now, I was a little confused,
that something that worked so good had to keep undergoing revision, so I
started following the histories a little closer, as close as my credit
card would let me anyway, and learned that every major revision of the
package was indeed a major revision with changes in the command set to
make it more and more user friendly. Now that I am ready to register
the package, I find that the bunch of imbeciles at SEA are suing Phil
Katz for copyright infringement. Should I register the package and give
my money to a bunch of immature jerks like that?
Nothing I have seen from SEA has impressed me since I got hold of
PKWare. I have seen SEA-Link, and SEA-this and SEA-that, and everything
I have seen is slower than molasses in January. Rather than recruit Phil
Katz for help in improving their product, they just decided to steal his
by saying he stole their name! I'm no legal expert, but I can read, and
know that the word ARC is in the dictionary, and should be free to
anybody to use in whatever manner they choose. The word as described in
the dictionary has nothing to do with computers even, as it actually
describes a portion of a circle.
I think SEA's move on Phil Katz represents pure professional jealousy,
and fear of their own inadequacies as programmers, and they realized it
in lost profits while PKWare suddenly cornered the market. It is very
typical of what happens when a new car line comes out, and Ford, GM, and
Chrysler all team up to keep the new product off the market. If SEA
wasn't so childish about the loss of profits, they would have started
improving their own product in the areas of speed, user friendliness,
and exposure.
If PKWare is indeed outlawed, then I will probably move to the ZOO
compression methods just to keep from using anything with SEA's name on
it. I would like to see all the local sysops and BBS users unite on
this issue, and let's show SEA the real rules of the game. I always
hated the Bully on the Block, and what SEA did to Phil Katz constitutes
bullying. Basically, the way I see it, is that they decided that if
they couldn't make money, then they'd just take all the money that Phil
Katz made. Why didn't they stand up for the copyright infringement
before Phil Katz made such a great product? Simple. They didn't have
nearly enough to gain yet. Let's let him make a super product and then
rape him.
Like I said in a message on one of the local systems, my board is off
limits to SEA's products and anything archived by them. If I could do
anything about it, I'd have it reject any and all calls from any system
that was using a communications package that even mentions SEAware. I
am outraged by SEA's actions, and suggest we boycott SEAware in
Birmingham, and other cities if we can get some sort of user
cooperation. I am going to register my copy of PKware, and also offer
what I can to help fight the ruling made against Phil Katz. I am not a
wealthy person, but when I get something I like, I stick by it to the
end. If this means shutting down my BBS because of nothing being
available for archiving the files, then so be it. Of course, I always
have the option of going to a message base only system.
I am going to open a new conference on my system for input on the
matter, and will convert it to a text file for mailing to SEA. Come on
in and voice your opinion on the topic, and let us hear from your side
of the fence. I am surprised that Hayes hasn't pulled the same kind of
bull on DataStorm for using the word COMM in their Procomm packages, or
the lumber industry on Clarke Development for using the word Board.
This, in my opinion, is an infringement on Phil Katz's rights to free
enterprise and pursuit of happiness (I'd be happy if I was making gobs
of money too) by SEA, and feel that we the consumers can stop such
unprofessional attacks on one of the best programmers I have ever had
honor to benefit from. I hope Phil Katz loads his source code with
bugs, Trojans, and virii before relinquishing it to SEA.
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========================================================================
THE BIRMINGHAM BBS SURVEY : AN UPDATE
========================================================================
OR, HOW TO BEAT A DEAD HORSE WHEN YOU KNOW
IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO GET UP THE NEXT MORNING...
by ---> TYROS <---
<NOTE: In keeping with that all-important sense of continutity, the
author of this article chooses to file it under a pseudonym, that being
the same one under which the "Birmingham Breezin' BBS Awards Survey"
results article was filed (see BTN #1). This is not imply that the
author is in any way attempting to conceal, deceive, or hide, as was
insinuated by certain persons over the course of the past year. Nyaah
nyaah.>
As Mark is wont to say, "Now that we've got THAT unpleasant business
over with..."
The purpose of this article is to update everyone on what's been going
on in regards to the highly-publicized BBS "survey" which was held
earlier last year. The survey went through a great deal of controversy,
and so, before we begin the NEXT one, it seemed like a good idea to let
the masses know what was , as they say, up.
Because of my heavy involvement in the survey project, yours truly has
been chosen to write this - so let's hurry it up, ok, 'cause I've got a
pizza in the oven.
--- Survey Genesis ---
When the winter of 1987 began to approach, the local BBS population
was, as they are year-round, listless. Nothing big was going on; in
fact, the last major event *I* can remember hitting the BBS world was
(ahem) TradeWars. So, moody and restless like everyone else, I
unwittingly set my mind on a mission of boredom-relieving, not knowing
that the results would have such a huge effect on the B'ham BBS
population.
To rejuvinate what was largely becoming a dead area, I urged everyone
to set up a sort of "awards"/vote thing on Channel 8250's Breezin'
conference. Ed O'Neill had recently opened up the conference to
non-Breezers, and so it seemed as if something should happen.
Despite my urgings, no one seemed to want to start anything. For a few
days, I gave it up, but then decided to do it on my own, and tried to
get everyone to send in their votes on certain categories through
private message to me. This got absolutely no results, but by listing
off a bunch of categories, I got everyone discussing the various aspects
of how it should be done if it was gonna be done right. Finally, this
past January, Ed came to me and said, okay let's do this the right way,
and he asked me to send him a list of questions for the questionnaire he
planned on putting up. So I did, and he did. That was on January 30.
On January 31, I tested it. It worked. On February 1, we opened it up.
At 1:56 AM, Omega Ohm was the first to log his votes in. Throughout the
next month or so (6 weeks tops), dozens and dozens of people filled out
the questionaire. Every day, I would dutifully get the results of the
latest users' votes, and scribble them in a battered yellow spiral
notebook. At first, I was saving the filled-out questionnaires on
printout, but soon, I literally ran out of room for them.
To sum up, the Survey was a complete success. Many people that I had
never heard of were voting, oftentimes FOR people I'd never heard of.
This revealed to me how little I knew about the whole of the local
telecommunications scene. It was fascinating watching those votes roll
in, sometimes one a day, some- times nearly a dozen. Sometimes none. It
was similar to the thrill of getting mail - outside response to a set of
circumstances which we at 8250 had put into motion - the epitomy of what
telecommunications was all about, at least for me.
Then we published the results.
--- PostSurvey: The Flak ---
After response to the questionnaire on Ed's board had finally petered
into nothing, I compiled the results into an ASCII file called
SURVEY.TXT, and had it uploaded to 8250. As I knew would happen, some of
the people who were voted (or whose boards were voted) into some of the
negative categories weren't too happy. My attitude was this: The Users
Have Voted, Fair And Square. About that time, a huge discussion bloomed
on Channel 8250, concering the validity of the Survey. Foremost among
the plaintiffs was Mr. Bill Freeman, sysop of The Connection,
self-proclaimed Premiere Board of Alabama. Not too surprisingly, Bill
was a little miffed at having been slighted by the voters, especially
via the #1 slot in "Most Inept Sysop". However, rather than take it on
the chin like most others, Mr. Freeman tried to attack the survey in
general, and its architects specifically. Now at first, Bill kept his
complaints to his own board, and I was unable to respond. This was
because as a matter of policy, The Connection did not allow 300-baud
users to be members, and as a matter of principle, I remained (and still
remain) a 300er by choice, which some users apparently equate to using
flint and stone to make fire. Finally, with the help of Mark
Kieskowski, I was able to put a text response on The Connection
indirectly. Anyhow, to make what could be a really long story a little
shorter, Bill came over to 8250 and stirred the discussion up a bit. He
even called me up one evening to cordially explain why we were all
running a corrupted and invalid operation.
Most of the complaints lodged at the survey dealt with the format of the
questionnaire - by that I mean, not everyone liked the idea of just one
BBS's users answering a survey such as this one. It was a good point,
and one that needed addressing. To me, the obvious answer was to plant
a survey on EVERY board in town that we could - and hope for a more even
result. That was just one of many proposed solutions, though. It
seemed as though EVERYone had a different idea, and what's more, they
all had at least one pesky flaw.
Then suddenly I had somewhat of an epiphany, and what's more, several
others had arrived at the same conclusions. Most everyone, including
me, had taken the survey a little too seriously. Indeed, many treated
it as if it were like a real election, or some sort of other OFFICIAL
thing. It wasn't. It was just a fun little idea. I recalled Ocaam's
Razor: Simply stated, when presented with a choice of options, the
simplest is the best. And in this case, it was clear what our simplest
option was in regards to the next survey:
Do it exactly the way it was done to begin with.
--- Since Then ---
I've given it a little more thought. It seems that fundamentally,
where we went wrong was the title, which was my own: "The Birmingham
(Breezin') BBS Survey".
Two problems there right off: First, the word "Birmingham" gave it an
air of officiality that I wasn't prepared to legitimize. If we're just
going to limit it to Channel 8250, lets replace "Birmingham" with
"Channel 8250". Second, the word "survey", it was pointed out to me on
several occassions, was not statistically accurate for one reason or
another. Most assured me that what I had conducted was not a survey in
the strictest sense, but rather a POLL, a sort of dirty straw poll at
that. Since no one made any objections at the time the survey was being
drawn up, I sighed, shrugged my shoulders and resolved that we had
indeed created a poll.
That's been several months ago. During those months, many things have
been occupying my time, and - guess what! - none of them were the
survey! (Er- poll.) Mark (Maisel, that is) has graciously extended
invitations to me for his friendly parties/planning sessions, but either
work or school has prevented me from making my presence. My schedule IS
a little looser now, and partially because of that, partially because of
a reminder that Mark sent me recently, I decided to try to do a little
update to let everyone know what was going on. Hence this file.
--- As Things Stand Now ---
The idea of a second survey has been long time coming; in fact, all of
the post-survey flak was concerned about how to MAKE the next one. Like
I sort of hinted at above, we (and I use the pronoun loosely) plan on
doing the next one pretty much the way the first one was done. To those
who may complain at this point, let me say this: What You See Is What
You Get. The working title will be "The Channel 8250 BBS Poll", and we
will present it as exactly that. Simply put, users from Channel 8250
will vote on a variety of questions based on the ones from the first
survey; the results will be compiled (probably by me - hopefully, I
should say) and presented to you, the beloved masses, in the form of an
ASCII file to follow in the footsteps of the surprisingly successful
first one. I say NOW! There will likely be a BIG margin of error in the
poll! In addition to which I say: Big Deal. The solution lies in not
taking it too seriously. Just take it for what it is and have fun.
Goodness knows that's what I plan to do.
I can't say when the new poll will be ready - that depends in a big way
on how soon and how fast I (and others) plan on getting to work.
Hopefully, there will be a sizable amount of discussion as to the actual
QUESTIONS on the poll - and guess what troopers, that includes
discussion from ANYONE who wants to offer suggestions. Just contact
myself or Mark Maisel on Channel 8250 if you want to help.
--- Thank Yous ---
First, before I forget, another belated thanks to David Alge, sysop of
the Pinson Valley (formerly Apple Valley) BBS. As most know, David
graciously allowed our humble questionnaire onto his boar, and that
accounted for much of our voting. I did not directly log on to his
board, so many times David's invlovement slips my mind. Again, thanks
to David for his work.
Also, I can't write this file without thanking Ed O'Neill,
Long-Suffering Sysop of Channel 8250.
Thanks to Bill Freeman for giving us the impetus to sit down, and really
think about what we're doing (then to discover that we were right to
begin with).
Thanks to the BTN crew, headed by Mark Maisel, for their encouragment,
involvement, and assistance.
Finally, thanks to everyone who reacted to what we were (and are) doing,
especially those who reacted positively. We're going to need help and
encouragement from everyone if this poll is going to be a regular thing.
--- Yeesh! I'm Through Already? ---
Well, I guess that's about it. I just kinda threw this file together at
Mark's request and I hope it fulfills the purpose it was intended. See
you next time around.
-------TYROS-------
Halloween Eve
1988
==============================================================================
Date: 10-31-88 (10:57) Number: 2083
To: ALL Refer#: NONE
From: TY ROS Read: (N/A)
Subj: SURVEY UPDATE Status: PUBLIC MESSAGE
I am now ready to upload an ASCII file which many have been waiting for
- a lengthy treatise of sorts on what's going on with the next survey.
The reason I haven't uploaded it yet is because I intend to add this
message to the end of it as a rider. Anyhow, I just finished re-reading
much of the survey discussion that was going on during April and May,
and felt I should post this: For those reading my new text file - The
opinions expressed within are my OWN and are not neceessarily endorsed
by Ed O'Neill, Mark Maisel, anyone affiliated with BTN, or indeed anyone
at all. My ideas on the next survey in this file are MY ideas and may
or may not end up becoming reality. I didn't mean to mislead people
into thinking that This Is How It's Going To Be. On the contrary! I
entreat all of you to keep piling in suggestions! Yes, we have picked
up on this and yes there WILL be further discussion! The case is not
closed! Thank you!
Tyros
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Friend Of Mice
by Fred Spice
One of my friends, Fred Spice, read the Sixth Edition of BTN and was
appalled by Bob Talley's/Jay Enterkin's article on mice. Here's his
reply:
I must say, Jay, that I was rather amused by your article in BTN6 that
concerned mice. Let there be no mistake about it: my amusement stems
from two sources. One, that the article is rather funny in its attempt
to degrade the use of mice and Second, the blindness of its author, Bob
Talley, left no room for anything other than joviality.
Let's admit it: it's rather obvious that Bob has never used a mouse with
hardware that was made to work explicitly with it. His futile attempt
to deride the Macintosh is undermined by several things:
1. He probably used the Mac for about two minutes. Confused by the
unfamiliar method of pointing and clicking, he gave numerous excuses and
vented his frustration and embarrassment in insulting the method;
2. He was biased from long use of that ancient dinosaur, the IBM PC;
3. He didn't have the faintest idea of what the Mac can do, because he
never SEEN what it can do. Bob also questions us, "What's the matter
with WORDS?" My answer to his question is this: what kind of words are
"CNTRL- TAB-FNCTN1-A," which is the command to print a page of text? Why
do things have to be complicated? Why not just select the word "Print,"
which is right there under your nose at all times in PLAIN ENGLISH, not
is some backward crypto-Neanderthal dialect which is translated into
computerese? Bob claims that the Mac is going to make people "computer
literate but English illiterate." It's actually quite the opposite.
Since when have IBM command been in PLAIN ENGLISH? Mac menus and titles
for programs are always in PLAIN ENGLISH.
My friend Bob also scoffs at the "childish and inane" icons. My friend
Bob is childish and inane. Icons allow the user to be of all ages, from
four to one hundred six, to use the computer. The user of the Mac is
presented with all of his options simultaneously in a form all of use
understand: pictures. When one starts up the Mac, one is not presented
with the cold and reptilian "A>" prompt. One is presented with pictures
which illustrate the use of the program and what it does. Apache Strike
(an awesome 3-D talking helicopter game) is depicted by a helicopter.
Pagemaker 3.0 (the most powerful yet easy to use Desktop Publishing
program for microcomputers) has an icon of a newspaper with a writing
hand on it. The list goes on and on. But the IBM-PC presents the user
with a list of names which often tell nothing about what the program
does. An example of this is PKXARC. Gee, I learned a lot from that.
Does it draw circles for you, or does it tell you how to make carbon arc
lightbulbs?
Compare it with a similar, data compressing program for the Mac:
StuffIt. Admittedly, the name doesn't tell all, but when the user, old
or new, sees a vise squeezing the word "DATA" he usually gets the
message. Even old Bob should get that one.
This method of icons and menus, all driven by mouse, allows the user to
quickly choose what he wants to do, without looking through tomes of
medieval-looking text to find out what such and such a program does or
how to move up to the next column of text. After all, the central
purpose of the computer is to quickly, efficiently and easily manipulate
data. No other computer does this as well as the Macintosh. The Mac is
USER-ORIENTED, controlled by user- friendly icons and menus, unlike
HACKER ORIENTED, with the IBM, which is controlled by a rather
dinosauric cant mastered by few (if you're a hacker, fine. Use the IBM.
But the average user does not have the ability to memorize huge lists of
commands or stay up into the wee hours of the morning). More and more
companies realize this because their employees immediately begin to be
productive after a few hours of experimentation, while the IBM takes
days. And no less than three-fourths of the commands used in one
popular program will be used in another, so the user can easily use the
wide range of powerful products available for the Mac. (Contrary to
popular opinion, the Mac has a large quantity of diversified and
powerful programs. If you don't believe that, why has Microsoft,
inventor of the precious MS-DOS, devoted almost all of its time on Mac
programs? Why does the president of Borland, maker of the popular Turbo
Pascal, say that the Mac far outperforms the IBM, for which reason he
has devoted much of his company to making Mac products? The list goes
on).
I realize that 99% of you reading this will be IBM addicts. I
understand that you may not like the Mac. But for goodness sakes DON'T
form an opinion until you've tried the Mac for a week or so. Many a IBM
user I've argued with about which machine is better, when he hasn't even
touched the Mac keyboard or clicked the mouse button. I've used IBM-PCs
and compatibles, but I immediately switched to the Mac after I tried it
out a little. And I'm not the only one.
You may also say, "But the computer's just plain lousy." In reply, let
me ask you a few questions:
1. Why, after the Mac Plus came out, did Mac sales skyrocket while IBM
sales began a long negative slide?
2. Why did IBM race to make the mouse part of its operating system after
the Mac came out?
3. Why did IBM copy the Mac's operating system in its PS/2 series, if
the Mac OS is so bad, as Bob says?
4. Why do more and more companies, like Cray, a pioneer in
supercomputing, use Macs to design products and run their companies?
5. Why do most people in the education community use and like the Mac
more than the IBM-PC?
6. The evolution of computers does not stop, but produces better systems
as time goes on. The Mac was made at least six years after the IBM.
That's about fifteen centuries in our time. How can a computer of the
70's compare with one of the 80's?
Ask yourself these questions. Think about what they and their answers
mean. Take the time to read over this essay carefully, while weighing
your own biases and the truth. Then decide. ----Fred Spice----
Fred welcomes replies, corrections, and opinions. Just send them to me,
though, since Fred does not have a modem (I don't know why). Thanks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message Board
by Barry Bowden
To better serve the computer community and our fellow readers, we will
begin listing local user groups and their meeting schedules when
possible Please help us by letting us here at BTN if your group is not
listed by sending E-Mail to me, Barry Bowden, on eithor American Online
or The Bus System. Please leave the following information:
User Group Name
Meeting Place
Meeting Time(Day/date,Time)
Contact Person
Any Other Important Information
If you have any suggestions please let me know.
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BEPCUG
Birmingham East PC Users Group
Jefferson State Jr. College
RUBY Carson Bldg., First Floor-Computer Lab
Third Friday of Every Month
5:30PM to 9:00PM
Paula Ballard 853-1200, ext 1463 (Days)
BCCC
Birmingham Commodore Computer Club
P. O. Box 59564
Birmingham, Alabama 35259
UAB School of Education Bldg., Room 153
Second and Fourth Sundays
Starts at 2:00 PM
Emmett Ferretti 823-3987 or Rusty Hargett 854-5172
CCS
Commodore Club South
Springville Road Library
Huffman, Alabama
Second and Fourth Tuesday (C64 Meeting)
Third Monday (Amiga Meeting)
7:30PM to 10:00 PM
Maurice Lovelady 684-6843
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Whatever Happened to...
by Christian Minton
I have been asking myself quite a lot lately, "What has happened to the
BBS community?" That is a question we all should be asking. What HAS
happened? Well, I hope to give my opinion of what has happened in this
file. If I offend any Sysops with this file I am sorry but I think what
is happening is wrong.
The problem I am talking about is Pay BBS's. Where it used to be rare to
see a board that charged for access now it is rare to see one that
doesn't. The number of FREE boards in Birmingham can almost be counted
on ONE hand. I am not sure where it all started but once it caught on it
has spread like wildfire. Sysops no longer put up a board for their
enjoyment as well as that of the users, it is now turning into a money
making game.
I have been using a modem for about the last five years. When I first
got my modem I couldn't imagine paying to use a BBS. Sure, services like
Compuserve and The Source charged fees for their use, but a local BBS,
never! When I first decided to run a BBS my motive was for my own
enjoyment, I got a thrill when the phone would ring and someone would
logon. At the time I figured all Sysops ran their boards for the same
reason, and from talking with them it seemed I was right. There used to
be monthly Sysop's meetings at the Kopper Kettle, where we all would
meet and talk about our problems and experiences. There was a certain
camaraderie between Sysops, that seems to have all but disappeared. What
has replaced it is an overwhelming desire to become "Number One" at all
costs.
Some of the Sysops today are in the BBS "business". They run a board
strictly for THEIR enjoyment and their monetary gain. You are assailed
with messages when you log on about how you "must" pay a fee or you will
be only granted measly amounts of time per day and very MINOR access.
What has happened to running a BBS as a service? By service I mean to
the community, not to a Sysop's ego or pocketbook. The cost of a board
is part of running one. If you are too poor to afford it, then you
shouldn't attempt it. I can understand a Sysop that asks for "voluntary"
contributions, but they should be strictly that, VOLUNTARY.
I think the final straw was when I logged on a local board (that shall
remain nameless) and saw "If you don't send in the money for this
board, it will go down and I will never run it again." and continued on
to be quite abusive. My answer to that Sysop is "Fine, take the board
down, you will be doing us all a service."
The modem users in this town should all decide to "boycott" these money
grubbing boards and give them the option to 1) give up the idea of
using the BBS as a second income, or 2) take the thing down and be done
with it.
I will admit, at one time a few years ago, I charged money for access on
my board. I collected the money to pay for the software I had bought and
then realized what I was doing. I do not and will not ever again charge
a mandatory fee for access to my BBS. I enjoy running a BBS and that is
payment enough for me.
If you are reading this file and you too are tired of this more than
common attitude, call my board The Outer Limits at 205/969-3262, I will
validate you for nothing and you can use my board as long as you like
for the same amount, "ZERO!".
To the Sysops whom I am speaking about in this file, I can only hope you
will realize what you are doing and stop doing it. Remember, there is
NOTHING you can have on your BBS that someone else doesn't offer for
FREE! If I have offended any of you, I am sorry, my intention is to only
express my opinion of this whole nasty matter.
Some good FREE boards to call:
Channel 8250........785-7417
The Outer Limits....969-3262
The Bus.............595-1627
I know there are some I didn't list. If you would like to have your
board listed call me at the above number and leave me mail.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
PRO FILE: Osman Guner
Age: 32
Birthplace: Ankara, Turkey
Occupation: chemist
My hobbies include: chess, bbs', volley ball
Years telecomputing: 1 1/2 years
Sysop, past/present/future of: not ever
My oddest habit is: biting tongue when concentrating
My greatest unfulfilled ambition is: beat Sohail Rabbani in Diplomacy
The single accomplishment of which I am most proud is: breaking
$1,000,000 in Bay Street Bulls
My favorite performers are: Harry Belafonte
The last good movie I saw was: Aliens
The last good book I read was: Einstein's Universe
If they were making a movie of my life, I'd like to see my part played
by: Roger Rabbit
My pet peeves are: politicians
When nobody's looking, I like to: act natural
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Known BBS Numbers For The Birmingham Area
NAME NUMBER BAUD RATES SUPPORTED
68FREE 933-7518 300, 1200
America Online Node 1 324-0193 300, 1200, 2400
America Online Node 2 324-0194 300, 1200, 2400
America Online Node 3 324-0195 300, 1200, 2400
America Online Node 4 251-2344 300, 1200, 2400
American BBS 674-1851 300, 1200, 2400
Birmingham Business BBS 856-0679 300, 1200, 2400
Bus System BBS 595-1627 300, 1200, 2400
Channel 8250 785-7417 300, 1200, 2400
Club Phoenix 942-0252 300, 1200, 2400
Commodore Club-South 853-8718 300, 1200, 2400
D3 Systems BBS 663-2759 300, 1200, 2400
Duck Pond BBS 822-0956 300, 1200, 2400
Elite Empire 967-8479 300, 1200, 2400
Fear & Loathing 985-4856 300, 1200, 2400
Fortress BBS 664-9040 300, 1200
Joker's Castle 744-6120 300, 1200, 2400
LZ Birmingham 870-7770 300, 1200, 2400
Magnolia BBS 854-6407 300, 1200, 2400
Nouveaux BBS 871-5551 300, 1200, 2400
Pinson Valley Node 1 854-9661 300, 1200, 2400
Pinson Valley Node 2 854-9662 300, 1200, 2400, 9600
Point of No RETURN 664-9609 300, 1200, 2400
Role Player's Paradise 631-7654 300, 1200, 2400
ST BBS 836-9311 300, 1200, 2400
Sperry BBS 853-6144 300, 1200, 2400
The Connection Node 1 854-9074 1200, 2400
The Connection Node 2 854-2308 1200, 2400
The Outer Limits 969-3262 300, 1200, 2400
The Realm Of Tarot BBS 870-7776 300, 1200
Twilight Zone 856-3783 300, 1200
Willie's DYM Node 1 979-1629 300, 1200, 2400
Willie's DYM Node 2 979-7739 300, 1200, 2400
Willie's RBBS 979-7743 300, 1200, 2400
Ziggy Unaxess 991-5696 300, 1200
