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Pure Bollocks Issue 22_048
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B B S * B U L L S H I T
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EGB'S SMELLY SOX SAYS: "PAH! FUCK OFF YOU OLD FOGEY!"
This is in answer to that last text file. I thought I might as well include
since it came with some of the other files, but I might as well say that I
thought most of it was a load of crap! I notice this guy doesn't sign his name
or pseudo but says he was a member of 8BBS. Obviously he hopes everyone will
say "Hey! A member of the greatest BBS ever evolved!" when in fact "8BBS"
really means fuck all to most normal people! I think this gives you an idea of
how, if he had his way, the BBS scene would be back to being a small band of
elitist sadcases rather than the vast popularity it enjoys at the moment.
"I've been around since close to the beginning, and I'm wondering what
has happened. Have BBS's gone the way of CB? Is the entire system in a
slump? Is there anything wrong at all?"
Look you fuckwit, if you really don't know what's going on, then why are
passing severe judgements on what's happening today? This confusion appears to
be all over the text where in one bit, he says that:
"I feel it was ABBS, rather than CBBS which made the real
breakthrough. While ABBS was much less powerful, and more difficult
to use, it could be run on a "universal" machine: --The Apple ][-- .
Anyone with an Apple ][ and a D.C. Hayes MM][ modem could run ABBS.
This program could be installed in a matter of minutes, and anyone
could have their own bulletin board system."
So it was good that there were more BBS systems? Not if you believe what he
says later in the text! According to him, one of the things that "killed off"
the BBS scene was:
"Too many BBS systems in one area. BBS's are still alive and healthy in
low-density areas."
So more BBS are not a good idea? Make your fuckin' mind up! I'm also pretty
sceptical about some of the things he attributes to the "Golden Age" of BBSes:
"A user would think nothing of spending his Saturday helping "The Sysop"
find an intermittant bug in the BBS program....A user would not only answer
his or HER mail, but also butt into other people's conversations and
throw in his/her two cents worth..... A user would suggest improvements to
make the system easier to use..... A Sysop would care for his BBS like a
baby. He'd spend 2 hours each night writing messages and playing with
modifications to the program.... A Sysop would NOT restrict conversation
to one particular topic...such as CP/M software.... A Sysop would
tolerate kids who were just learning how to use modems. He'd even give
them a hand getting things working..."
Errr.. Don't many Sysops and users do the same thing today on BBSes? I'm also
pretty sceptical of what our un-named person thinks "killed off" the BBS scene:
1) "Program uploading and downloading. People just get their programs and
leave." - And what planet did you just come from? It's a great way to
spread programs, and you don't think people log on just to read mail
from some sadcase programmer like you!
2) "Too many BBS systems in one area. BBS's are still alive and healthy in
low-density areas." - Bollocks! It may be all right for you lot in the
US, where local calls in most areas are free, and other calls are
comparatively cheaper, but here in Britain, I think I'd rather have a
choice of BBSes which are local rate!!! Anyway, most BBSes now have a
choice of message networks so you can call one BBS for one network,
another for another. Diversification, I think they call it..
4) "The loss of 'anonimity' among BBS users. The BBS used to be the place
to escape. Where no one had to be 'themselves.' Users such as 'James
Bond' and 'Captain Scarlet' were given free reign to vent their
fantasies. Today, most systems do not allow false names so they remove
them straight away." - Now come on, pseudos are only really necessary
if you're doing something that you could get done for! I mean going on
a serious computer echonet with a name like "Johnson Xthryx the Ball-
bearing Jnr" for fucks sake! Anyway even with a normal name, you don't
HAVE to "be yourself", you can still talk a load of bullshit- the other
people reading are hundreds of miles away from you so they don't know!
Like I said, it's only really necessary if it's something illegal,
where you HAVE to invent a lot of "fantasy" to draw attention away from
yourself! I've also heard that there's some "adult" echonets where you
are advised to assume a pseudo!
All in all, this text file of yours reads like you're sore just because
everyone's now into this thing that you used to a sadcase elite at! The fact is
that BBSes are more popular than ever before as shown by the rising amount of
new BBSes, and more importantly the increasing number of BBS networks such as
the already established Fidonet, NeST, F-Net and Turbonet, which amount to a
turnover of hundreds of new messages per DAY!!! So there IS a lot of users out
there, and as you said yourself, it's users that make the BBS scene.
**
EGB'S SMELLY SOX!
**
