Subj : Re: Join Networks
To   : Vk3jed
From : boraxman
Date : Tue Aug 30 2022 01:36:31

 Vk> 
 Vk>  bo> Agree about the mobile part.  I would be tempted to do something
 Vk>  bo> myself, but mobile programming is not my specialty.  I've never done
 Vk>  bo> it.  Really, you need a QWK reader, kind of like MultiMail for mobile
 Vk>  bo> and a way to download the packet without having to go through
 Vk>  bo> telnet/SSH.
 Vk> 
 Vk> For Synchronet and Mystic BBSs (others?), you could use FTP to transfer
 Vk> messages.  Other BBSs would require some sort of "expect" type scripting
 Vk> engine to communicate with the BBS to initiate Zmodem downloads and
 Vk> uploads over a telnet/SSH session.
 Vk> 
 Vk>  bo> Personally, if you ask me, the difficulty accessing this by mobile is
 Vk>  bo> to me a weakness of the mobile platform rather than the BBS system (i
 Vk>  bo> mobiles just aren't suitable for this kind of thing).
 Vk> 
 Vk> It's more a lack of suitable mobile clients.  There are a couple of
 Vk> Android "point" systems, but I feel using FTN based points is the wrong
 Vk> technology base for a mobile user.  QWK/Bluewave is a more appropriate
 Vk> technology (among the existing ones) to me.
 Vk> 
 Vk> Of course, you could use a web based interface, but I would like
 Vk> something that's not running interactively over the network - I do
 Vk> venture into areas without reliable mobile coverage, where grabbing a
 Vk> QWK packet while passing a cell tower is practical, staying on and
 Vk> reading mail continuously over the network is not.
 Vk> 
 Vk> 

Overall I don't think it is worthwhile.  Mobiles are just the wrong format for this time of connectivity.  The whole point of a BBS, and of these message networks is correspondence and being at a destination, not simple chat.  The mobile phone tends to make its users prefer shorter "chat style" communication which I think isn't really the point here.  While it would be good to have a nice SSH client that one can use easily, having access to say, fsxNet over mobile is probably in reality not as great an idea as it may first seem to be.

The whole "spirit" is lost when its converted to an instant messaging type of thing, and the advantages and uniqueness disappear.  The more I think about it, the more I think the lack of options for mobile isn't really a problem.  Is it really a good idea to turn this "old style" method of communication into a copy of what already exists?  Maybe its better that its not relevant to modern forms.  But then, maybe people here who already use BBS's wish for mobile options, for themselves?

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/24 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

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