Original BBSs still Online? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Da_NKP · 2017-04-11 19:53 I've got a crazy idea, but I need to know if anyone still runs BBSs on legacy hardware, or at least something that can be dialed into...my quick Google/Wiki searches yielded no decent results, so I thought I'd ask the experts here. Thanks in advance for the help!! EDIT: I'm super stoked by all the help I've gotten so far, but I'd like to update this based on what I've learned so far. I'm specifically looking for BBSs that have a modem connection (I.e. Can be dialed into) as my idea revolves specifically around that functionality. Final Update: you guys are awesome!! You've been super helpful, but unfortunately, my idea won't quite work. Basically, it was to write a smartphone app that would use the phone's diaper to dial into a BBS's modem and then allow a connection. Basically make it super easy for people to connect in an old school manner. There's no reason to do it like this, except just because. The idea won't work because cell phones don't support DTMS. In any case, thanks again for all the support! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nolageek · 2017-04-11 20:09 There definitely are - of course I can't remember any off the top of my head. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zellkou · 2017-04-11 23:27 I know that bbs.fozztexx.com still has a modem (916) 965-1701. /u/fozztexx is one of the moderators over at /r/retrobattlestations. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Da_NKP · 2017-04-11 23:32 What's their position for new members? Like, is it open to anyone interested or is there a kind of vetting process? Sorry for the stupid questions. I'm very new to BBSs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zellkou · 2017-04-11 23:57 They are open, no vetting process that I can remember. Thats not a stupid question. I remember once having to write an essay and send it to the operator of a BBS before I was allowed in. You can telnet in to check it out. telnet bbs.fozztexx.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hpz937 · 2017-04-12 03:00 There are quite a few c64 BBS boards up. I run one on an original c64 nonamebbs.hpz.pw:6400 I'm not sure how it looks/functions on telnet but works great on a c64 or emulator. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LordKrag · 2017-04-12 12:18 http://bbs.filenet.wwiv.net/ - Local BBS to me. http://telnetbbsguide.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PhotoJim99 · 2017-04-12 18:20 The "enter del/backspace" doesn't work if I telnet from Linux. It won't accept either. Enter works, but then it disconnects me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- hpz937 · 2017-04-12 22:08 interesting, I had never tried it outside of a c64. I did a little testing and CTRL+H which sends an ASCII backspace does work. Also ANSI graphics = N. Also a terminal emulator should work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- phlatcappr · 2017-04-12 23:08 Dj's Place via telnet: bbs.impakt.net:6502 It's GBBS running on a real Apple //e. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DyingWish · 2017-04-13 17:16 http://cbbsoutpost.servebbs.com/ A lot of Commodore BBSes here as well as other retrosystems. http://telnetbbsguide.com/bbs/dura-europos/ <- an Apple IIe system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DaiTengu · 2017-04-19 00:04 War Ensemble BBS is available via dialup at 920-840-6311 It is far from legacy hardware, however. The dialup connection is a Gentoo Linux box, that then transfers your connection via telnet to the BBS which is running on a virtual machine in Texas (of Linode). I guess the modem is legacy, it's a USR Courier Serial modem (using a Serial to USB adapter) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dalml · 2017-04-21 18:44 Do you get many dial-up calls? There was a post quite a few months back talking about using SIP/VOIP to avoid the POTS network and any possible surcharges. Speeds would be limited based on compression, but it'd be an excuse to heard the screeching of a modem once again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dalml · 2017-04-21 18:46 I remember calling users back to validate them back in the 90's.. And it's funny to see BBS's running older software still requiring you enter phone numbers for validation purposes, when really an email address would suffice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- zellkou · 2017-04-21 19:03 Some do it for the nostalgia, some out of laziness, and some because "by god thats the it's always been done". I personally don't mind putting in a phone number but I've got several VoIP numbers that I use for stuff like that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DaiTengu · 2017-04-23 15:55 I get a few calls per week on it. I'll get some really enthused people who will dial in multiple times over the course of a month for some nostalgic purposes, then they just kind of disappear. I'm slowly working on setting it up so I can do fidonet mail over the line, but it's very difficult to rig up when you don't have a way to test it. I was surprised as hell the first time someone dialed in and it forwarded them to the BBS without a hitch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Castle_Brav0 · 2017-05-23 11:42 Ahhh the good old days of new user verification. I was quite the little pirate back then and frequented the elite boards. I recall a lot of the canned forms I had to fill out to prove that I knew what was what by answering what the acronyms were for cracking groups like TDT (The Dream Team), THG (The Humble Guys), FLT (Fairlight), TRSi (TriStar and Red Sector Incorporated) and finally PHACVT (Phreaking, Hacking, Anarchy, Carding, Viruses and Trojans), and I'm sure there are a few other questions I'm forgetting. Having to be voice verified was always interesting as well. All the cool boards I called out to mostly ran modded Renegade or some Forum hack like Oblivion/2 or Vision-X. A few WWIV and PCBoard sites as well. Sigh. I miss the good old days. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AllEncompassingThey · 2017-05-24 22:43 Did you ever frequent any of the NirvanaNET BBSs? Those are a distant memory now. TOTSE had a web presence for years, but now that's gone, too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mct1 · 2017-07-03 01:05 Reviving a dead thread... Ahhh, NirvanaNET. &TOTSE was local to me back when it was still a BBS. I remember calling back it when it was a single-node board, and then they added another line (I believe for users who purchased slack). By the time it went down I think they were up to like 8 or 12 nodes. It was one of the few BBSs that had real notoriety so you'd bump into people from all over the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- antdude · 2017-07-06 23:20 I hated that voice verifications because of my speech and hearing impediments. :( ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Castle_Brav0 · 2017-07-06 23:46 I can't recall if ever used NirvanaNET. The big ones that I remember were CCI (CyberCrime International) and I believe SlimeNET.