Is it still feasible to make a dial up (not telnet) BBS in this day and age, or has technology progressed too far for this to be viable anymore? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bifrons · 2017-12-10 21:36 You could still buy 56k modems on NewEgg, and companies are still offering land lines. Would it be possible to throw up a dial up BBS and service calls, like in the 80s and 90s? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RazorKitten · 2017-12-10 22:08 Possible, Yes. Worthwhile? No. In the day of the internet, telnet bbs's don't have a ton of people using them. Limiting that further to people who still want to bother having a modem hooked up to their computer, AND one willing to Call what will most likely be long distance.... Your just further limiting your user base; probably to 0. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Abalamahalamatandra · 2017-12-11 03:30 I kind of hate to say it for nostalgia's sake, but dialup is what we did because there wasn't an Internet with dedicated connections. Don't get me wrong, I was co-sysop of a TBBS and ran a dialup ISP, but... I really don't miss those days. The only thing "special" was how damn slow it was, and you can simulate that part if you feel a desire. I personally don't. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- houstonau · 2017-12-11 06:37 I don't even have a phone line any more! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nolageek · 2017-12-11 16:11 Yep! There are indeed a handful of boards out there that still support dial-up connections: http://telnetbbsguide.com/bbs/list/detail/connection/dial-up/ Granted, I'm pretty sure they probably don't see as much activity as the telnet connections. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kbuzz99 · 2017-12-11 18:56 I miss TBBS! I wish they had introduced UltraChat sooner than they did (at that point the BBS was gasping its last breath). What a great system though. I loved that WFC. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flecom · 2017-12-11 20:25 I was looking at doing this soon but in a free manner using VoIP, basically you would request a SIP account that has no access to the PSTN but you could put it in an ATA and dial in to a BBS that's sitting on the other end... or if someone else wanted to operate a BBS on the network that would be fine too... was just a thought, no idea if anyone would go for it ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro_1337 · 2017-12-14 05:40 i had a dialup connection for about 6 years and only 2 people used it and it wasnt used often. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- istarian · 2017-12-15 23:54 In theory, yes, as long as you have a real land line (and not some sort of VOIP thing). In practice lots of people probably don't have regular landline phones and it still ties up the phone line completely. It's also not terribly exciting in modern times to basically connect to a system that's empty except for you and say post a message and then hang up and wait for someone else to get on and leave a message. You'd need like 5 lines just to get close to what a website/app can offer. Personally I find modems kind of interesting, but that may well be because the only time I had to cope with dialup instead of DSL was at my grandparent's and a friend's house. The only real reason for this that I can see today is for retro computers that never had real internet and aren't real suited to it even if you add a modern ethernet solution. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- recourse7 · 2017-12-22 20:10 Just doing telnet seems easier. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- flecom · 2017-12-23 00:10 well ya, but that's not the point :p ---------------------------------------------------------------------- oldasdirt74 · 2018-02-07 05:34 Wonder if you could use something like google voice to call a BBS? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2018-03-25 05:51 Analog modems work just fine over the cable company's VoIP phone lines, actually. The cable modem can even supply enough juice to ring the electromechanical bell in an old phone -- and it recognizes rotary dial pulses. I'm guessing there's some requirement for phone systems to be backward compatible with 19th century technology. It's anybody's guess how long that'll last though. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- istarian · 2018-03-27 05:11 I seem to recall it being said that VOIP is, or at least used to be, rather limited in terms of the max connection speed. Sure, a BBS doesn't need 56k, but I would imagine every step down the ladder further limits the utility of it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2018-03-27 06:14 You're probably right. I think the highest baud I've tried it at was 1200, possibly 300. It's good enough for very simple boards like Borderline or the Seattle Community Network. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- richallcorn · 2022-09-19 16:11 I still have a dial-up line to my LINUX system ... it's not a BBS, but I can dial-in to it. I've spent the last few hours TRYING and TRYING BBS numbers that are listed ... "ALL OF THEM" are dead! No longer in- service! Folks, it's easy ... if you've already got the modem, and an old PC, get a VoIP device and a Google telephone number. That way your monthly cost for using your dial-up line is ... uh, oh, NOTHING!!! That's what I do! My new home just built last year, they HAVE NO LAND LINES! I was so upset! Then, as I got to thinking about it, and talking with my Father about it, He mentioned ... "When you call your Mom, from Austin to San Angelo, do you use a landline all the way?" Of course, I had to answer, "No." and I discussed all the times the phone call is reverted back to digital, in fiber, over microwave, etc. and then he said something that set me free! "Well then, what does it matter if fiber comes to your house, Use a VoIP device and convert your land-line device to be used through the network, same as you would before, only now it doesn't cost you $50/month for the landline." Man, I cannot tell you how many times He has helped me to see the 'obvious'! So, I have a dial-up line going into my LINUX box. I also have a home office line on a very, very nice office phone device that cost me less than $80 bucks! It's a multi-line device that works superbly with Google Voice numbers! Think about it! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish the wiring for the phone lines throughout my house that the guys left undone in the wiring closet. Once these are up, I'll have landline phones in the house, and line 2 of all of these jacks will be reserved for plugging in my field telephones, so I can use them throughout the house!