BBS short documentary - During quarantine I found out about BBS and started a mini-series on the internet's first communities... this obviously involved BBS, which this first episode/video is about. Thought maybe some of you would get a kick out of it reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PotentialDeadbeat · 2020-06-20 00:52 As a former SYSOP of multiple BBSs this was fun to see, my feedback on the vide was the build-up was a bit drug out. My thought about the premise that BBSs were the "first" communities I would debate. I was also a CB guy and knew HAM radio operators. I suggest those communities, especially during the CB craze in the 70s (CW McCall and 'The Bandit') should get at least a mention if you are talking groups of like-minded people forming remote communities of practice. And kudos to the narrator for saying GIF as "jiff," that is someone the know. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ThisEffinGuyz · 2020-06-20 19:42 Out of curiosity was being a sysop back in the day lucrative? Or at least made your investment back? I remember when telnet came out it felt like maybe a couple years and bbses were all going for free to play. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Universal_Binary · 2020-06-20 20:40 Just making sure that everyone knows about Jason Scott's original BBS Documentary: http://www.bbsdocumentary.com Kinda cool to see him on camera finally. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PotentialDeadbeat · 2020-06-20 20:42 For the first 3 years or so I never made any money. But once I figured out one way to monitize a BBS (light porn) I did make some beer money and covered my costs. For me, it was never lucrative and I probably spend more on hardware, phone bills and stuff that in the 5-years I was a Sysop I lost money. But man, the thrill of watching someone logon or bust into a chat, it was awesome. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WinniesPoo · 2020-07-09 14:01 A lot of information for an ignorant individual like myself. Very cool. A few flaws, but the editing , voice-overs, angles, research was nice to come across. I was researching what I thought was a new term, but this took me by surprise. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2022-06-05 03:01 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gnu2tux · 2022-06-05 03:02 This is an absolutely excellent video! Well done & I hope to see part 2 soon! If you would like to know more on BBSes, may I be so bold as to point out my own documentary series: https://www.youtube.com/playli st?list=PLop3s1hMlSJKXqmuFjK7gbJh2WAyllTTY - It's called Back to the BBS, it's an 8 part series covering what BBSes were and what they are in the modern age (yes, they still exist today!).