Doug Rhea, owner of BBSFILES.COM & Sysop of Game Master's Realm BBS has passed reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wndrbr3d 路 2021-12-30 17:17 I learned this the other day through a post on [The BBS Corner Facebook Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbscorner) that Doug Rhea passed a couple months back. Below is the post and a link to the Funeral Home Guest Book for those who would like to leave his family and loved ones a message: Very sad to hear of his passing and it's another huge loss for our community. 馃槩 [Guest Book Link](https://www.batescoopersloanfuneralhome.com/guestbook/douglas- rhea) Facebook Post by Steven Bennett on 12/22: >I feel like I'm always the harbinger of doom, but this has been weighing on me lately. > >[BBSFILES.COM](http://bbsfiles.com/?fbclid=IwAR1RzG0ymrd9AUDL65OZ43JH XrHNUqoEKbDnPr1cwHwgarJqlqYF0y74th0) was run by Doug Rhea for very many years. He gave us free registration codes for a lot of door games. It was the go-to place to find door games that were available to register, and a lot had free reg. codes. He ran the Game Master's Realm BBS for over 30 years. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2016, but kept providing keys and access to hundreds of BBS doors on his web site. > >I hadn't heard from Doug for a long time, and even mentioned it in some BBS groups. His actual BBS was down, but the web site was still active. After several months, he re-appeared, almost 6 months ago, stating that the cancer had taken a turn for the worse. He was in the hospital for 63 days, but thought he had a chance to beat it. > >Apparently, Doug didn't make it. [BBSFILES.COM](https://l.facebook.co m/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FBBSFILES.COM%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3ygbBH- 2vHWiW9PGtMtWqvszTP2onyHvZaZSKLcfZaRWgy4jUQd6AIomM&h=AT2DjMtH- z-x4ZaZ0W-eMbVakyux-BboqmoZedgQfT1ISUyADkJTXz9lxn0E8PjfI29JrFupm1C7rTn 4iNNvMWJLoyWZWFOMTzGXghAe4lLjzOpy8dFaIxwTgGYklg3QYEAm&__tn__=-UK- R&c[0]=AT2qPNgOea44qN8N6Y_-4s06NPe9-4WMYW1qCMLtim4r0pXFp- k2RDOoLXZYDugwUDnet28YDMgBdvsj8aR_GiJV1zk8fJ7cQdPF0X3HE90pf9Z1QJ693R6V wUh9ej0gbwusvL2wSIEN4WfMUd4FyDqWu8QiH2NkR4W9wCcxqpCWJv__6A2finwvFbA86j cLrX3Q6HX19ZjNvh3PKA) is down, and no emails have been answered (in months). It makes me sad that I seem to be the only one that has noticed. > >We have lost a great resource as SysOps. Both in the loss of Doug, and [BBSFILES.COM.](http://bbsfiles.com/?fbclid=IwAR38uZtk5RJ3qvIjPp3K gttCl9PEwTBv6YYXpseh8CsCVQMP4x2YN091m0M) He spent a great deal of time and money acquiring all the BBS doors he could find, and providing those files to us. > >I have never heard anything official from his friends or family. It makes me wonder though how many SysOps have contacted him over the years, and might possibly have more insight. > >I also can't believe, if he HAS passed, that there was no contingencies in place to continue the web site he built for so many years. It seems to have been un-plugged and forgotten ---------------------------------------------------------------------- antdude 路 2022-01-04 02:27 :( ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Call_Me_Mauve_Bib 路 2022-02-23 02:51 archive.org has a backup from 2021. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] 路 2022-06-13 10:17 no. the one i put out there is much older than 2021 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wicked_delicious 路 2022-11-01 17:23 This news is terrible to hear. I contacted Doug in early 2020, and he told me he had the source code for over 400 BBS door games. He gave me a copy of the source to "The Pit" and I am creating a spiritual successor to the game. I wish the best for his family, and I hope someone can rescue all those other abandoned games! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 路 2022-12-12 23:37 he didn't have the source to over 400 doorgames. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- wicked_delicious 路 2023-02-01 21:21 He literally told me this. I have no proof that he was telling me the truth, aside from the fact that he gave me a copy of the source to The Pit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 路 2023-02-01 22:43 Doug wasn't known to tell the truth or really be a person you could trust. He was no saint. Most of his codes are from keygens that prominent people in the bbs community gave to him under the understanding that there would be a sharing of resources. That never happened. These people in the bbs community felt that our legacy software should be free, Doug felt that making things free devalues it (his own words). When someone would announce that they were releasing their code for free, he would be on them like flies on shit saying "NO, sell it to me instead". I've seen this personally. The source to the pit was floating around for a while and that's how he got it. You notice that even when he knew was dying and able, he did not release these games he paid for or got via other means. He wanted them to die with him. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mro1337_000 路 2023-02-01 22:52 furthermore, I'm the guy that put out that archive [bbsfiles.com](https://bbsfiles.com) site rip. I had actual access to to HIS files but I only kept those files i released because they were for a defunct project and I always keep my backups. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] 路 2023-03-10 02:31 [deleted]