what's the best guide to get my own BBS up and running? reddit / bbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2022-03-19 23:33 Since no one is biting: https://enigma-bbs.github.io/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- a_blizzard_of_zeros · 2022-03-20 01:15 1. Decide how/where/on what you're going to host it. At home, on a VPS, on a colocated server, etc. A cheap option is a Raspberry Pi. VPS packages can be had for as little as 5 bucks a month. Colocated servers or rented full-servers are more expensive. BBSes are low- load, so there's usually not much reason to use expensive, high-spec hardware. The $35 Raspberry Pi seems to work fine. 2. Make sure the OS is installed, firewalled, secured. 3. While not strictly necessary, get your DNS set up. That is, get a dynamic DNS service (good if you're hosting from home and some are free - google "dynamic DNS"), or a standard one, meaning, hostname.tld correctly resolves to your server. Make sure you can connect to the server from the Internet, in the manner other people will. 4. Choose a BBS package. [This is a list I'm trying to put together of some options of currently or recently maintained BBS packages](http://shibboleths.org/) - already it is a little out-of- date as at least one of those packages may be defunct. Your other option is running a retro-BBS with old software, on old hardware or an emulator (e.g., Image on a Commodore 64), in which case you can pick from lots more of no-longer-developed packages. That's going to require some method of hooking that old equipment to the Internet; there are ready-to-go solutions available if you want to do that. 5. Follow in the installations and/or compilation instructions for the individual package. I am only really familiar with Mystic and Synchronet (the two most popular actively-developed packages); they are both well-written. Mystic has a bunch of how-to-configure videos on YouTube. Synchronet is also really well-documented. I had no problem getting either installed and running based on the instructions that came with each. 6. Once configured, test your BBS. If everything works, you can publicize it at that point, or you can add features like messaging networks (Fidonet, DOVEnet, and fsxNet aresprobably the most popular but there are actually many others). You may also want to add and configure Door games. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinacolada459 · 2022-03-20 03:41 Thanks for giving a shout-out to Image BBS. Our web site is toast, but it is under active development. There are two Facebook groups: [https: //www.facebook.com/groups/1645970598934549](https://www.facebook.com/g roups/1645970598934549) and [https://www.facebook.com/groups/141819789 446](https://www.facebook.com/groups/141819789446) :) The documentation, less so: [https://pinacolada64.github.io/ImageBBS3- docs.github.io/](https://pinacolada64.github.io/ImageBBS3- docs.github.io/) (Edited to add documentation link.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- gnu2tux · 2022-03-20 03:50 Here's a video covering many of the popular BBS softwares out there so you can get a handle on what's on the market. If you're looking at Mystic, which (between that and Synchronet) are the most popular, then mystic guy does a bang up job with his tutorials on YouTube. https://youtu.be/Po7afzVSaQs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [deleted] · 2022-03-20 06:05 [deleted] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PraiseBobSlackOff · 2022-03-20 06:06 Iniquity 3? What? That certainly looks interesting. Had no idea. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-03-20 07:48 Great thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dmine45 · 2022-03-20 10:53 Synchronet is by far the most popular one out there. You can literally get it set up in 5 minutes for a basic system, but it's fully customizable to do what you want. They have a nice Wiki that walks you through what you need to know. http://wiki.synchro.net/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- denzuko · 2022-03-20 17:03 MysticBBS installs in moments and supports python scripting and a very dead easy menu engine plus support for fidonet style echonets and ANSI art. The best guide available which goes in hand with the wiki is the one done by Mystic Guy: [https://www.youtube.com/c/MysticGuyBBS](https ://www.youtube.com/c/MysticGuyBBS) Can't forget the classics either; https://www.amazon.com/BBS-Secrets- Ray-Werner/dp/1568844913 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-03-20 19:29 Ace. Thanks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-03-20 19:30 Yeah I'll look at this, this evening! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- badassbradders · 2022-03-20 19:30 Thank you!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- crashj · 2022-03-20 21:03 Just got to install and test Enigma today for the first time. It was very simple to set up in a FreeBSD jail. I really like it. Only headscratchers for me were: where is the sysop menu? and where is a bare metal theme I can start from to customize? Lots of cool tech, like password encryption and OTP. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NuSkooler · 2022-03-20 21:47 No +op menu currently, though I have a WFC branch I need to finish up that exposes a lot of stuff. Menus/configuration are via config files. The default theme is really just a placeholder. You can copy it as a start then just start replacing/hacking away.