Subj : Ideas to make Fidonet Great Again
To   : Alan Ianson
From : August Abolins
Date : Wed Jul 01 2020 11:42 pm

Hello Alan!

** On Sunday 21.06.20 - 16:06, Alan Ianson wrote to MATT MUNSON:

 AI> The STATS area also has stats posted from various systems so you can
 AI> see what areas are avtive and just how active they are.

But those charts are a drab to read, and basically require an existing  
connection to even use.  Something readily available and quick to access  
for the www-user would be good.


 MM>> 2. I also think it will have to take marketing from various groups
 MM>> that are chased away from places like Facebook and Reddit to come
 MM>> back to the bbsing world.

 AI> I don't think the BBS has much of a future. I have always enjoyed
 AI> BBSing myself and prefer a telnet or ssh session but folks today
 AI> don't need an interface like that and just don't understand what it
 AI> is or what it can do for them.

There is probably a very small demographic of users who would be  
entertained and patient with using the extra layer of a telnet client to  
reach a BBS.

I still like a good keyboard-based menu every now and then. But new people  
expect something they can tap.

The traditional BBS interface is not likely to win over young people.


 AI> I think if we had a client/server model of some sort that folks could
 AI> easily connect to with the app of their choice we would see more
 AI> usage.

It would be very nice if BBSes and their services (eg. echomail) could  
adapt to the new devices like smartphones and tablets that more and more  
people seem to prefer using.

I'm not convinced that a laptop has lost favour in use. A telnet client to  
reach a traditional BBS could still be viable that way for many years.


 AI> My lady friend for example has a desktop and laptop of her own. She has
 AI> not used either since she got her tablet. She simply installs the app she
 AI> wants and away she goes. She does not know or care what FTN is. She just
 AI> wants to install her app and go.

"BBSing ..but not for tablets" does not scream much of a future.


 AI> We don't currently have a client/server model or the apps that folks
 AI> might install but we could do that if we wanted to and if we had folks
 AI> with those skills on board. We would need a plan to create all that and
 AI> make it as simple as installing.

 AI> I recon that's a fairly tall order. :)

It would be a tall order to have something that presents most of the  
features of a BBS that way.

But messaging (echomail) might be one of the first features of a BBS to  
implement with an app.

Apple seems to offer a free design tools to build apps.
Android has something called App Inventor.

Maybe a good first step is a prototype so that the UI requirements could  
be fleshed out.


  ../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.45
 * Origin: The future is not what it used to be. (2:221/1.58)

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