Fidonet-TNG: Where do we go from here?
by Larry Cody
Fidonet: 1:133/504
Email: lcody@asnbbs.com
WWW: http://bbs.asnbbs.com

In the section ECHO TALK of Fidonews 16-18 (3 May 1999), an unnamed author made these comments in reference to the future of Fido:

"The people of Fidonet have been very clever about connecting through the Internet... but most of our effort has been bent to connecting to each other in support of the traditional dial-up BBS. Now we need to direct our efforts to connecting to the _people_. Fido of the (near) future needs to be just a mouse-click away."

The author of these words is absolutely correct... Fidonet has always been about connecting to people, whether through the echoes a system carried, the files the Sysop made available, or the general air of the BBS.

As the modem-using community turns increasingly towards the Internet, so Fidonet BBSes must also turn in that direction. Should we fail to do so, continued decline and eventual extinction is the most probable end. But there is an answer, available now, to at least part of the problem. Many Fidonet BBSes are already on the Internet. Through the use of software platforms which enable either Telnet or HTML connections, Fidonet remains accessible to the masses. The message areas can be HTML pages or text-only, but either way, they are there for the newcomer to read. However, access is not sufficient to ensure Fidonet's future. As any good marketer knows, to create a need for a product or service, one must create a desire for such. In order to create a "desire" for visiting a Fidonet BBS, we have to ensure that the user who stumbles into that system encounters something that brings them back.

One possible solution lies in our past...

Fidonet Sysops once had a tradition of helping others. How many of us owe our very existence to another Sysop who had a patient ear (and a handy telephone) to walk us through setting up this or that? How many BBSes started because a Sysop had a (C)hat option and then used it, perhaps to answer a few questions on how to start a BBS? We must rediscover that tradition. A number of BBSes participate in various Webrings, connecting Internet-accessible BBSes to each other. Other boards already offer Telnet links between BBSes for Internet use. Those boards provide an entry point for the Internet-bound. Links to non-Internet BBSes can be carried as free advertisements (time to dig out the old ANSI logoff screens). Perhaps others know of an ISP or business who may provide resources to put a BBS on the 'net. Who knows? The IT manager at that local business may have gotten his or her start as a kid on a local Fidonet BBS.

To reiterate the earlier point: Fidonet needs to connect to people. To do this, we need exposure... and that means advertising and marketing. The best advertising is often word-of-mouth. Those of you on the Internet, get the word out that Fido still exists. Join or create Webrings, advertise your fellow boards, meet the people in your community who may be able to help. Patronize your fellow boards and encourage the users you DO have to do the same. Above all, lend a helping hand to those who are struggling... either to stay or to join Fidonet.

This is where Fidonet excels, where we have room to carve out a niche. Use technology to get them in the door, then keep them coming back because of the Sysop, not the system. Put that (C)hat command back on the menu and use it from time to time. Who knows? You may even bring some of the fun back to this old hobby of ours.
