Subj : Gotta Get Back in Time
To   : All
From : Mortar
Date : Fri Jul 26 2024 02:55:27

Greetings:

I started using BBSes back around '86-'87 on a PC clone with an internal 2400(?) baud modem.  Living in the Detroit area, I had plenty of local boards to choose from.  I spent most of my evenings and weekends making the rounds.  I was very active on the msg. boards, in fact, that was all I was pretty much interested in.  The few files I did DL were usually utilites and such.  Nor was I into the games.  I did like the live chats on those BBSes that offered it.
At one point, I made the leap and started my own board.  It was called "Get Serious", my attempt to give people an alternative to all the frivolous stuff all the other BBSes had in common.  It failed.  Probably because I only had it online in the evenings.  Yeah.  I just didn't like the idea of leaving the PC on while I was at work.  Also, I don't think my audience was the right demographic for such a site, which was mostly made up of teenagers, or at least it seemed that way.

I really enjoyed BBSing.  I didn't have any real friends, so BBSes were a nice alternative, and since they were local, you got everything people talked about, you learned about local events, stuff for sale, etc.  It really was, to use the clich‚, a community, and that's something I've never felt with the Internet.  What helps too, I think, is that you don't have the heavy traffic that social media sites like Facebook or Twitter (I refuse to call it X) have; it makes it a lot easier to get to know people.

But what about now?  Is it possible to recapture most, if not all, the things that made BBSes great back then and pay it forward to today?  I guess time will tell.  I've only been to EOL so far, but from what I've been reading, I'd say the spirit is certainly there.

Ca'cha all on the msg. boards.

.