Demand for a BBS?

[Ilwrath]

I can't see any possible way a BBS could work with an 800 number.  On the low end, 1000 minutes could be eaten up by just a few callers.  And, if somehow, you manage to catch on, for the high end, it would be just too costly to maintain.  Plus, with an 800 number you'll still get a wide physical area with a very narrow interest demographic.

The key is offering a good service and a welcoming, local feel.

I agree 100%.  Probably the most insightful comment in this thread.

Once problem with todays's BBS's is is that they feel "interneted". People set them up, realise there are not many users, then forget about them. I think this is due to the lack of personal/local feel with telnet.

I disagree.  I don't think the internet is the problem, at all.  Or at least not Telnet or the technology behind the internet.  I have every belief that you could run a KILLER system hooked to the internet.  Dial-up sucked in a lot of ways...

The problem with the internet is in the demographics.  Back when I ran a dial-up BBS, I met and interacted with my neighbors, co-workers, friends, classmates, and jokers and characters of all kinds.   There is also the common thread of most people living within the calling zone.  (only ~40 miles across, or so...)  This huge range of interests and personalities with a fairly minor common thread builds a great community.  

Most internet sites lack this range of interests and personalities.  Each type of site that is created inevitably ends up focusing on a single interest or hobby (sometimes even to the point of turning against its own fringe members who are not "pure" enough -- see Amiga Classic vs. AOS4 vs. Peg, etc).  So what you end up with is a grouping of a very narrow interest and personality type that is scattered widely around the world.  In most cases this DOESN'T build a very great community.  

Now....  In the modern day....  How do you fix this and create a community that can encourage a wide range of views and personalities.  THAT is the real problem.  I don't have the answer to that.  But I know that trying to roll back technology to the bad old days of slow transfers, landlines, and connection-based communications doesn't seem to be a viable answer.

[Ilwrath]

I know I keep banging on aboout this but being involved in the revival of that fantastic bedroom endevour that was the BBS would work for me "emotionally". I think I could "feel it" again. I think a lot of other people could aswell. Like anything that is successful, we need to create it, package it, and sell it hard. Im up for the challenge.

Absolutely.  I have spent quite a few hours trying to come up with a way to create a forum and feeling like the old BBS.  I really miss it, and I want that back.  I've got spare equipment and bandwidth I would have killed for back in the day.  

But, really... What made the BBS great?
Community?  Definitely!!!
Personal expression?  Surely helped...
Pioneering spirit?  Possibly...

So the real question becomes, how do you capture these things?  

I'm probably going to get lynched for this, but essentially, at the heart of this current effort is Web 2.0.  Yes, I *HATE* that horrible buzzword, but the essential idea in there is a lot like the modern take on our old BBS.  It's to create a personally-shapeable 2-way communication medium based on the average technology of the day.  

It's an interesting idea, but I think the implementations are flawed.  It all seems to end up with a billion blogs that just form cliques of fake admiration feedback for each other.  All wrapped up inside a clumsy web-browser interface.  Bleh!!

Could I ask everyone: If I launched a BBS with free dialup - would you call - or would you rather have telnet? Or both?

Probably neither?  Heck, I don't even have a way to hook up a modem to my newest workstation.  (no serial port/no legacy PCI available)  Telnet is possible, but really, that's a rather unwieldy interface for this day in age.  Plus, there are so many poor and incomplete ANSI implementations that doing anything interesting is nigh on impossible, anyhow.  

I don't have the answers, but speaking from personal experience, going back to the old technology hasn't been personally fulfilling for anything more than a quick chuckle about the old days.  

And, in all honesty, to create a new instance of the old BBS experience, you need a diverse community.  That community is highly unlikely to put up with the problems caused by antique technology.

[Ilwrath]

I guess we don't have a lot of options then. We either have web browsers or ANSI.

Roll your own?  Wouldn't be hard to mock-up a totally new client.  What would make it a compelling experience, though?  Most of the successful new clients have used piracy as their compelling feature, though.  That probably isn't what we're going for.  

What WOULD be the compelling key?  Again, that is the question....

[Ilwrath]

Do they even make modems anymore?

I don't think so....  Was kinda my point, too.  ;-)

You want chat and files? Get Drupal.

Hmm... I hadn't heard of that before.  After a bit of Googling, it kinda looks like a CMS crossed with a blog.  All GPL, so you can kinda build it in whatever direction you need.  Pretty cool tool.  Not exactly in the spirit of a BBS, but an interesting find.  Thanks!