AtomicInternet Archived News

I was recently browsing Memepool and came across a link to BBSMates. Before the Internet got big, I was fortunate enough to be involved in BBS'ing. It involved dialing computers that others programmed to pick up the phone and talk with you. More often than not, a SysOp (owner of the computer) would be online and chat with you. Many late nights were passed in high school talking with other sysops, using message boards, and playing "door games." Once you found the number to one BBS, you could usually find the others in your area code fairly easy. As a result, a large group of BBS'ers formed between boards, and we would often go "BBS Bowling" where we could meet everyone that we talked to on the computer. Sort of a local Internet, before the internet. Much more personal, and much more fun. Alas, the advent of the World Wide Web signaled the demise of the BBS, but thanks to BBSMates we can find some kind of closure that we never had when all the computers stopped answering. I added my old BBS that I ran (Nuclear Meltdown) and also added myself as a "member" to the ones I remembered logging on to. BBS'ing will never come back the way it was, but like myself, it launched many computer professionals into their career.