today's archival/software preservation work -

i noticed that PCBoard BBS software's wikipedia article mentioned something kinda weird - that just before clark development went bankrupt in 1997, it was building a server called MetaWorlds... an attempt at bridging the ansi-based BBS with the WWW.

sadly, the software never made it out of beta, and was nowhere to be found.. until today it seems! i managed to dig it out of the glorious ibm wgam-wbiz collection, and i've uploaded a copy to IA:

https://archive.org/details/metaworlds_beta

i honestly don't really understand what MetaWorlds does, so i'm hoping a PCBoard wiz manages to get it talking to their pcb instance, and lets us know how it all works.

update: located a newer beta. uploaded here: https://archive.org/details/metaworlds-beta-17

if you were bbsing in the 90s, you probably heard of Rusty n Edie's BBS. i used to run across nfo's and file_id.diz's advertising their (long distance for me) board all the time. if you came across porn gifs or PCXs in the 90s, it was almost always a scan from their board

how many boards could say they had 128 nodes?

recently i looked up an old street view of the location in youngstown OH, and amazingly, the sign still mentioned the old BBS - decades after its closure

i loved their old logo, and managed to dig up their original bbs homepage - prior to their FBI raid:
https://web.archive.org/web/19981205104028/http://www.pixi.com/~irvdili/page-22.htm

they also ran a web-based bbs for a very short time:
https://web.archive.org/web/19961114032209/http://www.rne.com/

come see and play my piece "lam3r" at the SAIC gallery! open now to the public.
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#cyberpunk #bbs #ansi #ansiart #hackerart #retrocomputing
#graffiti #punk #diy

This was a fun watch.

I can't help but think that projects like Retro Gaiden and 199x.chat are almost like spiritual successors to the sort of culture & communities that arose within BBSes: decentralized, self-hosted, free from big tech influence.

https://youtu.be/Owp1afzftaQ

Out there, in the worrying world of today is a little #Zilog #Z80 computer with a mere 64KB of #RAM and running the #1970s CP/M operating system.

This little machine is connected to the #intertubes and it's serving a #singleuser #bulletinboardsystem for you, the worrying souls of #yesteryears to visit.

Take a break from today, connect like it's 1985 - here on RC-BOX BBS, the world's first and (currently) only #rc2014 based bulletin board system in the world!

Check out the #alttext or my #profile info for information on how to connect.

#bbs
#rc2014bbs
#rcbox

Before the modern internet, Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) were the backbone of online communication. Emerging in the late 1970s, BBSes were text-based systems accessed via dial-up modems, where users could post messages, share files, and even play primitive online games. These digital meeting places became hubs for underground communities, tech enthusiasts, hackers, and early software distribution networks.

Despite being largely replaced by the web, BBSes never truly died. Today, a dedicated community keeps them alive using telnet and modern technology, ensuring that the spirit of decentralized, independent online spaces lives on. Whether through retro computing nostalgia, hacker culture, or a desire for an internet free from corporate control, BBSes continue to thrive in small but passionate circles.

TIL about #SysOpsFinest #BBS #SysOp

https://www.sysops-finest.org

RetroSwim: Pool's Open - The RetroSwim BBS
telnet://ezycom.retroswim.net:2323

The full 80GB archive of VogonsDrivers, now browsable, searchable*, and downloadable on more systems than ever!
https://bitbang.social/@retroswim/114260519091055456 #bbs #retrocomputing

Self Portrait

[2025-03-31 15:26:57]: Gryphon just logged into node 4 with the EInstEIn-rOsEn brIdgE theme #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

thank you @acn128 for setting up the world's first globaltalk FirstClass BBS! it is amazingly functional, and even has a Usenet feed via eternal-september

(apologies for the terrible photo - my phone grabbed the aperture grille by accident)

for those unfamiliar with FirstClass, it was one of the *very* few fully graphical BBSes of the 1990s, with a point and click graphical client. it predated larger systems like Lotus Notes by a decade

[2025-03-30 13:39:34]: A new updated list of ZeroTier enabled nodes has just been posted! #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet #ZeroTier

[2025-03-30 07:31:34]: reg just logged into node 3 with the EInstEIn-rOsEn brIdgE theme #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-30 00:08:02]: stern just split from node 5 faster than a banana #retrocomputing #bbs #bail #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-30 00:07:59]: stern has just bailed from Multi Relay Chat #retrocomputing #bbs #mrc #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-29 23:06:18]: Cobradile just logged into node 4 with the EInstEIn-rOsEn brIdgE theme #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-29 21:37:09]: krull started playing The Dark Tower Adventure #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-29 21:35:31]: krull started playing The Dark Tower Adventure #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet

[2025-03-29 21:28:03]: krull started playing The Dark Tower Adventure #retrocomputing #bbs #sysop #mysticbbs #tqwNet