Jumping back in the scene for a bit. I could be around a couple weeks or a couple of years. ;)

I discovered BBSs just a few (or 42) years ago using a Commodore 64 and a 300 baud modem. I was online multiple systems every day until I discovered and gained access to the internet at my university, starting with BITNET and Usenet groups and everything that followed. :D

I've been a computer geek since 1981, when my school library bought two Commodore PET computers for students to "use". The intended use was educational games but I quickly figured out that I wanted to learn how to create those games.

I've ran a few BBS through the years. The first was taking over the local computer club BBS that ran on a C64 with a memory expansion and 20MB hard drive. My last was a short-lived and barely used Synchronet setup.

That was around 10 years ago. I even bugged dm on a few occasions about C++ compilers and IDEs, building synchronnet, and his brother, who I had met a couple of times at Borland/Delphi developer conferences.

My retro 80s 8-bit bug has been buzzing around my head again lately. Last night I broke down and installed TWGS, found some old source code online, and then regretted looking at it. I'm surprised the early versions of TW worked at all.

So I'll be peeking around a bit and hopefully sticking around a bit longer this time.

Sky (aka Jon Robertson)

Re: Hello Everyone!
By: Skylar to All on Sun Mar 24 2024 10:37 am

That was around 10 years ago. I even bugged dm on a few occasions about C++ compilers and IDEs, building synchronnet, and his brother, who I had met a couple of times at Borland/Delphi developer conferences.

Welcome back!
--
digital man (rob)

Rush quote #65:
He's got to make his own mistakes and learn to mend the mess he makes
Norco, CA WX: 60.4°F, 46.0% humidity, 8 mph SSW wind, 0.01 inches rain/24hrs

Re: Hello Everyone!
By: Skylar to All on Sun Mar 24 2024 10:37 am

I discovered BBSs just a few (or 42) years ago using a Commodore 64 and a 300 baud modem. I was online multiple systems every
day

I, too, have been attached to computers (and BBSes) in some way since the mid-80s. I can still recall waiting hours for the
autodialer on Telemate to get on the local BBSes, and worrying that I'd get in trouble for dialing the occasional long-distance
board.

Now, I ssh into this board and see some of the magic from those times. Most of the systems that I called were run on PCBoard,
Spitfire, Telegard, Wildcat, and WWIV. I do vaguely remember Synchronet, but it was not common in my neck of the woods (Wichita,
KS).

I wonder if DM would consider adding a "Modem emulator" which could 1) slow down the board I/O to a selected baud rate and
2) add random line noise (selectable probability). That would make this experience complete. :-)

-sbrk

Re: Hello Everyone!
By: Sbrk to Skylar on Thu May 02 2024 07:41 am

I wonder if DM would consider adding a "Modem emulator" which could 1) slow down the board I/O to a selected baud rate and
2) add random line noise (selectable probability). That would make this experience complete. :-)

SyncTERM already has the baud-rate emulation feature (so the throttling happens on the client side, if you want it) and Synchronet Sysops can slow down the transmission of certain display files with @-codes, if they want.

Random line noise is a funny idea, but with error correcting modems (virtually all modems 9600+ bps), you didn't really see that much.
--
digital man (rob)

Synchronet "Real Fact" #48:
Synchronet directory naming (i.e. ctrl, exec, data) was suggested by S. Deppe Norco, CA WX: 61.4°F, 79.0% humidity, 3 mph WNW wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs

Hi,
I think you should like you have a rich history in the world of computing and online communities from your early days with BBSs on the Commodore 64 to diving into the early internet via BITNET and Usenet. Your journey through running BBSs and tinkering with retro tech like TWGS shows a deep passion for the roots of digital communication and gaming. Welcome back to the scene it seems like you'll have plenty of nostalgia and new discoveries ahead.

Thanks