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Darkrealms BBS

darkrealms.ca

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Re: Darkrealms BBS

#31

Post by alfiedotwtf »

iJohnDoe wrote: post #14

Story time. Remember when dial-up was “unlimited”, until it wasn’t? I would stay connected 24/7 because I was running FTP servers announced on IRC. Well, eventually unlimited became a restricted number of hours in a month and I had to disconnect. I then discovered the whole BBS underground and was amazed. I would find BBS numbers online, in magazines, anywhere and everywhere I could find them. Well, I dialed into all…

There was a big list of all the BBSes in Australia, and over the weekend I dialled everyone of those. I was a kid, and didn’t realise interstate was billed per the minute.

… my heart sank when the bill was over $500 AUD, and my dad picked up the helpless US Robotics 14.4Kbps modem and threw it at the brick wall, shattering into little pieces along with my heart.

… so anyway, that’s when a friend started sleeping over, bringing his modem. Though one time he forgot his power supply and I found one that fit - ended up smelling burning plastic only to see that the top of his modem had melted but the magic smoke was filling it like a balloon!! Luckily, once it popped, the modem continued to work lol

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#32

Post by driverdan »

01100011 wrote: post #18

I have such strong nostalgia for that era, but man, every time I try to go back and experience a BBS like this is just feels so empty. There really isn't a way to experience the feelings back then. I admire them for keeping it alive, but the magic was long ago dispelled by ubiquitous internet connectivity. I can go play a retro videogame and be taken back, but I've never felt that way with a BBS. Maybe it's just the…

That is exactly what I felt looking at Darkrealms' site again.

I grew up on BBSes and ran one in the late 90's. It's not the same, there's no going back. Downloading random txt files with wacko conspiracy theories, fighting other online users in door games, dialing long distance for a chance to find cool warez, it's all hollow now. There's no community left. Any info you want can be found in seconds.

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#35

Post by jesse_dot_id »

I lived in the middle of nowhere in small farming town and the BBS scene really saved me when I was a kid. I had clear opinions about BBS software and Renegade was always my favorite. I always considered Wildcat to be boring looking and for old people. I think it was just that all of the Wildcat boards in my area were run by boring graybeards.

Every board in my area (not many) served a text file called The Alchemist's List — a huge list of regional boards — and it was absolutely responsible for a lot of very contentious long distance bills. Sometimes I miss the simplicity of that time but I do not miss the UX.

The ANSI art scene is still alive and kicking. Still my favorite style of art. https://www.instagram.com/explore/search/keyword/?q=%23ansia...

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#36

Post by Jemaclus »

sp8 wrote: post #28

Fidonet was my thing from that era. I know it's nostalgia and I know it was a simpler time but I loved Fidonet and I've not come across any Usenet group, discussion email list or web forum that quite hits the same mark. Mind you, that was probably 30 years ago now...

I think about fidonet all the time. It was a magical concept.

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#37

Post by TurkTurkleton »

jesse_dot_id wrote: post #35

I lived in the middle of nowhere in small farming town and the BBS scene really saved me when I was a kid. I had clear opinions about BBS software and Renegade was always my favorite. I always considered Wildcat to be boring looking and for old people. I think it was just that all of the Wildcat boards in my area were run by boring graybeards. Every board in my area (not many) served a text file called The Alchemist'…

As I recall, Wildcat was one of the more expensive BBS packages that was still within reach of hobbyist budgets--I want to say a license for a single-digit number of nodes was between $200 and $300 in mid-90s dollars (around $450-$650 in 2026 dollars)--so it's not surprising that it would have been mostly older people running it. IIRC, it was pretty popular where I grew up, and the demographics in that area definitely skewed a bit older.

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#38

Post by ToddWBurgess »

sysop breaking in for chat:

I remember getting a modem for Christmas 1990 (2400 baud modem) and logging into BBSs and my world would never be the same. I was a hardcore BBS user from 1990-1994.

In 1994, I got my first Unix account with Internet access when I started University. Once I saw the Internet there was no going back (even if it was only the 1994 edition) and I gave up on using BBSs ever again. I suspect most people have a similar story to mine.

Re: Darkrealms BBS

#40

Post by GuinansEyebrows »

01100011 wrote: post #18

I have such strong nostalgia for that era, but man, every time I try to go back and experience a BBS like this is just feels so empty. There really isn't a way to experience the feelings back then. I admire them for keeping it alive, but the magic was long ago dispelled by ubiquitous internet connectivity. I can go play a retro videogame and be taken back, but I've never felt that way with a BBS. Maybe it's just the…

> Boeing Surplus

i only got to experience this place once or twice as a kid. i would LOVE to be able to go back as an adult with spending money. RIP!

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