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                      B  B  S  *  B  U  L  L  S  H  I  T

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             EGB'S SMELLY SOX SAYS: "PAH! FUCK OFF YOU OLD FOGEY!"


This is in answer to that last  text  file.  I  thought I might as well include
since it came with some of the  other  files,  but  I  might as well say that I
thought most of it was a load of crap!  I notice this guy doesn't sign his name
or pseudo but says he was a  member  of  8BBS. Obviously he hopes everyone will
say "Hey! A member of  the  greatest  BBS  ever  evolved!"  when in fact "8BBS"
really means fuck all to most normal people!  I think this gives you an idea of
how, if he had his way, the BBS  scene  would  be back to being a small band of
elitist sadcases rather than the vast popularity it enjoys at the moment.

    "I've been around since close  to  the  beginning,  and I'm wondering  what
    has happened.  Have BBS's gone the way  of  CB?  Is the entire  system in a
    slump?  Is there anything wrong at all?"

Look you fuckwit, if  you  really  don't  know  what's  going  on, then why are
passing severe judgements on what's happening  today? This confusion appears to
be all over the text where in one bit, he says that:

    "I  feel   it   was   ABBS,   rather    than   CBBS  which  made  the  real
    breakthrough.   While  ABBS  was  much  less  powerful,  and more difficult
    to use,  it could be  run  on  a  "universal"  machine:  --The Apple ][-- .
    Anyone  with an Apple ][ and  a  D.C.   Hayes MM][ modem  could  run  ABBS.
    This  program  could be installed  in  a  matter  of  minutes,  and  anyone
    could have their own bulletin board system."

So it was good that there were  more  BBS  systems?  Not if you believe what he
says later in the text! According to  him,  one of the things that "killed off"
the BBS scene was:

    "Too many BBS systems in one  area.  BBS's  are  still alive and healthy in
    low-density areas."

So more BBS are not a good  idea?  Make  your  fuckin' mind up! I'm also pretty
sceptical about some of the things he attributes to the "Golden Age" of BBSes:

    "A user would think nothing of  spending his Saturday  helping  "The Sysop"
    find an intermittant bug in the BBS program....A user would not only answer
    his or HER mail,  but  also  butt   into   other people's conversations and
    throw in his/her two cents  worth..... A user would suggest improvements to
    make the system  easier  to use..... A  Sysop would care for his BBS like a
    baby.   He'd spend  2  hours  each  night writing messages and playing with
    modifications  to the program.... A   Sysop would NOT restrict conversation
    to  one  particular   topic...such  as  CP/M  software....  A  Sysop  would
    tolerate kids who were just learning  how   to  use modems.  He'd even give
    them a hand getting things working..."

Errr.. Don't many Sysops and users do  the  same thing today on BBSes? I'm also
pretty sceptical of what our un-named person thinks "killed off" the BBS scene:

    1)  "Program uploading and downloading. People  just get their programs and
        leave." - And what planet did you  just  come from? It's a great way to
        spread programs, and you don't think  people  log  on just to read mail
        from some sadcase programmer like you!

    2)  "Too many BBS systems in one area. BBS's are still alive and healthy in
        low-density areas." - Bollocks! It may be  all right for you lot in the
        US, where local calls  in  most  areas  are  free,  and other calls are
        comparatively cheaper, but here in Britain,  I  think I'd rather have a
        choice of BBSes which are local  rate!!!  Anyway, most BBSes now have a
        choice of message networks so  you  can  call  one BBS for one network,
        another for another. Diversification, I think they call it..

    4)  "The loss of 'anonimity' among BBS users.  The BBS used to be the place
        to escape.  Where no one had to  be 'themselves.'  Users such as 'James
        Bond' and  'Captain  Scarlet'  were  given  free  reign  to  vent their
        fantasies.  Today, most systems do not allow false names so they remove
        them straight away." - Now come  on,  pseudos are only really necessary
        if you're doing something that you could  get done for! I mean going on
        a serious computer echonet with a  name  like "Johnson Xthryx the Ball-
        bearing Jnr" for fucks sake! Anyway even  with a normal name, you don't
        HAVE to "be yourself", you can still talk a load of bullshit- the other
        people reading are hundreds of miles away  from you so they don't know!
        Like I said, it's  only  really  necessary  if  it's something illegal,
        where you HAVE to invent a lot of "fantasy" to draw attention away from
        yourself! I've also heard that there's  some "adult" echonets where you
        are advised to assume a pseudo!

All in all, this  text  file  of  yours  reads  like  you're  sore just because
everyone's now into this thing that you used to a sadcase elite at! The fact is
that BBSes are more popular than ever  before  as shown by the rising amount of
new BBSes, and more importantly the  increasing  number of BBS networks such as
the already established Fidonet, NeST,  F-Net  and  Turbonet, which amount to a
turnover of hundreds of new messages per DAY!!!  So there IS a lot of users out
there, and as you said yourself, it's users that make the BBS scene.

**

EGB'S SMELLY SOX!

**

