What your interest are?
by: cr1mson@phatstar.org
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Now that you know what BBSing is and some of the technology behind it, what
interest you the most when you call a new BBS?  What is it that attracts
you?  If you don't have any knowledge of what a BBS is, I'll keep it simple
and let you know that message areas are like social media, file transfers
are like downloading files (except, with BBS, you can upload and share
too!).  Sharing photos is like Instragram, netmail is like private e-mail.
That's just brushing the surface.  So, what is it that keeps you calling
back to BBS?  Is it the fancy graphics, how slick it looks... the amount
of files on a particular board... the SysOp and community... how reliable
a BBS might be, always be able to connect without much disappointment.  I
suppose you could wrap all this up and get a really nice BBS that could
have the potential to attact a lot of users.  One other thing, do you like
it complex or simple?  Personally, I find too much on one screen to be
overwhelming, but too simple doesn't quite have enough.  So, like every-
thing, we need a good balance.  Menus of different sorts spread out
through the whole board, with good hot-keys to make it easy to navigate
to the part of the BBS you're wanting to get to.  The easy the flow, the
better the experience IMHO.  Everyone is different though, that's what
makes it interesting.  Perhaps we could create themes for a handful of
different types of styles to fit everyones budget, or have one to try to
please everyone.  If you've ever been on a BBS and been a user, you
pretty know already what's available.  Don't forget the games, there's
games on about every BBS... everyone likes a little entertainment and
relaxation.  But don't overdue it.  Make sure you participate in the
messages and make some new friends, get to know each other as a
community... relate to other what they go through, don't be closed
minded to get a little advice or a light on how others do it
differently.  We all come from different parts of the ball park and
we all have special gifts and talents.  This is what makes a BBS
strong is when we come together and make the BBS whole.  A SysOp
can't do it all.  The SysOp runs the show while the users are the
actors you might say, putting on one good play.  Take that in good
like.  Think of it as your favorite film, everyone has a role and
the producer sets the stage.  When the curtains open, it's fair
game for everyone.  So don't hesitate to get on a BBS, take your
time, feel free like your visiting someones home and get involved.
Also, there are files, so don't forget to upload to share with others
so the well doesn't run dry.  Communicate in relay chat and talk
amongst the groups, interact.  BBSes are put here for you, the user
to love and enjoy.

So the question is, what do you like most about BBSing?  What
attracted you when you first started?  Is there anything missing
or is the fire still alive?  I hope whatever it is you're looking
for that you find it, but if you don't find it, create it!

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TextMode - A User's Point of View
by: cr1mson@phatstar.org

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What does a user expect from a BBS?  This might be a question that a SysOp
might want to know to get and keep users calling out to their system.

Let's face it, every user is different and expects something different.

To break it down.  Someone might want to see stock or a customized system.
One might want a complex system or something simple.  A SysOp has to have
the eye of their users.  What appeals to you when you call a system?  Do
you find something that you like especially more than the other in regards
to what to expect?  If you find something boring or uninteresting, would
you put that on your system?  It's likely that you wouldn't because it
doesn't appeal to you, but it might appeal to someone else.

A good option to have would be to have a multi-selection on what you, as
a user would like to see on a BBS.  Some are turned on by a lot of sexy
graphics, while others like it plain and simple black and white.  We could
make it customized which flavor we'd like and a multitude of options to
make it feel at home.  It's like a business, but a business turned inside
out just for the user.

Perhaps, we could say a SysOp owns an apartment complex and within it are
8 different custom furnished apartments.  A user could select which one to
pick, yet speaking electronically, we could have the same apartment look
and feel like another one as a neighbor.  I'm not talking about running
more than one BBS.  I'm speaking of themes.  Themes have been around
awhile, yet I've yet to see a lot of variety of themes available for one
particular BBS.

As a user, I expect quality over quantity.  I like things to look as perfect
as possible, I don't like a lot of clutter.  I can be turned off by a BBS
that's incomplete.  Like I've previously stated: Would you setup a BBS and
watch it flourish from the ground up or build it first, making sure
everything is working and running it properly before you decide to open it
for business.  Typically, with a business, the ground work is already done
and you have a showcase to present to customers.  On another hand, we have
a community, like family.  I love a good community-based system where there
are active members involved with peace and harmony.

What I like most is seeing participation as a community and on a common
goal to keep the BBS scene alive and kicking.  Passion will never be lost.
Once you find something you love and enjoy, it's going to be just that; love
and enjoyment.

A user is a person on the outside looking in.  They look through the windows
to see what's available.  If they don't like what they see, they're not
going to stick around for long; maybe a feedback at most.  So keep in
contact with the community and find out what's shying people away if that's
the case.

Another note, is what is the reputation of the SysOp?  Does he/she keep up
with things on their system; is the SysOp motivated, hard-working,
dependable, pleasant to be around, know how to treat their users?  We all
have different tastes and what appeals.  Get to know the SysOp given the
opportunity.  Time is short my friend.  My goal is to help out as much as I
can with my capabilities and time.

Keep all this in mind as a user.  It's a constant battle of BBSes.  Who
attracts more, has the very best content, supplies the majority of their
users what they want and what they enjoy.  My suggestion as a user is to let
the SysOp know what they're intending to see on the BBS.  What they would
like to see when they called back.  What you see on the BBS is what you get.
It's like a picture worth a thousand words.  You can already get a feel of
what's ahead when visiting.

Keep calling, having them return from time to time is a SysOp's dream; how
to run a successful BBS.  Remember, it takes, sweat, blood and tears to get
a really good BBS going.  Let them know how much they are appreciated.

That's my thought for this article.  I hope you enjoyed it.

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Tips For a Successful BBS
by: cr1mson@phatstar.org

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Before opening up a box of a popular BBS software you've been wanting to
run, keep in mind the responsibilities it takes to keep it going.  It's
difficult this day and age to keep users calling back.  It requires a lot of
time and determination.  It's best to put it on a dedicated machine.  It's
very important that the resources on that machine is solely being used by
the BBS.  You wouldn't believe running the BBS in the background while you
are doing other things might slow down the machine while a caller on-line.
It can be annoying to the user with a fluctuating connection, possibly
slowing things down drastically... it should be a steady, smooth sailing
cruise for them to get what their looking for and possibly increasing the
chance for them to find a little extra that they weren't expecting that
they might enjoy.

Don't let your BBS become stale.  Keep things very exciting and enjoyable
for the user.  I suggest creating a customized system and not one out of
the box.  Consider when buying your car, how you want it to run, how it
looks for others to look at, how fast it runs, all that...

You'll need to setup things like port forwarding for your BBS.  This might
sound complicated at first and might not understand it.  It really isn't
all that difficult.  You have ports inside your gateway or router.  I'm not
talking about the ports that you plug in, but internal customized ports
ranging anywhere around 1 to 65535 for modern equipment; also known as the
firmware.  Say you a user to connect to your BBS on port 1337, you go into
your gateway/router's configuration and look for port forwarding, sometimes
in the security area.  It's possible to forward ALL ports from your machine
for others outside your local network to connect to using DMZ, but it's
suggested that you only forward what you need.  Don't worry, depending on
the software you're running you might forward 1 port up to maybe 20 or 30.
These ports have to be hand programmed in.  Simply put, enter in your local
IP address and the port number to be forwarded.  If you don't know your
local IP address, you can check it using ipconfig or ifconfig.  Google is
your friend, there's plenty of answers out there about that.

Try not to overwhelm your users with a lot of nonsense networks (or dead
networks).  These networks can be messages/files and even door game servers.
There's plenty to explore.  You just basically have to get your feet wet and
jump right into it with both feet once you're serious about it.  Finding the
right BBS software for your users depends on your taste and style.  Look
around on other BBSes and see what they run; your favorites.  You might see
a lot of flashy ANSI graphics you wish you had on your BBS.  That'll come
with time and providing proof that your serious about the BBS scene and all
that it has to offer.  Think through what you'd like on your BBS and what
you want your users to see.  After all, it's like having guests in your
house, so you need to design your home and keep it clutter-free when you
have visits.  Think of things that are unique about your new BBS.  Something
you won't find a lot of on most BBSes.  Reach out to other BBS SysOps.
Also, spice things up a bit, alternate your screens around at random could
provide it being more interesting.  Some like change and some like things
the same as they are.  Like, if it's broke, don't try to fix it.

Don't to ask others too much for help as this is a distraction and an
indication that you're being lazy.  There's plenty of information on the
web about vintage and modern BBS software (whichever direction you want to
go).  Now days, software has pretty much all the foundation and ground work
already in place.  If you're up for a challenge, try using older software
on an older machine and see if you can get others to connect; such as Amiga
or Atari.  

It takes a serious person about their property (your BBS) to attract others.
Also, you want it to always be Have very limited amount of downtime.  Always
keep your system running.  If you need to, customize and configure your BBS
before going public with it.  It just depends on how quick you want to get
in the pool and starting to learn (if you haven't ever been a SysOp before).
Don't give up on your first, second, who knows how many tries.

The goal here is one common purpose and that's to keep it alive.  You know
the most successful people have had the most failures because they kept at
what they were trying to accomplished until it clicked.  Once you get it,
you get it.  It might not happen overnight and you know that Rome wasn't
built in day.  Build and they will come they say.  Keep in mind, a business
has no business if it's closed.

I hope you find this article to your liking and gives you an idea of how to
start one.  I haven't covered everything.  There is so much more that you
can do for your new system.  Try learning a new programming such as MPL,
PHP, JavaScript among a lot other languages.

Talk to other users, find out what they like.  Don't be pushy on others as
they have just as many rights as you do.  If you don't get what you want
when you want, it's most likely whoever you're trying to contact is busy
and/or might not have the time for a quick response.  Please have patience
as this is a computer tech hobby.  Well, with that, it's a wrap. ;)

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