_ _ _ _ _ ____ ____ ____
_ __ ___ __ _| (_) |_ _ _ ___| |__ ___ ___| | _| __ )| __ ) ___|
| '__/ _ \/ _` | | | __| | | |/ __| '_ \ / _ \/ __| |/ / _ \| _ \___ \
| | | __/ (_| | | | |_| |_| | (__| | | | __/ (__| <| |_) | |_) |__) |
|_| \___|\__,_|_|_|\__|\__, |\___|_| |_|\___|\___|_|\_\____/|____/____/
|___/
http://realitycheckbbs.org
http://radio.realitycheckbbs.org
via telnet/web/ftp/gopher
vintage h/p/a/c text files
local/bbslink/coa online games
agoranet/fsxnet/dovenet/fidonet/araknet/usenet/spooknet/survnet
realitycheckRADIO /dark/ambient/lo-fi music streams 24/7
[eom]
June, 1991:
I inherited a 6 MHZ AT clone
with 1 megabyte (!) of RAM and 2 20 meg hard drives from my current
employer. I started the BBS off as Left Field BBS running on Opus
software. I changed the name to "realitycheckBBS" and moved to Telegard
2.4 BBS software and FrontDoor mailer, connecting through an Anchor
2400 baud modem. Work tossed out a box of those modems, and I
occasionally handed them out with a comm program (with realitycheckBBS
in the #1 spot in the dialing directory, of course...)
July 1991:
realitycheckBBS joins NIRVANAnet(tm)
as node 9:900/7. NIRVANAnet was a free speech network started by
Ratsnatcher, Dr. Strangelove, and Jeff Hunter to network messages
between BBSes that valued anonymity and appreciated the power of
information. The BBS is busy close to 24 hours a day, I get used to
waking up to seeing people from halfway around the world dialed in.
1992:
RealitycheckBBS joined FidoNet as 1:125/57. At this point, there were over 100 BBSes in my local area.
1993:
realitycheckBBS moves to Albany, CA and switches to Fidonet 1:161/418.
I upgrade the BBS to a 386SX. Cast-off Lantastic hardware becomes
realitycheckBBS' first network. I upgrade to a Telebit T3000 modem and
enter the high-speed realm. The number is (510) 527-1662. I feel sorry
for whoever got that number when I moved, as it was embedded in the
description file of over 3000 text files at this point.
NIRVANAnet(tm) undergoes a renumbering, and realitycheckBBS becomes a
hub for peninsula and east bay nodes. Get-togethers were common as we
were all reachable by car or public transit. I lived next door to a PUB
that housed many formal (and many more) informal get-togethers.
realitycheckBBS joins GaSPNet, a local telegard support
network, and upgrades to Telegard 2.7.
1994:
Michael Liedtke blows the lid off of the BBS information.scene
with a scathing article titled "Modem Operandi: Tips on Crime Go
Online". RealitycheckBBS is implicated for having the same
information available as most public libraries or the Library of
Congress. The article elevates the Contra Costa Times to the
pinnacle of journalistic excellence. Article is later reprinted in
the National Enquirer. If you have back copies, look for the issue
with Fabio and Rosanne Barr in bed together on the cover.
NIRVANAnet(tm) gettogethers continue. I have vague, font memories of
dinners at La Rondalla in San Francisco, a blue drink at Trad'r Sam's,
a jukebox playing Ozzy Osbourne, Patsy Cline and Boz Scaggs, and buying
bulk loose beer by the can at the Marina Safeway.
1995:
RealitycheckBBS moves back to San Francisco, but remains in net
161. I upgrade to a USR Sportster 14.4 modem.
realitycheckBBS has over 5000 files at this point, and
participates in CCinet, XpresitNet, and JustaXnet.
There's a chill in the air as people start spending more time on shell accounts and less time on BBSes...
1996:
The BBS moves to a cast-off 486 server the size of an
end-table with 16 megabytes of RAM and 2 320 MB drives, I switch
the BBS to OS/2 Warp and Maximus CBCS. The BBS number is (415)
666-0709.
1997:
Another hardware switch, this time to a Pentium 166 with 48 megs
of RAM running Windows95. realitycheckBBS moves to Oakland, and I
move the BBS to Windows 95 and the 32-bit DOS version of Maximus.
1998:
High tech comes to realitycheckBBS! realitycheckBBS is now running
on an ISDN line - one telephone line handles incoming calls
fulltime, the other line connects to internet-based message feeds
using an application called Internet Rex. Fidonet feeds without
relying on local networks, toll recovery programs (aka shakedowns)
and polling multiple times a day changes the look and feel of
Fidonet.
1999:
A slow decline for realitycheckBBS. realitycheckBBS drops out of
NIRVANAnet(tm) after as long struggle with content quality. The net
atrophies and eventually Taipan Enigmsa pulls the plug on a chapter of
our lives. realitycheckBBS re-invents itself briefly as Channel Z, then
returns as realitycheckBBS with a variety of othernets including
XpresitNet, CCi, JustaXnet and InfiNet.
2000:
realitycheckBBS migrates to a single analog line with DSL. The BBS
is now running on a P233MMX with 128 MB of RAM. The BBS has 5-10
calls per day, which isn't bad considering the state of BBSing.
May, 2001:
I took the BBS private in order to re-use the modem line as an office
line. At this point, I had 1-2 calls a day, consistently.
Jan, 2004:
I've got a garage full of hardware and no use for it. Firing up a
Windows98 desktop system I inherited from a client, I loaded
Synchronet on it and started playing around. realitycheckBBS soon
comes back to life as an internet-only BBS, with telnet, web, FTP,
Gopher, NNTP and mailing list access. Synchronet has become a
one-stop shop for communication across several media.
realitycheckBBS rejoins Fidonet as 1:161/418.
2006:
There's a resurgence in BBSing, with a couple of othernets showing
promise and Fidonet Not Dead Yet. Synchronet allows for
communication via the web, NNTP, plain ol' telnet, and via email.
I register realitycheckbbs.org and start streaming music through
the BBS via radio.kataan.org. The BBS moves to a 1.4 Ghz P4 system
donated by Dr. Strangelove of "Just Say Yes"/NirvanaNet fame.
2007:
The BBS moves, comes back up in Redwood City, CA,
sharing my desktop box.
2009:
The BBS moves to Belmont, and email services go away. Comcast
blocks SMTP traffic, and while it's nice to provide email
notification of messages, it's not critical.
2010:
Still going strong - looking for new message networks. The BBS is
running via wireless link from a cast-off HP Pavilion running XP,
SBBS 3.14, and Radius for mailer duties. I find a way to provide
email services and continue offering @realitycheckbbs.org email
addresses to users.
2012:
I take over as RC10 for Fidonet, and add Agoranet, a thriving
art/BBS othernet to realitycheckBBS.
2014:
The BBS is hummng along; I add more file echoes and join
Survnet, a survival/prep network, and Center of Awareness, a group
of BBSes taking Synchronet in a new direction.
2015:
The BBS moves back to hardware from this century, with the
addition of games via bbslink.net,
Center of awareness games, and local games. Physically, the BBS
moved as well, to Aptos on the California Pacific Coast.
2016:
The last old desktop dies when I turned the power off. The
BBS moves to a solid old laptop - built in battery backup to
combat the sometimes dodgy power that comes with living in a
wooded area.
2018:
Still running on the laptop I set up in 2016; the battery
is still holding enough of a charge to keep the BBS going through
power outages, and things have been stable for some time. I've
upgraded the web interface to ecweb v4, which has a decent web
forum feature, and have started to see people registering via the
web instead of telnet!
2020:
BBSing is continuing to flourish, despite all indications to
the contrary. realitycheckBBS is now a part of the following
networks, each with their own following, member boards, and areas
of interest:
Agoranet: The official distribution point for ACiD productions ANSI artwork and a hangout for ANSI artists and modders
ArakNet: A BBS modder network focused on Mystic BBS and ANSI artwork.
DOVEnet: A BBS network with a variety of message areas and the home for Synchronet BBS support
Fidonet: The network that started them all. It's not dead yet.
FSXNet: A friendly network, one of my favorite hangouts these days. All range of topics.
Micronet: A small, friendly network with general topics, online since 2000.
Spooknet: Bad informartion and conspiracy theories abound here.
SurvivalNet: Prepping, wilderness survival, security and information sharing galore.
realitycheckBBS includes irc (internet relay chat) on the
synchro.net irc network, and Mystic Relay Chat. MRC has started
weekly chat meetups on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, bringing
back memories of drinkalong chat sessions in the 1990s. We start
earlier nowadays, because we're much older. :)
2023:
The
Fediverse is here. People are tired of the manipulation and profit
mongering of the commercial social networks and looking for something a
little more personal, more connected. Mastadon is getting a lot of
publicity, and raising awareness of other decentralized and
non-commercial networks like BBSes, Tildes and even usenet. I'm seeing an uptick in new users, and while bbsing isn't for everyone, a few stick around.
