58 replies to this topic

[jtoubeaux]

The things we did with those Apple computers ...

Great stuff. I could almost imagine the 'Speak and Spell' alongside your home made satellite.

Atari Age is a bit like an old BBS. It has that 'feel', one reason I like it so much, plus al lthe great people you get to meet

Did anyone belong to Compuserve? Prodigy?

[Atari Smeghead]

jtoubeaux, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 1:54 AM, said:

Atari Age is a bit like an old BBS. It has that 'feel', one reason I like it so much, plus al lthe great people you get to meet

Did anyone belong to Compuserve? Prodigy?

Yes, I get the same feel from AtariAge. The biggest difference is that most of the BBSs I called (or ran) had a lot more messages in one big line. This, with the messages split into sections and topics, is a lot easier to navigate. My BBS could, in its heyday, garner hundreds of messages a day. That's a lot to paw through in one big pile, but we all did it and loved doing it!

I could never afford the monthly fees for those sites, but I still found ways to call them. I used to get a lot of those free trial subscriptions, from new computers and modems. "I got 5 free hours; let's make this count!" In fact, I used so many free CIS offers that when Compuserve unveiled it's "new" Compuserve 2000 system, they sent me a huge free deal - I think it was for 6 months! It was funny... they sent a letter to my parents' house with this offer. I hadn't lived there for a few years at that point, so I was on a really old database. This was in AOL's heyday, so CIS 2000 never amounted to much... and come to think of it, AOL bought out Compuserve after that.

And if we were to continue talking about Broderbund... some of my favorite A8 games came from them, like Choplifter!, Kareteka, and Apple Panic.

Cheers,
Smeg

[jaybird3rd]

Reading this thread makes me regret that I missed out on the BBS era. I was into computers in the early 80s, but to the extent that we were even aware of the idea of "going online", my folks were against it because there weren't any local BBSes in my neck of the woods in New Jersey, and they couldn't afford long-distance calls. It's remarkable how active the BBS community was, and how quickly it seems to have disappeared once the Internet came along.

I wonder if anyone here has seen Jason Scott's BBS documentary. I think sometimes about setting up my own BBS, just to get a feel for what the technology was like. When I finally get to watch my copy of the documentary, that will probably be enough to push me over the edge.

[jtoubeaux]

Atari Smeghead, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 9:59 AM, said:

jtoubeaux, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 1:54 AM, said:

Atari Age is a bit like an old BBS. It has that 'feel', one reason I like it so much, plus al lthe great people you get to meet

Did anyone belong to Compuserve? Prodigy?

Yes, I get the same feel from AtariAge. The biggest difference is that most of the BBSs I called (or ran) had a lot more messages in one big line. This, with the messages split into sections and topics, is a lot easier to navigate. My BBS could, in its heyday, garner hundreds of messages a day. That's a lot to paw through in one big pile, but we all did it and loved doing it!

I could never afford the monthly fees for those sites, but I still found ways to call them. I used to get a lot of those free trial subscriptions, from new computers and modems. "I got 5 free hours; let's make this count!" In fact, I used so many free CIS offers that when Compuserve unveiled it's "new" Compuserve 2000 system, they sent me a huge free deal - I think it was for 6 months! It was funny... they sent a letter to my parents' house with this offer. I hadn't lived there for a few years at that point, so I was on a really old database. This was in AOL's heyday, so CIS 2000 never amounted to much... and come to think of it, AOL bought out Compuserve after that.

And if we were to continue talking about Broderbund... some of my favorite A8 games came from them, like Choplifter!, Kareteka, and Apple Panic.

Cheers,
Smeg

I like the thread split as well. Makes it much easier to post and read.

Was it Compuserve that was packaged with the C64? I can't remember if it was that one or another. I just remember when I bought my 64c I purchased the monthly subscruption after the free trial (I've been working since I was 12 years old - always had a job - most of them not good ones, but always employed so I paid for most everything myself). The dial up days of AOL were both awesome and troublesome. I did dial up on AOL with my Mac Performa. I didn't know about the documentary - I'll watch it.

Choplifter for the A8 is a great game - better control than the Apple version, though the Apple version is good too (forgot about that one!) I never really cared for Karateka (any version). For some reason, I just didn't care for the gameplay (I'm in the minority, I know).

That's funny about the offers being sent to an old address - but who knows how often they updated their databases (eerie!)

Jon

[Atari Smeghead]

jaybird3rd, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 10:06 AM, said:

Reading this thread makes me regret that I missed out on the BBS era. I was into computers in the early 80s, but to the extent that we were even aware of the idea of "going online", my folks were against it because there weren't any local BBSes in my neck of the woods in New Jersey, and they couldn't afford long-distance calls. It's remarkable how active the BBS community was, and how quickly it seems to have disappeared once the Internet came along. I wonder if anyone here has seen Jason Scott's BBS documentary. I think sometimes about setting up my own BBS, just to get a feel for what the technology was like. When I finally get to watch my copy of the documentary, that will probably be enough to push me over the edge.

They were fun times, no doubt about it. It's funny to think back and realize we used to stream text (and some ASCII/AtASCII graphics) at the blistering rate of 300 bits per second. What are the fastest modems doing nowadays - 56000 bps? Imagine it - 300 bps was about the speed I could read, so I'd sit there, watching each word draw on the screen one at a time, until it filled the page. When 1200 bps came out, BOOM, a page of text quick enough that I'd have to pause the screen (if the BBS had a pause function - some would pause at the end of each page of text). The fastest I ever used for my BBS was 2400. At the time, I couldn't afford anything faster.

I have not seen the BBS Documentary, but I certainly knew about it. I was supposed to be interviewed for it, in fact. When I found out it was a work-in-progress, I emailed Jason and told him the stuff I wrote here about the community. I figured we had a unique story, with a surprisingly large number of BBSs, a strong, tightly knit community, and verifiable proof. I still have many of the BBS lists we did, plus info on the picnics and awards show ballots/tickets/prototype statuettes. We even made a 20+ page New Users Guide that we gave away free through local computer stores and directly to the public. The Lansing State Journal did a nice article on us. I got my name and several quotes in the paper. I still have a couple of those, made with PrintShop, probably.

But anyway, I was supposed to meet up with the guy at some sort of computer show in Detroit, which is 1 1/2 hours or so from me. I drove down there, but was never able to get him to answer his cell phone or his hotel room phone. I wasted a day, with lots of phone calls and messages, but never got my interview. So I'm a tad bit bummed/bitter over it. It might be why I never got around to seeing it. I'd like to, though.

jtoubeaux, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 2:32 PM, said:

Was it Compuserve that was packaged with the C64? I can't remember if it was that one or another. I just remember when I bought my 64c I purchased the monthly subscruption after the free trial (I've been working since I was 12 years old - always had a job - most of them not good ones, but always employed so I paid for most everything myself). The dial up days of AOL were both awesome and troublesome. I did dial up on AOL with my Mac Performa. I didn't know about the documentary - I'll watch it.

Choplifter for the A8 is a great game - better control than the Apple version, though the Apple version is good too (forgot about that one!) I never really cared for Karateka (any version). For some reason, I just didn't care for the gameplay (I'm in the minority, I know). That's funny about the offers being sent to an old address - but who knows how often they updated their databases (eerie!) Jon

I never bought a new Commodore (I was always an Atari guy) but I suspect all new computers from that era had the same starter pack - CIS, Dow Jones Information Service, maybe a couple months of BYTE magazine or something, warranty card...

Good times!
Smeg

[Atari Smeghead]

I just did a quick search for Compuserve, and found out a couple of things. AOL bought them out in 1997, so they must've already owned them when "Compuserve 2000" came out. I also see they kept it alive until 2009. Did anyone see this article?

According to Wikipedia...
The original CompuServe Information Service, later rebranded as CompuServe Classic, was shut down July 1, 2009. The newer version of the service, CompuServe 2000, continues to operate.

Interesting. So where are you, Compuserve 2000... Well, I found a Netscape Compuserve. Hitting "Mail" goes to AOL's mail service.

PS - there were others I had forgotten about... GEnie, The Source... Thanks, Wiki!

Smeg

[high voltage]

During the 80s I used to dial from Germany to the US Atari BBS, something like $30 for 10 minutes, I had an acoustic modem simular seen here on the AA 'forum', just not from Atari but a no-name brand.
Later in UK I subscribed to MicroLink (Telecom Gold) advertised in Atari User for my XE http://www.atarimani...Vol-1-No-08.pdf, (page 17) and to Compunet for C64/C128 computers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compunet

Anyone in the US ever use Habitat? http://en.wikipedia....tat_(video_game)

Edited by high voltage, Sat Feb 4, 2012 3:14 PM.

[jtoubeaux]

That's too bad about the interview. I would have been a bit miffed as well. I'll probably take a peek at it tonight.

The Geos pack for the C64c was where I got my Compuserve started. GEOS was great and then using Compuserve to chat and D/L games was just the best.

I had a Hayes Smartmodem 2400 baud that was compatible with both my Atari 130XE and my Commodore 64C but I did originally have the 300 baud XM301 modem for my Atari 800xl. Lightening Slow! That's funny remembering the lines of text appearing one line at a time. Those were some crazy good time, Smeg!

Atari Smeghead, on Sat Feb 4, 2012 11:10 AM, said:

I just did a quick search for Compuserve, and found out a couple of things. AOL bought them out in 1997, so they must've already owned them when "Compuserve 2000" came out. I also see they kept it alive until 2009. Did anyone see this article?

According to Wikipedia...
The original CompuServe Information Service, later rebranded as CompuServe Classic, was shut down July 1, 2009. The newer version of the service, CompuServe 2000, continues to operate.

Interesting. So where are you, Compuserve 2000... Well, I found a Netscape Compuserve. Hitting "Mail" goes to AOL's mail service.

PS - there were others I had forgotten about... GEnie, The Source... Thanks, Wiki!

Smeg

I didn't read the article but I do remember when AOl hit the scene and my trusty Mac performa was perfect for it - remember Global Link? Globalnet?

[20ohm20]

jtoubeaux, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 1:54 AM, said:

Did anyone belong to Compuserve? Prodigy?

I used CompuServe for a bit on my dad's Apple //e around 1984 or so. I also vaguely remember that there was an extra $2-$3 per hour surcharge for 1200 baud access. ha! Didn't CompuServe also have some early form of a MUD that used ASCII graphics? We only used it for a few months because it was so expensive, so my memories of it are kinda hazy.

I also experienced my first bit of eCommerce on CompuServe. TSR (the company that made the Dungeons & Dragons game) had an online store on CompuServe. As an early birthday present, he let me buy a couple AD&D books online, which arrived at his house a few days later. It was a very cool experience for a 13 year old in 1984.

I also used something around the same time called American People Link, but my memories of that are even hazier. By 1985, I didn't pay for any kind of online access again until I started using dial-up internet access in 1993/1994.

[FalcoPhoenix808]

I used Prodigy back in 1990 till 1993. That's where I first got hooked on message boards, also thought it was cool how instantly I could get news - before it was even broadcast on TV generally. Also remember playing Mad Maze quite a bit. I still preferred my local BBS's at the time, but P* had it's moments - I remember trading bootleg VHS KISS concerts with a bunch of guys on there long ago, was a good time.

[jtoubeaux]

20ohm20, on Sat Feb 4, 2012 10:57 PM, said:

jtoubeaux, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 1:54 AM, said:

Did anyone belong to Compuserve? Prodigy?

I used CompuServe for a bit on my dad's Apple //e around 1984 or so. I also vaguely remember that there was an extra $2-$3 per hour surcharge for 1200 baud access. ha! Didn't CompuServe also have some early form of a MUD that used ASCII graphics? We only used it for a few months because it was so expensive, so my memories of it are kinda hazy.

I also experienced my first bit of eCommerce on CompuServe. TSR (the company that made the Dungeons & Dragons game) had an online store on CompuServe. As an early birthday present, he let me buy a couple AD&D books online, which arrived at his house a few days later. It was a very cool experience for a 13 year old in 1984.

I also used something around the same time called American People Link, but my memories of that are even hazier. By 1985, I didn't pay for any kind of online access again until I started using dial-up internet access in 1993/1994.

I remember a few of the online stores back then. I bought an "Eastern Front" cart for my Atari for about $8. You're right that it was pretty exciting for a kid in the early 80s to get something from online shopping.

I remember now what the online service I used with my Commodore 64C - QUANTUM LINK! I remember major crazy chat rooms on this service - kind of X rated if I remember.

[Keatah]

I did The Source and Compuserve and Dow Jones News Retrieval. It was great. Though, actually, the first bbs I called was something AMUG or some WAreZ bORde or something.

It really was cool, the green cast of the CRT, way late into dark hours. The soft click of something in the MicroCoupler and the red light glow of the off-hook indicator. I always thought this little box translated some sort of alien language or something.

[jtoubeaux]

Keatah, on Sun Feb 5, 2012 2:02 AM, said:

I did The Source and Compuserve and Dow Jones News Retrieval. It was great. Though, actually, the first bbs I called was something AMUG or some WAreZ bORde or something.

It really was cool, the green cast of the CRT, way late into dark hours. The soft click of something in the MicroCoupler and the red light glow of the off-hook indicator. I always thought this little box translated some sort of alien language or something.

Yeah, I think the combination of late night, lights out, glow of the screen, clicking keys and a few green or red lights from the computer & peripherals was mesmerizing. In the late 70s and early 80s my dad had an old radio with cable and I used to listen to radio programs from across the world at like midnight - it was kind of like that - otherworldly - like a deer in the headlights. I used to think that maybe I could pick up alien signals on the radio - and I used to think that maybe I could hack into some secret government lab just because I was dialing BBS's at midnight and 0100 hours.

[Atari Smeghead]

Well, I found a couple of my BBS's main menus. Not sure how these will look, as I had to "translate" them from AtASCII graphics.

The Fletcher Memorial Home's
main lobby
----------------------------------
-=>E<=- Entertainment Wing
-=>G<=- PLEASE, Let me out!
-=>H<=- Go to the Rubber room . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Humourous stories, etc.)
-=>M<=- Go to the Message Hall
-=>N<=- Secret Note to or FROM Me . . . . . . . . . (GIVE US A DONATION!)
-=>S<=- Head towards the Survey room
-=>T<=- Go to the Lobotomy room . . . . . . . . . . . (HELP & other text files)
-=>U<=- Shock Therapy Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . other BBSs, last 10 visitors
-=>W<=- The Writer's Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Short Stories & a Novel by Me
-=>Z<=- High on the HoG!

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. For some reason, this board is not recognizing multiple spaces (or at least is not showing in the preview). So I added dots. I used to have it (cleverly, if you ask me ) so that my menus would look good with a 40-column screen or an 80-column screen.

I don't remember what Z was for anymore... probably some sort of menu-driven adventure game. I did a lot of those. With the mental hospital theme, I had a "game" in the Attic, the Bathroom, and the Basement. Basically just menus opening up other menus or text, but I had fun with it.

I had another one to show you, but it's really space-intensive/graphical, but since this place won't show more than one space in a row, it looks horrible in preview. For some reason. (I just spaced this out, to see if I'm wrong.)

I sure did spend a lot of time on this type of stuff. Between writing, monitoring the message base, and scouring the rest of the country for more humor and/or short stories to post, this kept me busy.

Cheers,
Smeg

[jtoubeaux]

That's awesome - I would have enjoyed your BBS a lot!

I loved the game sections - the text adventures that the SysOps wrote were priceless! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see your menus how they were supposed to be. I'll PM you with my email address. Awesome Stuff!

Jon

[Inky]

I tried running a BBS on my Coleco ADAM back in the day, but I could never get time to use the phone line.

The nice thing about the area I grew up in, we had about 4 Atari BBS's. SAC Base, Alcatraz, and I believe the Sandlot. On Alcatraz, there was an arrogant Amigaphile named DRAGON who kept pissing everybody off. We noted that he was doing pretty well at a game called Space Empire Elite. Well, one night, at around 11:30 PM, I went over to the Sysop of Alcatraz's house. The Sysop of SAC Base signed in and let Dragon have it. THen I logged on locally and let him have it. Then the Alcatraz Sysop let him have it. THen it turned midnight, and we did it again. After 6 strong attacks, he was no longer a force in SEE. For the next few weeks, he kept whining that we cheated.

Good times!

[jtoubeaux]

Inky, on Sun Feb 5, 2012 2:37 PM, said:

I tried running a BBS on my Coleco ADAM back in the day, but I could never get time to use the phone line.

The nice thing about the area I grew up in, we had about 4 Atari BBS's. SAC Base, Alcatraz, and I believe the Sandlot. On Alcatraz, there was an arrogant Amigaphile named DRAGON who kept pissing everybody off. We noted that he was doing pretty well at a game called Space Empire Elite. Well, one night, at around 11:30 PM, I went over to the Sysop of Alcatraz's house. The Sysop of SAC Base signed in and let Dragon have it. THen I logged on locally and let him have it. Then the Alcatraz Sysop let him have it. THen it turned midnight, and we did it again. After 6 strong attacks, he was no longer a force in SEE. For the next few weeks, he kept whining that we cheated.

Good times!

Ah, the help that local SysOps could give back in the day. That's a great memory. (Pints raised) To the good 'ol BBS days!

[asponge]

jaybird3rd, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 10:06 AM, said:

there weren't any local BBSes in my neck of the woods in New Jersey, and they couldn't afford long-distance calls.

I remember one of my first BBS's was a long distance call. That was the only number I had at the time. The fun thing back then was that you could download BBS number lists from the systems you visited. Eventually I found a list local to my area, and through the message boards, figured out the appropriate software and settings I should be using. It seems silly now, but the first time I got everything working correctly it was really cool that the ASCII art and menus were all clear and appropriately aligned. I know. It's the small things.

Later I signed up with AOL. At the time it was just a giant BBS. There wasn't any real internet access yet. I think you could use FTP and gopher. I still don't know what the hell gopher was useful for. At that period I was using both BBS's and AOL at the same time. Back then, interactions on those boards were definitely more intimate than these types of forums today. Although, I think it's interesting that the basic electronic message board premise that was created years ago by BBS folks is still carried on today throughout the internet. I agree with 20ohm20, I too "really, really miss BBS culture.", but at least it hasn't completely died.

[Hatta]

I actually cost my dad a few hundred dollars calling BBSs back in the day. I was 12 or so, and I had always been taught that if I wanted to call long distance, I needed to dial an area code first. I figured that if I didn't have to dial an area code, it must be a local number right? I guess not.

[jtoubeaux]

Hatta, on Tue Feb 7, 2012 12:18 PM, said:

I actually cost my dad a few hundred dollars calling BBSs back in the day. I was 12 or so, and I had always been taught that if I wanted to call long distance, I needed to dial an area code first. I figured that if I didn't have to dial an area code, it must be a local number right? I guess not.

Unfortunately, you are correct. Some places have the 'direct dial' numbers - which are in the same area code but are considered long distance. We used to have that in Bakersfield. Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo were both area code 805, but it was still a long distance call even though you didn't need to dial the area code. I think this happened to many BBS calls back in the day ... and I think many parents were just a little upset. I mean, who called a BBS for 2 minutes? More like an hour (or more if you were downloading).

[Hatta]

Yep. And because of this, to this day I do not carry long distance service. There's no way for me to accidentally dial a long distance number if I don't have the service. If I need to dial long distance, it goes on the calling card. Of course, these days you have to dial an area code to make a local call.

To think of what I went through to gain a few levels in Usurper and download some nudie pics.

[jtoubeaux]

Hatta, on Thu Feb 9, 2012 4:16 PM, said:

Yep. And because of this, to this day I do not carry long distance service. There's no way for me to accidentally dial a long distance number if I don't have the service. If I need to dial long distance, it goes on the calling card. Of course, these days you have to dial an area code to make a local call.

To think of what I went through to gain a few levels in Usurper and download some nudie pics.

Hahaha.

Nice. Don't forget the 8 bit strip poker game. My friend D/L that for the Apple IIe and we found a way to view the final pics

[20ohm20]

jtoubeaux, on Thu Feb 9, 2012 9:03 AM, said:

We used to have that in Bakersfield. Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo were both area code 805, but it was still a long distance call even though you didn't need to dial the area code

714 used to be like that too. Until the late 80's, the 714 area code was HUGE and actually went all the way out to the NV and AZ border. I used to be very careful of the BBS numbers I called since a number might be in the same area code but 150 miles away (and back then would have been more expensive than an out of state call).

[tyranthraxus]

You guys might want to search out the book "Commodork" which is a memoir of the BBS scenes from the 80s-90s.

My parents wouldn't get me a modem for my 64, I knew there was some good stuff out there! Although being modemless it was fun getting copies of cracked games with those mysterious crack splash pages and references to BBSs in far off corners of the U.S.

I was able to get a modem for my PC around 1994/95, seemed the whole scene collapsed en mass around 1996 and moved into the internet. I feel lucky to have briefly experienced the local BBS scene.

[jtoubeaux]

tyranthraxus, on Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:26 PM, said:

You guys might want to search out the book "Commodork" which is a memoir of the BBS scenes from the 80s-90s.

My parents wouldn't get me a modem for my 64, I knew there was some good stuff out there! Although being modemless it was fun getting copies of cracked games with those mysterious crack splash pages and references to BBSs in far off corners of the U.S.

I was able to get a modem for my PC around 1994/95, seemed the whole scene collapsed en mass around 1996 and moved into the internet. I feel lucky to have briefly experienced the local BBS scene.

Both the C64 and A8 had great "crack'd by" opening titles and scenes. Some of the original music that was written for both computers was just simply awesome. Hoboken, NJ was like some far away distant land that cracked commercial games and made them available for fellow BBS'ers. Excellent.