If you were a sysop in the late 80's and early to mid-1990's you saw first hand the foundations of the future of tech.
Right around the the turn of the 21st century, a mere 10 years later, tech began to rapidly change, bring newer and more innovative and efficient ways to do things with technology. Things got smaller, faster, more creative, useful and affordable. Gaming went to a whole new level. Phone technology brought us real life "Star Trek" types of uses and applications. Data storage got smaller and larger. Network connectivity started it's climb to where it is today - taken for granted it is so commonplace.
But during the heyday of the BBS, things were different. Home computers were relatively still a new thing. My first computer was an IBM XT that had 64k of memory, no hard drive, a 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives and a 15" CGA monitor. All of that, in 1990, cost me about $500. That was a lot of money.
Fast forward to about 1992 and I ended up purchasing, what was then a relatively high end computer. It was a Packard-Bell 486DX. It had 16MB of RAM and two 3.5" floppy drives. In addition to the computer, which did not come with a hard drive, I bought a 250MB hard drive for $200 (a steal back back then), a VGA monitor, and a 14.4k modem. All said and done I paid nearly $1000 for that system. There are watches now that have more computing power than that whole system did.
All that being said, however, this is where the foundations of modern tech really started. So briefly, I will talk about a few things that the BBS era brought to the table.
First and foremost it brought the concept of network connectivity to the mainstream. The BBS realm saw the rise of interconnected BBS networks such as FIDONet, UUCPNET, WWIVnet, and others. These were basically the precursors to the modern USEnet networks. Learning about protocols, nodes, hubs, and the basics of network connectivity was a necessity for a successful BBS. It also served many modern day network professionals with their first taste of networking.
While modem connections were slow back then, they also provided not only the ability to connect to a BBS, but to fledgling online services such as AOL Online, Compuserve, and Prodigy (The Big Three) - the precursors to the modern internet.
Behind networking came understanding computer hardware. Back then, you didn't really have "plug and play" and configuring things such as IRQ's, COM ports, motherboard jumper switches, and RAM allocation were real struggles.
Alongside the hardware struggles were understanding things such as programming the BBS software (many use C, Turbo C or C++), installing applications (mostly games) with the proper settings for functionality, and configuring necessary files when using networks like FIDOnet.
Conversely, this made a BBS sysop probably one of the most technically savvy people you would find in terms of sheer knowledge of hardware, software, and networking.
Some of the foundations for today's tech
So let's list some BBS era things that laid the foundations for modern technology.
BBS Doors - These games were usually turn based, text driven games that you could play against other members of the BBS. The king of the BBS door games was by far Trade Wars 2002. It has been cited as an inspiration of game developers like Paul Sage (Ultima Online), Josh Johnston (Jumpgate), Eric Wang (Earth and Beyond) and Pete Mackay (Star Citizen).
Forum/Mail Networks - As referred to earlier, BBS networks such as FIDOnet, UUCPNET, WWIVnet and others laid the foundations for the modern USEnet and forum/mail type network exchanges.
BBS Networking - Using a modem over a phone line had its limitations, but that didn't stop BBS users and sysops from pushing the technology to its max. Dial-up networking was the launchpad for understanding how to connect not only to a BBS, but to online services, network exchanges, forum/mail networks, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The internet and modern network technology really started right here with the dial-up modem.
Chat, Forums, and Blogs - The BBS is the father of all three of these technologies. The BBS system, in the form of message boards, was the first way to "speak" with others in a computerize environment. Your messages, while not instantaneous, could then be read and commented on by not just one person, but others, pretty much how modern forum and blog comments work today. Some BBS software had a psuedo-chat function that would allow you to talk to one person alone (a direct message (DM) if you will) that were the beginnings of online, real-time chat services such as ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and PowWow.
Downloadable Software - It is no secret that even before the internet in the days of the BBS, downloading illegal software or adult content trumped everything else. Many BBS systems had file areas that contained what was called "shareware" back in the day that you could download and upload to the BBS system. You could do the same with adult images (also videos, but due to connection speeds and file sizes, these were very rare). Alongside the shareware programs came "warez" - which was basically preregistered programs or programs that contained a "keygen" that would allow you to create a bogus product key to register the program. Warez was HUGE during the BBS years. So, while it isn't a great thing, it is still to this day the same as it was back then - adult content and illegal software rule the online world.
Wrapping up
So, while the list is certainly not exhaustive, it is clear that back in the days when BBS ruled the computer world, the tech that was available, while archaic to modern standards, was cutting edge and the catalyst of the world we currently reside where technology is mostly just taken for granted.
I would love to hear your stories, experiences and thoughts!
