Before the Internet Revolution first exploded into the
mainstream public, there were BBS systems. You will rarely
hear about or see them anymore. Easy Internet access all
but led to the extinction of this form of communication. The smart
ones evolved and thrived. Now, some systems are returning
to the graves of their predecessors to reminisce and
re-unite.
If you are unfamiliar, BBS stood for Bulletin Board System. A Bulletin Board
System is simply a computer hooked up to a phone line. People would call the
computer with their computer using a modem and communications software. The
typical BBS would have message areas to communicate with others, downloadable
files, and sometimes a few games to play.
At first, BBS systems were fairly harmless, devoted to academic studies,
sciences and discussion, with names such as "East Bay Astronomy Club" or
"Computer Discussion Central". But the users of these early systems started
getting bored. They wanted to include things like sex, drugs, Rock & Roll,
explosions, and other not-so-nice topics. So they began branching out, and
forming their own systems with names like The
Temple of the Screaming Electron, Rathead, Sanctum,
Lies Unlimited, dISCO hOSPITAL, and others. Most of the Pigdog Staff met &
evolved on systems such as these, exchanging information, transforming these
systems (and their minds) into
horrible mutant monsters hell-bent on destroying society.
But as access to the Internet became increasingly easier and cheaper (and BBS
systems became more mainstream), BBS users operators began switching over their
systems to the Internet in the forms of mail-lists, MUDS, ftp sites, and later,
web sites. Soon, the micro-universes that flourished like buffalo before the
coming of the white man soon became as few in number as there are condors left
in California. As of late, some former users have banded together to both mark
the remembrance of how these systems changed the landscape of personal
communication, and to meet up with old friends that may have fallen to the
wayside when the revolution came and threw the systems up against the wall.
And while this initial attempt may be rather cute and sweet for most, it's only
a matter of time before it sprouts horns and demands anal sex on crack with the
local minister's daughter or son.
