I myself don't know much about this, but I did run across it and thought I
would post it here.

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About


About the OpenTG Project This is an open-source project to recreate the
Telegard BBS from scratch into a modern, internet ready, and standardized
system.

What are the Goals?

    * Set new standards for BBS software.
    * Recreate the feel and configureability of Telegard.
    * Design using a modular architecture for easy extendability.
    * Build using modern open-standards (language, compilers, libraries, etc).
    * Make Internet Ready on both IPv4 and IPv6, and in theory any protocol
stack.
    * Integrate with current internet Mail Gateways as well as support some
legacy BBS networks such as FidoNET.
    * When possible, provide compatability with legacy systems or a clear
migration path.

What was Telegard? Telegard is BBS software developed in the late 80′s and
90′s by a team of developers as part of the dial-up modem era. See the
official Telegard website (http://www.telegard.net) or the WikiPedia
article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telegard) .

Why not use the original source?

    * Telegard was written at a time when DOS and OS/2 were the primary
operating systems.
    * There was no built-in support for Internet protocols (internet wasn’t
mainstream).
    * The original code was written using older Tool Chains and had a
mixture of Turbo Pascal, C++, and Assembly.
    * Although never confirmed, the original base code was considered to be
borrowed unofficially from other BBS software of the era.
    * Older code for Telegard v2.5 that was leaked out was known to contain
backdoors. This source has been floating around a long time and cannot be
trusted.
    * The final maintainer of the software, Tim Strike, made vast
improvements to the software, however:

According to Tim Strike, Telegard’s last known maintainer, development has
ceased and will not be taken back up. According to a post Tim made on
Outpost BBS in Fidonet’s TG_SUPPORT echo in 2005:[2] ÿ I’m not sure where
Telegard can go from here ÿ I’m not sure that the PC that has all the
source code can boot, nor am I sure that I have all the compilers and tool
chains that would be required to revitalize the project. I also know that I
don’t have the time, or the will, to continue the project myself. I don’t
remember what state it was left in, as time and age have not likely been
kind to the project. Off the top of my head, I don’t know what code can be
open-sourced, and wouldn’t move the project that way without the consent of
the other authors of the project (and yes, as much as I rewrote there are
still contributions and copyrights that are owned by other individuals). I
realize this leaves it open ended, and I suspect for the next little while
that’s where it’ll have to stay with my apologiesÿ and with your understanding.
 
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