Yo! Charles:
Monday April 28 1997 23:48, Charles Hunter wrote to Bill Cheek:
 BC>> The days of the BBS are wrapping up and drawing to a close.  BBS's
 BC>> just don't get it anymore in terms of cost and resources of time and
 BC>> equipment. FidoNe is shrinking weekly and is down by over 5,000
 BC>> nodes in the last 18-mos.  The is nothing to suggest this trend will
 BC>> be reversed, and so in another year or two, FidoNet will be only a
 BC>> shell of its former self.
 CH> This is truly a sad note.  I compare the demise of the bbs (because of
 CH> internet) to the demise of all the small hometown newspapers which were
 CH> eaten up by the big newspaper dynastys.  Of course, Congress passed a
 CH> law(s) and gave up some money for the newspapers.
Your comparison may seem pertinent, but there is a huge difference between 
the analogy and the reality.  One, I don't see the small newspapers folding.  
right here in San Diego, a city of 2-million, we have a number of community 
newspapers......very successful, too.  Two, these are commercial enterprises 
where "might is right" in terms of market forces.  I'll buy your analogy in 
terms of agribusiness that has eaten up most of the nation's farmers.
But it's cheaper, per loaf of bread, to plant and harvest 10,000 acres at a 
whack than a hundred.
Fact is....the dialup BBS can support one user per line at a time.  That's 24 
users a day per line if each takes their hour.  My down home web site can 
support 24 users at a time at a fraction of the cost.....both to them as well 
as to me.
It's market forces and progress, Charles.  The BBS is like two tin cans on a 
string compared to the Web and FTP capabilities.  Little more than a toy....
Bill Cheek | bcheek@san.rr.com
Windows 95 Juggernaut Team | Microsoft MVP
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