John:
JM> You MUST find a hook to set you apart from the crowd. It is a tough
JM> business now with the internet and unless you find that hook (content)
JM> you will NOT succeed. Files, messages and even games are not enough
JM> these days.
Perfect!
There are so many boards, and their ads are almost identical i.e., "We
have tons of files, messages and games."  Well, here's a news flash: so
does every other board in your city!
Callers pay for content -- nothing more. If you offer essentially the same
services as every other board, you're doomed.  It's not possible to run a
"something for everyone" type of system and make it profitable because it
puts the sysop in the position of having to compete head-to-head with the
Internet and the mega-BBS's.
What every sysop should be asking is "What does my system offer that the
others don't?"
Even the messages posted here, lamenting the fact that the sysop's can't
seem to get users to pay, contain nearly identical system descriptions:
- Files on multiple CD-ROM's
- Message bases (local and/or network)
- Online games (registered or otherwise)
- Access to Internet e-mail
Shouldn't all this "sameness" be setting off alarms?
Here are some examples of successful boards that either are, or have been,
in operation in Toronto over the years:
Sports     - This board offers everything for the sports fan. Almost all
             sports are covered. There's daily sports news, scoreboards,
             GIFs of sports celebrities, and the message bases, both local
             and network, are related to sports. A sports fanatic's dream.
Investment - This one had e-mail subscriptions to several investment
             newsletters which he promptly posted for downloading. The
             latest closing quotes from the major stock exchanges were
             posted daily. Financial and invesment news was available
             and updated twice daily. The message bases were strictly
             confined to investment topics.
Writers    - 'How To' text files relating to writing, DTP and publishing
             numbered in the hundreds. Font files, grammar checkers and
             graphics programs were what filled the files directories.
             The sysop and the callers posted messages in a "contracts
             wanted and available" area that listed the names of people
             and organizations that were looking for freelancers with
             specific skills for various projects. The network e-mail
             areas dealt only with topics of interest to writers, poets,
             DTPers and journalists. Monthly contests for the best short
             story and poem were run with prizes of BBS subscriptions and
             at times, pre-registered shareware, being awarded.
Again, as you said, it's the CONTENT that made these boards successful.
They didn't try to compete with the mega-boards or the Internet by offer- 
ing something for everyone.  Indeed, much of the information they made 
available initially came from the Internet, but they provided a one-stop 
source for this information that proved convenient for the callers.
I'd also like to point out that Internet e-mail is NOT a selling point for 
systems with 1 to 3 lines.  Nobody wants to put their telecom program into 
auto-redial for 30 or more minutes to retrieve their mail and another 30+ 
minutes to get back on so they can send their replies.
The Internet is not going to kill the local BBS any more than T.V. did the
radio.  All it means is that the old rules and the established ways of
doing things no longer apply.
Boards need to provide in-depth information as well as services that are
FOCUSED on a particular area if they want to survive.  Simply attaching
a CD-ROM carousel, connecting to Fidonet and putting up online games,
just won't suffice anymore.
If a board's callers aren't interested enough in what is being offered
to make them pay for access, then perhaps the sysop's involved would be
better off putting their energy into finding out why. Cursing the users
is tantamount to a store owner cursing shoppers as they pass by instead
of trying to figure out why they aren't coming in -- counter-productive
at the very least.
Good post, sir!
Richard
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