DT> May I jump in on this one ? I've never operated a BBS , but have been
 DT> a user for years now. I go out of my way not to call game boards
Thank you very much for your response. It was a breath of fresh air to
listen to a BBS user with constructive and candid comments - such as
yours.
 DT> because I don't play and I can never get on it anyway , that's is they
 DT> are busy for hours and populated primarily by teenagers.
I don't tolerate the teens. They have their "toy bbs's" to call. There
are a few young people that call here - but they are subscribers - and
that pays thier passage. Luckily, I don't have any trouble with them
at all. As a matter of fact - the very first donation I ever had was a
14 year-old that did odd jobs around the house to get the money to
subscribe.
 DT> Demigraphics not long ago said most users were male and 40ish I
 DT> suppose
Probably true.
 DT> that's changed some in the last year of so with the huge volume of
 DT> computer sales the last couple of Christmases. I suspect ol' Dad is
 DT> still the main operater though.
There are a lot of women now too. Maybe still not a comparable
amount - but I have notice a lot of new females on the boards.
 DT> buy, so I'm not sure we're the norm on this. Maybe the satellite
 DT> can give you the diversity of being all things to all people and
 DT> allow you to cover all the bases as it were.
The problem with that is - with over 100,000 files online - nearly
1000 message areas - with several networks ---- my system can be quite
overwhelming.
 DT> Could be, but it seems that would be a plus instead. How many lines in
 DT> do you have ? Could I in theory access just about anytime I call ?
Yes and no. There are many lull times right now. But when it gets busy
- it is busy. Most of my regular callers have just learned when
"thier" time slot is. I can almost tell you who is calling when I see
the "CONNECT" on the screen.
 DT> that's what is important to me, when I have the time to BBS I want on
 DT> now not later. You know alot of boards here are offering point
This is a valid point. Especially if you are just cruising around. But
the problem there is dealing with - which came first? The subscribers
or the extra lines. I can not justify the extra expense for multiple
lines. There simply are not enough callers to have it. I have ahd
multiple lines - and generally one would stay dead all the time.
 DT> now not later. You know alot of boards here are offering point
 DT> addresses
That is a great idea. Even with QWK mail - you still need to access
the BBS. With a point setup - they call the board --- get thier mail,
and even new files --- great idea!
 DT> I think you're approaching it the right way. Like this. Poll as many
 DT> sysops and users as you can. Ask the sysops what is working for them
Problem is - when you ask a caller a question about special interests
- they say stupid things like -- none, everything, )(#$*)$(#, or some
other creative response.
 DT> as well as what's not. Success in any business usually comes from
 DT> emulating the successful. Ask the users and keep a tally to see what
 DT> pops up the most often. There are a few sysops here that advertise
Look at some of the popular boards out there now... they are
multi-line, internet accessible, and such. Look at the software they
run too. Ironically many of the power systems run PC-BOARD. I can't
stand that software - but the users must like it.
 DT> in the little shoppers and newspapers in with the computers for sale
 DT> ads. I don't know if it does any good, but the ads a inexpensive and
 DT> you would be hitting a targeted market.
I have thought of that. Maybe the problem here is that the thing that
used to be a hobby - like collecting basebball cards - has developed
into a behemoth expense. Maybe we should approach it as a business.
That would sure turn a lot of thoughts around.
 DT> hours. That's happened to me twice now on two payboards. You can
 DT> see how this would make users leary of them.
I have been around for ten years. I have always honored my
subscriptions even though I have been down for a while -
intermittently.
 DT> This is only one users perspective, but I hope some part of it
 DT> might be of some insight. Good Luck.
I appreciate it. The most insightfull thought you had was to look at
this thing from a business perspective. Not a very profitable one mind
you - but at least that opens a few more avenues.
Michael Hughes
internet: hu8989mi@meteor.uscolo.edu
Moderator: SINGLE_PARENTING
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