Wednesday, 3 July 1996 15:20:50, Michael Hughes wrote to Dan Thurman
Subject: SORRY
 MH> Thank you very much for your response. It was a breath of fresh
 MH> air to listen to a BBS user with constructive and candid comments -
 MH> such as yours.
Nothing to it. Saying exactly what I'm thinking usually gets me in
trouble instead though. ;)
 MH> I don't tolerate the teens. They have their "toy bbs's" to call.
That's a selling point as far as I'm concerned. I'm not anti teen, I
own a couple myself. I just want to communicate with people who've
lived long enough to be interesting.
 MH> There are a lot of women now too. Maybe still not a comparable
 MH> amount - but I have notice a lot of new females on the boards.
That's the beauty of the BBS community, the wide cross section of
humanity. Plus a few witty ladies as regulars are a good draw as
well. Not unlike a couple of real pretty barmaids.
 DT>> you to cover all the bases as it were.
 MH> The problem with that is - with over 100,000 files online - nearly
 MH> 1000 message areas - with several networks ---- my system can be quite
 MH> overwhelming.
So how's your Newbie support ? I take it your board is not a primary
source of income so is the wife or someone around to walk them through
any problems they might encounter?
 DT>> lines in do you have ? Could I in theory access just about anytime I
 DT>> call ?
 MH> Yes and no. There are many lull times right now. But when it gets
 MH> busy - it is busy. Most of my regular callers have just learned when
 MH> "thier" time slot is. I can almost tell you who is calling when I see
 MH> the "CONNECT" on the screen.
It's about that way with my regular board. My slot is around 6am. I
don't feel most users really have any problem with that. Most of us
understand it's a thankless job you're doing and appreciate the effort
and investment involved for the small return you receive. Frankly you
couldn't run fast enough to catch me and make me do it.
 DT>> that's what is important to me, when I have the time to BBS I
 DT>> want on now not later. You know alot of boards here are offering point
 MH> This is a valid point. Especially if you are just cruising around.
 MH> But the problem there is dealing with - which came first? The
 MH> subscribers or the extra lines. I can not justify the extra expense for
 MH> multiple lines. There simply are not enough callers to have it. I have
 MH> ahd multiple lines - and generally one would stay dead all the time.
I hear that. Don't have any answers but I do understand.
 DT>> now not later. You know alot of boards here are offering point
 DT>> addresses
 MH> That is a great idea. Even with QWK mail - you still need to
 MH> access the BBS. With a point setup - they call the board --- get thier
 MH> mail, and even new files --- great idea!
I have an old friend. He ran a favorite board of mine for years. It had
about 14 regulars, one general message area with no private messages
and a whole bunch files. The draw for me was all the users were old
retired guys that made up a wonderful pool of life experience to draw
from. There was nothing I was about to do that one of them had not
already done and could walk me through. The sysop finally shut it down
and went to a point on another board. He told me "Dan, these points
are the wave of the future. It gives your users all the benefits of
running a board and none of the headaches."
 DT>> I think you're approaching it the right way. Like this. Poll as
 MH> Problem is - when you ask a caller a question about special
 MH> interests - they say stupid things like -- none, everything, )(#$*)$(#,
 MH> or some other creative response.
I've done that. We're just in a hurry to get through the log in.
 DT>> as well as what's not. Success in any business usually comes
 DT>> from emulating the successful. Ask the users and keep a tally to see
 DT>> what pops up the most often. There are a few sysops here that advertise
 MH> Look at some of the popular boards out there now... they are
 MH> multi-line, internet accessible, and such. Look at the software they
The principle is still sound. My opinion of internet access is this.
In six months it won't matter if you're the biggest board in North
America you will not be able to compete with AT&T, MCI, TCI or the baby
Bells for customers. They have the lines, they'll have the internet.
I believe the best bet is to co-op a E-Mail ramp so you can offer
your users a way to send and receive to a subaddress on your board,
do a mail run once or twice a day and let the bigger boards lose they
butts on the phonebills.
 MH> run too. Ironically many of the power systems run PC-BOARD. I can't
 MH> stand that software - but the users must like it.
I don't see a dimes worth of difference in any of them from this end.
 DT>> in the little shoppers and newspapers in with the computers for
 DT>> sale ads. I don't know if it does any good, but the ads inexpensive
 DT>> and you would be hitting a targeted market.
 MH> I have thought of that. Maybe the problem here is that the thing
 MH> that used to be a hobby - like collecting basebball cards - has
 MH> developed into a behemoth expense. Maybe we should approach it as a
 MH> business. That would sure turn a lot of thoughts around.
Your facing the same problem cable tv did 15 years ago. How do we get
people to pay for what they always gotten for free? They did it by
offering a little more than the free off-airs at an artificially low
rate and SERVICE. The moto in the industry then was "If we can't
give them service we have nothing to sell". They got you on grid and
dependent. They packaged services in tiers, the more you bought the
better the price on all of it. Well I needn't tell you about rates
today, but you have to make the bait pleasing before you can sink
the hook.
There's something to be said for being small. Your users gain a sense
of extended family and sometimes that can mean more than all the files
and whistles. The service Mom and Pop cable gave was 10 times better
than Corporate cable does today, but then again the hooks been set.
 DT>> see how this would make users leary of them.
 MH> I have been around for ten years. I have always honored my
 MH> subscriptions even though I have been down for a while - intermittently.
Use that as a selling point. Put Estabished in 1986 in your ads and
maybe in your opening screen. I'll feel more secure about whipping
out the credit card knowing you'll still be there when it's time to
resubscribe.
 MH> I appreciate it. The most insightfull thought you had was to look
 MH> at this thing from a business perspective. Not a very profitable one
 MH> mind you - but at least that opens a few more avenues.
Hey if it ain't fun or I'm not making any money I don't want it. ;)
 -=> Later on, Dan <=-
Live and Direct from the Indian Nations
Dan Thurman - Sapulpa, Oklahoma, Saturday, 6 July 1996 at 15:41.
Fido : 1:170/810.15 - Internet : dan.thurman@p15.mo.gratisnet.com
URL  : 
.!. Famous last words: Have I ever let you down before?
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