I think I saw Bettie West say to Holly Sullivan on 04 Jan 98  13:47:18:  
 > dear holly...I am a little new to the BBS.s, how do I get into other ones.
 > this is one of the few My son set me up on..I would like to "lurk" in a
 > few to see what's new and interesting out there..thank you in
 > advance...bettie
Sure, Bettie, happy to help in whatever way I can. (Begging the indulgence of 
the moderator here.)
Well, you need a terminal or "term" program to call out to access them.. 
which is what you are probably using now to call the BBS you're using right 
now.. there's different ones for different computers, but they all operate 
the same.  You would tell the term program to call out to whatever BBS you 
wanted to try.  (There's usually a phone directory section to add new BBS 
phone numbers to.)   Mine is an older one, so I use the arrow keys or the 
mouse to highlight a particular BBS in the list, then I can hit  or 
double click the mouse and the term program will start dialing the one I 
picked.   Mine will also let me type ATDT619-549-9803 right on the screen 
(for example) to connect to a BBS.  The ATDT part is what tells the modem to 
start dialing.   It's easier to use the dialing directory or the phonebook 
section though.  After that, follow the directions on the screen when your 
program connects to the BBS program.  The first time you connect with a BBS, 
you will probably have to fill out a short set of questions; usually it's 
things like name, address, phone number,  birthday, and what password you 
want to use.   Then the next time you call, assuming the sysop has their act 
together, you would just need to login with your name and password and then 
you can go on to the message area and look for new mail. 
:-) 
Some BBS's use a program that will automatically call you right back at 
whatever phone number you gave them.  Those are handy because they validate 
you to "approved user" immediately.  They're easy to use and come with 
instructions; if you run into one, don't panic.  The BBS calls your computer 
right back after hanging up; when the phone rings, you type ATA  on the 
screen and your modem should answer the phone; then after the two are 
connected,  you are asked to type in your name and password that you gave it 
earlier.  Then you have instant access to the system.  Not every system uses 
these but they're quite useful.  
You will also probably run into some BBS's that want you to pay money.  I 
would suggest looking at as many different ones as you can to see if you can 
find one with the features you need for the lowest cost or free before 
sending anyone money. I run a free system myself, because that's just how I 
am.  Sure, there's lots of expenses involved with running a board and often 
the BBS's with the most features need to charge a few $ to help with the 
costs, especially the Internet connected boards.  The going rate for a full 
blown pay Internet connection right now is $20/month on average;  I certainly 
wouldn't pay more than that to access a BBS unless it offered a full Internet 
setup too.  Some do these days. I wish I could afford to here.
 My users get free Internet email and any newsgroup they want, but I don't 
have a full time connection to allow for web browsing at this time.  Costs 
too much.  
Anyway, I hope it helps.  Any questions, feel free to ask.  We were all new 
to this once too..  :-)
:)---Holly---
FunAmigaSysopPaganGoddessQuiltArtistSCACostumerAtLarge 
BBS 619 549-0278 URL: www.geocities.com/Wellesley/4201
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