Hi Matt,

So very good to hear from you and that you're working on or planning on
setting up a fido bbs system .  Ok, that's kind of selfish, we can
use good heads in Zone1.

> I have seen parts of it before and recently watch it all the way through.

It was also great for me seeing people there I never had the opportunity to
meet in person, and hearing them talk.   So many great oldtimers and
otherwise  and I thought "I" was old.. :)

>Although there are many topics I wish it covered in detail  I believe it did a
> excellent job of depicting the online world which remains so strongly in our
>memories.  I'll never forget the sound of modem negotiation even until the day
> I die.

Yes.. an unforgettable sound.  I remember how I could tell what speed modem
was connecting to my system by the negotiation/sounds.  Ron thought I was a
little addicted I think (laugh) We used to laugh over going on vacation and
my "checklist" before we took off (Ok, telnet nodes are running,
Modem is running... bbs is set..Oh, and kids are with Mom )

> It is satisfying to see that fido technology and bulletin boards as a
> technology have survived to the 21st century and suffered fools.  The
> visionaries who created the earliest technology invented something that
> outlasted their contributions long after they were driven away.  They are
> technological pioneers of a type the world will never fully appreciate.

Yes.  They gave us the tools to take Fidonet into the future, or at least
gave us the direction developers needed to create the protocols as the
world of telecommunications and the internet developed. We get caught up in
distractions to this day, but in the end I think we see what's important.

> I am also impressed to see that software is still being actively developed.
> The authors of binkd, husky, synchronet, ezycom, mystic and more have done an
> immeasurable service.

Definitely...  programmers continue to develop and add features so that our
hobby can continue.  Blows me away sometimes... Even the shareware package
I run over here is updated and improved to this day...(BBBS).

>  At the time circumstances pulled me away I was sure
> things would implode in a few years but occasionally I peek in and see people
> still participating.

Understand and I hope things are going ok for you "wherever you
are" in the world.  Are you in the States now? And I also understand
if you can't say.

> I was shocked to see someone releasing BBS software in 2015.  It got me
> wondering how active are bulletin boards today?  How many visitors do you see
>and what type of things do they come for?   Seeing the energy got me inching t

I have a number of users.. it surprises me sometimes when I actually look....

One fellow comes in every day at least twice a day to grab echomail via
bbbs's built-in offline door.. two other users log in every Thursday night
to chat with each other..  another user or two posts in the cooking echo
every day...
Ok, not like the 'old days' when I had to run two nodes to accomodate 20+
or 30+ user connections a day..but it's not dead yet Jim 

I get a LOT of connect/disconnect hacker attempts via telnet that Shorewall
zaps  You know same old new format Lol

> set one up if only to play my old games.  My only fear is not being able to
> find cracks for all the doors I once registered as I suspect most people who
> maintained them fell off the planet or would not care to hassle with someone
> over something they were paid $15 for 15 years ago.

Run Linux like I do.. there are a bunch of doors that are available... you
just have to look.. or look for the keygen stuff, it might be there as
well, I wouldn't know since I run Linux here..

>Something was lost when we moved to the internet and it has become more eviden
> in recent time.

And yet we were freed from the clutches of the PHONE COMPANY (evil creeps
in NY at least (laugh)) so that

>  Increasingly the internet is becoming more a sewer where you
> cannot trust what you download or access.

Yes McAfee (or anti-vir/hack software of your choice is your friend
) or you can get files from fidonet  and hopefully nothing slips
past us.. :)

>   There were viruses on bulletin
> boards but most sysops made an effort to police that.   Many took personally
> the quality of what they offered.

Yes, the filegate still does the same.  Ask Ben Ritchey.. I send him tons
of email attaches for software from software authors that email me for
Windows utils etc., but FEW of them get past McAfee or whatever 

> Your thoughts?

Like I said, really glad to see you here :)

Take care,
Janis

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Dada-2