RM>Hi all!

Hi, Rick...

RM>I am in the process of re-starting the BBS I ran back when I was in
  >high school circa 1993-96. Naturally, I am running Renegade with
  >Net2BBS, and am also using DBridge to handle the fido stuff once I get a
  >node number.

  Welcome back to Sysoping. :)

RM>I explained it to my friends as building a house 20 years ago, and
  >now wanting to build another, and you're looking at a pile of lumber
  >etc. in the yard trying to remember what you did 20+ years ago.

  Really.

RM>What I want to do is figure out what the best way to attract new users
  >is. Certainly years ago it was the file section - at least that's what
  >most people did on my BBS back in the day was to log in, jump to the new
  >files area, do a new-scan, and then if there was nothing, to log off
  >again. It seems to me that certainly since most people now-a-days get
  >their files via the web, I probably should focus more on the online
  >door-games  and to try to build up a healthy level of discussion on the
  >message boards.

  Nowadays, folks rarely read the message areas, the original concept of
"bulletin boards". As you can see, I still do, as I take care of
downloading my QWK packet first thing, before I play the doors, and do
other BBS tasks. You are correct about the file areas...if you have
anonymous FTP, or set it to where anyone can download, they will "leech"
your file area. In lieu of anonymous FTP (I had a lot of folks try to
hack into my system), I just set it to where all files (with the
exception of a certain few) are available to all users...via the website
or a telnet logon. Most of the users today are looking for doorgames,
although I've added and registered some doors for users in the past
(most recently in the last year), then they never logon again. It makes
me wonder if it's worth it, in that regard.

RM>For those of you that are sysops - or have been in the past - what have
  >you done to make yor system unique? I mean, yeah, having Fidonet etc is
  >cool, but, pretty much any telnettable BBS has fido access now, (and I
  >will too, once I get my node number) so what are the things that make
  >your system stand out?

  Your BBS is the way you want it...software, theme, structure, etc.
Even if you don't have that many users who logon regularly (such as my
system), the BBS is one of the few hobbies I have left, due to declining
health. I still enjoy using the message areas, adding files from time to
time, and of course, playing selected doorgames. Some games I never
learned how to play, and with others, I just don't have the time to sit
at the computer for hours on end to play games...never mind I also have
my email and Facebook accounts to deal with. 

RM>I do know that I want to create a system that gives something
"special"
  >to the people that dial in via modem. IOW - if you take the time to set
  >up a dial up modem and connect to my system just like in "the good old
  >days", I want to make it worth your while. I just am not sure what
  >exactly that "something special" should be.

  There aren't that many dial-up BBS's left in the United States, so if
you have dial-up access, you'll be one of a select few that do. I got
rid of my dial-up access for two reasons...cost (almost $50 a month for
a "vanilla phone line"), and because several years ago, at the apartment
complex where I live, construction crews working out here, sliced
several underground cables like a knife through butter (even though the
cables were clearly marked). They left the holes in the ground open, and
it poured rain overnight, with water inundating the cable structure. It
made the lines so noisy, you couldn't understand a voice call...never
mind get a decent modem connection.

RM>Anyway, I look forward to hearing back from you all ...

RM>P.S., I certainly am looking for responses via echomail but if you want
  >to get ahold of me privately, you can email me at rickthegeek (at) gmail
  >(dot) com.

  Good luck with your efforts. I actually starting Sysoping on a Radio

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 þ OLX 1.53 þ You'll have no other Sysop before me (just kidding).
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                      
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