Bulletin Board News
By Andrew Roughan
Copyright (c) 1991 Apple Users' Group, Sydney
Republished from Applecations, a publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia.
Since the Apple // communications heydays of the mid 80s, when there were up to ten public Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) operating full-time in Sydney, there has been a steady decline in the enthusiasm of both System Operators (SYSOPs) and callers.
The Sydney BBS's used to be exciting conference areas where programs were swapped and ideas were hotly debated. Nowdays these activities still continue but the "new and exciting" atmosphere has been replaced by apathy and boredom.
This feeling does not seem to be reflected in America. Systems certainly close down, but new systems spring up to take their place. In Sydney, this unfortunately has not happened.
Some of the problems, from my view as an ex-sysop were these:
o There was only a limited selection of BBS software available.
o The software available was either not sufficiently supported, too expensive, too restrictive, not sufficiently featured, or combinations of all four.
o The terminal programs available either had too many features and were hard to use, or they were easy to use yet had many design and programming faults.
o Transfer protocols were limited to XMODEM.
o High speed modems were expensive.
Recently, there have been a few advances which will hopefully bring about renewed interest in BBS activity.
o There have been new BBS software packages developed. METAL, ProLine and GBBS "pro" 2.0 have been released. Eclipse and LLUCE are promised very shortly.
o These new packages have been designed to offer the Sysop powerful programming control over their systems and promote creativity.
o There are many disgruntled users who have taken the plunge and are developing their own terminal programs. Hopefully someone will absorb all the good ideas and produce a great package.
o Andy Nicholas (Apple // GS Finder Team) has released a ZMODEM transfer protocol for the GBBS package. This will bring the transfer ability of the Apple // on par with that of other computers which have had the ZMODEM protocol for quite some time. Andy is working on promoting good ZMODEM implementation, so hopefully more BBS and terminal programs will support ZMODEM in the future.
o High speed modems are becoming a affordable reality. Maestro 2400 ZXR modems are available for around $350. Australian made 9600 baud modems are available from Netcomm, InterLink and Avtek for around $1000. If you are a Sysop then ask about a discount.
o Communication between Sysops has recently been given a boost with the introduction of a new publication. II Sysops is a bi-monthly newsletter for Apple // Sysops. The first issue, May/June 1991, contained a writeup on the new GBBS ZMODEM drivers, information on what was happening across America's systems, and the first article in a series which identifies the problems of running high speed modems on the Apple // family. The next issue is promised to contain an interview with Andy Nicholas and a comparison of the BBS packages GBBS, ProLine, and METAL.
Who to write to:
ProLine:
Morgan Davis Group
10079 Nuerto Rancho
San Diego, CA 91977-1736
GBBS "pro" and LLUCE:
L&L productions
PO Box 5354
Arvada, CO 80005-0354
Eclipse:
Andrew Roughan
PO Box 65
Wahroonga NSW 2076
ZMODEM:
Andy Nicholas
1180 Reed Ave., Apt 12
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
II Sysops:
PO Box 720
Eldersburg, MD 21784
(US$16 for a years subscription - six issues)

THIS CONTENT COPYRIGHT © 2007, APPLE MACINTOSH USERS' GROUP, SYDNEY
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Permission is hereby granted for non-profit user groups to republish this content.
PLEASE CREDIT THE AUTHOR AND THE SOURCE: Applecations, publication of the Apple Users' Group, Sydney, Australia

THIS PAGE COPYRIGHT © 2007, ANDREW ROUGHAN