Click to zoom! Found here, as always the Internet Archive is a gift to future generations.
What can you do with the open architecture of The Major BBS?
Just about anything you want. That’s because The Major BBS is a completely open-ended platform for creating your own unique online service.
You can choose from a huge selection of off-the-shelf software — just a small fraction of which is represented here — offered by over 100 third-party developers.
Most of these add-ons integrate into your BBS as DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries). No shelling to DOS is required. And because these DLLs are written in C and Assembly, they provide far greater performance and flexibility than script languages or dBase derivatives.
You can run all this from a single computer and support up to 256 simultaneous users via modems, serial connections, direct X.25 circuits, and Novell LAN channels. No other BBS platform gives you this power.
Need “doors” capability too? You can hook up additional machines and instantly use the programs written for multi-node BBSes as well.
To quote Newsbytes, “The Major BBS is one of the most powerful and expandable boards available, yet it is extremely easy to install and run.”
Well… damn. I didn’t know this part of the story. Geez.
Tim Stryker had dome very well with Galacticomm, but didn’t really think the Internet would be a factor. He went up on a mountain top and shot himself in the head in 1996, ergo the dedication at the end of this segment. He was 41 years old with several children. He was a bright, intense guy and though I didn’t always please him, I considered him one of the heroes. But he was wed to HIS vision of it and refused to adapt.
It really was kind of shocking how quickly the Internet wiped out the local BBS scene. Taking away the busy signals and (potential) long-distance charges made things change very quickly.
Yet Fidonet still limps on, and many of its nodes are on the Internet now.
Yeah there’s a crazy relationship there where Jason Scott made it super clear what he was doing through the interview, the whole production was clearly and obviously creative commons licensed, and he even sent him 20 physical copies. That Boardwatch guy is… uh… a “character”?. Try reading some of his blog entries. Don’t say I didn’t warn you … because I did!
A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was eating his morning meal. “I would like to give you this personality test”, said the outsider, “because I want you to be happy.”
Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into the toaster – “I wish the toaster to be happy too”.
Bah! If I want to be inspired and happy, I look at this until the urge to get back to coding takes over:
