3 ms·

Indeed plain-text BBS (over a slow modem) were faster than loading 10 MB of javascript over an ADSL. Also the information density and signal-to-noise ratio was

Indeed plain-text BBS (over a slow modem) were faster than loading 10 MB of javascript over an ADSL. Also the information density and signal-to-noise ratio was higher. Even if you use ad-blockers.

nkozyra 8y ago
I have a lot of nostalgia for my bbs days, but one thing I distinctly recall was the slowness of it all. The palpable improvement when you went from 300 baud to 600 or from 14k to 28k to 56k. I think we romanticize this stuff too much. Even showing a splash screen of ASCII text was stuttered. Chat operations were slow over the wire, you just never knew because ... maybe they just hadn't typed anything?
- pjc50 8y ago
  Yeah, I don't think interactive use was actually faster. Noninteractive use however - FidoNet (an early messageboard system with similar properties to UseNet) supported downloading a chunk of posts which you could then read through offline in a native, responsive program.
- eeZah7Ux 8y ago
  > a splash screen of ASCII text was stuttered ...on a 600 baud modem. Not on a 28.8Kbps. I remember doing timing analysis at the time.
  - nkozyra 8y ago
    Well of course. The speed of the modem dictated how palpable the delay was.
- martin1b 8y ago
  True but we could do what nobody else in the world could do. We had chat, file sharing, forums, multiplayer games and more before everybody else. BBSers felt like the elite and nobody else understood it. There was a low barrier to entry. Anyone could start a BBS. Since there were so few, any new BBS would have a flood of new users, making them successfully very quickly. The slowness created an exciting anticipation.
  - cweiss 8y ago
    I don't know if the barrier to entry was all that low... You needed a computer and modem (until the C64 & ZX-81 came along, you were talking ~$2k including modem, floppy drive, and monitor for an Apple 2, TRS-80, Pet, or similar - adjusted =~$4k today). You needed a dedicated phone line, not nearly as easy to get back then as now. Plus, you needed to be able to justify the gear - You couldn't do a whole lot with a personal computer back then besides writing, spreadsheets, and gaming. It was absolutely not a 'practical' purchase for 90% of the population.
- Endy 8y ago
  I'm not sure I consider 'slowness' a 100% bad thing, though. I got into far fewer insignificant flame wars over BBS & dialup than I ever have since the advent of broadband. That slowness means you have to honestly consider what it is you're saying, who you're saying it to, and why you're saying it. In some ways, a slower connection means that you're more aware of a human being on the other end.

Indeed plain-text BBS (over a slow modem) were faster than loading 10 MB of javascript over an ADSL. Also the information density and signal-to-noise ratio was higher. Even if you use ad-blockers.

nkozyra 8y ago

I have a lot of nostalgia for my bbs days, but one thing I distinctly recall was the slowness of it all. The palpable improvement when you went from 300 baud to 600 or from 14k to 28k to 56k. I think we romanticize this stuff too much. Even showing a splash screen of ASCII text was stuttered. Chat operations were slow over the wire, you just never knew because ... maybe they just hadn't typed anything?

pjc50 8y ago
Yeah, I don't think interactive use was actually faster. Noninteractive use however - FidoNet (an early messageboard system with similar properties to UseNet) supported downloading a chunk of posts which you could then read through offline in a native, responsive program.
eeZah7Ux 8y ago
> a splash screen of ASCII text was stuttered ...on a 600 baud modem. Not on a 28.8Kbps. I remember doing timing analysis at the time.
- nkozyra 8y ago
  Well of course. The speed of the modem dictated how palpable the delay was.
martin1b 8y ago
True but we could do what nobody else in the world could do. We had chat, file sharing, forums, multiplayer games and more before everybody else. BBSers felt like the elite and nobody else understood it. There was a low barrier to entry. Anyone could start a BBS. Since there were so few, any new BBS would have a flood of new users, making them successfully very quickly. The slowness created an exciting anticipation.
- cweiss 8y ago
  I don't know if the barrier to entry was all that low... You needed a computer and modem (until the C64 & ZX-81 came along, you were talking ~$2k including modem, floppy drive, and monitor for an Apple 2, TRS-80, Pet, or similar - adjusted =~$4k today). You needed a dedicated phone line, not nearly as easy to get back then as now. Plus, you needed to be able to justify the gear - You couldn't do a whole lot with a personal computer back then besides writing, spreadsheets, and gaming. It was absolutely not a 'practical' purchase for 90% of the population.
Endy 8y ago
I'm not sure I consider 'slowness' a 100% bad thing, though. I got into far fewer insignificant flame wars over BBS & dialup than I ever have since the advent of broadband. That slowness means you have to honestly consider what it is you're saying, who you're saying it to, and why you're saying it. In some ways, a slower connection means that you're more aware of a human being on the other end.