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I’m tentatively looking to begin with BBS (potentially CompuServe), but I’m willing to go back as far as needed to paint a comprehensive picture. This is also

by xrisk 4y ago

I’m tentatively looking to begin with BBS (potentially CompuServe), but I’m willing to go back as far as needed to paint a comprehensive picture. This is also one of the bits I’m having difficulty with — what was it like to actually use these systems? For instance, how did one even maneuver the process of posting on CompuServe or on Usenet?

ableal 4y ago
Two ways, dial-up modems at home and wired ethernet at work/school. At home you would use a Mac/PC/etc as a terminal, connected via telephone line to some host like Compuserve ou your workplace computer. This prevented use of the landline for voice communication, a source of some jokes. At work your terminal/workstation would be connected 24x7 via wired ethernet, or some other LAN but ethernet became dominant in the 1980s, at first with coax cable.
- cheez0r 4y ago
  "MOM, DON'T PICK UP THE PHONE, I'M ON THE INTERNET!!!"
h2odragon 4y ago
"as far back as needed" may be single site multi-user systems. messaging on those systems was a hack that quickly grew important to those using it; but the idea of "computers as communications media" instead of machines to perform "thought assistance" tasks for individuals took a while to catch hold. I'd be happy to old fart at ya from my memories of BBS times to slashdot, email me or start a Discord perhaps.
lubujackson 4y ago
Check out BBS: The Documentary - I think it is freely streaming somewhere at this point. Jason Scott made a huge, in-depth analysis of BBSes and their impact. There are many elements from that era that still exist in a weird way. The core limitation of connecting to a BBS was that it was a normal phone call and would tie up your phone line. And before cell phones, calling outside your area code was expensive! Likely $1 a minute in the 80s. So BBS communities tended to be local and quasi-anonymous, and often turned into real life meetups. You would log on, check your messages, your door games and some forums then leave. Door games were structured much like phone games now with limited moves per day, but done for phone line reasons instead of gamification/rev generation.
Dracophoenix 4y ago
This might be stretching your definition a bit, but the earliest may be X.25 networks/PDNs (Telenet, Tymnet, etc.) or, even earlier, AlohaNET. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_data_network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_data_network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet

by xrisk 4y ago

ableal 4y ago

Two ways, dial-up modems at home and wired ethernet at work/school. At home you would use a Mac/PC/etc as a terminal, connected via telephone line to some host like Compuserve ou your workplace computer. This prevented use of the landline for voice communication, a source of some jokes. At work your terminal/workstation would be connected 24x7 via wired ethernet, or some other LAN but ethernet became dominant in the 1980s, at first with coax cable.

cheez0r 4y ago
"MOM, DON'T PICK UP THE PHONE, I'M ON THE INTERNET!!!"

h2odragon 4y ago

"as far back as needed" may be single site multi-user systems. messaging on those systems was a hack that quickly grew important to those using it; but the idea of "computers as communications media" instead of machines to perform "thought assistance" tasks for individuals took a while to catch hold. I'd be happy to old fart at ya from my memories of BBS times to slashdot, email me or start a Discord perhaps.

lubujackson 4y ago

Check out BBS: The Documentary - I think it is freely streaming somewhere at this point. Jason Scott made a huge, in-depth analysis of BBSes and their impact. There are many elements from that era that still exist in a weird way. The core limitation of connecting to a BBS was that it was a normal phone call and would tie up your phone line. And before cell phones, calling outside your area code was expensive! Likely $1 a minute in the 80s. So BBS communities tended to be local and quasi-anonymous, and often turned into real life meetups. You would log on, check your messages, your door games and some forums then leave. Door games were structured much like phone games now with limited moves per day, but done for phone line reasons instead of gamification/rev generation.

Dracophoenix 4y ago

This might be stretching your definition a bit, but the earliest may be X.25 networks/PDNs (Telenet, Tymnet, etc.) or, even earlier, AlohaNET. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_data_network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_data_network https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALOHAnet