Did you ever use a BBS?

[Harrison]

With everyone now using the Internet and taking it for granted, it can sometimes be hard to believe that it has only been around in the current WWW browser based form since the release of Mosaic back in 1993. Before this the internet was a text based format that mainly consisted of users directly connecting to specific services, rather than being about to easily access, browse and search everywhere online as we can today.

Before the WWW based internet, did you use any online services? And especially BBS services? And even more interestingly, did you ever use them on an Amiga?

I personally never used a BBS on the Amiga as I didn't own my first modem until I purchased a new PC in 1998.

Before that I had used some BBS services in school connected from an Acorn BBC Master in the 1980's. I think they were mainly BBC school related services we connected to but I cannot remember. And I had connected and used a few BBS services from my friends house as his day had an early PC with a modem which we were sometimes allowed to use. I remember we connected to some gaming related BBS services that we got addresses for from magazines. A couple were general 8 16 bit gaming related and I do remember one being Atari ST and Amiga based. Not sure what they actually were called though.

After that I used the internet first the first time at college in the early 90's on a Mac and then at university. It was great having access from the beginning of the browser based internet revolution as I saw it evolve first hand.

[Demon Cleaner]

I had a friend who used a modem to get games from some cracker groups, as he also was deeply envolved. But of course his parents took him the modem off, or restricted (they tried at least) its use. Back then it took almost an hour to get the copy of one amiga disk.

The first time I got in contact with the internet, was in a local shop, and then when I started to work where I am now in 1996. Since then I've been using it all day.

[Merlin]

Holy crap, now you are taking me back, 'boxing' your way onto the old BBS' at 9600 on a Hayes modem then eventually at up to 38400 with a US Robotics sportster... and all the old articles on blueboxing, blackboxing and roxboxing.

I have forgotten most of the old BBS names now, it's been too long...

Merlin

[Submeg]

I cant ever remember when I first used the net...

[Stephen Coates]

I think i first used a BBS about 2 months ago. It was a telnet one though.

Never connected to one over the telephone with a modem though.

First used the internet properly when i got my PC in 1999. I had seen the internet being used via CompuServe on a PowerBook. Not sure whether I actually used it though.

[Puni/Void]

I was never hooked on BBS's, as I preferred swapping (mail-trading) instead. Have tried a few of them in the past though, can't deny that. That must have been in 1995, 1996 or around that time.