BBS's That Actually Work! version 4.1 Kevin Ardoin December '94' Okay, there's been a real dark age in 800 BBS's these past few months, so let me run through the list of BBS's that no longer serve the general public or shut down altogether, or just plain didn't make the list because they weren't good enough: Grace Thoughts, CAM, New Visions has no more free trial by 800, Center Link, Serve-Line, Grateful Medical, FRMS (Florida Recycling), and the 2nd number for Bark, are all down, but there are plenty of other numbers to replace those. Some of these numbers run on Major BBS software, and enable the /P function, so if any mischevious people want to play with that, Ive included in the descriptions the BBS's that have that function (because I know what its like). There are 9 numbers marked !NEW! which made the list, and 4 marked *NEW* that made the list. If there are any other numbers that you would want to contribute to the list, just drop me a line on one of the numbers mentioned later. *= somewhat new !=brand new sys. Mins. run Number(800) NODES Number Settings type allowed on ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BARK 16 333-0052 N-8-1 newsp. 20 PCBrd. (FAA) FSDO 3 645-3736 N-8-1 avia. 60 Quick BBS Gulfline 9 235-4662 N-8-1 info. 20 RBBS-PC Software Valley 2 763-8825 N-8-1 info. 10(S/U) Pcb ME/U 7 688-6463 N-8-1 edu. 15 WC AT&T Global *NEW* 2 692-8872 N-8-1 T. S. 30 Major BBS RDL Elec. 1 227-0391 N-8-1 Tech S 60 WC OERI 4 222-4922 N-8-1 Edu. 30 Major BBS IBM C set ++ *NEW* ? 874-2881 N-8-1 T. S. 120 Major-Net ITE 2 982-4683 N-8-1 trans. 30 WC RIBBS 28 262-9541 N-8-1 postal 90 WC NBCI 2 a. l. 344-6224 N-8-1 info 30-45 Major BBS FTA Online *NEW* ? 231-2061 N-8-1 trans. 30 TBBS NASA (SBIR) a. l. 8 547-1811 N-8-1 gov. 60 PCBrd. Fedix & Molis ? 783-3349 N-8-1 info alot fedixnet Multi-Tech 5 392-2432 N-8-1 Tech S 25 WC Nebraska Online ? 392-7932 VT-100 info 60 ? ETA 5 828-5912 N-8-1 info. 60 PCBrd. NEBBS *NEW* ? 447-6377 N-8-1 edu. no limit network Hayes Online ? 874-2937 N-8-1 T/S 30 TBBS Dial Jan ? 342-5526 N-8-1 info. 40 Pcb Pennywise ? 752-3012 N-8-1 shop no limit ? SBA ? 697-4636 N-8-1 busin. no limit TBBS WTIE ? 544-1936 N-8-1 env. 30 Pcb. Epson Cust. !NEW! alot 234-1445,8777 N-8-1 Cus S. alot Major BBS NIH !NEW! 2 6442271 N-8-1 info 60 WC DWIE ? 9327459 N-8-1 env. 30 Pcb. GATEWAY 2000 !NEW! alot 8467562 N-8-1 Cus S. no limit Major BBS GTE Online !NEW! 3 a.l. 4834927 N-8-1 info. no limit Major BBS Buddy BBS !NEW! 1 4492252 N-8-1 blind 60 WC CTDnet !NEW! alot 3185249 N-8-1 gen. credits Major BBS NKCA !NEW! 1 280-2032 N-8-1 info. 60 WC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Detailed Description GULFLINE: Because of abuse of file privileges, this BBS has closed off access to its sec. level 5 users. This is a bummer, since chat, too, has been taken away, and messages. To tell you the truth, unless you're a hard-core enviornmentalist, this BBS pretty much stinks. Must be verified before full access is given. Intended for enviornmental discussion. 1-800-235-4662, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 4.0 ETA: Due to abuse of the file privileges, this BBS has closed its only real asset, the Upload file base and the Utilities file base. The message base sucks, too. 1-800-828-5912, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 5.0 BARK BBS: Seems to be temporarily down for the moment, but could go back up at any moment. During this board's hey-day, it was the greatest source of info, entertainment and ** lively ** discussion that a BBSing teen could ask for. Also for young musicians, poets, writers, etc. The only thing is they just keep coming back with that same message: "We'll be back online in so-and-so amount of days. Will keep trying for nostalgic reasons until it gets online again, sometime in the year 1999 or so... 1-800-333-0052, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 8.5 FSDO: Very good file section, good message base, and supports RIP graphics. Now has FIDONET!!! busy alot, so you have to be persistent to get through. Aimed at aviators, but general public has access, too. This is, by far, the best BBS I have seen in a very long time. PAGING ENABLED!!! 1-800-645-3736, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 10.0 ME/U (Mind-Extension University): This board, too, has entered the BBS dark age. Messages are gone. Files are sub-standard, there is nothing for you in this board unless you are interested in distance education. 1-800-688-6463, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 3.0 RDL Electronics: Mixed feelings on this board. They cut down the files section alot except for a few files, but the message base is still lively and instead of the line being busy all the time, you can actually get through now because they enforced use of the .QWK door. I like it! 1-800-227-0391, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 9.0 OERI: educational board directed at educators. Has good file base, but no messages except for verified educators. /P: yes 1-800-222-4922, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK Mail Door: no 8.0 ITE: board for transportation people. Good file base. Okay, but not the best. 1-800-982-4683, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.0 RIBBS: BBS for people interested in the postal service's offerings. Okay file base, and decent message base. 28 nodes!!! 1-800-262-9541, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.5 NBCI: Great board. Message base supports attachments. Okay file base. Offers online chat, but from what I can tell, only has 2 stinking nodes at this point. Use Demo account to get 45 minutes time. chat and /p 1-800-344-6224, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: Yes 8.0 FTA Online: good board aimed at Transportation safety professionals. has e-mail and public forums for discussing transportation and general issues regarding various topics. Check out the user submissions for a few good files. 1-800-231-2061, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 7.0 NASA: BBS for programmers to exchange ideas for NASA's SBIR program. Small message base, but utilities files are pretty good. 1-800-547-1811, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: Yes 6.5 Fedix & Molis: government information system provided for the general public. If information is what you want, this is for you. 800 # is only online from Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time. 1-800-783-3349, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 7.5 IBM C Set ++: BBS aimed at people interested in IBM's C set ++ program. okay file base, large files! okay message base. 1-800-874-2881, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 6.5 Multi-Tech: BBS with potential. Small file base, but could increase with time. Okay BBS, but needs some work. 1-800-392-2432, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 6.0 Nebraska Online: Friendly users and good file base make this an okay BBS. They really need new BBS software, though. Oh well, its still not bad. 1-800-392-7932, N-8-1 VT100 .QWK mail door: no 6.0 AT&T Global: This board was really great until the sysops restricted chat. Other than that, its ok for e-mail and some files. The /P function no longer works here so you cant chat with anyone online, no matter how hard you try. But the E-mail is a good thing. /P: no 1-800-692-8872, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.5 NEBBS: educational board on Supercomputers. Interesting. Okay file base. Message base contains only related topics. So far, Im not impressed much. 1-800-447-6377, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 6.5 Hayes Online: Tech Support for Hayes modem owners. Has numerous BBS lists, okay file base. Overall, not that bad a board. 1-800-874-2937, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: No 7.5 Dial Jan: disability board for those interested in disabled subjects. Not bad. Has okay message base. Good place to plug your BBS list! 1-800-342-5526, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.5 Pennywise Shopping Online: Business supply store. Good for business owners. 1-800-752-3012, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 6.5 SBA Online: Business related BBS. Has some files related to business. The good stuff is on the 900 line, though. This BBS had its hot period, but then took all the useful options away, so I didn't bother putting it here until the recent "Dark Age" came. It will probably be gone soon from my list as more BBS's make comebacks and new ones come along. 1-800-697-4636, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 6.5 WTIE: Hazardous Waste Material Exchange. Has some files, good messages, but no access to private e-mail. Good for enviornmental info. 1-800-544-1936, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.0 Epson Customer Support: Decent file section. Run on Major BBS software, so /p function is offered at the moment, but that might not last. Overall, not that bad a BBS. Must call during evening hours and note the extension. You will get a voice answering machine, but just wait until the 8777 is pressed and it will put you through. /P: yes 1-800-234-1445,,,,8777, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 7.0 National Institute of Health: Excellent files with wide variety of in- formation on health-related topics. I was impressed. No messaging. 1-800-644-2271, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 7.5 DWIE: Same as WTIE except Drinking water topics are discussed and files are drinking-water related. 1-800-932-7459, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 7.0 Gateway 2000 Customer Support: Decent little BBS with numerous lines and some files. /p function works I think, but no one there seems to leave theirs set to /p ok. Could be good someday. 1-800-846-7562, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 7.0 GTE Online: okay files section, offering read-only Internet messaging but dont use the /p function here! They monitor your /p messages and kick you off if you abuse it by blocking your home phone. 1-800-483-4927, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 7.0 Buddy BBS: For blind people and their seeing-eye dogs, this BBS has much potential. The files section is fairly lively, the message base is reasonably interesting, and its not too busy that much. Only 1 line, though! ARGH! 1-800-449-2252, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: yes 8.0 CTDnet: Excellent pay service for pretty much anyone, this BBS has much to offer. Internet E-mail, Teleconferencing (for registered users only), Online Shopping, files, numerous forums, which include Internet messages relayed to the CTDnet, Online catalogs, and many other features. /P: yes 1-800-318-5249, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: no 9.0 National Kidney Cancer Association: Dedicated to families and victims of Kidney Cancer, and to the general public, this is the most excellent new BBS I have seen recently. The message base could use some livening up, but the files are exquisite for the BBS's purpose. We all know how crappy sometimes these special interest BBS's are (not all the time), but this one stands out. Also, they have chat, BUT... they only have 1 node. They are working on getting more lines installed, though, so this one could turn out to be a major success, or another M-Link (remember them???) 1-800-280-2032, N-8-1 ANSI .QWK mail door: soon 9.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, that's it for this fourth version of "BBS's That Actually Work!" Hopefully, next time, I can get more info on these boards, and get through to some of the more busy boards. BBS's have come a long way since the SBA days. So I'll have to update it monthly, I guess. Anyway, I'll have version 5 soon! I can be contacted on the following BBS's: BARK, RDL, ETA, NBCI, RIBBS, FSDO, ITE, NASA, AT&T Global, FTA, Buddy BBS, and CTDnet, --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other ways I can be contacted: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can also be contacted at home at (304)-775-2283 on my BBS. If you do want to call my BBS, call between 1:00 and 10:00 p.m. (standard eastern time) BY VOICE FIRST! Its not officially my phone line yet, so I might not have the software ready if you do call, and that means you'll get a bunch of garbage and Ill get a new hearing-aid. So please call by voice first! I have over 10 megs of assorted cool files, a .QWK door, and 2 online games (soon to be more, lots more!!!). Just ask for Kevin, tell me who you are and we can hang up, Ill set the software up, and its that simple. Alllllll calls appreciated!!!! Remember, call by voice first!!! As soon as I get my own phone line, Ill let any and all users know through Bark BBS. Thank you!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am not responsible for a user of this list's actions, words, use, or mis- use of any of the systems contained in this document. Any virus-infected files found on these bulletin boards, I can not be held responsible for. This list is provided as a free service and therefore I am not responsible for the misuse of the above listed BBS's. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Courtesy Note: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Several people have said that us BBS list guys are ruining BBS's with our irresponsible public announcements of numbers. Well I am here to tell you that if it weren't for us, then the numbers would find their way to the public eventually anyway. But, nevertheless, for the satisfaction of the opposition, I will request that you be courteous to the sysop's rules and regulations on the above listed BBS's. The decision is up to you, but please try not to be rude on their systems. And I, Randy, Doug, Jim, Bryan, and Ray wont be hassled anymore. Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Major BBS /P Function Note: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is your decision whether or not these BBS's stay up or not. As most of us know, the makers of The Major BBS by Galacticomm (sp?) left a very fun little function in their BBS package called the paging function. This is monitored on some BBS's like GTE online and a few others. On some it has been done away with altogether (AT&T Global). I know how it can be addictive chatting with people live, one on one, through this overlooked glitch. Because I do it too much myself. Abuse of this function is common. Some sysops take it to heart, others dont mind at all. Its up to you what you do. I cant stop you. Heck, maybe we'll even have a conversation sometime, but think about the fact that it cant last forever on most of these BBS's before you use them solely for that purpose. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOLIDAY NOTE: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MMMMM MMMM EEEEEEEEE RRRRRR RRRRRR YY YY MMMMMMM MMMMMMM EE RR R RR R YY YY MMMM MMMMM MMM EEEEEEEEE RRRRRR RRRRRR YYYYY MMMM MMM EE RR R RR R Y MMMM MMM EEEEEEEEE RR R RR R Y XX XX MMMMM MMMM AAA SSSSSS XX XX MMMMMMM MMMMMMM AA AA SS XXX --- MMMM MMMMM MMM AAAAA SSSSS XX XX MMMM MMM AA AA SS XX XX MMMM MMM AA AA SSSSSS !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!