These days, though, I've heard the BBS
scene is still popular in China, due to
China's policy of censoring things online (people can go under the radar with BBSes, as China hasn't censored them yet, apparently). I've been curious to call some, though I don't read Chinese.
These days, though, I've heard the
BBS
scene is still popular in China, due
to
China's policy of censoring things
online (people can go under the
radar
Interesting. Never heard of that before. Do you or anyone else have a tip on which Chinese BBS might be worth checking out? As for translation, that works pretty well these days with the usual tools.
And about freedom of speech - for example here in Germany things are not as shiny as they look. Especially online. You can get a visit from six police officers at 8 in the morning just because you posted a harmless joke about a politician. Not kidding. There was a pretty revealing CBS documentary about it. We even have a running joke: whenever you post something politically controversial (not the usual lifestyle left stuff) on social media, you add: I already have my bathrobe ready in case they knock for the morning house search. I am writing about it casually now, but it is actually awful.
Interesting. I've heard similar things about the UK, where they now have laws where if you post something on social media that's considered even slightly controversial, even if it seems innocuous, you could have police officers coming after you for that. I've heard it's in the name of stopping "hate speech", but I have a feeling that may just be a cover for
Don't forget, many bbs programs now have web-based access, and with that, a more public access (everyone if you use Google) issue. In canada here, laws have just been laid out that give up to 5 years in jail for hate comments. Germany and Britian have had this awhile now. Hate includes comments against the government etc as well. <sigh>
Don't forget, many bbs programs now have web-based access, and with
that, a more public access (everyone if you use Google) issue. In canada here, laws have just been laid out that give up to 5 years in jail for hate comments. Germany and Britian have had this awhile now. Hate
includes comments against the government etc as well. <sigh>
It looks like this message you quoted
from me got wrapped at a fairly narrow
column width.. Are you using an unusual terminal width (less than 80 columns)? Also, it looks like you were
using FSEditor, for what it's worth.
Interesting. Never heard of that
before. Do you or anyone else have
a tip on which Chinese BBS might
be worth checking out? As for translation, that works pretty well these days with the usual tools.
I don't know of any Chinese BBSes; I've
been somewhat curious to check out the
Chinese BBS scene, but I never have. I
imagine, as you said, I'd have to use a
translater, and I just haven't bothered
yet.
About freedom of speech -
for
example here in Germany things are
not as shiny as they look. Especially online. You can get a
visit from six police officers at
8 in the morning just because you
posted a harmless joke about a politician. Not kidding. There was
a pretty revealing CBS documentary
about it. We even have a running
joke: whenever you post something
politically controversial (not the
usual lifestyle left stuff) on social media, you add: I already
have my bathrobe ready in case they knock for the morning house
search. I am writing about it casually now, but it is actually
awful.
Interesting. I've heard similar things
about the UK, where they now have laws
where if you post something on social
media that's considered even slightly
controversial, even if it seems innocuous, you could have police officers coming after you for that. I've heard it's in the name of stopping
"hate speech", but I have a feeling that may just be a cover for some kind of censorship they want to enforce.
It
makes me wonder why they'd want to do
that.. I've been to the UK, and Germany too, and I think they're great places; I can see why people like to live there, though now I'd be worried about getting in trouble for posting something simple online.
There's a YouTuber I've been following
on & off for the last few years, Feli
from Germany, who is originally from Munich and lived in the US for many years (and also was granted a chance for green card or maybe US/dual citizen status), and she has since gotten married (to an American); they both moved to Germany several months ago (I
think just for a year, at least for now), and they hadn't mentioned the issue with posting online there (though
maybe they want to avoid trouble?).
It looks like this message you
quoted
from me got wrapped at a fairly
narrow
column width..
This is because of my Commodore 64 setup with 40 characters. Can I also use a different editor, or how can I optimize this?
As a child of the 1980s I would never have thought that I would ever experience something like this in Germany.I grew up with freedom, and I learned that someone who has a different opinion is not an enemy. I was always interested in other opinions. In the 1980s we argued for nights and then had a beer together. Today, with certain topics, you become the enemy very quickly if you have a different opinion. So it has clearly become worse even in private life, especially in the last 6 years.
Bluesfyre wrote to Nightfox <=-
Don't forget, many bbs programs now have web-based access, and with
that, a more public access (everyone if you use Google) issue.
Nightfox wrote to Bluesfyre <=-
That makes me a little nervous to think about. In such countries, I
could see why a sysop might want to disable their BBS web server,
although I'd wonder if access via telnet, SSH, etc. would end up
falling under this law too.
That type of law feels like something that a government would do
because they want to cencor and control people.. I wouldn't have
expected it in countries like Germany, UK, Canada, etc..
Re: Re: New offline QWK mail
By: Bluesfyre to Nightfox on Wed Aug 05 2026 07:11 pm
That type of law feels like something that a government would do because they want to cencor and control people.. I wouldn't have expected it in countries like Germany, UK, Canada, etc..
As a child of the 1980s I would never have thought that I would ever experience something like this in Germany.I grew up with freedom, and I learned that someone who has a different opinion is not an enemy. I was always interested in other opinions. In the 1980s we argued
for nights and then had a beer together. Today, with certain topics, you become the enemy very
quickly if you have a different opinion. So it has clearly become
worse even in private life, especially in the last 6 years.
I'm also a child of the 1980s (and 90s), and I feel the same way. These days, I feel like it's hard to have a
respectful conversation with people even when you disagree. And I've been surprised to hear of things going on in
certain countries now where police can
show up at your door if you simply post
something online that they don't like.
That makes me a little nervous to think about. In such countries, I
could see why a sysop might want to disable their BBS web server,
although I'd wonder if access via telnet, SSH, etc. would end up falling
under this law too.
That type of law feels like something that a government would do because
they want to cencor and control people.. I wouldn't have expected it in
countries like Germany, UK, Canada, etc..
It'll happen here, too, if current trends continue. Thankfully, we have institutional knowledge of NUPs, callback verifiers and other forms of closed BBS access. Add to that TLS-enabled BINKP and networks like ZeroTier - tqwnet has a mesh encrypted network to many of its boards.
Make sure you encrypt your hard drives, too.
certain countries now where police
can
show up at your door if you simply
post
something online that they don't
like.
Someone clearly has not understood democracy. Democracy means that you also have to endure when someone says something you reject. The fact that I even have to mention such a self-evident truth in today's time is shocking. Back in 1985, in our discussions on BBS, this would not have been necessary at all.
That type of law feels like something that a government would
do because they want to cencor and
control people.. I wouldn't have
expected it in countries like Germany, UK, Canada, etc..
It's all about control. It started out
as a anti-racsism move, but evolved into an anti-sexism, anti-gender, sitting government protection thang. Or, just a anti-freedom of speech attack.
Don't forget, many bbs programs now have web-based access, and with that, a more public access (everyone if you use
Google) issue. In canada here, laws have just been laid out that give up to 5 years in jail for hate comments. Germany and Britian have had this awhile now. Hate includes comments against the government etc as well. <sigh>
BBS sysop runs a web server that shows the networked message boards, then I think anything that any one sysop does to secure their own system would be moot as far as those messages go.
Yes, I understand democracy and enduring when someone says something you reject.
What I was trying to say
in
my previous message was that these days, it's easy to offend people, and
it seems like the days are gone when people can respectfully disagree with other peoples' views and still have a
conversation with them. And when I was
talking about the police coming to your
door, I was simply saying I was surprised police will come to your door
if you post certain thnigs online.
Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
True. And I suppose disabling the web server would be a good way to ensure BBS messages don't become available on your BBS, and perhaps we could also disable telnet and RLogin and only allow SSH. However, I'm pretty sure other BBSes will still have their web servers available, so anything you post to a networked message area could still be found
online via the web. As long as any BBS sysop runs a web server that
shows the networked message boards, then I'd think anything that any
one sysop does to secure their own system would be moot as far as those messages go.
phigan wrote to Nightfox <=-
BBS sysop runs a web server that shows the networked message boards, then I think anything that any one sysop does to secure their own system would be moot as far as those messages go.
We could make a net that doesn't allow boards with public (unauthed
web) access.
BBS sysop runs a web server that shows the networked message boards, then I
think anything that any one sysop does to secure their own system would be
moot as far as those messages go.
We could make a net that doesn't allow boards with public (unauthed web) access.
I don't know if crawlers respect robots.txt any more, seems like a civilized solution for an earlier time.
Quoting Poindexter Fortran to Phigan <=-
I'm pretty sure Micronet doesn't allow web messages. Given the
Quoting Poindexter Fortran to Phigan <=-
I'm pretty sure Micronet doesn't allow web messages. Given the
The thing (he's no man) that runs it has very severe mental issues. If you appoligize to him he goes off the wall and bans you and your family for
life and has 6 heart attacks, 4 knee operation and of course another
few sets of teeth he will lose or break.
The thing (he's no man) that runs it has very severe mental issues. If
you appoligize to him he goes off the wall and bans you and your family for life and has 6 heart attacks, 4 knee operation and of course another few sets of teeth he will lose or break.
Yes, I understand democracy and enduring when someone says something you reject. What I was trying to say in my previous message was that these days, it's easy to offend people, and it seems like the days are gone when people can respectfully disagree with other peoples' views and still have a conversation with them.
Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
True. And I suppose disabling the web server would be a good way to
ensure BBS messages don't become available on your BBS, and perhaps we
could also disable telnet and RLogin and only allow SSH. However, I'm
Re: Re: New offline QWK mail
By: poindexter FORTRAN to Nightfox on Sat Aug 08 2026 08:06:31
Nightfox wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
True. And I suppose disabling the web server would be a good way to
ensure BBS messages don't become available on your BBS, and perhaps we
could also disable telnet and RLogin and only allow SSH. However, I'm
Presently I have most areas open to telnet access, that has a bit of security. My web service consists of areas such as Horoscope, weather reports, Food/Recipes, and a few other un-political areas. Still working on it.
I'd feel like even authenticated web access could be a bit risky.. Law
Outlaw wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
Most still respect robots.txt.
There are a few that don't but I was being hit hard until I added robots.txt now it's minimal.
Nightfox wrote to phigan <=-
I'd feel like even authenticated web access could be a bit risky.. Law enforcement agents might create an account in order to look at messages via the web interface.
Utopian Galt wrote to Tiny <=-
The thing (he's no man) that runs it has very severe mental issues. If
you appoligize to him he goes off the wall and bans you and your family for life and has 6 heart attacks, 4 knee operation and of course another few sets of teeth he will lose or break.
I hope for no further health issues for him, but sadly he is super fragile. I was one of the first micronet members, but never bothered to return.
POINDEXTER FORTRAN wrote to NIGHTFOX <=-
Nightfox wrote to phigan <=-
Getting back to NUPs, call-back verifiers and checking bona fides
before allowing access.
validated and hit an unmarked menu i and it loaded a completely different BBS with all of the warez. It felt like going down a rabbit hole.
I remember running a NUP because I had so many inmature teenagers making fake accounts trolling and flaming me. But that was 30 years ago.
I remember running a NUP because I had so many inmature teenagers makin fake accounts trolling and flaming me. But that was 30 years ago.Mmmm...Can't say I've seen much of a change.
Re: New offline QWK mail
By: Tiny to POINDEXTER FORTRAN on Sat Aug 08 2026 04:53 pm
I hope for no further health issues for him, but sadly he is super fragile. I
Was one of the first micronet members, but never bothered to return.
Yeah, my experiences with him were generally positive, and I hubbed for
10+ years. I did see others get treatment I wouldn't have tolerated
over those years. In the end, I just decided to streamline my BBS and Micronet didn't fit in anymore.
phigan wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-
validated and hit an unmarked menu i
and it loaded a completely different
BBS with all of the warez. It felt
like going down a rabbit hole.
BITD I'd have "FrontDoor" mailer thing
running to answer the calls, and it
would normally take you into the
"regular" BBS.. but if you typed a
specific word/phrase before it did
that, it connected you to a separate
"back door" BBS.. the one with all the
warez and such.
| Sysop: | eelated |
|---|---|
| Location: | Somewhere, INTIME |
| Users: | 2 |
| Nodes: | 4 (0 / 4) |
| Uptime: | 87:04:52 |
| Calls: | 63 |
| Messages: | 15,018 |