Jolt Country

It was 1989 when my father brought home the modem. We had a computer for, pssssssssssssh three years before, I guess? We were onto the IBM XT and off the PCjr. Three years. The PCjr didn't last three years.

More than anything in my life, more than making games even, I wanted to connect with people on forums. I went from not knowing about modems to running my own BBS in less than a year.

I had to get a job for the phone line. No problem. What motivated me to work was to pay for my phone line. What motivated me to work was to pay for a computer I could run a BBS on. Did I ever say what I did? I did this:

- I worked all summer at a driving range. I had bills to pay - gas, insurance. I was making minimum wage and inflation doesn't work the other way. $3.35 an hour was nothing! It was nothing then, even if someone says that it's the equivalent to $120 an hour in 2015 money.

I saved up $900. My father knew a guy who resold computers. I could get a 286! With an amber monitor. Well, it would be dumb for the family computer to be the XT and to run the BBS off the 286. So in a mishmosh of Sherwin logic, as a family we made the computer I bought be the family computer. I used the XT for the BBS. I bought an amber monitor because that's all I could afford. That went to the BBS/XT. We used the EGA monitor for the 286.

I ... did .... not..... care. I wanted a BBS.

I've lost so many good people over 26 years. Each one is a rejection. They don't all mean it, but it is. I had a dial-up BBS. I had Jolt Country the phpBB2 forum. I took control of Caltrops.

I wanted a place that was fun, that was clever, that didn't mod posts and that people could speak as adults. Not trying to be a jerk, but for the most part, my forums are the only place on the Internet where that happens. (OK, Flack's forum is like that. There have been other forums like that. It's rare.)

I miss those dial-up BBS days so much. So goddamn much. I'd do anything to return to it. I even setup a telnet BBS, but...

But... there is always a but...

But people -- other people! -- don't want that experience. They don't want any experience I can give them. They don't want to connect with a community or be able to say what they want or any of the stuff my forums provide.

On the Internet, I've only been able to successfully give people a place to speak that they get tired of and make games in a dead genre.

I made real friends thanks to dial-up bulletin boards. Because of long distance, we all called boards that were local to us. There was a warez scene in Rochester that I wasn't a part of. I am sure there was a phreaking scene. I am sure there was a hacking scene. I spent enough time as a SysOp that I was at one point considered an old man of BBSs. The kids ran WWIV boards. They weren't going to use old fogie BBSs! I was maybe 20 when this was happening.

I ache for those days. Everyone will forget. Everyone who wasn't there couldn't give a shit and everyone who was there pretty much forgets. Nothing will ever replicate the sensation of being in a bedroom and hearing the modem make the sounds it made when someone - a stranger!? - connected. Then they had sole access to the BBS and could read or post or download files. It was always a real person on the other end of that line.

I did a thing with the dial-up BBS that would be crazy now. The BBS was getting hung every so often. In 1998. So people would call and the BBS wouldn't answer. Argh! In Colorado, I would call my mother and she would cold boot the PC that ran Jolt Country BBS. Then it would work, again for a while.

I have so many ways to reboot computers now. Assembly interrupts. Unix restarts. Cron jobs. Remote tunneling. God. GOD. It's just .... it was just dumb. I was living in Denver. I was 24. Nobody was really calling dial-up boards anyway. I came home in November of 1998 and turned off Jolt Country, the dial-up experience, once and for all.

I regret that. My phone bill was $22 a month for a landline. (716) 392-8458. I'd do anything to have it running again, to be able to dial it. Anything!

I've lost so many good people, you understand.

None of you get along with each other. Many of you had kids. Kids take a lot of time. I suspect that many of you simply lost interest in posting and reading. I fear it was because of me. I blame myself regardless. I feel my jokes get old. My "style" of humor no longer interesting. People want me out of their lives so they go away and they drift and we exchange the occasional e-mail but the vibrancy of being a part of each other's lives is gone...

I have left forums, so I understand why people leave forums. Sometimes there are so many assholes that I have to leave because I would otherwise spend all my time fighting with assholes. Nobody gets Ben. Ben is the most important poster on any of my systems, but he's driven ... he's driven everyone off but the people reading this. But he posts the most content, is the funniest and is the most hilarious. Why do people act this way towards him? Why? Someone tell me FUCKING why. A guy that takes none of this seriously, who is affable in real life, who plays characters and wants everyone to speak like everyone has been friends for 20 years has driven everyone but Aardvark, Gerrit, Greg, Nikos and Roody away.

How? Why?

My friends got married and had kids. I would have guessed that I'd be the first to marry, that I'd be the first to have kids. I have a ... I have a shelf life. And people get sick of me. All but the people listed above and the Milker, I'm afraid. I have a lot of self-loathing and I feel that people constantly talk shit about me behind my back because that is what humans do. Regardless, they ALL leave.

On Caltrops we had a great collection of funny people. One by one, they all left. There's a few stragglers from 2002. They will leave too, some day. People outgrow posting -- I tell myself that. No. They outgrow my forums.

I just wish it was 1990 and everyone was posting. I just wish that people would stop leaving because I love their posts so much and they are funny and creative and hilarious and inspiring and every SINGLE fucking one of them leave.

Please don't go.

All that these things can be is a hobby, a pastime, and most of us have regular jobs that take up 40+ hours a week. With the occasional exception of someone who has enough interesting things to say that they can attract enough people to their blog or their YouTube channel that they can get enough views to make a living from advertising, but to get to the level that it can support someone - probably a minimum of $2500 a month for one person - more if they have a family - that means doing enough new content to attract about a million views a month (more if they have to support a family).

If you want to know why Ben drives people away, its his attitude and his stated desire to drive people away. Since I've known him probably as long as you have, about 20 years, I understand his quirks.

BBS' were not old in 1989. BBS' became old about 1998 when the Internet and web browsers became popular. Beyond that, USENET today, even now, continues to generate in excess of 100 megabytes of text traffic a day EXCLUDING binaries newsgroups.

As technology changes older equipment gets replaced by what is seen as better. When was the last time you were in any building with manual elevators or a business that had manual operators to direct calls? About the only places are hospitals and hotels because they have lots of transients but even the hospital I went to assigned each bed a direct-dial number so if you called someone they could return calls directly (during normal hours).

Nobody uses slide rules (a stick with marks and a sliding inner stick with formulas, used to do calculations) even though they were good enough to get us to the moon.

Incandescent bulbs are dying off in any application where the user pays for electricity because compact fluorescents use 25% of the energy, even though the bulbs cost 5 times as much because the savings in electric costs make it a no-brainer; you'll usually see payback in a year or less. LEDs are not there yet except in very long-term environments because they are too expensive (26 w CF equals 100 w incandescent, 1600 lumens, price $1.50 vs 25c. But a 1600 lumen LED is about 16 watts, and costs $14.00, way too expensive currently unless you can justify 5 year payback time.)

And let's look at phones. Cell phones have virtually destroyed the Payphone industry, badly damaged traditional landline operators like QWest and Verizon, and VOIP phones are eating heavily into the remaining landline business. With VOIP operators offering service at 1/2 price or less - My 240 area code number from Magic Jack costs $120 for 5 years with unlimited long distance to most of the USA and Canada. Not $120 a month or a year, that's the price for 5 years - the old Bell companies are hurting.

We all look back with fondness on how things were and wish for what seemed like a simpler time. But the environment changes and people move on (or they die). We no longer have the DeSoto nor the Delorean and The Beatles broke up over 40 years ago.

What happened? Don't tell me Flack left?

I just never post because I'm one of the people who has kids. And because I don't have anything interesting to say.

Flack is OUT.

So, we're all lightbulbs in an LED world. Hmmmm. I think social media has streamlined the BBs experience to 140 characters and pictures of restaurant salads. I believe that's too much streamlining, really.
What if we could post pix right to JC with our phones? Would that make it more interesting? Or just more content with less content.

("Are you smoking more, but enjoying it less?")

When's the last time anyone played the Werewolf (or the The Thing) game on Facebook? Man, it would be SO easy to do if it weren't so hard to set up.
I like it here because it's not conveienent. If I'm posting here it's because I have something to say, not just throwing down a random picture or cat video to share.
The only thing I ask is that someday, SOMEDAY, the text files for the dial up JC will be available. Now I go and screw myself into a ceiling fixture.

THE
120WATT
AARDVARK

What happened? Can we mediate?

I always miss the dramatic posts where someone is driven away. Is there a secret base where Pinback alienates everyone?

I didn't even do anything this time. The only one I ever try to run off anymore is Paul, and we all know that ain't gonna happen.

Nothing specific happened. There's no drama. I talk to Flack ten times a day on IRC.

But it is a repeating pattern that has happened and happened again for 20 years.

I don't know. This forum seemed to me to be a hangout for folks who know each other IRL. Though I registered because there was special interest in Hugo here, since I obviously don't really know any of you personally. It is a nice place and people here seem very intelligent with a good sense of humor. I enjoy reading your posts.

But my experience with forums that were created by and for friends is that they usually don't last long. People simply grow apart over the years, or they all move to Facebook (which is horrible, imo.) It seems Usenet killed BBS, forums killed Usenet, and Facebook and Twitter is killing forums.

RealNC wrote:I don't know. This forum seemed to me to be a hangout for folks who know each other IRL.

Oddly, that isn't the case as much as you'd think. Many of us just met Robb online in some way or the other, and this was the place to congregate (even if some of us have since hung out IRL).

Anyhow, Nikos, I've enjoyed your contributions to this place. Glad you're here!

It pains me a little bit when my name isn't included on the "active user list" here, because I'm constantly lurking or hounding Pinback on IM. Though I have a few very good reasons why I don't really post any more...

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I have a lot of self-loathing and I feel that people constantly talk shit about me behind my back because that is what humans do.

I have always been conscious that my actual content here has been sub-par (see "Draal") as I'm pretty anti-social and feel that I tend to derail conversations. So you guys say quite a bit behind my back as I'm doing anything except adding to this place.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:I just wish that people would stop leaving because I love their posts so much and they are funny and creative and hilarious and inspiring and every SINGLE fucking one of them leave.

Think I'm the outlier here since I'm no where near as witty as Robb, my story skills are lacking compared to Flack and Ben is much better at twisting a phrase and running with it. I've been mostly quiet because well... I don't feel I contribute and see much more content and worth from everyone else who posts.

Just my two cents.

RetroRomper wrote:It pains me a little bit when my name isn't included on the "active user list" here, because I'm constantly lurking or hounding Pinback on IM. Though I have a few very good reasons why I don't really post any more...

You left and were reborn as a new person! That is why I did not include you. You had a five-year disappearance. But your greater point is valid and I agree with it. But you did become two people, man. Two Crude Dudes!

I have always been conscious that my actual content here has been sub-par (see "Draal") as I'm pretty anti-social and feel that I tend to derail conversations. So you guys say quite a bit behind my back as I'm doing anything except adding to this place.

Here is the truth about your previous alter-ego:

1) Draal was a BBS villain, and every BBS needs a villain to survive. Right now Paul is the BBS villain for two bulletin boards, which is way more than any one person should be. I guess Pinback is also the villain here. Villains are GOOD and I encourage them.

2) Everything you have ever done as RetroRomper has been appreciated and welcome. We all like you. We would rip on you to your face here and IRC more but part of me suspects that you don't enjoy the friend-based ribbing much because you think there is a kernal of truth to it. There isn't, FuckFace. ^__^

But Pinback and I enjoy it when people rip on us a great deal, you and Flack less so and Paul is an avocado.

Think I'm the outlier here since I'm no where near as witty as Robb, my story skills are lacking compared to Flack and Ben is much better at twisting a phrase and running with it. I've been mostly quiet because well... I don't feel I contribute and see much more content and worth from everyone else who posts.

You are clutch; never change and never leave. Well, I mean, change for better personal growth but we do like you here quite a bit.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:But Pinback and I enjoy it when people rip on us a great deal, you and Flack less so and Paul is an avocado.

What the fuck? You callin' me a fruit, you cock-suckin' maggot? Or is it worse and you're insulting me by calling me a vegetable? You're an asshole; you spew shit and you're disgusting.

See? Now that's comedy.

I had no idea Tdarcos was the BBS villian. I always thought he was grammar with run on sentences guy. Huh.


THE
AVOCADO? REALLY?
AARDVARK

Well, yes. The BBS villain doesn't tie people to train tracks, he or she just doesn't take any shit from anybody, argues with people when they believe they need to and provides SPIRIT!

Jethro Q. Walrustitty is always the BBS villain wherever he goes and he's one of my best friends.

nessman was a good BBS villain. Quentinbec and Senior Barborito over at Caltrops. Great men, great posters and worthy of our respect.

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:Jethro Q. Walrustitty

Ran him off.

nessman

Ran him off.

AArdvark wrote:I had no idea Tdarcos was the BBS villian. I always thought he was grammar with run on sentences guy. Huh.


THE
AVOCADO? REALLY?
AARDVARK

I only had run-on sentences because (1) I was posting from a 10" tablet touch-screen PC (2) which, means I have to wear reading glasses to read it (3) in a hospital bed for the last month (4) using a virtual (on screen) keyboard that (5) sometimes cuts off way too much of the screen (6) sometimes requires I type "blind" (where I can't see the space I'm typing into) and (7) I can't touch-type, I can only type one character at a time.

Let's also note that it's a real pain to get a touch-screen tablet to recognize keypresses, especially when the strike area is small. I've sometimes hit the close ("X in upper right") button 5 or more times to get it recognized, and sometimes it's overshot and I end up also closing the window below it, which can be disappointing at times.

Now that I'm back to using my regular computer with my, regular dual monitor including my luscious 27" monitor at maximum resolution (I think that's 1900x1080 [I just checked, not too bad on my guess, it's actually 1920x1080 ]), I can see what I'm typing without glasses and I don't have to fight to type a sentence, I can go back to being the villainous son-of-a-bitch you all know and love.


"I'm Tansin A. Darcos and I approve this message."

How's the 8 line limit thing going for you, by the way?

Two questions:

Have you tried some of the alternative keyboards like Swype? tappy-typing on Android does blow. this is a fact.

Why do you wear reading glasses when you could have TWO reading MONOCLES?