Multi-node BBS'

[Robert Rissell]

Keep in mind that a BBS does NOT equal a DOS session.   All that is
required is the ability to service multiple COM: ports connected to modems
or local consoles; keeping track of what data is coming or going from which
port.   All else is bells and whistles.  You can have a system as simple as
2 commands.  READ: which types everything in the board file from the last
time it was cleared.   WRITE: which adds a line of text with a port ID to
differentiate who is typing.  Absolute login IDs or even date/time stamps
are optional.

It can be that simple.

Robyn- BBS user since 1979.
On Feb 17, 2015 10:13 AM, "JP Hindin" <jplist2008 at kiwigeek.com> wrote:

>
>
> On Tue, 17 Feb 2015, Mike Loewen wrote:
> > On Tue, 17 Feb 2015, JP Hindin wrote:
> >
> > > How did people set up multi-node BBS' back in the day?
> > >
> > > I know you could run something like Desqview and run multiple copies
> on a
> > > single system, and some BBS' (like TBBS) had built-in multitasking so
> it
> > > handled multiple modems. And, of course, you could get fancy and run a
> > > Novell network. Were there other ways of doing this?
> >
> >     Yes, on a real multi-tasking OS.  A friend of mine and I ran a
> > home-grown BBS on a Tandy 6000HD running Xenix for a couple of years
> > starting in 1986 in Sumner, WA.  Four 1200bps modems plus the console
> > allowed 5 of us to be on at the same time.  It was primarily a message
> > system (room-based), with a real-time chat facility.
>
> <chuckles>
>
> True, thanks Mike. I was being specific about DOS, actually - although I
> didn't say so, my bad. Certainly there were... shall we say, somewhat more
> advanced OS' that just simply "worked". I was more curious about what
> wedges people put in place to make multi-nodes in DOS... where it really
> didn't.
>
> Thanks though!
>
>  - JP
>
>