sudo-discuss

sudo-discuss@sudoroom.org

9 participants
7552 discussions

by Romy Ilano

I told Troy he should write a cometbus style zine with all his political views and thoughts on culture and history. as a public service I am pasting a cometbus piece in sudo discuss http://www.flickr.com/photos/miromi/1083496891/ [image: Inline image 1] On losing It's too easy to just let yourself be defeated,to wallow in the comfort of suffering. to let your self-destructive tendencies become your whole life. to retreat and hide from the world you could have taken by storm. to keep the fruits of your creativity to yourself and let them rot on the vine. it's too easy to say you're a loser and think there's something noble about failure. [image: Inline image 1] *Romy Mimi Ilano* * * *romy.ilano(a)gmail.com* *http://www.romyilano.com* +1 (415) 779-6237 skype: romy.ilano

13 years, 6 months

Sudomaté success. Next Meeting (No. 3) April 23

by Max Klein

==Progress== Sudoroom productivity increased 500% after drinking 4 Gallons of hy bottle.permateinated liquid. $23 collected - enough to buy more maté for the time being. ==Next Meeting== April 23rd, 7pm. Please bring what you need to refine recipes. We will have a beer gun and be ready to bottle. ==Needed - Bottles== Please collect and bring as many bottles as possible. Max On 17 April 2013 09:35, Max Klein <isalix(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Amazing Work at the Sudomaté hacking tonight means that there will be 3 > flavour variants of Sudomaté available at the General Meeting tomorrow. > > Come blind taste test for the winner: Chefs doing battle RAY vs. NAOMI vs. > PATRICK > > all documented at https://sudoroom.org/wiki/page/Sudomate > > p.s. if you want to add to the meeting agenda > https://pad.riseup.net/p/sudoroommeeting > > Max > >

13 years, 6 months

Fwd: Big White Couch......

by mattsenate＠gmail.com

// Matt ----- Forwarded message ----- From: "Laurie Cooperman Rosen" <Lscoop(a)comcast.net> To: <mattsenate(a)gmail.com> Subject: Big White Couch...... Date: Thu, Apr 18, 2013 4:56 PM Hi Matt-There is a large white couch downstairs in 2135 Broadway towards the back of the space where the 2nd “open space” is (the one surrounded by office partitions as you are walking back towards the restroom). Would the Sudo room have any interest in bringing it upstairs, or alternatively would somebody like to take it for themselves? We need to get rid of it because that space is being used for photography a lot and the couch is getting in the way. I can’t remember whether it has all of the cushions still on it or not, but a quick look and you can decide what you think.Let me know, and thanks!Laurie

13 years, 6 months

UPDATE: Anonymizing the Email List Archives

by Andrew

Hi All, In accordance with the action item from yesterday's meeting, Bill and I have come up with a process for replacing strings in the archive. If you would like this for you please let us know. What we need to know is what strings (last name, first name, phone numbers, emails) you would like to be replaced. We would like to the replace strings to have the same number of characters as the original, so if you just want "anon" we will add random numbers to pad it out. If you want something else, let us know. Keep in mind that this only changes the archive up to when we do it, so any emails you send after we replace strings will be archived as is. If you want to remain anonymous you should re signup to the list with a new email. If you have any questions about this please let me know. Thanks, Andrew -- ------- Andrew Lowe Cell: 831-332-2507 http://roshambomedia.com

13 years, 6 months

[sudo-discuss] NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

by rusty lindgren

CISPA :( -Rusty **

13 years, 6 months

Re: [sudo-discuss] Fwd: [hackerspaces] Radio Shack Hackerspace Challenge seeks challenger

by Hol Gaskill

i'm always down for competitive creativity Apr 17, 2013 08:30:02 AM, rachelyra(a)gmail.com wrote: On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 1:35 PM, Ken Murphy kenmrph(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > Hello Hackerspace folks- > > > > Last year was the first Radio Shack Hackerspace Challenge, a friendly competition between Ace Monster Toys in Oakland, CA, and Artisan's Asylum in Somerville, MA. It's happening again this year, and we're looking for challengers to take on the current champs (Artisan's Asylum). > > > > The challenge is sponsored by Radio Shack, and will be featured in print in Popular Mechanics magazine (and therefore seen by millions of people). It's part of Radio Shack's "Great Create" campaign, which includes an effort to improve their offerings to the DIY community. > > > > This is a great opportunity to work on a cool project, and get some good publicity for your hackerspace and for the hackerspace movement overall. I'd love to hear from spaces interested in forming a team and throwing their hat in the ring. > > > > More specifics on the challenge will be available a bit later, but it will take place over the month of June, and each team will build a project based on a theme (tba). Both teams will get profiled in the magazine. > > > > Some info about last year's challenge, including links to the print pieces: > > > > http://www.popmechnow.com/radioshack/ > > > > If you're interested, and think you get a group together from your space, drop me a line! > > > > Ken _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss(a)lists.hackerspaces.org > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > >_______________________________________________ >sudo-discuss mailing list >sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org >http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss >

13 years, 6 months

Fwd: 3D Printing & Scanning SIG: Printed Intelligence at PARC on April 30 [FREE EVENT]

by Romy Ilano

my dear brethren Have you heard of Xerox Parc? It's where object-oriented programming, lots of weird cryptography stuff and the Palm Pilot graffiti writing system came from. They are having a talk on 3D Printing April 30th. Come dip your toes in Palo Alto. I can give people rides. This talk is free if you register beforehand.... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: SVForum <van(a)svforum.org> Date: Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 9:00 AM Subject: 3D Printing & Scanning SIG: Printed Intelligence at PARC on April 30 [FREE EVENT] To: romy(a)snowyla.com ** Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser<http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&id=4f278212d9…>. Facebook<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&…> Twitter<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&…> Forward to a Friend<http://us4.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&id=4f2…> *STRATEGIC ALLIANCES* IBM Nokia SAP The Sobrato Family Foundation *PARTNERS* Microsoft Qualcomm *CATALYSTS* Accel Partners Accenture Deloitte FLG Partners KOTRA Logi Analytics Moss Adams NephoScale New Enterprise Associates Nixon Peabody PricewaterhouseCoopers Procopio *3D Printing and Scanning SIG Event* Printed Intelligence *Tuesday, April 30, 2013* 06:30PM to 09:00PM PARC 3333 Coyote Hill Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [image: More info]<http://svforum.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63…> For over 15 years, PARC<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&…>, a Xerox company has a strong track record in developing and applying scalable additive manufacturing to electronics and cleantech. At this event, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about PARC's exciting work -- some of which has been commercialized -- in printed electronics<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&…>, which includes integrated circuit systems and sensors, and in CoEx technology<http://svforum.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63…>, which includes printing gridlines on solar cells and printing structured battery electrodes. Finally, attendees will get a glimpse into where PARC is headed in the future. ------------------------------ *Important - No Cost to Attend, If You Register In Advance:* Please note, for this one event, there is No Cost to Attend for both Members and Non-Members whom *Register in Advance on the SVForum site*. Non-Members, please use the Coupon Code - (3DPrinting) to register. If you Do Not register in advance, it will cost $20.00 at the door. Thank you! ------------------------------ *Schedule:* 6:30pm – 7pm – Registration and Networking 7pm - 7:10pm – Introductions 7:10pm – 7:20pm - Brian Palacios, founder of Fabricastl (more info. to come) 7:20pm – 8pm - Jano Veres, PARC Program Manager & Leon Wong, PARC Director, Market Strategy 8pm – 8 30pm – Q&A 8:30pm – 9pm - Networking *Presenters: Janos Veres, Program Manager joined PARC *to manage its Printed Electronics team. His current interests are in combining disruptive material, process, and device technologies -- for printed, flexible circuits; sensor and memory arrays; batteries and display devices -- all with a focus on early commercialization opportunities. Janos has experience in components such as novel printed circuits, organic transistors, and printable semiconductors; applications such as OLEDs, displays, and RFID; as well as printing/coating technologies including electrophotography, flexography, and offset printing. Before joining PARC, Janos was the CTO at PolyPhotonix, where he developed radically new process technologies for OLED devices. Prior to that, he worked at Eastman Kodak as their Program Manager of Printed Electronics. Janos also played a key role in establishing and managing several joint development projects with major electronic and printing OEMs when he was a Business Research Associate at Merck Chemicals (formerly Avecia); in addition to generating direct revenue, these projects also led to several World’s first demonstrators built using novel electronic materials. Janos also set up unique pilot production lines for solution coating when he was responsible for Organic Photoreceptor development at Gestetner Byfleet. An author on over 20 patents and 40 publications, Janos has published key findings in the physics of organic semiconductor materials such as interface phenomena and the use of blends and phase separation. Dr. Janos Veres holds a Ph.D. in Solid State Electronics from Imperial College in London and an MSc in Physical Electronics with distinction from Lviv Technical University in Ukraine. *Leon Wong, Director, Market Strategy at PARC*. With an extensive background in business, product development, and entrepreneurship in the high-tech industry, Leon develops product and commercialization strategies and evaluates emerging technologies and market opportunities at PARC. He currently focuses on the areas of digital manufacturing, mobile health, cleantech & energy and advanced electronics. Before joining PARC, Leon was a director at Microchip Technology, where he led a team responsible for product management, product marketing, and worldwide business development. Prior to Microchip, he was a chip design lead at several networking semiconductor startups, including Centillium Communications, which went IPO in year 2000. Leon received his MBA from Harvard Business School and B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley. He has six U.S. patents. ------------------------------ *Facility Host – parc (http://www.parc.com/<http://svforum.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63…> )* PARC, a Xerox company, is in the Business of Breakthroughs®, practicing open innovation, and provided custom R&D services, technology, expertise, best practices, and IP to global Fortune 500 companies, startups, and government agency partners. PARC creates new business options, accelerate time to market, augment internal capabilities, and reduce risk for our clients. Since its inception PARC has pioneered many technology platforms – from the Ethernet and laser printing to the GUI and ubiquitous computing – and has enabled the creation of many industries. Incorporated as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox in 2002, PARC today continues the research that enables breakthroughs for our clients' businesses. ------------------------------ *Refreshments Sponsor – Fabricastl (www.fabricastl.com<http://svforum.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63…> )* *About Fabricastl - *In the future, we will program our physical reality. To bring concepts into reality, it will be effortless, intuitive and instantaneous. Creativity will rule and ideas will be the currency that matters. At Fabricastl, we believe in this vision and that it will be made possible by 3d printing. A central goal of Fabricastl is to accelerate the adoption of 3d printing to manifest this future state now. We believe that market-based competition is the best way to achieve this acceleration. Alongside that competition, the adoption of 3d printing is vitally dependent on the nurturing of creativity, connection and collaboration. Fabricastl will provide the world’s most comprehensive marketplace for 3d printing. To truly harness the power of 3D printing a new type of marketplace is required – one that the world has never seen. Fabricastl has invented this marketplace and it is finishing development right now. To fuel the exchange, Fabricastl will also provide a unique environment for makers and innovators to connect. Knowledge sharing and mentoring will be encouraged. Collaboration on large 3d printing projects will be easily fostered in this environment. Fabricastl is poised to change the world with 3D printing. follow on Twitter <http://Twitter+Account+not+yet+Authorized> | friend on Facebook <#13e1ddff0f28d730_> *Copyright © 2013 SVForum, All rights reserved.* SVForum Members/Event Attendees *Our mailing address is:* SVForum The Sobrato Foundation 330 Twin Dolphin Dr. Redwood Shores, Redwood City, CA 94065 unsubscribe from this list<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/profile?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&id=b…> u<http://svforum.us4.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=74c49fe0367b3f3e4ca000e63&…>

13 years, 6 months

Re: [sudo-discuss] Wish list // setting up our own BBS ;)

by Hol Gaskill

it's not paranoia if they're really after you. also, we should have a screening of They Live at some point, speaking of them. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/ Apr 18, 2013 08:15:03 AM, romy(a)snowyla.com wrote: >I like this line. maybe we should set up a BBS! >4) The Tin-Foil-Hat Factor -- This one is a bit harder to fully explain. But let's say that you're not happy with the way things are going online in terms of privacy. Let's say that you are paranoid about people snooping in your email, reading your browser cache and cookies and monitoring your general online activity. Well. If you've got a BBS that is only accessible via SSH (Secure Shell)... things just got a lot more secure. Heck. I'd say it's a safe bet that most of the kids in hacker groups (like Anonymous) don't even know what a BBS is. > > > > > > http://lunduke.com/?p=2156 > > Lunduke.com » How To Set Up Your Own BBS – Be The King of 1989… Today! With the rise of the World Wide Intertubes, in the 19-Something-Or-Others, we saw the decline of the old-school, text based dial-up BBS. Luckily, that hasn't stopped many of us from continuing to use (and enjoy) the best that BBS-ing has to offer. Considering running your own BBS? Read on! What is a BBS? If you never had the joy of using a BBS (perhaps they were a bit before your time), here is the idea in a nutshell: A BBS is a system that you "call" (in the old days with a modem and an analog phone line) and interact with via a text and ANSI graphics (colorful ascii with a little animation) interface. There were a few key components to a BBS that closely mirror what we currently have available today on the internet: 1) Message Forums and Networks 2) Email 3) Online, multiplayer games 4) Downloadable files 5) Real-time Chat Nowadays it is entirely possible to run a BBS, that looks and acts just like a BBS from the 80's and 90's, and have that BBS accessible to anyone on the internet. Why run your own BBS? So let's say you decide you want to run a BBS of your very own -- thus making you a SysOp (System Operator). You really need to ask yourself one question: WHY?! I mean, let's be honest. It's not for the fame. And it's not for the mega-bucks that are going to come rolling in. So... why? 1) The Nostalgia Factor -- There is something inherently enjoyable about using systems the way they were used 20+ years ago. The experience isn't all that different from playing a video game you played as a kid and finding that it is still just as fun. 2) The Fun Factor -- There are some great multiplayer games available for BBS's. Some of the best, in fact. TradeWars and Legend of the Red Dragon being two of the most famous examples. If you enjoy MUD's and games that put game play, thinking, player interaction and, well, text above all else... you'll be right at home. 3) The Geek Factor -- How many people do you know that run a BBS? Seriously. Anyone can put up a website. Your grandma probably has a website. But do any of them run a telnet-accessible multi-node BBS? Instant Nerd-Cred. 4) The Tin-Foil-Hat Factor -- This one is a bit harder to fully explain. But let's say that you're not happy with the way things are going online in terms of privacy. Let's say that you are paranoid about people snooping in your email, reading your browser cache and cookies and monitoring your general online activity. Well. If you've got a BBS that is only accessible via SSH (Secure Shell)... things just got a lot more secure. Heck. I'd say it's a safe bet that most of the kids in hacker groups (like Anonymous) don't even know what a BBS is. In a nutshell: A person decides to run a BBS because he/she wants to. But, be warned. Setting up a BBS can be time consuming. Keeping a BBS running can be time consuming. Administering the users on your BBS... can be time consuming. Setting up a BBS is a lot like adopting a puppy. Time consuming. (But rewarding... if you like puppies.) Choosing BBS Software So, you're in. What next? Next step: figure out what BBS server software you want to run. Luckily, there are many options to choose from. Unfortunately... most are abandoned and not exactly super compatible with newer systems. I am going to talk about two of my personal favorite options that should cover most people's needs: Synchronet and Virtual Advanced. Both systems can handle many, many concurrent online users ("nodes"). Both support message forums, file downloads, games and chat. So let's look at where they differ. Synchronet is open source, still updated (though not necessarily all that often) and runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD. Virtual Advanced is closed source (though freely available), no longer in development and runs under DOS. (Yes. I did say this was one of my favorites. I'll explain a little further down.) Despite these, relatively massive, differences both systems are entirely capable of running an excellent BBS. More on getting these two setup in just a bit. (There are many other, very capable, BBS servers out there. Including EleBBS, WWIV, Wildcat! and Mystic. I am choosing to cover only Synchronet and Virtual Advanced here to keep things simple.) BBS Door Games A BBS "Door" is basically a piece of external software (usually a game). How it works is this: 1) A person calls your BBS, then chooses to run a "door game" from a menu that you have set up. 2) The BBS server software then generates what is called a "drop file" (often called "door.sys" or "chain.txt"). This is simply a text file that contains pieces of information that will tell the door software how to continue communicating with the person (connection info, user name, etc.). 3) The BBS server then launches the door software and instructs it where to look for that drop file. 4) When the user is done playing the game, the door software exits and returns control back to the BBS server. Now that you know the basics of how they work, you'll need to decide which (if any) you want on your system. This can be a rather huge task. Not only do you need to find out which games you like (and that your callers may like)... but you need to find a way to actually BUY these games (which are, often, long since abandoned). Luckily there are some games that are still supported (and usually very inexpensive), and various resources to get you started: John Dailey Software - John supports and sells some truly excellent games, including Barren Realms Elite (a personal favorite strategy game of mine). BBSFiles.com - This is a great collection of downloads of door games (as well as add-ons). What makes this site truly excellent is that it also provides many, many public (and legal) registration keys for long abandoned games. TradeWars - This is one of the most popular games out there (and for good reason). But purchasing a new license for the old (and unsupported) DOS door game version can be tricky. The new TradeWars server is developed and sold by EIS. If you really want a good, legal copy... your best bet is to contact them directly. Gameport - Want Legend of the Red Dragon? Hint: Your callers probably do. Gameport owns the rights and can sell you a registration for 15 bucks. They also have a few other BBS door games available for purchase for the same price. For each game you'll want to read through the supplied documentation for how to set it up with your BBS. Most likely you'll be making your BBS available via Telnet... which means you'll be ignoring any settings for "Com Ports" and the like for each game and instead relying on something called a "Fossil Driver". Choosing your OS and Hardware Hardware - The hardware requirements for running a BBS are... very small. Have an old PC lying around that can technically run semi-modern OS? Should be fine. Operating System - Choosing the OS you run your BBS server on is entirely personal. Linux or Windows (XP or newer) would be my recommendations. Here's what I'm running: Arch Linux running on an old Eee PC netbok (with a roughly 600mhz processor). Small. Cheap. Quiet. Low power. Linux Notes - I like Linux. But setting up DOS based Door games can be a bit more challenging under Linux (for obvious reasons). If you elect to use Synchronet (which is my recommended approach under Linux) here is a great tutorial on setting up door games for Synchronet under Linux using DOSEMU. It is also possible to use DOSBox to run your DOS door games, but this can be very problematic as DOSBox caches the file system... making it difficult to run games that have multiple, simultaneous online users (but not impossible... just very, very hard). For that reason I highly recommend the Synchronet/DOSEMU route. Network Connection - A great speed for using a BBS is roughly equivalent to an old 14.4 or 28.8 analog modem. This allows text to appear on the screen rapidly without making people wait. (Man. The days of 300 baud modems... life was tough!) Luckily, if you have any decently modern network connection you should be all set. If you want to be able to have 10 concurrent connections, you'll be looking at a maximum usage of about 280 kbit/sec. (And even that is unlikely unless people are downloading files). For a good example: My BBS (The House of Lunduke) has 20 lines. Even when all 20 lines are full of people playing games I don't even notice the network traffic on my FiOS line. What *is* important to consider is latency. While a satellite internet connection may have enough bandwidth to handle a BBS... the ping time is going to make your BBS almost unusable as you will end up waiting for an eternity every time you hit a key. The other big consideration here is how people will connect to your BBS. Will you have your own domain name? A static IP address (recommended)? If you do not have a static IP address (and your ISP refuses to give you one) you can sign up for a Dynamic DNS service. Getting Up And Running Ok. So you've chosen your hardware, OS and BBS software and you're ready to go. What now? Synchronet - So you chose Synchronet, eh? If you are running Windows go grab the installer from the Download page then follow these instructions. It's truly pretty straight forward. Running on Linux? You're going to need to build Synchronet from source and do some tweaking. Luckily there are excellent instructions available. Which I recommend following to the letter. Virtual Advanced - Running on Windows: 1) Go grab the Virtual Advanced Windows installer. 2) Then you'll need the VADV32 installer, which is supplied by Aspect Technologies. Remember when I said Virtual Advanced is no longer being developed? Luckily Aspect Technologies stepped up to the plate and built a great tool called VADV32 which acts as a telnet server and configuration front end for Virtual Advanced. Follow the instructions provided with VADV32. Running on Linux: Don't do it. VADV32 is necessary to have a good experience running Virtual Advanced as a telnet accessible BBS. And it is a Windows application. That said: I am running Virtual Advanced and VADV32 under Arch Linux using Wine (and other tools). It was a royal pain to get working properly. But I'm a stubborn Linux user who used to run Virtual Advanced on OS/2 "back in the day"... I chose that route for nostalgic reasons. So it's possible. If you really hate yourself and want to do this like I did, ask in the comments for this article and I will do my best to help with any issues you have. Additional Considerations Does your BBS need a website? If so, will you allow people to connect to your BBS via your website (via something such as FlashTerm or jsTerm). Will you promote your BBS on the various BBS list website out there (such as BBSFinder)? How much time/access will you give your users? How will you handle new users? Will you join a message network (such as FidoNet)? Lots and lots to consider. Far too many to list and answer. But if you have questions, just ask here and I (or others) may be able to point you in the right direction. My Thoughts on BBSing I feel that BBSing is genuinely important. Both as a leisure activity (a rather nerdy one), a communication mechanism and a way of preserving our past (and making that past accessible to everyone to see, experience and study). I would love to see more BBS's. If this interests you, dive in and have fun. What's the worst that can happen? Filed under: BBS | 9 Comments > >--- >Romy IlanoFounder of Snowylahttp://www.snowyla.comromy@snowyla.com > > > >_______________________________________________ >sudo-discuss mailing list >sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org >http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss >

13 years, 6 months

Re: [sudo-discuss] Wish list // setting up our own BBS ;)

by Romy Ilano

I like this line. maybe we should set up a BBS! *4) The Tin-Foil-Hat Factor* -- This one is a bit harder to fully explain. But let's say that you're not happy with the way things are going online in terms of privacy. Let's say that you are paranoid about people snooping in your email, reading your browser cache and cookies and monitoring your general online activity. Well. If you've got a BBS that is only accessible via SSH <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Shell> (Secure Shell)... things just got a lot more secure. Heck. I'd say it's a safe bet that most of the kids in hacker groups (like Anonymous<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)>) don't even know what a BBS is. > http://lunduke.com/?p=2156 > > Lunduke.com » How To Set Up Your Own BBS – Be The King of 1989… Today! > > With the rise of the World Wide Intertubes, in the 19-Something-Or-Others, > we saw the decline of the old-school, text based dial-up BBS<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system> > . > > Luckily, that hasn't stopped many of us <http://lunduke.com/?page_id=1316>from continuing to use (and enjoy) the best that BBS-ing has to offer. > Considering running your own BBS? Read on! > What is a BBS? > > If you never had the joy of using a BBS <http://lunduke.com/?page_id=1314>(perhaps they were a bit before your time), here is the idea in a nutshell: > > A BBS is a system that you "call" (in the old days with a modem and an > analog phone line) and interact with via a text and ANSI<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_art>graphics (colorful ascii with a little animation) interface. > > <http://lunduke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/144external.jpg>There were > a few key components to a BBS that closely mirror what we currently have > available today on the internet: > > 1) Message Forums and Networks > > 2) Email > > 3) Online, multiplayer games > > 4) Downloadable files > > 5) Real-time Chat > > Nowadays it is entirely possible to run a BBS, that looks and acts just > like a BBS from the 80's and 90's, and have that BBS accessible to anyone > on the internet. > Why run your own BBS? > > So let's say you decide you want to run a BBS of your very own -- thus > making you a SysOp <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysop> (System Operator). > > You really need to ask yourself one question: *WHY?!* > > I mean, let's be honest. It's not for the fame. And it's not for the > mega-bucks that are going to come rolling in. So... why? > > *1) The Nostalgia Factor* -- There is something inherently enjoyable > about using systems the way they were used 20+ years ago. The experience > isn't all that different from playing a video game you played as a kid and > finding that it is still just as fun. > > *2) The Fun Factor* -- There are some great multiplayer games available > for BBS's. Some of the best, in fact. TradeWars<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TradeWars_2002>and Legend > of the Red Dragon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Red_Dragon>being two of the most famous examples. If you enjoy > MUD <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD>'s and games that put game play, > thinking, player interaction and, well, text above all else... you'll be > right at home. > > *3) The Geek Factor* -- How many people do you know that run a BBS? > Seriously. Anyone can put up a website. Your grandma probably has a > website. But do any of them run a telnet-accessible multi-node BBS? > Instant Nerd-Cred. > > *4) The Tin-Foil-Hat Factor* -- This one is a bit harder to fully > explain. But let's say that you're not happy with the way things are going > online in terms of privacy. Let's say that you are paranoid about people > snooping in your email, reading your browser cache and cookies and > monitoring your general online activity. Well. If you've got a BBS that > is only accessible via SSH <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Shell>(Secure Shell)... things just got a lot more secure. Heck. I'd say it's a > safe bet that most of the kids in hacker groups (like Anonymous<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group)>) > don't even know what a BBS is. > > In a nutshell: A person decides to run a BBS because he/she wants to. > > But, be warned. Setting up a BBS can be time consuming. Keeping a BBS > running can be time consuming. Administering the users on your BBS... can > be time consuming. > > Setting up a BBS is a lot like adopting a puppy. Time consuming. (But > rewarding... if you like puppies.) > Choosing BBS Software > > So, you're in. What next? > > Next step: figure out what BBS server software you want to run. > > Luckily, there are many options<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS_Software>to choose from. Unfortunately... most are abandoned and not exactly super > compatible with newer systems. > > I am going to talk about two of my personal favorite options that should > cover most people's needs: Synchronet and Virtual Advanced. > > Both systems can handle many, many concurrent online users ("nodes"). > Both support message forums, file downloads, games and chat. So let's > look at where they differ. > > <http://www.synchro.net/><http://lunduke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/synch.png>Synchronet > is open source, still updated (though not necessarily all that often) and > runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD. > > Virtual Advanced <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Advanced> is > closed source (though freely available), no longer in development and runs > under DOS. (Yes. I did say this was one of my favorites. I'll explain a > little further down.) > > Despite these, relatively massive, differences both systems are entirely > capable of running an excellent BBS. More on getting these two setup in > just a bit. > > (There are many other, very capable, BBS servers out there. Including > EleBBS <http://elebbs.com/>, WWIV <http://wwiv.sourceforge.net/>, Wildcat!<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcat!_BBS>and > Mystic <http://www.mysticbbs.com/>. I am choosing to cover only > Synchronet and Virtual Advanced here to keep things simple.) > BBS Door Games > > A BBS "Door" is basically a piece of external software (usually a game). > How it works is this: > > 1) A person calls your BBS, then chooses to run a "door game" from a menu > that you have set up. > > 2) The BBS server software then generates what is called a "drop file" > (often called "door.sys" or "chain.txt"). This is simply a text file that > contains pieces of information that will tell the door software how to > continue communicating with the person (connection info, user name, etc.). > > 3) The BBS server then launches the door software and instructs it where > to look for that drop file. > > 4) When the user is done playing the game, the door software exits and > returns control back to the BBS server. > > <http://lunduke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/bre.gif>Now that you know > the basics of how they work, you'll need to decide which (if any) you want > on your system. > > This can be a rather huge task. Not only do you need to find out which > games you like (and that your callers may like)... but you need to find a > way to actually BUY these games (which are, often, long since abandoned). > > Luckily there are some games that are still supported (and usually very > inexpensive), and various resources to get you started: > > *John Dailey Software <http://www.johndaileysoftware.com/>* - John > supports and sells some truly excellent games, including Barren Realms > Elite<http://www.johndaileysoftware.com/products/bbsdoors/barrenrealmselite/index…>(a personal favorite strategy game of mine). > > *BBSFiles.com <http://www.bbsfiles.com/>* - This is a great collection of > downloads of door games (as well as add-ons). What makes this site truly > excellent is that it also provides many, many public (and legal) > registration keys for long abandoned games. > > *TradeWars <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TradeWars_2002>* - This is one > of the most popular games out there (and for good reason). But purchasing > a new license for the old (and unsupported) DOS door game version can be > tricky. The new TradeWars server is developed and sold by EIS<http://www.eisonline.com/>. > If you really want a good, legal copy... your best bet is to contact them > directly. > > * <http://www.gameport.com/><http://lunduke.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/lord.jpeg> > Gameport* - Want Legend of the Red Dragon? Hint: Your callers probably > do. Gameport owns the rights and can sell you a registration for 15 bucks. > They also have a few other BBS door games available for purchase for the > same price. > > For each game you'll want to read through the supplied documentation for > how to set it up with your BBS. Most likely you'll be making your BBS > available via Telnet... which means you'll be ignoring any settings for > "Com Ports" and the like for each game and instead relying on something > called a "Fossil Driver <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOSSIL>". > Choosing your OS and Hardware > > *Hardware -* > > The hardware requirements for running a BBS are... very small. Have an > old PC lying around that can technically run semi-modern OS? Should be > fine. > > *Operating System - * > > Choosing the OS you run your BBS server on is entirely personal. Linux or > Windows (XP or newer) would be my recommendations. > > Here's what I'm running: > > Arch Linux running on an old Eee PC netbok (with a roughly 600mhz > processor). > > Small. Cheap. Quiet. Low power. > > *Linux Notes - *I like Linux. But setting up DOS based Door games can be > a bit more challenging under Linux (for obvious reasons). If you elect to > use Synchronet (which is my recommended approach under Linux) here is a great > tutorial on setting up door games<http://www.synchro.net/docs/linux-dosemu.html>for Synchronet under Linux using > DOSEMU <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosemu>. It is also possible to use DOSBox > to run your DOS door games <http://dosbox.bbsdev.net/>, but this can be > very problematic as DOSBox caches the file system... making it difficult to > run games that have multiple, simultaneous online users (but not > impossible... just very, very hard). For that reason I highly recommend > the Synchronet/DOSEMU route. > > *Network Connection - * > > A great speed for using a BBS is roughly equivalent to an old 14.4 or 28.8 > analog modem. This allows text to appear on the screen rapidly without > making people wait. (Man. The days of 300 baud modems... life was tough!) > > Luckily, if you have any decently modern network connection you should be > all set. If you want to be able to have 10 concurrent connections, you'll > be looking at a maximum usage of about 280 kbit/sec. (And even that is > unlikely unless people are downloading files). > > For a good example: My BBS (The House of Lunduke<http://lunduke.com/?page_id=1316>) > has 20 lines. Even when all 20 lines are full of people playing games I > don't even notice the network traffic on my FiOS line. > > What *is* important to consider is latency. While a satellite internet > connection may have enough bandwidth to handle a BBS... the ping time is > going to make your BBS almost unusable as you will end up waiting for an > eternity every time you hit a key. > > The other big consideration here is how people will connect to your BBS. > Will you have your own domain name? A static IP address (recommended)? > > If you do not have a static IP address (and your ISP refuses to give you > one) you can sign up for a Dynamic DNS<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_DNS>service. > Getting Up And Running > > Ok. So you've chosen your hardware, OS and BBS software and you're ready > to go. What now? > > *Synchronet -* > > So you chose Synchronet, eh? If you are running Windows go grab the > installer from the Download <http://www.synchro.net/download.html> page > then follow these instructions <http://wiki.synchro.net/install:win>. > It's truly pretty straight forward. > > Running on Linux? You're going to need to build Synchronet from source > and do some tweaking. Luckily there are excellent instructions available<http://wiki.synchro.net/install:nix>. > Which I recommend following to the letter. > > *Virtual Advanced -* > > Running on Windows: > > 1) Go grab the Virtual Advanced Windows installer<http://www.vadvbbs.com/products/vadv/downloads/index.php> > . > > 2) Then you'll need the VADV32 installer<http://www.vadvbbs.com/products/vadv32/downloads/index.php>, > which is supplied by Aspect Technologies<http://www.vadvbbs.com/index.php> > . > > Remember when I said Virtual Advanced is no longer being developed? > Luckily Aspect Technologies stepped up to the plate and built a great tool > called VADV32 <http://www.vadvbbs.com/products/vadv32/index.php> which > acts as a telnet server and configuration front end for Virtual Advanced. > Follow the instructions provided with VADV32. > > Running on Linux: > > Don't do it. VADV32 is necessary to have a good experience running > Virtual Advanced as a telnet accessible BBS. And it is a Windows > application. > > That said: I am running Virtual Advanced and VADV32 under Arch Linux using > Wine (and other tools). It was a royal pain to get working properly. But > I'm a stubborn Linux user who used to run Virtual Advanced on OS/2<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Os/2>"back in the day"... I chose that route for nostalgic reasons. So it's > possible. If you really hate yourself and want to do this like I did, ask > in the comments for this article and I will do my best to help with any > issues you have. > Additional Considerations > > Does your BBS need a website? If so, will you allow people to connect to > your BBS via your website (via something such as FlashTerm<http://www.flashterm.com/>or > jsTerm <http://jsterm.com/>). > > Will you promote your BBS on the various BBS list website out there (such > as BBSFinder <http://www.bbsfinder.com/>)? > > How much time/access will you give your users? How will you handle new > users? > > Will you join a message network (such as FidoNet <http://www.fidonet.org/> > )? > > Lots and lots to consider. Far too many to list and answer. But if you > have questions, just ask here and I (or others) may be able to point you in > the right direction. > My Thoughts on BBSing > > I feel that BBSing is genuinely important. Both as a leisure activity (a > rather nerdy one), a communication mechanism and a way of preserving our > past (and making that past accessible to everyone to see, experience and > study). > > I would love to see more BBS's. If this interests you, dive in and have > fun. What's the worst that can happen? [image: :)] > [image: Share Button] <http://www.hupso.com/share/> > > Filed under: BBS <http://lunduke.com/?cat=52> | 9 Comments<http://lunduke.com/?p=2156#comments> > > > --- > > Romy Ilano > Founder of Snowyla > http://www.snowyla.com > romy(a)snowyla.com > >

13 years, 6 months

Wish list // setting up our own BBS ;)

by Romy Ilano

http://lunduke.com/?p=2156 Lunduke.com » How To Set Up Your Own BBS – Be The King of 1989… Today! With the rise of the World Wide Intertubes, in the 19-Something-Or-Others, we saw the decline of the old-school, text based dial-up BBS. Luckily, that hasn't stopped many of us from continuing to use (and enjoy) the best that BBS-ing has to offer. Considering running your own BBS? Read on! What is a BBS? If you never had the joy of using a BBS (perhaps they were a bit before your time), here is the idea in a nutshell: A BBS is a system that you "call" (in the old days with a modem and an analog phone line) and interact with via a text and ANSI graphics (colorful ascii with a little animation) interface. There were a few key components to a BBS that closely mirror what we currently have available today on the internet: 1) Message Forums and Networks 2) Email 3) Online, multiplayer games 4) Downloadable files 5) Real-time Chat Nowadays it is entirely possible to run a BBS, that looks and acts just like a BBS from the 80's and 90's, and have that BBS accessible to anyone on the internet. Why run your own BBS? So let's say you decide you want to run a BBS of your very own -- thus making you a SysOp (System Operator). You really need to ask yourself one question: WHY?! I mean, let's be honest. It's not for the fame. And it's not for the mega-bucks that are going to come rolling in. So... why? 1) The Nostalgia Factor -- There is something inherently enjoyable about using systems the way they were used 20+ years ago. The experience isn't all that different from playing a video game you played as a kid and finding that it is still just as fun. 2) The Fun Factor -- There are some great multiplayer games available for BBS's. Some of the best, in fact. TradeWars and Legend of the Red Dragon being two of the most famous examples. If you enjoy MUD's and games that put game play, thinking, player interaction and, well, text above all else... you'll be right at home. 3) The Geek Factor -- How many people do you know that run a BBS? Seriously. Anyone can put up a website. Your grandma probably has a website. But do any of them run a telnet-accessible multi-node BBS? Instant Nerd-Cred. 4) The Tin-Foil-Hat Factor -- This one is a bit harder to fully explain. But let's say that you're not happy with the way things are going online in terms of privacy. Let's say that you are paranoid about people snooping in your email, reading your browser cache and cookies and monitoring your general online activity. Well. If you've got a BBS that is only accessible via SSH (Secure Shell)... things just got a lot more secure. Heck. I'd say it's a safe bet that most of the kids in hacker groups (like Anonymous) don't even know what a BBS is. In a nutshell: A person decides to run a BBS because he/she wants to. But, be warned. Setting up a BBS can be time consuming. Keeping a BBS running can be time consuming. Administering the users on your BBS... can be time consuming. Setting up a BBS is a lot like adopting a puppy. Time consuming. (But rewarding... if you like puppies.) Choosing BBS Software So, you're in. What next? Next step: figure out what BBS server software you want to run. Luckily, there are many options to choose from. Unfortunately... most are abandoned and not exactly super compatible with newer systems. I am going to talk about two of my personal favorite options that should cover most people's needs: Synchronet and Virtual Advanced. Both systems can handle many, many concurrent online users ("nodes"). Both support message forums, file downloads, games and chat. So let's look at where they differ. Synchronet is open source, still updated (though not necessarily all that often) and runs on Windows, Linux and FreeBSD. Virtual Advanced is closed source (though freely available), no longer in development and runs under DOS. (Yes. I did say this was one of my favorites. I'll explain a little further down.) Despite these, relatively massive, differences both systems are entirely capable of running an excellent BBS. More on getting these two setup in just a bit. (There are many other, very capable, BBS servers out there. Including EleBBS, WWIV, Wildcat! and Mystic. I am choosing to cover only Synchronet and Virtual Advanced here to keep things simple.) BBS Door Games A BBS "Door" is basically a piece of external software (usually a game). How it works is this: 1) A person calls your BBS, then chooses to run a "door game" from a menu that you have set up. 2) The BBS server software then generates what is called a "drop file" (often called "door.sys" or "chain.txt"). This is simply a text file that contains pieces of information that will tell the door software how to continue communicating with the person (connection info, user name, etc.). 3) The BBS server then launches the door software and instructs it where to look for that drop file. 4) When the user is done playing the game, the door software exits and returns control back to the BBS server. Now that you know the basics of how they work, you'll need to decide which (if any) you want on your system. This can be a rather huge task. Not only do you need to find out which games you like (and that your callers may like)... but you need to find a way to actually BUY these games (which are, often, long since abandoned). Luckily there are some games that are still supported (and usually very inexpensive), and various resources to get you started: John Dailey Software - John supports and sells some truly excellent games, including Barren Realms Elite (a personal favorite strategy game of mine). BBSFiles.com - This is a great collection of downloads of door games (as well as add-ons). What makes this site truly excellent is that it also provides many, many public (and legal) registration keys for long abandoned games. TradeWars - This is one of the most popular games out there (and for good reason). But purchasing a new license for the old (and unsupported) DOS door game version can be tricky. The new TradeWars server is developed and sold by EIS. If you really want a good, legal copy... your best bet is to contact them directly. Gameport - Want Legend of the Red Dragon? Hint: Your callers probably do. Gameport owns the rights and can sell you a registration for 15 bucks. They also have a few other BBS door games available for purchase for the same price. For each game you'll want to read through the supplied documentation for how to set it up with your BBS. Most likely you'll be making your BBS available via Telnet... which means you'll be ignoring any settings for "Com Ports" and the like for each game and instead relying on something called a "Fossil Driver". Choosing your OS and Hardware Hardware - The hardware requirements for running a BBS are... very small. Have an old PC lying around that can technically run semi-modern OS? Should be fine. Operating System - Choosing the OS you run your BBS server on is entirely personal. Linux or Windows (XP or newer) would be my recommendations. Here's what I'm running: Arch Linux running on an old Eee PC netbok (with a roughly 600mhz processor). Small. Cheap. Quiet. Low power. Linux Notes - I like Linux. But setting up DOS based Door games can be a bit more challenging under Linux (for obvious reasons). If you elect to use Synchronet (which is my recommended approach under Linux) here is a great tutorial on setting up door games for Synchronet under Linux using DOSEMU. It is also possible to use DOSBox to run your DOS door games, but this can be very problematic as DOSBox caches the file system... making it difficult to run games that have multiple, simultaneous online users (but not impossible... just very, very hard). For that reason I highly recommend the Synchronet/DOSEMU route. Network Connection - A great speed for using a BBS is roughly equivalent to an old 14.4 or 28.8 analog modem. This allows text to appear on the screen rapidly without making people wait. (Man. The days of 300 baud modems... life was tough!) Luckily, if you have any decently modern network connection you should be all set. If you want to be able to have 10 concurrent connections, you'll be looking at a maximum usage of about 280 kbit/sec. (And even that is unlikely unless people are downloading files). For a good example: My BBS (The House of Lunduke) has 20 lines. Even when all 20 lines are full of people playing games I don't even notice the network traffic on my FiOS line. What *is* important to consider is latency. While a satellite internet connection may have enough bandwidth to handle a BBS... the ping time is going to make your BBS almost unusable as you will end up waiting for an eternity every time you hit a key. The other big consideration here is how people will connect to your BBS. Will you have your own domain name? A static IP address (recommended)? If you do not have a static IP address (and your ISP refuses to give you one) you can sign up for a Dynamic DNS service. Getting Up And Running Ok. So you've chosen your hardware, OS and BBS software and you're ready to go. What now? Synchronet - So you chose Synchronet, eh? If you are running Windows go grab the installer from the Download page then follow these instructions. It's truly pretty straight forward. Running on Linux? You're going to need to build Synchronet from source and do some tweaking. Luckily there are excellent instructions available. Which I recommend following to the letter. Virtual Advanced - Running on Windows: 1) Go grab the Virtual Advanced Windows installer. 2) Then you'll need the VADV32 installer, which is supplied by Aspect Technologies. Remember when I said Virtual Advanced is no longer being developed? Luckily Aspect Technologies stepped up to the plate and built a great tool called VADV32 which acts as a telnet server and configuration front end for Virtual Advanced. Follow the instructions provided with VADV32. Running on Linux: Don't do it. VADV32 is necessary to have a good experience running Virtual Advanced as a telnet accessible BBS. And it is a Windows application. That said: I am running Virtual Advanced and VADV32 under Arch Linux using Wine (and other tools). It was a royal pain to get working properly. But I'm a stubborn Linux user who used to run Virtual Advanced on OS/2 "back in the day"... I chose that route for nostalgic reasons. So it's possible. If you really hate yourself and want to do this like I did, ask in the comments for this article and I will do my best to help with any issues you have. Additional Considerations Does your BBS need a website? If so, will you allow people to connect to your BBS via your website (via something such as FlashTerm or jsTerm). Will you promote your BBS on the various BBS list website out there (such as BBSFinder)? How much time/access will you give your users? How will you handle new users? Will you join a message network (such as FidoNet)? Lots and lots to consider. Far too many to list and answer. But if you have questions, just ask here and I (or others) may be able to point you in the right direction. My Thoughts on BBSing I feel that BBSing is genuinely important. Both as a leisure activity (a rather nerdy one), a communication mechanism and a way of preserving our past (and making that past accessible to everyone to see, experience and study). I would love to see more BBS's. If this interests you, dive in and have fun. What's the worst that can happen? Filed under: BBS | 9 Comments --- Romy Ilano Founder of Snowyla http://www.snowyla.com romy(a)snowyla.com

13 years, 6 months

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