ritzenth@bgsuvax.UUCP (Philip Ritzenthaler) (10/01/85)
This file was "borrowed" from the Indianapolis EpsonNet TBBS run by Steve Brown, 881-3849, and transferred to Indy Net One 6-19-85. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Note from Steve: My experience has not been as bad as this guy's, but if you contribute to this system, I thank you. If you don't, you know who you are. REQUIEM FOR A SYSOP ------------------- Excerpt from an article in "PC WEEK", Nov. 20, 1984: "There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but there is an ample supply of free software that's yours for the asking. All you have to do is dial up, make connection, browse through a couple of menus, check over long lists of available software, make your choices and start downloading." Exchange of E-Mail between sysop and BBS user: ---------------------------------------------- Well, John, the good news is that the faulty file has been fixed but the bad news is that your downloading privileges have been revoked. I just went through the last two months of logs and came up with some interesting statistics. During that time you have logged on 23 times, downloaded 66 files and uploaded NONE. You have called for chat twice, and left a total of two messages on the board, one requesting a specific program and the other informing me of a disk error in a download file. I can only draw the conclusion that you are interested in this board for ONE REASON ONLY -- to rape --- out of the download menus. I've left plenty of messages regarding PARTICIPATION in the BBS and the Message Base, but you either haven't read them or else you ignored them. Sorry, but one-way streets just don't hack it around here. Jim. Jim, I have been taking part in the BBS. Every time I log on I read all the new messages. John. John, I just can't help but feel that in all that time you could have at least said "Hi" or "Thanks for the downloads" or SOMETHING to acknowledge that there's a real live human being on this end. Jim. - - - - - - Except for power failures, my computer has been continually running since Nov. 1, 1982, and has fielded over 12,000 telephone calls operating as a BBS. Back then, it was a joy to be a part of the realm of computer telecommunications -- now it's a drag. It seems to me that a "GIMMEE" attitude has pervaded the whole arena of BBSing, with callers interested in nothing more than material gains in the way of software. My board is far from the busiest, being isolated in the "foreign country" of Montana, but an average day will see about 20 or 25 calls to the system. An average day will also see about three or four messages of ALL types, including E-Mail) being posted. The typical log entry shows so-and-so logging on, going to the file transfer area, downloading several files and then logging off. Thanks, that's why I started up a BBS, to supply people with free programs. Really makes my day to see that I've spent all this time and money just to watch pigs at the trough. Whatever happened to the COMMUNICATIONS in telecommunications? Is this the result of the Computer Age, that people don't talk or communicate with each other? Are we getting so totally in tune with our equipment that we're excluding PEOPLE? If so, then Orwell's predictions are tame in comparison with the reality. Who took the BULLETIN BOARD out of Bulletin Board System? The file transfer section of my board is shiny from daily use, but the bulletin section is obscured by cobwebs. The thought has crossed my mind more than once just to load up a host program and let people grab whatever programs look interesting. Do you have a logon code for this system (Y/N) ==> Y <==" "What is your account number? 775" "What is your logon code? PASSWORD" "INVALID LOGON CODE" Do you have a logon code for this system (Y/N) ==> Y <==" "What is your account number? 305" "What is your logon code? PASSWORD" et cetera, ad infinitum et ad nauseam. Hackers. Or so they'd like to believe. Vandals, pests, yes. Hackers? They should be so talented, devoted and lucky. Why do these computerized delinquents find such delight in trying to break into bulletin boards? Don't they realize that sysops are ordinary people just like themselves trying to find a little enjoyment in their hobby? Why pick on me? I'm spending a lot of time and money trying to provide people a service for free, and they want to go and spoil it for everyone. Heck, if they want onto the system, all they have to do is apply for a logon. Why make life difficult for everyone? Leave me alone. Go pick on CompuServe. Caller logs on. Leaves E-Mail to a friend. Lines only fill half the screen, so he's probably using a Commodore 64. Goes to file transfer section, and selects UltraTerm protocol. Chooses a file that indicates it's a TRS-80 program. BBS goes to send, he figures out that he's somewhere he doesn't want to be and drops carrier. Another caller logs on four times in a row, but keeps losing carrier before he can do anything. Probably phreaking on a cheapie phone service. Another caller successfully downloads a file. Sit. Wait. Wait some more. System eventually times out and drops him. I'm not the most polite person in the world and I'm certainly not one to stand on ceremony, but I am old enough to remember what manners were. They also went down the tubes with "communications" and "bulletin boards." Whoops! Dropped carrier! So what? If it's a halfway decent system, it'll reboot. Well, I'll just go to bed while downloading this long file, the system will eventually throw me off and reboot. Never mind that there're other people wanting to call onto the board. Who cares that the sysop climbs the walls when he sees someone drop carrier or time-out on the system? Lately I've gotten into the habit of dropping carrier ON MY END for the worst offenders. One good hang-up deserves another. Along with all the other goodies that have bitten the dust, there's good old APPRECIATION. As I mentioned before, my BBS has fielded over 12,000 calls. But of all of them, I have gotten maybe a dozen messages saying "Thanks for running your BBS." That's about one "Thank You" per THOUSAND calls! Unfortunately, it seems that people think they have all this automatically coming to them. It's their right! Sorry to disillusion anyone, but that just ain't so. The master switch for this system is two feet away, and I'm not so decrepit that I can't hit it in a flash. Alternatively, I can ban anyone I wish from my system. Callers use this BBS at my forbearance only, and it's not a God-given right. It's a sysop-given privilege! I sincerely feel that we should proclaim a "Sysop Appreciation Day." We certainly don't get any on a day-to-day basis! Don't get me wrong. There ARE joys and benefits in running a BBS, although sometimes in my nether moods I'm hard pressed to enumerate them. But the fact is, there have been many occasions when I've rested my finger on the switch with the idea of going offline forever. Now for the moral of the story. I'm only one sysop among many, and I'm not trying to evoke sympathy for myself through this article. The point is that almost every sysop around has these feelings to some extent or another. And further, most of these sysops (especially the best and most devoted ones) are going to reach a saturation point and wind up depriving the general public of their services. I foresee a day coming, and very soon at that, when the high quality BBS's will be all gone. So all this is really a plea for everyone to shape up their acts before it's too late. If nothing else, when you're on a bulletin board, leave a little message to the sysop. "Thanks for the use of your system" or "Fine BBS you have here." Let them know they're appreciated. When I see a message like that, I say to myself, "THAT's why I'm doing all this!" Sysops are real, live human beings with feelings and emotions. Let's start treating them as such! - - - - - - Epilogue: Twelve hours after the above was written, I find out that one of my best friends (with higher than normal access to the system) has allowed a third party to use her logon. That's forbidden for anyone on my BBS to do, but it hurts even more because a valued and trusted friend who should have known better went and did it. That's the final straw. The Most Significant Byte BBS is no longer in existence. Jim Anderson, Ex-Sysop The Most Significant Byte BBS Billings, Montana January 13, 1984 =============================================================================== This was a very interesting article posted in a BBS that I subscribed to. HEAR, HEAR for contributions! =============================================================================== "Don't blame me, I'm only the keyboard man . . . " | Phil Ritzenthaler \-/ # # and you call this UUCP : cbosgd!osu-eddie!bgsuvax!ritzenth ## ## GRAPHICS? CSNET: ritzenth@bgsu ### ARPA : ritzenth%bgsu.csnet@csnet-relay USnail: University Computer Services Academic User Services Math-Science 238 Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OHIO 43403 phone: (419) 372-2102 **************************************************************************** ** ** ** Any opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the opinion ** ** of my employer, fellow workers, wife, son, neighbors, friends ** *** or any other compatible human life form *** *** *** ************************************************************* -- =============================================================================== "Don't blame me, I'm only the keyboard man . . . " | Phil Ritzenthaler \-/ # # and you call this UUCP : cbosgd!osu-eddie!bgsuvax!ritzenth ## ## GRAPHICS? CSNET: ritzenth@bgsu ### ARPA : ritzenth%bgsu.csnet@csnet-relay USnail: University Computer Services Academic User Services Math-Science 238 Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OHIO 43403 phone: (419) 372-2102 **************************************************************************** ** ** ** Any opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect the opinion ** ** of my employer, fellow workers, wife, son, neighbors, friends ** *** or any other compatible human life form *** *** *** *************************************************************
kenny@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/02/85)
>The typical log entry shows so-and-so logging on, going to the file transfer >area, downloading several files and then logging off. Thanks, that's why I >started up a BBS, to supply people with free programs. Really makes my day >to see that I've spent all this time and money just to watch pigs at the >trough. > >Whatever happened to the COMMUNICATIONS in telecommunications? Is this the >result of the Computer Age, that people don't talk or communicate with each >other? Are we getting so totally in tune with our equipment that we're >excluding PEOPLE? I'm not a really big user of BBS's, so I can't say whether my experience is typical, but I find that the problem works both ways. If I download from someone's system, I generally make the attempt to find something useful to upload in return -- frequently it's fixes/enhancements to programs that I've downloaded previously. More often than not, I've wound up getting nothing but a nasty message from the sysop, either because (1) s/he thinks only other sysops can provide useful software, or (2) s/he thinks that the disk space on the system is far too precious to clutter it up with whatever I have to send. The general attitude seems to be "Why are you messing up my system with stuff like this?" I note a few important exceptions (1000-Oaks, Tech CBBS, Royal Oak), but they seem to be in the minority. C'mon sysops, if someone does upload stuff that you're not interested in, the polite thing to do is to thank them and quietly expunge it, not flame them; at least they're trying!
klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) (10/05/85)
In article <4400121@uiucdcsb> kenny@uiucdcsb.CS.UIUC.EDU writes: >they seem to be in the minority. C'mon sysops, if someone does upload stuff >that you're not interested in, the polite thing to do is to thank them and >quietly expunge it, not flame them; at least they're trying! I run two boards which are oriented toward the DEC Rainbow, but I do keep a lot of GENERIC MS-DOS programs on-line as well. When someone uploads something that is either uses up too much of my disk space, or is IBM-specific, I usually move it to a local IBM-oriented FIDO in the local DC/MD/VA FIDONET, and post a note explaining where it now lives. Maybe a sense of cooperation exists only between FIDO SYSOPs? Kurt Reisler - FIDO 109/74 - The Bear's Den 703-671-0598 FIDO 109/483 - Wash-A-RUG 703-359-6549
gbs@voder.UUCP (George Smith) (10/12/85)
These two articles are talking about users of computer bulletin boards: ARTICLE 1: > > >The typical log entry shows so-and-so logging on, going to the file transfer > >area, downloading several files and then logging off. Thanks, that's why I > >started up a BBS, to supply people with free programs. Really makes my day > >to see that I've spent all this time and money just to watch pigs at the > >trough. > > ARTICLE 2: > ...the problem works both ways. If I download from > someone's system, I generally make the attempt to find something useful to > upload in return -- frequently it's fixes/enhancements to programs that I've > downloaded previously. More often than not, I've wound up getting nothing > but a nasty message from the sysop, either because (1) s/he thinks only > other sysops can provide useful software, or (2) s/he thinks that the disk > space on the system is far too precious to clutter it up with whatever I > have to send. The general attitude seems to be "Why are you messing up my > system with stuff like this?" I share the feelings of the person in article 2. I call about 10 boards at least once a week. I used to read the message section but found that most messages were people asking why board "xyz" did not work in computer "abc" when running software "mno". Most combinations are bizarre and there is little that could be said for helping the poor soul. I find there is very few messages with any generally interesting information. Also, calling bulletin boards has grown up from the early days (I called my first board way back in 1978 using an IMSAI 8080). It used to be everyone on the board was a computer hacker (in the good meaning of that poor phrase) and the sense of camaraderie was high. Now, the bulletin board is viewed as an every day thing with a large number of faceless, numbered users coming and going anonymously. Another point is the way the computer media talks about bulletin boards. There is article after article (and complete books) trumpeting the availablity of all this great public domain software, FREE! for the picking. Just call up and download it! I must say that I don't think this is bad. All the boards have all the software they can handle with more coming all the time. I will leave a message to the SYSOP thanking them for the great service they are providing and I think that is all they can expect from the vast majority of users. -- George B. Smith National Semiconductor ...!{ihnp4!nsc | decvax!decwrl!nsc | ucbvax}!voder!gbs
randy@chinet.UUCP (Randy Suess) (10/13/85)
In article <876@voder.UUCP> gbs@voder.UUCP (George Smith) writes: >(I called my first board way back in 1978 using an IMSAI 8080). Hmmm.. I wonder if that board was the one sitting next to this here 3b2? It's called CBBS and was the first one. Ward and I still run it as a MESSAGE ONLY BBS with *no* upload / down load. It has been running since '78, and heaven help me if I get concerned about all the dust clogging the winnie, and shut it down for a few hours once or twice a year to do a P.M. and backup.. My fone rings off the hook with concerned users asking if CBBS is down or gone away. It has been interesting reading of all the people needing recognition that they are providing a service. I didn't realize that I shud be doing that. All I worry about is that damned winnie that has been running constantly for 6 years, and where am I ever going to get another 5 meg to replace it? .. that's the biz, sweetheart... Randy Suess chinet - Public Access UN*X (312) 545 7535 (h) (312) 283 0559 (system) ..!ihnp4!chinet!randy
aer@alice.UucP (A. E. Rosenberg) (10/16/85)
On a TNET system I used to run, in order to keep people from just logging on, reading some messages, and "slurping from the trough,"... We installed a doodad that forced two posts (Contributions to the System) before anything like downloading *anything* was allowed. You'd think we'd end up with two-line posts and stuff, right? Well, it happened a bit, but mostly we got quite a lot of interesting stuff from _many) users. We also lost quite a few (useless) users with a post call ratio auto-user-delete system. But, because of a generally callous feeling from users, and time constraints, the system went down. After a while, the bads outweigh the goods on sysoping many BBS's. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Rosenberg on Murray Hill /-\|/-\|//\|/-\ ATT/BTL ..ihnp4!alice!aer -- "These are My Opinions." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
slerner@sesame.UUCP (Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner) (10/18/85)
> On a TNET system I used to run, in order to keep people from just > logging on, reading some messages, and "slurping from the trough,"... > > We installed a doodad that forced two posts (Contributions to the System) > before anything like downloading *anything* was allowed. You'd think > we'd end up with two-line posts and stuff, right? I find this a bit extream. The newer versions of RBBS can be set up to incentivise (sp?) users to upload without getting violent about it. You can set time limits per sesion and per 24hrs for logging on, and then give them time credit as a multiple of time spent uploading. The bigger the upload, the longer the credit. The advantage here is that people who don't have any public software are not locked out entirely. They are given a reasonable amount of time per day for downloading or messaging as they want. It's no skin off my nose if someone has nothing to contibute at the moment, as long as he doesn't hog the system too much per day. Remember, not all modem users are programers that they can create public software, and many new users have no public software. Let's not turn BBS's into a private closed club. (And lets get down off our soapboxes, relax, and try to have fun. Those people who get upset with what people do or don't do on their systems (as long as it isn't destructive) seem to be on a bit of a power trip. Maybe we can get them jobs as sysops on a mainframe or two :-) !) -- Opinions expressed are public domain, and do not belong to Lotus Development Corp. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner {genrad|ihnp4|ima}!wjh12!talcott!sesame!slerner {cbosgd|harvard}!talcott!sesame!slerner talcott!sesame!slerner@harvard.ARPA
nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) (10/19/85)
> I find this a bit extream. The newer versions of RBBS can be set up to > incentivise (sp?) users to upload without getting violent about it. You > Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner Even the outermost extremes of English usage do not contain the verb form of "incentive" spelled in any possible way. -- Ed Nather Astronomy Dept, U of Texas @ Austin {allegra,ihnp4}!{noao,ut-sally}!utastro!nather nather@astro.UTEXAS.EDU
gail@calmasd.UUCP (Gail B. Hanrahan) (10/23/85)
In article <65@utastro.UUCP> nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather) writes: >> I find this a bit extream. The newer versions of RBBS can be set up to >> incentivise (sp?) users to upload without getting violent about it. You >> Simcha-Yitzchak Lerner > >Even the outermost extremes of English usage do not contain the verb form of >"incentive" spelled in any possible way. The word he wants is "motivate". -- Gail Bayley Hanrahan Calma Company, San Diego {ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax}!sdcsvax!calmasd!gail