dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes) (01/11/90)
After only 10 years of making Colorado Springs telephone
number 632-3391 into a modem-answering one, and 5 years needing it
for business purposes, then 2 years of jawboning it, and one year
to get it, with a flurry of letters, calls, lobbying, US West
AT LAST has let the public know via their Phone Directory that 6
of our company phones (the lines which ARE the business) are,
in fact, hooked to modems and are for the public's modems!
In the YELLOW PAGES they actually have a section called
"Computer Bulletin Boards" and we (Old Colorado City Communications)
are in it! With both voice line and main modem phone line there
and so identified. No longer are we forced to choose the inaccurate
'Data Processing', or 'Computer Products', or 'Computer Graphics'
or have nothing at all. Of course Computer Bulletin-Board for a
computer conferencing, e-mail, data base, business system is hardly
descriptive either. But slightly better than nothing, and much
better than the other bizarre catagories.
And believe it or not, in the WHITE PAGES we are also listed
with voice and modem lines identified. And partner's fax is
identified as a fax line.
After paying the phone company only $12,000 these last
5 years for 6 modem-phone-lines, the public can find us! Glory be.
Gee, do you suppose if I call information and ask for the
modem numbers for Old Colorado City Communications I will actually
get it? I am afraid to try.
Because in no telephone book, in any city, have I ever been
able to find modem numbers. Not just local BBS's, even business
'BBS's'. But government modem numbers, such as our Penrose Library
who open up lines eight years ago for public access - but whose
modem number has never been in either white, or blue pages. Or
local Telenet, or Tymnet, or MCI mail, or any of the other basic
numbers. One can find ZIP codes. And even radio dial frequencies.
But phone numbers for data lines? What do you think we are, the
phone company?
--
Dave Hughes Old Colorado City Communications
"It is better to light one screen than cursor the darkness"
hplabs!hp-lsd!oldcolo!daveNETOPRWA@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu (Wayne Aiken) (01/13/90)
In article <237@oldcolo.UUCP> dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes): > Because in no telephone book, in any city, have I ever been >able to find modem numbers. Not just local BBS's, even business >'BBS's'. New Orleans does, or so they did the last time I was there a year ago, and calling up BBS's from the motel room. Unless you have a list like the Darwin US BBS list or The List, before you go out on the road, it can be very difficult to find any BBS's at all. I was amazed that neither NYC nor Boston, both very big computer/BBS locations, had any useful information at all in the phone book. Many times, I've had to resort to calling up Radio Shacks or other computer stores in the off-chance that someone there might actually know something about computers (:-)) and could give me a number. Nowadays, my motto is: The National BBS list. Don't leave home without it. Wayne Aiken netoprwa@ncsuvm.bitnet "You can BE what PO Box 30904 netoprwa@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu you WON'T!!" Raleigh, NC 27622 wayne@shumv1.ncsu.edu --"Bob" (919) 782-8171 BBS: (919) 782-3095
msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu (Mark Robert Smith) (01/15/90)
One reason BBS's don't end up in phone books is that the phone company is often wont to slap modem users with a "data-quality line" surcharge or charge them business rates. In NJ, BBS owners have often found that their monthly rates go up from ~$9/month to ~$50/month when the phone company finds out they use a modem on that line. See alt.cosuard for more info. Mark -- Mark Smith, KNJ2LH All Rights Reserved RPO 1604 You may redistribute this article only if those who P.O. Box 5063 receive it may do so freely. New Brunswick, NJ 08903-5063 msmith@topaz.rutgers.edu
eriksa@agora.UUCP (Erik Anderson) (01/17/90)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,alt.bbs Subject: Re: Phone Book Finally Wakes Up Summary: Expires: References: <90013.040751NETOPRWA@NCSUVM.BITNET> Sender: Reply-To: eriksa@.UUCP (Erik Anderson) Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: Organization? You've got to be kidding! Keywords: In article <90013.040751NETOPRWA@NCSUVM.BITNET> NETOPRWA@ncsuvm.ncsu.edu (Wayne Aiken) writes: >In article <237@oldcolo.UUCP> dave@oldcolo.UUCP (Dave Hughes): >> Because in no telephone book, in any city, have I ever been >>able to find modem numbers. Not just local BBS's, even business >>'BBS's'. > >New Orleans does, or so they did the last time I was there a year ago, and >calling up BBS's from the motel room. Unless you have a list like the Darwin >US BBS list or The List, before you go out on the road, it can be very >difficult to find any BBS's at all. I was amazed that neither NYC nor Boston, >both very big computer/BBS locations, had any useful information at all in the >phone book. > One solution that can be used in larger towns and cites is to look in the classifieds for someone selling a modem and see if they know of any. I did that to obtain my Portland list when I moved up here from Phoenix. -- Erik S. Anderson Smart: eriksa@agora.hf.intel.com 2826 SE 87th Dumb: ...tektronix!tessi!agora!eriksa Portland, OR 97266 CI$: 72261,2605 +1 (503) 774-8544
rang@cs.wisc.edu (Anton Rang) (01/19/90)
In article <1812@agora.UUCP> eriksa@agora.UUCP (Erik Anderson) writes: [ looking for bulletin boards ] >One solution that can be used in larger towns and cites is to look in >the classifieds for someone selling a modem and see if they know of any. Good idea. If the city has a university, contacting either the computer science department or academic computing center may also be a good place to start. Computer dealers (especially those who target hobbyists, as opposed to places like ComputerLand) also may know about some of the local BBSes.... Anton +---------------------------+------------------+-------------+ | Anton Rang (grad student) | rang@cs.wisc.edu | UW--Madison | +---------------------------+------------------+-------------+