That which is dead, can not eternal lie. For in strange aeons, even death may die
- H.P. Lovecraft
BBSs (an acronym for Bulletin Board System) were once the center of "online community". They were basically just programs that allowed people to dial in, participate in localized conversations on message boards, exchange software in file bases, play games, and so forth. Most BBSs had a theme, which would draw like-minded users together. There were literature boards, star trek boards, hacking boards, pretty much anything you can imagine.
I had been calling BBSs since the mid-80's, and in 1993, BBSing seemed to be at its apex, with more people than ever owning computers with modems, both putting up their own boards and participating as users. Who would have thought that in a couple of years the dial-up BBS scene would be all but dead? Certainly not me. At that time, I could count the people other than myself who knew anything about the internet on my hands.
But slowly, BBSs began to drop off, as people decided that putting up a web site, or a similar activity precluded them from participating in the BBS world. I hardly noticed, since I was guilty of the same thing. As the internet steadily grew to offer more and more, I too spent my time online on the internet.
It was only a couple of years ago... 1999 to be exact, that I realized what had happened. While there was so much more at my fingertips on the internet, something small but critical had been lost. Those little boards with their small user bases of typically like-minded people had given birth to one thing that the internet could not replace. A sense of community. The internet had vast resources, but it was huge and unwieldy and the people scattered and random. People could still gather, but it had lost that "town meeting" feel, and seemed more like a gathering at an international airport. We had sold the exchange of pure idea for a stack of banner ads and commercial spam mail.
In early January 2000, I had a fit of nostalgia, so I called the local BBS list keeper's board in the futile hope that there had been some miraculous re-birth of BBSing. He had stopped maintaining the list a few months prior, and on his sign-off screen blinked a terrible, yet fitting message: "Will the last BBS in Denver please turn off the lights?"
When I discovered Everything a month or so ago (on the suggestion of a friend), I thought it had some great ideas. By far one of the best things I had found on the net. I did not realize that it could, if not fully replace, at least substitute for that lost sense of community. I found the same joy in reading nodes and writing my own, that I had experienced on the BBSs of yesteryear. I began to read homenodes and piles of writeups from people that had styles that I enjoyed. I began to feel connected with a community again.
I would like to thank you, Everything. From the lowest newbie to the highest pedant, I feel a welling of appreciation. This wanderer has found a home.