Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg (
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Xocyll wrote:
> Really depended on the BBS software you chose.
> Some were dead easy to set up, some took a lot more fiddling.
> Then of course there was the question of 1-line or multiline.
> Anyone could set up an ok single line BBS, if they got a good BBS
> package (and for a single line BBS you could use any BBS software.)
> For multiline though there were only a few, commercial, BBS packages and
> they tended to be a bit harder to configure.
Agreed. By todays standard they are impossible. Software today is very
install and run. Most software is pretty easy to configure (unless it
is MS Exchange) and isn't that hard to get running out of the box. The
old BBS were a pain in the butt. The multiline package I uses was
f----bbs (I don't remember the full name...it was like fragglebbs or
something like that). It was hard as hell to make multiline work.
Today a web server (Apache comes to mind) is basically install and
go...can't much easier than that!
I think the average user isn't smarter and the average kid isn't more
tech savvy, but the software and hardware are FAR easier for the average
joe.
> From the user's perspective, really all you had to know was how to start
> your comm package and dial in.
IRRC Procomm (Promodem???) was an excellent dial in package that was
"easy" to use (although you still had to know some of the modem commands).
> Frankly, I miss jumpers.
I agree...Jumpers did make it a little less plug and play, but it would
work right out of the box...right after you configured the jumpers ;-)
> I miss being able to set a modem to a specific comm port and IRQ, then
> install it and have it there, instead of fighting windows for where it's
> going to go (and windows always of course trying to share the IRQ with
> something else unless forced not to.)
Agreed. IRQ sharing is par for the course now. Honestly 15 IRQs is too
few. In modern computers IRQ sharing works (sorta), but really we
should have more IRQs.
> I found the Read Docs, Set Jumper, Install routine to be much faster and
> easier than the Install, Hope windows identifies the hardware properly,
> Fight windows to not share IRQs and to use settings the software can see
> routine.
> The number of times I had windows decide the modem was really a printer,
> or a soundcard or whatever and when finally convinced it was a modem it
> would decide to stick it on Comm Port 15 and share the video cards IRQ,
> making it totally non functional.
Yup! It has gotten better, but there are still tons of problems!
> Yeah, I guess sometimes windows gets it right the first time, but i've
> never seen it happen.
I've had it happen with name brand stuff, but generally it doesn't
happen if the hardware is really new or if the hardware is generic.