Leaderboard

On this day in 1992, The DarkForce! BBS went online, using an Atari 1040ST, Megafile 30 Hard drive, an SX212 modem and Michtron BBS software...

Baud Days are like comets. They do not come around too often. 12/24/1996 marked the first Baud Day with little fanfare as many saw the writing on the wall that the days of the BBS were numbered due to the rise of the Internet. But now that the BBS has experienced a renaissance, we get to have our very own BBS Mardi Gras! And a celebration it must be as the next Baud Day will not happen until 12/24/2096! ?

On this day, March 4th, in 2021, Amis XE goes online. Built from the framework of MACE 1986 AMIS, Amis XE is perfected to work with the host wimodem232, FujiNet device, and Altirra. The BBS is a platform for continuous innovation of AMIS as a work from the southern amis projects. Board support Ascii and Atascii and modified but yet keeping the charm of original AMIS. amis86.ddns.net:9000

On this day, April 10th in 2020, the Backyard Board, run by SysOp Gary Stammers, goes online (sources: Correspondence on the BBS and the Telnet BBS Guide). The Backyard Board went online as a dial-up only BBS running Bulletin Board Construction Set (BBCS) on an Atari 800XL, a Supra 300 AT (300 baud) modem, and PC hosted disk storage using SIO2PC.

This is a real departure from the typical basic code Atari BBS and contains great features especially in the message bases with find and replace editing, “what” feature for reading reply source message and grouping, database improvements for stability, and low maintenance. Atascii / SyncTerm Atari Screen Mode – Restoration by The Southern Amis Projects. Former Atari Corporate BBS nitelite.ddns.net:9000

On this day, in 1983, the Nite Lite BBS Software, by Paul S. Swanson goes online for the first time. The first version of the BBS is run entirely in RAM. Beginning with the secind version of the BBS, more of the BBS' functionality, such as message bases and menus, are run from a disk drive. The third version of the BBS included a text adventure game. The fourth version added ATR8000 and double density disk drive support. The fifth version, released in 1985, added graphics and sound through the special C-GUL terminal program (source: The Atari 8-bit Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document by Michael Current).

On this day, July 12th, in 2020 Southern Amis BBS returned online. Southern Amis was originally called Southern Comfort and was an AMIS BBS in the 516 area code during the mid-80s (source: BBSMates website). Southern Amis was started as a tribute to the original Southern Comfort BBS. The BBS runs BBS Express and is hosted in the AWS Cloud. As of this writing, it is the only "Atari only" BBS online today (i.e., it only supports ATASCII connections). To connect to Southern Amis, telnet to southernamis.ddns.net:23.

This month in 1985, Microbits Peripheral Products (MPP), was purchased by Supra Corporation. MPP was the maker of the popular MPP1000C and MPP1000E 300 baud modems that plugged into the Atari 8 bit's joystick port. Supra would rebrand the MPP1000E modem as the Supra 300AT modem (see image below). (source: September 1985 issue of the Portland Atari Club Newsletter, page 5. This was a reprint of an Antic article, possibly from the September 1985 issue).

Quill, a new BBS software written in Action!, is announced at TARICON '84 in Detroit, Michigan (source: ROM Magazine v1i8 page 6).

On this day, April 24th, in 2017, the Resistance Cove BBS opens to the public (see the announcement here). You can connect to the Resistance Cove BBS at the following Internet address: broadway1.lorexddns.net port 10001. For best results use ATASCII and use a raw connection instead of a telnet connection. The Resistance Cove runs BBS Express Pro! version 4.0b on an Atari 800 Incognito computer!

The Cleveland (Ohio) Freenet (CFN), which started in July 1986, ceased operations on this day, September 30th, in 1999. CFN was a a free public community computer system, the first of its kind in the world. The success of CFN lead to the creation of other Freenet systems located throughout the world. However, dwindling usage due to the growing World Wide Web and Y2K concerns in its software, lead to the decisision by its operator, Case Western Reserve University, to turn off the system. CFN hosted several Special Interest Groups (SIGs) including an Atari SIG which went online in December 1986. For 14 years, CFN's Atari SIG was the largest free online system dedicated to Atari computers and game consoles. The Atari SIG ceased operations when CFN went offline. Although an active Atari SIG is no longer online, a web based archive is available here. You can also read more about the Cleveland Freenet here.