JohnPolka Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, moonlight_mile said: I thought about making all new users validated. It isn’t really like the old days where we didn’t want someone loging in a d leech all our warez and then leave. I know in some instances it would allow hackers to log on and post dumb messages but I don’t know how often this really would be an issue. What do you think? New users have limited access and time on my BBSs. This means those who are "one hit wonders" (i.e., call once and never return) or are just there to create a fake account (like the Russian Hackers I've had recently), they're not tying up the system too much for our regular callers. I do allow new users to post message on the general message base. I used to not allow any posting by new users, but I think it helps get them plugged into the BBS if they want to post something. My new user policy has come in handy recently with the Russian Hackers who have been logging onto my BBS and creating fake accounts. The hackers are mostly harmless except they can tie up the system from our regular users if they had the same amount of time and access as validated users. Plus, when they start sending random characters to the BBS (which I have observed them do), there's less chance of harm when they only have access to a subset of commands. I have considered temporarily restricting my BBS to ATASCII only until the hackers die down. But I decided not to since I have some active ASCII-only users. Back in the day, I actually called and voice validated users. That was always a tedious process. I stopped doing that when I observed my step dad validate a user on his BBS without calling them. I asked him about it and he said as long as their info looks legit, he doesn't bother calling them. So, I started doing the same. However, today most users do not want to give out their phone number for privacy reasons. But most users are willing to give you an email address. I modified my BBS to ask for an email address instead of a physical address. That seems to work well. I send email to new users to let them know they now have full access to the BBS. I think sending the email has helped cut down the "one hit wonders" as it serves as a reminder for them to log on again. Many new users are trying out lots of BBSs and it's easy for them to lose track of which ones they have active accounts on. -JP Edited March 11, 2021 by JohnPolka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnPolka Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 5 hours ago, moonlight_mile said: That’s kinda what I thought. I gotta check with JP as he was validating people during my absence. On your BBS, I was validating them if the info they entered looks legit. -JP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 I'm not sure if this question has been asked yet (80 pages in this thread), but is there a way to hit the Atari BBS's using an emulator? I ask because the new version of Classic99 (TI 99/4a) has this feature and it got me thinking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 since forever in altirra, and the like 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnPolka Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 18 minutes ago, RickR said: I'm not sure if this question has been asked yet (80 pages in this thread), but is there a way to hit the Atari BBS's using an emulator? I ask because the new version of Classic99 (TI 99/4a) has this feature and it got me thinking... As Doc said, Altirra and the other Atari emulators have had this ability for awhile. Another option is Syncterm which does a decent job with emulating ATASCII (the Atari 8 bit graphics character set). You can download Syncterm at https://syncterm.bbsdev.net/. -JP 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Thank you guys. I did not know that. Sorry for my ignorance. I will try fiddling around with Altirra this weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 1 hour ago, RickR said: Thank you guys. I did not know that. Sorry for my ignorance. I will try fiddling around with Altirra this weekend. If you get stuck getting Altirra online let me know, I configured Altirra for dialing into BBS's using the emulated modem and R: handler quite recently. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 7 hours ago, RickR said: I'm not sure if this question has been asked yet (80 pages in this thread), but is there a way to hit the Atari BBS's using an emulator? I ask because the new version of Classic99 (TI 99/4a) has this feature and it got me thinking... Well, to be fair, it depends on the emulator. For Altirra, as you probably already saw the replies, it's easy. For the ST emulators, maybe not so much. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 13 hours ago, Tillek said: Well, to be fair, it depends on the emulator. For Altirra, as you probably already saw the replies, it's easy. For the ST emulators, maybe not so much. Good to know. I'm mostly interested in re-living my BBS days on an Atari 800XL back in the 80's. I'll start with Altirra for now! Thank you all for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amis Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 The Atari BBS List http://www.sfhqbbs.org/resources.ph 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 3 minutes ago, Amis said: The Atari BBS List http://www.sfhqbbs.org/resources.ph Saved... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 My board not here. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) You have to sign up for the list... and give particulars. you could list your BBS and PLATO stuff... Edited March 12, 2021 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 how do I do that? -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 http://www.sfhqbbs.org/contact.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnPolka Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) On 3/11/2021 at 12:46 PM, Mazzspeed said: If you get stuck getting Altirra online let me know, I configured Altirra for dialing into BBS's using the emulated modem and R: handler quite recently. Of course Rick better get help from you right away, right? When your 600XL arrives you will be "unavailable". -JP Edited March 13, 2021 by JohnPolka 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazzspeed Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 35 minutes ago, JohnPolka said: Of course Rick better get help from you right away, right? When your 600XL arrives you will be "unavailable". -JP Well..*cough*...That could possibly be the case. Depends on global postage (so I'll probably never get my 600XL finished!). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oo7 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Im honestly shocked I see less ppl than I thought I would on here from the old bbs days. i wonder if the warden from the jail bbs express toronto sweet marie from the echo bbs express toronto are around? roger waters bbs express st the only sysop of a bbs i remember that inseen on here is programmers aid and indoubt he would know me lol Thewarden, reddevil, sweetmarie, dragonlord, whocares, weird al, dungeon master, many others are any of you hiding here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 hmm I forgot about weird al even though I love Yankoviks music and listen to Weird Al all the time, I forgot about the sysop weird al... thanks for the reminder.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Im honestly shocked I see less ppl than I thought I would on here from the old bbs days. i wonder if the warden from the jail bbs express toronto sweet marie from the echo bbs express toronto are around? roger waters bbs express st the only sysop of a bbs i remember that inseen on here is programmers aid and indoubt he would know me lol Thewarden, reddevil, sweetmarie, dragonlord, whocares, weird al, dungeon master, many others are any of you hiding here?I am here. (Off and on). Alcatraz was resurrected in 2017 and is up via telnetAlcatrazbbs.ddns.net port 9000[_Giarc_The_Warden_]Or just Craig these days. (Yes giarc is Craig spelled backwards. Lol) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+bf2k+ Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 I was an Atari Sysop from 1984-1987 and then became a PC Sysop from 87-98. In 1999, I put the Atari BBS back up on the internet and am still going strong... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oo7 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, moonlight_mile said: I am here. (Off and on). Alcatraz was resurrected in 2017 and is up via telnet Alcatrazbbs.ddns.net port 9000 [_Giarc_The_Warden_] Or just Craig these days. (Yes giarc is Craig spelled backwards. Lol) Alcatra = the jail bbs in toronto? no right? Edited March 17, 2021 by oo7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oo7 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 10 hours ago, _The Doctor__ said: hmm I forgot about weird al even though I love Yankoviks music and listen to Weird Al all the time, I forgot about the sysop weird al... thanks for the reminder.... Hmmmm im thinking i might remember a the doctor on the old bbses. His bbs last ran on a ST, his wife looked after it if memory serves he was on the road alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonlight_mile Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Alcatra = the jail bbs in toronto? no right?Nope Alcatraz was in Pennsylvania. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tillek Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Unfortunately, a lot of the "back in the day" SysOps in this area are no longer with us. There weren't that many Atari ones, and the only ones I know the fate of are no more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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