___    ___   _   _  _   _  _____   ___   _____  _   ___   _   _   ____
  / _ \  / _ \ | \ | || \ | ||  ___| / _ \ |_   _|| | / _ \ | \ | | / ___|
 | | |_|| | | ||  \| ||  \| || |__  | | |_|  | |  | || | | ||  \| || |__
 | |  _ | | | ||     ||     ||  __| | |  _   | |  | || | | ||     | \__ \
 | |_| || |_| || |\  || |\  || |___ | |_| |  | |  | || |_| || |\  | ___| |
  \___/  \___/ |_| \_||_| \_||_____| \___/   |_|  |_| \___/ |_| \_||____/
                © 1999 Quest Technologies/Bedlam Enterprises

           Dying In The Web - By Hologram (SysOp Of Gravity BBS)

With the Internet so accessible as it is, BBSes are becoming a thing of
yesterday.  Internet Chat, Internet Meetings, E-Mail, Newsgroups, FTP Sites
etc, have replaced the humble things we as SysOps have been providing on a
16-Colour ANSI-Terminal all these years.  Everyone I speak to, regardless of
their walk of life, bank balance or Computer Hardware, appear to share the
same opinion.  So...why am I a SysOp?

Well...I for one enjoy the one-to-one approach to SysOp-User, and basically
just enjoy fiddling about with my machine for the sake of it.  My Computer
needs are small-time, which is why I have stuck with my AMIGA for so long.
The AMIGA is such a lovely machine and much friendlier and easier to use
than the Bill Gates-inflicted systems of today, but let's face it, it's
behind the times in power and add-on Hardware accessibility.

So my BBS-running and dialling is a hobby.  It keeps me in touch with the
Locals as it were, and basically gives me some Mail to look forward to in
my sad little life, without having to dial out for it.

But for the masses of SysOps, it's now become too much hard work trying to
compete with the Internet.  What is the point of trying to maintain an
up-to-the-minute Filebase for people to use, knowing that several billions
have access to that same up-to-the-minute Filebase from anywhere in the
world on the Internet?  Those who enjoy design, and wish to share their
interests to the world, simply run their own Web-Site and upload to it what
they wish.  Am I sounding over-negative here?

I think my approach is realistic.  I have enjoyed running Gravity BBS in
Southampton for some time, until the Users dwindled and I finally had Modem
and Hardware problems, resulting in losing the entire BBS on my Hard-Drive.

Gravity BBS is currently being re-instated and updated, and I do so because
my time is filled with little else, and I want to support the people around
me, who are my friends, in running the PowerNet Mail Network, and giving my
contribution.

I would love to see BBSes back in business in a theoretical sense.  I think
they add a certain personal touch in computing and the Communications Scene
in general, when you are actively participating in someone elses hard work
and design, by giving their BBS a call and appreciating it.

But let's be realistic.  What can we SysOps do besides plug-plug-plug our
BBSes, to make our BBSes tempting and attractive to people?  What can we
do with 16-Colour ANSI, to persuade people to move from Technicolor HTML?
What can we make that is special on our single-tasking BBS, to persuade
people to use it over multi-tasking Web-Viewing, File Transfer, and Mail
Sending systems that people are using today?

At the end of the day, the success of my own BBS is not tantamount to the
progress of my life.  Hell, if no-one uses it, there are umpteen things I
can fill my Hard-Drive space with.  But if BBSes as a whole fade, then I do
see it as a sad passing of a very good era.

Hologram (SysOp Of Gravity BBS)