Way back in the 1980s and early 1990s, before the internet reigned supreme, many PC owners dialed up Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes), which were other PCs running special software that allowed users to connect and share messages, play games, or download files.

While few BBSes remain today compared to their height in the early-mid 1990s, one can still connect to a BBS using the internet. Thanks to the antique text-only protocol called telnet, you can use a terminal emulator program to start BBSing just like the glory days.

Why would you want to do that, you ask? Well, among my group of Twitter friends—all vintage computer enthusiasts—we do it as a hobby for nostalgia's sake. We do it to share messages with a tight-knit group of people and have fun. If you're more libertarian-minded, you might even pursue BBSes as a way to gather on the 'Net outside the purview of the usual data-scarfing giants like Google or Facebook.

And about that whole net neutrality issue—well, I'm not going to even pretend that BBSes can replace the modern web, but they feel like safe place for people who want out of the usual toxic online rat race.

So how do you do connect? I recommend using a telnet terminal program that supports IBM PC color ANSI graphics. SyncTERM is a very nice BBS terminal program for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X that supports traditional IBM PC fonts and ANSI graphics.

And if you're a vintage computer fan like me and have an old machine sitting around, you can even use a miraculous device called WiFi232, developed by Paul Rickards, to connect. WiFi232 simulates a modem but actually creates a telnet connection, allowing you to BBS on the internet with vintage machines like the Apple II or old IBM PCs.

With all that in mind, I thought it would be fun to create a list of neat modern BBSes for you to check out. I asked a handful of BBSing friends for recommendations, which are compiled below. To find even more, check out the Telnet BBS Guide. Have fun in BBS land!


1. Particles BBS Telnet Address: particlesbbs.dyndns.org:6400 Here we see a shot of the ever-popular Particles BBS on a vintage Apple IIgs computer captured by Eric Nelson. Numerous people mentioned Particles as a favorite when I asked. Nelson used the aforementioned WiFi232 device to pull this off, but you can just as easily connect to Particles via SyncTERM or another telnet program. When asked why he enjoys this BBS, Nelson wrote, "It's my favorite because it's reliable (always up) and works with whatever platform I currently am calling from. It has PETSCII for the Commodore systems and ANSI for all the rest. Particles! is a heavily trafficked system and it will easily have 60-100 new messages a week. I've never seen any type of trolls there and everyone is friendly and helpful." (Photo: Eric Nelson)

2. Heatwave BBS Telnet Address: heatwave.ddns.net:9640 Even after all these years, 16-color ANSI artwork is still a mainstay of IBM PC-based BBSes. It uses the IBM PC extended character set, which includes special block characters, to create "text-based" artwork. This menu screen of Heatwave BBS captured by Blake Patterson serves as a vivid, lively illustration of this graphical technique. This BBS runs on a rare Myarc Geneve 9640, a third-party extension of the classic Texas Instruments TI-99/4a home PC. I asked another friend, Dan Hevey (AKA Paradroyd), about why Heatwave is special, and he describes a system that is rich in heritage for the TI-99/4a. "This BBS is the hangout for a lot of TI99/4a / Geneve enthusiasts," he writes. "I get a lot of TI info from here. The sysop of Heatwave is the creator of the modern TI99/4A ANSI terminal software, TIMXT." (Photo: Blake Patterson)

3. A 80s Apple II BBS Telnet Address: a80sappleiibbs.ddns.net:6502 If you think about it, 'A 80s Apple II BBS' is a minor miracle. It runs on actual vintage Apple IIe hardware, including two 5.25-inch floppy disk drives. As such, it is a favorite of vintage computer enthusiasts who want an authentic taste of the past. Eric Nelson captured this screenshot of the BBS on his Commodore PET computer. He writes, "This one is ASCII-only and is nice, as it runs on a real Apple II and reminds me of the early days of BBSes when I only had a VIC-20 and 300 baud modem." (Photo: Eric Nelson)

4. Piranha: Under the Black Flag Telnet Address: blackflag.acid.org If you love rich, colorful ANSI art—especially pirate-themed ANSI art—then Black Flag is for you. When you connect to this one, make sure you have an ANSI-enabled telnet program. Patterson writes, "Black Flag BBS is a visual tour de force. The 16-color, symbol-heavy ANSI character set makes for some truly impressive retro artwork. The visuals are colorful, rich, and nostalgic. I enjoy the sights, but also the FidoNet (yes, it still exists!) and Retro Net echoes (message feeds) hosted by the board that span dozens or even hundreds of subtopics." (Photo: Blake Patterson)

5. Level 29 Telnet Address: bbs.fozztexx.com Here's another modern favorite among vintage computer enthusiasts. On Twitter, BBS fans often take turns showing how many different vintage systems they can use to connect to Level 29. It is run by Chris Osborn, who is the chief moderator for a Reddit subsection called Retrobattlestations. Dan Hevey writes, "This is a multi-simultaneous-user BBS, but it’s pretty much strictly 80 column ANSI. A lot of people visit this board, and among other things, it has some interesting back-links to Twitter for posting BBS status in real time." (Photo: Blake Patterson)

6. Dura-Europos Telnet Address: dura-bbs.net:6359 BBSes running on vintage hardware have been popping up frequently these days—especially thanks to new technology that allows them to connect to the internet. Dura-Europos originated in 1986 and its SysOp resurrected it for the internet just last year. This is another one of Blake Patterson's favorites. He writes, "Dura-Europos is another Apple IIe-based bulletin board system (running on a CPU-accelerated IIe tied to the net via a Raspberry Pi-based interface) that features a wide variety of message base topics and sees enough daily traffic to keep things interesting. It features a handful of message board areas as well as online games." (Photo: Blake Patterson)

7. The Cave BBS Telnet Address: cavebbs.homeip.net Last but not least is my own BBS, The Cave. From 1992-1998 I ran a dial-up BBS, and in 2005 I started up its telnet-based successor. It's a great place to run classic MS-DOS door games like TradeWars 2002, Legend of the Red Dragon, Operation OverKill: II, Global War, and others. I also have a large classic file section that I transferred over from my 1990s BBS. I hope you have fun connecting these vintage systems—and exploring our early online heritage at the same time. Let me know how it goes! (Photo: Benj Edwards)

Further Reading