[gxd]

Those were the days. I still believe nothing replaces the camraderie of the small, local BBSs. The large ones were good too, but these tended to resemble the modern Internet forums a bit more.

I miss BBSs and that's why I featured them in the story of my sci-fi game! If you are interested: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3040110/Outsider/

[yourapostasy]

> ...nothing replaces the camraderie of the small, local BBSs.

Nothing quite replaces the drama level and drama complexity of the small, local BBSs. Especially when the denizens met in the big room with the blue ceiling.

[mrexcess]

Disagree only in the sense that I think the drama escalated a bit in the interregnum, as the BBS scene merged into one large if fragmentary collective on the internet. Empirical evidence for that extreme level of drama and complexity here:

https://www.wired.com/2001/12/sexchart-degrees-of-separation

[joemi]

I go back and forth on whether BBSes were better or AOL was better. I had great experiences on both in my formative years.

[calmbonsai]

For me it was BBSes hands-down.

I was user #12 on the Bloom County BBS and, eventually, got the coveted sysop perms.

It felt far more of an "adult" accomplishment than (much later) when I got my driver's license.