Tom Jennings Fido 125/1 12 Aug 85 BULLETIN BOARD ETTIQUETTE FOR NEW USERS AND OLD TIMERS Bulletin board etiquette is really no big deal, and I hope you don't get the impression that I'm trying to make an issue out of nothing. This is nothing more than an introduction to the ins and outs of figuring out just how the hell you have fun on a bulletin board. Of course, you probably figured out most of it, or you wouldn't be reading this article. Last but not least, this is merely my opinion, of which I have more than my share. In the dark ages of modems (pre-1982 or so) there were so few bulletin boards and users that there basically wasn't a problem. You somehow managed to get a modem (usually a set of ear muffs for your telephone handset; autodialers? You must be kidding!) got a bulletin board number from a friend, and started dialing. You got nervous and made a mess of the message base, and if you were real unlucky, crashed the board. Everyone knew you were "new", and so were tolerant while you learned how to get around. Crashers and trashers weren't really a problem, since most modem users were more or less hardcore techie types, and that was the reason for the things in the first place. These days, Hayes is probably selling more modems per month than were sold total to us hobbiests in 1982. Many are "non business" use, ie. the little sucker you are using right now. Instead of a trickle of new users, it's a torrential downpour. New users outnumber old timers on many boards, and that fact probably won't change. Nor would it even be desireable! Modem users are getting more and more diversified in their interests, things like specialty boards can now get enough support to be viable. Enough tech boards already! With the good comes some small problems; the previous "hack at it 'till you get it right" attitude doesn't work on today's overloaded boards that might handle 50 or more calls a day. For example, Fido 125/1 gets about 200 new callers per week. A person who uses a modem for the first time generally has no idea of what a bulletin board is like; that is part of the fun! There are thousands of boards, on almost any subject, each run by an individual with their own personality and ideas. Unfortunately, it frequently becomes a situation like a traveler to a foreign country who is totally unfamiliar with local customs. Visitors embarrass themselves by saying the wrong thing, or insult the locals with totally inappropriate reactions. Definitely not the way to get the locals to show you around and have a good time. The purpose of this thing is not to presumptuously teach you right from wrong, but to introduce you to one version of "etiquette", or how to get around bulletin boards minimizing damage. No attempt will be made to tell you how to run the bulletin board program or your telecom program. There are too many different ones anyways, and help is available for that. In face to face encounters with people that you don't know well, there are thousands of "unwritten rules" that just about everyone follows. Things like not interrupting a conversation, not asking questions that were just answered, minimizing rude noises, nose picking, not commenting on personal subjects not under discussion, etc. The more important ones seem to get even more obscure. A big problem with modeming is that you miss all non-verbal communication details; eye motion, facial expressions, and other cues that help convey otherwise difficult or embarrassing information. You have to make up for this in other ways. Since 99.99% of all BBS contents is text, read everything you can find. About the only hard and fast rule of BBSing is READ READ READ READ!!! You cannot read too much; read as many messages as you can, read the bulletins, read notices. Don't worry about memorizing the contents, just get familiar with what the system is like. After you do this on a half dozen systems you will have a better idea of what the "real world" (sic) looks like. Get an idea of what kind of people are typing things, and a feel for how "touchy" the crowd there is. People tend to congregate where the find similar sorts; you may end up on a board populated with grouches, because more open people left long ago for a friendlier place. Or, you may have run into that friendly place. Bulletin boards are no different than a local bar or whatever; a particular crowd develops, you just have to choose where you hang out. You may be comfortable in a VFW Hall, or maybe at the corner of Pine and Polk. Don't get mad at the people who you do find, just find a more compatible crowd. If you find a message or two you want to reply to, see if it has any replies already. This will save the embarassment of entering a long tedious message answering a question that was answered months ago. People are peculiar animals; remember that you are a newcomer. This is no different than joining a conversation at a party or cafe; you just can't jump in and blaze away with your wit, unless of course that's whats happening at the moment, otherwise it's the "excuse-me-I-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom"-then-leave situation. Not pleasant. Keep in mind that some things that are wonderful person to person can be absolute disasters in print. Sarcasm for instance. A simple expression like "You jerk!" is nothing but an insult when they can't see the smile on your face. A reply to a question, such as "Who knows? Why don't you look it up?" is also an insult when you can't see the head scratching, foot tapping and other things that would tell the person that you had thought for a few minutes before replying. Just keep in mind that bulletin board messages are like someone speaking in a monotone, with no pauses between words, behind a black curtain, recorded on video tape a week ago, and played on an out of focus black and white TV set with a dirty screen. From across the street. The majority of boards remain technically oriented; by sheer numbers CP/M and IBM PC dominate (I think, who knows?), but TRS-80 and just about anything else you can think of is out there. These are not the places to discuss philosophy and tell dirty jokes. There are more and more non-technical boards, which is a good sign. They are still somewhat limited, but growing extremely fast. In six months or a year there will be no shortage. These are not the places to discuss problems with your disk drive. Again, bulletin boards are no different than any other group of people, except the lack of fine detail and the time difference. As to messages, only one suggestion: keep it short. Since long messages scroll off the screen, it's nearly impossible to remember what the 17th question out of 30 was. The poor person answering the message needs an eidetic memory to keep track of it all, and you will usually get a terse response and a "I don't remember the rest". Better to enter two messages than one huge one. Speaking of time differences, keep in mind that people may call in every day, once a week or maybe never again. Be patient when waiting for a reply. After a while, you'll get an idea of who calls in how often, and when you can expect a reply. Don't harrass the guy if you don't see a reply when you'd like to. Occasionally, people have been known to do things other than BBSing, as hard as it is to believe, and it may take them awhile to get around to checking in. Though I won't go into downloading files here, if you are very new you should get as many lists of other bulletin board systems as you can. Most are just text, so you should be able to download or "capture" them on whatever you are using to call with. There are enough BBS's these days that you should have many to choose from, within your local calling area. No, I haven't forgotten the sysop. The sysop is the troll who happens to own the machine you are playing with. Most sysops are very strange people. Who else would do something like run a bulletin board? Depending on the person running the board you're on, the sysop may be involved on a daily basis or not at all. He may be standoffish, or run a tight ship, breathing down your neck. Be reasonable in making requests of the sysop. Usually there is no problem, but remember that after a while, running a BBS can get to be a drag (first hand observation here) and the sysop may be "on vacation". Getting angry at the sysop for not answering like you want him to is not the thing to do. Most bulletin boards are run as a hobby, and take a back seat to the sysop's real life. Personally, my involvement on Fido #1 varies from every day to once a month on and off. The more outside things I have to do or want to do, the more I ignore Fido. Also, if I know there are ten thousand questions awaiting me, I tend to avoid checking in. Sometimes I just want to do nothing at all, so that's exactly what I do. Also, again, remember that there is a human out there somewhere. Sysops are saints and assholes like everyone else, and they have the responsibility of keeping the system up and running. Getting angry at the sysop for not answering a request as quickly or as thoroughly as you want is definitely not the way to get in good graces on that board. Belaboring a point, (almost the end of the article anyway, just hang on) the only thing that makes a board interesting is the people who call it. I hope I didn't discourage you from taking part in the madness on a board; really, do just the opposite. Most people who peruse the message bases are looking for interesting people to "type" to, so if you have anything to say, even nothing, say it! Most conversations start with "hello". A good point was brought up by Dean Gengle (sp?) of Communitree in an article in Dr. Dobbs Journal (June 85 I think). Bulletin boards are not necessarily the totally anonymous things you may assume they are. Usually everything you see on your screen is also displayed on the bulletin board computer's screen; even messages you decided not to save. This may not be important, but is something to keep in mind. Ref: FidoNews 2-30 (09-Sep-1985) http://195.226.109.55/jhassler/wif/doks/fnews/fido230.txt By: Tom Jennings