BBS-ING AND ME
By
Many years ago, I listened intently far into the night as a gigantic computer tallied
the votes in the first presidential election for which a computer was used. What a wonder,
what a miracle that a room full of machinery could capture and total votes from all over
this vast nation! It was amazing, but nothing that would ever play a large part in my
life, because announcers kept stressing the multi[million dollar cost of the equipment. It
would never reach down to my economic level. It was sort of like the pyramids or the
Leaning Tower of Pisa, a wonder and something to behold, but of no practical use to the
ordinary person.
After retiring from a school of nursing in 1985, I began a new job as executive officer
for a local economic development program. In the course of my work, the Internet was
discussed, and the role of Cornell University, which is about fifty miles from my home.
Oh, that would be great, but again, it would be beneficial to hospitals and big
businesses, never to me. By that time, I had a computer in the office, and was using it,
but there were no links to anything, not even to the other agency which shared my office.
In May, 1991, I received a terrible blow. After two horrible operations to remove a
tumor from my pituitary gland, I was left blind. Although I could see just about enough to
keep me from bumping into large objects, I was classified as totally and permanently
blind, and had to give up my job in economic development. I went to the Greater Pittsburgh
Guild for the Blind, (Now the Pittsburgh Vision Center) to learn how to live as a blind
person, and my greatest goal was to be able to continue to use the computer - but for
business purposes only, I had no thought of being able to 'reach out and touch somebody'
through its electronic magic.
Three years later a young nephew told me about a new service that had begun in our
Valley. It was Cyber-Quest, a Bulletin Board Service, which allowed people to 'talk' to
others anywhere in the world by computer! He also told me that the membership fee
was very low - something even a fixed income could handle. The more he talked about it,
the more curious I became, and I asked a lot of questions. At last I said to myself,
"I think I'd like to do that."
Cyber-Quest was just getting started then, and I joined up. It took a lot of trial and
error for a blind person to use it successfully, but a message could speed across the
country and a reply could be expected in a few days. I learned that a BBS was successful
in operation only if the volunteers who maintained services across the nation, and around
the world, were devoted to their hobby. Most of them were, but here and there a bottleneck
occurred and some communications were sporadic.
This wonderful new and inexpensive means of communication was a joy to me, especially
after I became acquainted with Fidonet, which is still my favorite bulletin board service.
It has been a real joy to me to communicate with people from many different parts of the
world, speedily and inexpensively. I was even more thrilled when evolution of the BBS
turned to satellites for transmitting messages. The first time I sent a message one
evening and received a reply from a person in New Zealand early the next morning, I was
just plain flabbergasted!
It was about that time that Cyber-Quest dropped the BBSes in favor of the Internet and
games. For more than a year, one of my Cyber-friends from Fidonet gathered my incoming
Fidonet messages and sent them to me by E-Mail. He also cross-posted my responses. I had
found a true and special friend through the magic of BBS-ing. Since then, I have used
Telnet to get to Fidonet by way of New England, Oklahoma,and finally to Ed Koon's
"Doc's Place"in Florida and even Latvia. Imagine my surprise when I found that I
was getting messages through the Latvia Telnet connection as quickly as from here in the
United States.
It was still only a matter of a few hours from sending a message to receiving a reply
from New Zealand, Australia, India, or the Pacific Rim. I developed many fast friendships
with other BBS-ers. I even met some of those in the United States during visits to my
children.
While BBS-ing has been a real joy in my personal life, its benefits have not stopped
there. I am a writer, and often need information that would be most difficult for a blind
person to obtain. I do not have equipment which will allow me full access to the Internet
- that tool I envisioned as serving only hospitals and big business only a few years ago .
But most of my Cyber-friends have Internet access, as do my children. When I need or want
some particular information, I have only to let them know, and they locate it and send it
to me swiftly by BBS. I am a writer, and one day I needed some information for an
assignment from my editor. A quick E-Mail brought me the information from a BBS friend in
Texas within the hour.
I think it is easy to see why I am interested in the promotion of the BBS. It has been
a rich and rewarding source of enjoyment in that it allows me to travel vicariously
through the eyes of others, and develop friendships with people whom I would probably
never have known otherwise. The power of the BBS has also been an important business tool,
without which my work would be much more limited than it is.
I was 69 years old when I became involved in communicating by BBS. I am now 73, and
still singing its praises.
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