BBS: The Documentary
2005 · TV series · documentary · 37 min episodes · 1 season
Created by Jason Scott
Long before the Internet escaped from the lab, connecting the planet and redefining what it meant to meant to be a computer user... ...there was a brave and pioneering band of hobbyists who spent their time, money and sanity setting up their home computers and phone lines to welcome anyone who called. By using a modem, anyone who knew the phone number of these machines could connect to them, leave messages, play games, send and receive files in a virtual community... and millions did. They called these places "Bulletin Board Systems", or BBSes. Their collections of messages, rants thoughts and dreams became the way that an entire generation learned about being online.
37 positive3 neutralfrom 40 commenters
Where to watch
No streaming data for this title.
42 comments on Hacker News
https://www.fidonet.org/inet92_Randy_Bush.txt - contemporary account that is still a pretty good overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary has an episode entirely on Fidonet (creative commons, freely available online)
Memories of being amazed to see messages from all around the world arriving to my hometown's local BBS, merely days after they were posted.
Can't hear Fidonet without recommending BBS: The Documentary (2005)
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7nj3G6Jpv2G6Gp6NvN1kUtQuW8QshBWE
Related:
https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://software.bbsdocumentary.com/
https://archive.org/details/bbs_documentary
https://archive.org/details/BBS_Documentary_DVD_Set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5vjmDFZaI
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41848656
BBS: The Documentary (2005) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38746221 - December 2023 (65 comments)
Enjoyed Jason Scott’s BBS documentary - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31740247 - June 2022 (39 comments)
Ask HN: What was it like to use BBS? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29140217 - November 2021 (230 comments)
The Full BBS Documentary Interviews Are Going Online - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16221915 - Jan 2018 (1 comment)
BBS the Documentary (2013) [video] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9521867 - May 2015 (23 comments)
Others?
BBS: The Documentary touches on _some_ Warez scene topics and legendary characters of the era.
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
I made the BBS Documentary (www.bbsdocumentary.com).
My goal had been to do a documentary on the BBS Experience, working from interviews with flexible friends and nearby folks, and then work up to the "Big Ones", the names who had been in my teenage mind when I ran a BBS, like Ward Christensen, Chuck Forsberg, Randy Suess, and others. But then I had someone from Chicago checking in to make sure I wasn't going to skip over the important parts the midwest had told in the story. So it was that a month into production, barely nailing down how I would fly post 9/11 with a studio worth of equipment, that I found myself at CACHE (Chicago Area Computer Hobbyist Exchange) and meeting Ward himself.
They say "Never meet your heroes." I think it's more accurate to say "Have the best heroes" or "Be the kind of person a hero would want to meet." Ward was warm, friendly, humble, and very, VERY accomodating to a first-time filmmaker. I appreciated, fundamentally, the boost that he gave me and my work, knowing I was sitting on hours of footage from The Guy.
There were many other The Guy and The Lady and The Groups for BBS: The Documentary, but Ward's humble-ness about his creation and what it did to the world was what made sure I never overhyped or added layers of drama on the work. Ward was amazing and I'll miss him.
He also made some great documentaries, as I'm sure a lot you guys will know, amongst which:
- Get Lamp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Lamp - BBS: The Documentary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
(2005)
Also available in the IA: https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary in case you're looking for a version which isn't 27GB.
> Sometimes I think it would be fun to do a bunch of interviews with the people making everything happen back then and make a podcast or video series about it.
The first Australian BBS | internet (pre WWW HTML) bridge I regularly dialed into (early 1980s) was run by Trevor Marshall who also built an amp or two for AC/DC's Bon Scott in the 1970s.
He features in BBS: The Documentary which might tickle your fancy or prompt you to chase up famous names from Whirlpool and interview them before they croak.
http://www.trevormarshall.com/
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/photos/104marshall/index.html
https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/
Not books, but Jason Scott's documentaries on the history of BBSes, text adventures and Infocom were really interesting:
Get Lamp: The Text Adventure Documentary (2010): https://yewtu.be/watch?v=zEJXZ2wnO3w
Infocom: The Documentary: https://yewtu.be/watch?v=OXNLWy7rwH4
BBS: The Documentary (2005): https://yewtu.be/playlist?list=PL7nj3G6Jpv2G6Gp6NvN1kUtQuW8QshBWE
Some great nostalgia reading this. If you want more, check out Jason Scott's "BBS: The Documentary": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dddbe9OuJLU&list=PL7nj3G6Jpv2G6Gp6NvN1kUtQuW8QshBWE
Check out BBS: The Documentary - I think it is freely streaming somewhere at this point. Jason Scott made a huge, in-depth analysis of BBSes and their impact.
There are many elements from that era that still exist in a weird way. The core limitation of connecting to a BBS was that it was a normal phone call and would tie up your phone line. And before cell phones, calling outside your area code was expensive! Likely $1 a minute in the 80s.
So BBS communities tended to be local and quasi-anonymous, and often turned into real life meetups. You would log on, check your messages, your door games and some forums then leave. Door games were structured much like phone games now with limited moves per day, but done for phone line reasons instead of gamification/rev generation.
"BBS: The Documentary" is worth a watch.
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
BBS: The Documentary http://www.bbsdocumentary.com
Released for free after the DVDs sold out: http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/order/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
It's kind of funny that this popped up because I just finished watching BBS: The Documentary and there is a whole segment about ANSI art. If you want to see it its on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQrBbm5ZMlo
And the entire BBS Documentary series is in a playlist at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7nj3G6Jpv2G6Gp6NvN1kUtQuW8QshBWE
For anyone interested in learning more about the ANSI art scene and BBS history in general, I highly recommend Jason Scott's documentary series "BBS The Documentary"[0]. There is a part specifically dedicated to the art scene [1]. Watching this series in my early teen years really opened my eyes to the fact that the internet subcultures I was then a part of had been around for much longer than I was aware.
[0]http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t74FlFL_M0
`BBS - The Documentary' not only documents the early days of computer communications but in most cases it contains interviews with the individuals responsible for many of the important steps taken along the way. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
He also gave us the brilliant BBS: The Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dddbe9OuJLU
GET LAMP: The Text Adventure Documentary (shot in 1080p)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRhbcDzbGSU
and (apart from his many talks) his podcast "Jason Scott talks his way out of it" which is just gem after gem of documented tech ephemera.
https://textfiles.libsyn.com/
It's baffingly hard to quantify how many people he (and all the other great people at the Internet Archive) has affected with his bullheaded conservation efforts.
I can recommend that you watch "BBS: The Documentary", they cover the arc wars as well, there's also this document: http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/library/CONTROVERSY/LAWSUITS/SEA/katzbio.txt
The following documentary is an important record of the early days of the BBS/comms world of computing. Particularly as in most cases it includes interviews with the individuals responsible for creating so many of the standards used. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
If you like this document you should watch the documentary. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
During this time I was the REGION 9 cordionar for Fidonet and latter to become the president of IFNA.
I agree Fidonet suffered from politics from the first meeting in Coloradio Springs. As a software development project and public resource it was fasinating to see it work. Even the side stories should be told. SeaDog and ARC data compression (Later to become ZIP). Xmodem and SLIP are also tied into these stories.
I don't miss the $800 dolar phone bills I plaid for myself or the politics. I do miss the people.
My personal contribution was "The Communicator" modem program (Freeware AKA Open Source) and the inspration for ProComm.
BBS: The Documentary Part 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cm6EFYktRQ) has some great interviews with Tom Jennings & co. on the beginnings, growth and decline of Fidonet.
"It just runs in spite of the idiots." (Tom Jennings)
Not a write up but BBS: The Documentary is covers a lot of what you’re asking about.
BBS: The Documentary (commonly referred to as BBS Documentary) is a 3-disc, 8-episode documentary about the subculture born from the creation of the bulletin board system (BBS) filmed by computer historian Jason Scott of textfiles.com.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nO5vjmDFZaI
Have you had a look at Jason Scott's BBS docu? Could bring back some memories. :)
https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
Let me take this opportunity to promote this awesome, free documentary by Jason Scott about BBSs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary. It’s on YouTube. I discovered it in 2005 but only watched it a few years ago. It’s so good. Looking forward to trying BBSs over Telnet.
BBS: The Documentary
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBS:_The_Documentary
https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
That seems be to a collection of clips and things. The 'BBS: The Documentary' was released as ~8 episdoes. You can find them collected here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5vjmDFZaI
Back in 1995 warez demos were one of the things that most drove my interest in programming.
Tangent: 'BBS: The Documentary'. Great film, I only wish it were about 4 hours longer -- it seems much too brief.
Some of my favourite nerdy documentaries:
BBS: The Documentary https://youtu.be/nO5vjmDFZaI
The KGB, the Computer, and Me https://youtu.be/EcKxaq1FTac
8 Bit Generation: The Commodore Wars https://youtu.be/Jq_t-v0bDZ8
Thanks! I can always use another good documentary.
In return, I can recommend The KGB, The Computer, and Me, based on the excellent book The Cuckoo's Egg.
I can also recommend all of the documentaries done by Jason Scott (Get Lamp, BBS: The Documentary, Going Cardboard (although he only edited that: He's director on the rest), and DEFCON: The Documentary)
I was too young to use BBS when it started but the topic fascinates me, especially after having read Hackers and The Innovators.
Not to hijack the topic, but has anyone watched the show Halt and Catch Fire (available on Netflix)? I'm curious how accurately that show captures the culture of that era.
Would love any additional reading recommendations around BBS' emergence as well. Already bookmarked the documentary series: https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
Here's the BBS documentary miniseries - worth a watch either for nostalgia or learning about how electronic communication worked pre-internet: https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
Too young for BBS, but was able to catch up watching "BBS The Documentary" on YT
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgE-9Sxs2IBVgJkY-1ZMj0tIFxsJ-vOkv
http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/
Also available for download and streaming on archive.org: https://archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary (the documentary is released under Creative Commons BY-SA)
Jason Scott is such a weird and wonderful person. I highly recommend watching BBS: The Documentary. Episode 8 was especially interesting and moving in a way I didn't expect. I would say, in brutal honesty, the production values are (unfortunately) low, but the content is pure gold, and well makes up for it.
So my thanks go out to Jason Scott and the small crowd of computing historians he unofficially represents. As a modern software and hardware engineer, it is both a joy to watch the old, and a comfort to know our work of today has a chance of being preserved in the years to come.
I guess I didn't do a very good job with an introduction/explanation. Check out 'BBS: The Documentary' if you have some time to burn.
BBS: The Documentary is so, so wonderful.
I just finished watching BBS: The Documentary and noticed the same thing. It seemed like everyone they interviewed had an entire room full of old computer equipment. They had boxes of software, walls of hardware manuals, stacks of monitors, cabinets of capacitors and resistors, rows of soldering irons, and at least one fully-equipped workbench.
Up until the past decade or so if you wanted to be a serious computer enthusiast you needed an empty garage; now you just need space on your desk for a Macbook Pro.
I kind of have to agree with you. But I also don't think this is a bad thing. I'm glad I was there to see it all happen and despite the groans I may receive I think reddit (as mentioned by other commenters) is a perfect evolution of what was. It encourages small communities to exist in the form of sub-reddits which has allowed it to survive the several massive growth phases in the last several years.
Part of the reason that places like reddit and HN are still working is because, I believe, they follow that same attitude from the usenet days. It's more about the discussions and cross-pollination of thoughts (whether you agree or not). Most importantly, it helps to break through that filter bubble that looms over us all.
While I feel privileged to have seen the world pre and post internet, I'm excited to see how we will be communicating in the next 20 years.
As I get older it seems harder to keep an open mind (yes, I can be very sentimental when it comes to old computer tech, BBS The Documentary is my ideal nerd porn) but I have to keep reminding myself that many great things aren't recognized as such until after the fact.
If I'm honest with myself, I think I've read and participated in some of the most thought provoking and hilarious on-line discussion from the early 2000's onwards.
I'll stop blabbering now.
I recommend 'BBS - the Documentary' by Jason Scott, episode #8. It should be available on YouTube. It is about the SEA vs. PKWARE controversy.
Archive.org is, I think, the best place to download BBS: The Documentary, with numerous formats, including streaming: http://www.archive.org/details/BBS.The.Documentary
I just started watching, but it seems like a lot of fun so far, and it has already put a face to tons of people who had a profound impact on my childhood.
Here are some nerdy ones:
"BBS: The Documentary" and "Get Lamp" by Jason Scott are a couple great hacker docs, about BBSs and Interactive Fiction Games (though I would have to say they have a more Apple/wintel PC bent over other computers, but still historically interesting). Both have many great interviews with BBS and interactive fiction luminaries.
Tilt - The Battle to Save Pinball, this one covers the trials and tribualtions of Pinball 2000 the development of a digital/analog pinball hybrid. There's also The History of Pinball, its not as fancy but it's interesting.
The King of Kong is slightly entertaining about the world of Donkey Kong high scores and a peek into competitive arcade game competitions.
Revolution OS - About Linux/GNU kinda dry but interesting interviews.
Deathbed Vigil...and other tales of digital angst. Documents the last days of Commodore when it went bankrupt in 1994. I think mainly interesting to Commodore fans or folks who enjoyed seeing commodore fail...