Hey poindexter!

On Thu, 16 Oct 2025 08:46:54 -0700, you wrote:

I think part of the issue is having new users (which does happen,
occasionally...) trying to sort through dozens of empty echomail areas
to find messages.

I suppose that would be more of a case if a sysop were trying to preserve as much as possible. Most likely a new user doesn't care about a message posted in 1992, and may think that it's recent and reply to it. ;)

Either way, there are options for setting newscan dates in just about every BBS software. However, most new users don't know how to do that, either.

My dream was always to have a system where you could areafix
everything, then as messages come in, auto-create the area on the BBS.
No messages in a year? Delete the area. So, you'd only have the areas
with current message traffic...

You can definitely auto-create areas in Synchronet (as well as Mystic). You just need a hub that can take an areafix request with those kind of parameters, like "-d 365" or some such to only send you the past year of messages (which there are plenty of systems that do this, I'm sure). If there aren't any messages in the past year, the hub won't sent you any messages and you won't auto-create the area.

Why haven't you made your dream come true yet?! ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/1)

I had 5 IPA beers. I forgot to make a post about how much I like thos :)

I stopped drinking a couple of months ago; I started counting calories
and cut out alcohol, and just failed to start drinking again.

Smart.

It's fun being a lightweight again - well at least in the figurative sense. One Lagunitas Maximus IPA (9.0% abv) and I'm in for the night...

Yes, I know the feeling. But honestly, I can feel it after 1 strong beer like that even if I've been drinking all along. Strong beer is the way to go. It's hard to just have 1 though. They're like Pringles.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

I think I'm ready to clean it all up - I have to run it by my users, but I'm ready to clean house...

When I see networks I'm carrying just in case they make a return, I
know it's time to do some housekeeping.

Hear you, too - users are chiming in... we'll make some decisions soon.

Might ARCHiVE all of them - just have to decide how, why and which ones. Thanks for your input, pF.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Friends don't let friends drink and post... unless it's funny.

I used to love BBS gettogethers when we were all young, stupid and
local. We'd start off at a restaurant, find a bar with enough seating (Zeitgeist in SF, I hear you...) and end up crawling to someone's house
to drink past last call.

There would inevitably be a message thread posted by people at the
sysop's house, progressively less coherent, and it was always fun to see how long after the next day it took for someone to post an after action report.

One caller disappeared for 30 days after one of those meets, and his
first post was "THINGS I LEARNED WHEN I STOPPED DRINKING". I don't remember anything else from the list except "I didn't realize until I stopped drinking that I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DANCE."

... bbS meetups were a HUGE part of my teenage years - 2oFB is in the pacific northwest, just far enough that it would be a pain; but hmmmm. Might be fun to have one last bonfire???

:P I know a few of you that would fly, drive and teleport - I have enough backyard..... HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Re: Re: Araknet - GOODBYE
By: paulie420 to jack phlash on Sun Oct 12 2025 07:59 pm

I *think* 2oFB is going to carry fsxNet and zer0net - are the rest really needed? Some of my users requested RetroNet, PiNet, CNet (CommodoreNet); but its only a few of us sending BBS adverts, and the random post by users LOOKING for responses - but getting none.

As far as I'm concerned, fsxNet is the new FidoNet, and Zer0net is the new ArakNet (and I mean that in a good way).

I keep FidoNet for old time's sake. I like DOVE-Net for the Synchronet topics and support and other amusing posts (for better or worse). And I like tqwNet because MeaTLoTioN is such a swell guy.

Those are the nets I carry, and I will likely just keep it to those.



|15 ■ ∙ · codefenix · ∙ · ConstructiveChaos BBS · · ∙ ■ ■
|08 ■ ■ ∙ (https/telnet/ssh)://conchaos.synchro.net · ∙ ■
|07
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Win32
* Origin: -=[conchaos.synchro.net | ConstructiveChaos BBS]=- (911:1330/0)

I keep FidoNet for old time's sake. I like DOVE-Net for the Synchronet topics and support and other amusing posts (for better or worse). And I like tqwNet because MeaTLoTioN is such a swell guy.

Old FidoNet seems to be relatively active, continually.
+1 to tqwNet and MeatLotion, this lad has +10 coolness for hosting me on his Mastodon too!

-h1

... Xerox Alto was the thing. Anything after we use is just a mere copy.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Re: Re: Araknet - GOODBYE

As far as I'm concerned, fsxNet is the new FidoNet, and Zer0net is the
new ArakNet (and I mean that in a good way).

I agree with this - except I'd call fsxNet fsxNet; its better than Fido!! Fido was neat, then GREAT, then a dumpster fire where its remained for the past few decades!! :P

zer0 is sick - the new [old] scene FTN.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Old FidoNet seems to be relatively active, continually.
+1 to tqwNet and MeatLotion, this lad has +10 coolness for hosting me on his Mastodon too!

Yer right, h1 - +1 tqwNet!!

Its the tech FTN IMO - MeaTLoTioN has ran it 1oo since day 1; good people, good FTN.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

on 16 Oct 2025, poindexter FORTRAN said...

One caller disappeared for 30 days after one of those meets, and his
first post was "THINGS I LEARNED WHEN I STOPPED DRINKING". I don't remember anything else from the list except "I didn't realize until I stopped drinking that I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DANCE."

Ha! That's hilarious. Man, I know not everyone experienced them, or did in different ways, but BBS community get-togethers were such an interesting element of the old dial-up days. Just reading about them make me nostalgic as fuck.

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

on 16 Oct 2025, Accession said...

You can definitely auto-create areas in Synchronet (as well as Mystic). You just need a hub that can take an areafix request with those kind of parameters, like "-d 365" or some such to only send you the past year of messages (which there are plenty of systems that do this, I'm sure). If there aren't any messages in the past year, the hub won't sent you any messages and you won't auto-create the area.

Why haven't you made your dream come true yet?! ;)

The way I interpreted his post was having this all completely automated - create new area for echos when new posts come in, remove them when there haven't been new posts in so long, etc. It feels like it's probably achievable today, to your point, but it would take a bit of work to achieve with any BBS software that I know of.

I think its a cool idea, but there are downsides. I mean, if a user wants to post a message about X but doesn't see an area for X listed because you've pruned it for being inactive, then it's just going to stay inactive for eternity. :/

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

on 17 Oct 2025, Codefenix said...

As far as I'm concerned, fsxNet is the new FidoNet, and Zer0net is the
new ArakNet (and I mean that in a good way).

Ha! I take offense to that. We've been around for over 25 years and the tone and level of activity isn't much different than it was in, say, 2002. :P

In all seriousness, ArakNet at its peak was definitely a really kick ass network though, so thanks!

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

jack phlash wrote to Accession <=-

I think its a cool idea, but there are downsides. I mean, if a user
wants to post a message about X but doesn't see an area for X listed because you've pruned it for being inactive, then it's just going to
stay inactive for eternity. :/

Yeah, then there are the Fido Moderators who post their RULES files once
a month in echoes that haven't had human traffic in years, and someone
will inevitably post a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" post with an ASCII christmas
tree in EVERY ECHO.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (911:1415/0)

on 19 Oct 2025, poindexter FORTRAN said...

Yeah, then there are the Fido Moderators who post their RULES files once
a month in echoes that haven't had human traffic in years, and someone will inevitably post a "MERRY CHRISTMAS" post with an ASCII christmas
tree in EVERY ECHO.

Ha! Okay, I guess you'd have similar situations on a lot of networks - I didn't think of the likelihood of weird automated posts keeping echos on life-support. :)

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

As everyone knows by now, I have dropped ArakNet from aBSiNTHE. That is
a big deal, because I was probably its biggest supporting member.
However, at the end of the day my duty is to my callers. I cannot have a
dead message base on my board where callers will post and it all just
goes into the void. It really sucks, because the ArakNet community is fantastic.

Regarding Smooth: I love the guy and have a mountain of respect for him.
His absence is a very big loss for the scene. There is a long, long
list of projects that he either spearheaded or assisted. He provided
tons of great art to a lot of boards, mods and doors. He has been
putting in scene work for *decades*, helping both known names and new
guys. I refuse to think that dropping the ball on this one thing erases
all of that.

So, where do we go from here? As sysops, we can't have a dead network.

Spitfire of Reign of Fire BBS has decided to act as a hub and is
actively recruiting current members to move to his unofficial copy of
ArakNet. He messaged me just today and we talked about it. Personally, I
think this is a bad idea.

ArakNet isn't just a message network. There are group affiliations such
as Phenom and Legacy Krew, websites, Discord channel, YouTube channel,
Facebook community... it goes on and on. Smooth put not just a ton of
time into it, but his own money as well on occasion. I say let it go
into suspended animation for now. Eventually, Smooth will address things
and either attempt a revival or shut it all down.

Spitfire's heart is in the right place. I've known him for years. But, I
don't want to see ArakNet become a zombie "great value" version of its
former self using patorjk.com generated ASCII like what I've seen from
his recent post. Let it live or die with its creator.

I do hope that ArakNet roars back to life one day. But, I'm happy to
keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on Zer0Net. :)

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10-------------------------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 "Building a better world, one chip at a time." -Neuromancer |16|10||16
|16|10`-------------------------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

on 31 Dec 2025, Anachronist said...

As everyone knows by now, I have dropped ArakNet from aBSiNTHE. That is
a big deal, because I was probably its biggest supporting member.
However, at the end of the day my duty is to my callers. I cannot have a dead message base on my board where callers will post and it all just
goes into the void. It really sucks, because the ArakNet community is fantastic.

I think most of the people here were members of ArakNet and/or participants in it if not node ops themselves, and would agree.

Also, even though its been said by myself and others in the 0N-SYSOP echo, let me more publicly say: Welcome to the network! Extremely happy to have you and your awesome board here now!

Now we can all expect double the posts about Impure ASCII and weird Amiga related topics! ;)

Regarding Smooth: I love the guy and have a mountain of respect for him. His absence is a very big loss for the scene. There is a long, long
list of projects that he either spearheaded or assisted. He provided
tons of great art to a lot of boards, mods and doors. He has been
putting in scene work for *decades*, helping both known names and new guys. I refuse to think that dropping the ball on this one thing erases all of that.

Agreed. No one can deny his contributions to the scene. I do think some people are more offended than others about the situation though - it ranges from slightly disappointed to a legitimate feeling of loss or even on the most extreme side, betrayal. Most of us very much understand that this is just a hobby, and takes a backseat to real life stuff, and can indeed drop down the priority list of even just other dumb hobbies you might have. I think what people take the biggest issue with was him just disappearing without saying much about it, and indeed ghosting and straight-up ignoring people who tried to contact him.

That said, the same thing happened with Frank (Netsurge) left the scene and left most of his scene stuff, including SciNet, gradually die... twice... under similar circumstances. Even so, I was *this close* to calling Frank a real life, legitimate friend, and if he randomly called me up tomorrow, I'd definitely pick up the phone.

So, where do we go from here? As sysops, we can't have a dead network.

Spitfire of Reign of Fire BBS has decided to act as a hub and is
actively recruiting current members to move to his unofficial copy of ArakNet. He messaged me just today and we talked about it. Personally, I think this is a bad idea.

ArakNet isn't just a message network. There are group affiliations such
as Phenom and Legacy Krew, websites, Discord channel, YouTube channel, Facebook community... it goes on and on. Smooth put not just a ton of
time into it, but his own money as well on occasion. I say let it go
into suspended animation for now. Eventually, Smooth will address things and either attempt a revival or shut it all down.

Spitfire's heart is in the right place. I've known him for years. But, I don't want to see ArakNet become a zombie "great value" version of its former self using patorjk.com generated ASCII like what I've seen from
his recent post. Let it live or die with its creator.

I do hope that ArakNet roars back to life one day. But, I'm happy to
keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on Zer0Net. :)

Thanks for your perspective on this. I think most of us feel the same way for the same or similar reasons. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Smooth has a new wind of inspiration one of these days (years?) and turns his participation in the scene back up to 11, reviving his BBS(es), his art group, and indeed ArakNet.

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

I do hope that ArakNet roars back to life one day. But, I'm happy to
keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on Zer0Net. :)

Can always swing over to MetroNet as well ... going on 31 years old. :)

... If it walks out of your refrigerator, LET IT GO!

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (911:1724/0)

Hey Anachronist!

On Wed, Dec 31 2025 11:11:32 -0600, you wrote:

I'm happy to keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on
Zer0Net. :)

.. and we're happy to have you, good sir!

*waves*

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On Wed 31-Dec-2025 2:44p, |11Jack Phlash|03 beatboxed to |11aNACHRONiST|08:|03

|10JP|08>|02 Also, even though its been said by myself and others in the 0N-SYSOP echo,|03
|10JP|08>|02 let me more publicly say: Welcome to the network! Extremely happy to have|03
|10JP|08>|02 you and your awesome board here now!|03

Thank you! I really appreciate the warm reception. I'm happy to see that aBSiNTHE is in good hands here. :)

|10JP|08>|02 Now we can all expect double the posts about Impure ASCII and weird Amiga|03
|10JP|08>|02 related topics! ;)|03

I don't post as much as I should about ASCII, but you will definitely
get a big uptick in all things Amiga-related from the guys and me!

|10JP|08>|02 Agreed. No one can deny his contributions to the scene. I do think some|03
|10JP|08>|02 people are more offended than others about the situation though - it|03
|10JP|08>|02 ranges from slightly disappointed to a legitimate feeling of loss or even|03
|10JP|08>|02 on the most extreme side, betrayal. Most of us very much understand that|03
|10JP|08>|02 this is just a hobby, and takes a backseat to real life stuff, and can|03
|10JP|08>|02 indeed drop down the priority list of even just other dumb hobbies you|03
|10JP|08>|02 might have. I think what people take the biggest issue with was him just|03
|10JP|08>|02 disappearing without saying much about it, and indeed ghosting and|03
|10JP|08>|02 straight-up ignoring people who tried to contact him.|03

I totally get that. He has handled (or rather, not handled) this very
poorly. The silence hit me pretty hard as well. We used to voice chat constantly to scheme on projects and talk about ways to help move the
scene forward. I can only think that there are things going on in life
that are making him shut down this way. Hawk's passing was especially
tough for him and would have only added to that.

So, absolutely; people in the community have a right to be upset about
ArakNet being neglected to the point of dying. I don't blame them one
bit. I just want to make sure that we are putting this in the context of
a friend handling things poorly when we don't know all of the details
as opposed to some rando screwing things up for people.

|10JP|08>|02 Thanks for your perspective on this. I think most of us feel the same way|03

I'm glad to hear that. After I cautioned Spitfire in a friendly
manner earlier, he is looking for clarification from Smooth before
either ceasing his efforts or continuing. I'm not sure if that
clarification is forthcoming, so it would be useful to get input from
more former/current nodes before I circle back to him.

|10JP|08>|02 for the same or similar reasons. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if|03
|10JP|08>|02 Smooth has a new wind of inspiration one of these days (years?) and turns|03
|10JP|08>|02 his participation in the scene back up to 11, reviving his BBS(es), his|03
|10JP|08>|02 art group, and indeed ArakNet.|03

Hear, hear. I would like nothing better!

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 "At last... the Gathering!" - The Kurgan |16|10||16
|16|10`------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

On Wed 31-Dec-2025 6:39p, |11Exodus|03 intimated to |11aNACHRONiST|08:|03

|10ES|08>|02 Can always swing over to MetroNet as well ... going on 31 years old. :)|03

Thirty-one years; that is impressive. Thanks, I'll remember that!

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 A message from the depths of Hell! |16|10||16
|16|10`------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

Can always swing over to MetroNet as well ... going on 31 years

old. :)

Thirty-one years; that is impressive. Thanks, I'll remember that!

Thanks ... it's nothing like it was in it's hay-day in the 90s .... but we're still here like an old man sleeping in a chair waiting to be woken up when dinner is ready. <G>

... We want peaceful relations, or we'll blow up your planet.

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (911:1724/0)

As everyone knows by now, I have dropped ArakNet from aBSiNTHE. That is
a big deal, because I was probably its biggest supporting member.
However, at the end of the day my duty is to my callers. I cannot have a dead message base on my board where callers will post and it all just
goes into the void. It really sucks, because the ArakNet community is fantastic.

*I* didn't know that aBSINTHE dropped Arak - same as you, I *try* to make sure 2oFB serves its users; I'm gonna officially drop Arak, too. :(

I'll keep the Message Areas and posts in archive - but...

Regarding Smooth: I love the guy and have a mountain of respect for him.

Agreed - Smooth was one of the main people I looked up to in the BBS community. For whatever reason, when I first came onto the scene he wouldn't let me create an account on Ink/2!! Not sure if it was intentional - but I was st0ked when he finally invited me over... and I was thrilled when 2oFB was nominated for ArakNet; to be it was a badge of honor to be in the cool kids BBS club. We all go thru phases where we come in and out of hobbies; I hope that if I move away that I'd pass the keys to 2o to some other server willing and ABLE to host the data - all 30TB of it... but I can't speak badly about how a pioneer here went away - we don't know the reason(s); I hope that he is OK...

So, where do we go from here? As sysops, we can't have a dead network.

Spitfire of Reign of Fire BBS has decided to act as a hub and is
actively recruiting current members to move to his unofficial copy of ArakNet.

I also personally agree that a zombie Arak isn't the solution. As you mentioned, I think Spitfire is in the right PLACE - but as you mentioned, Arak was more than just a FTN. As mentioned having to be nominated, its scene affiliations and its important owner kinda make it something that I think would be watered down if not handed off or with Smooths blessing. :/

Eventually, Smooth will address things and either attempt a revival or An> shut it all down.

... yup.

I'm officially shutting it down on my board, too.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

I think most of the people here were members of ArakNet and/or participants in it if not node ops themselves, and would agree.

Also, even though its been said by myself and others in the 0N-SYSOP
echo, let me more publicly say: Welcome to the network! Extremely happy
to have you and your awesome board here now!

zer0net is the new Arak!! :P

And it deserves the sysOps, traffic and users - lets g0000!



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

I do hope that ArakNet roars back to life one day. But, I'm happy to keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on Zer0Net. :)

Can always swing over to MetroNet as well ... going on 31 years old. :)

Metro is awesome and I *love* having a TG related FTN on 2oFB!! The old-timers ARE my favorite FTNs - and MetroNet fits the bill perfectly!



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

on 31 Dec 2025, Anachronist said...

I don't post as much as I should about ASCII, but you will definitely
get a big uptick in all things Amiga-related from the guys and me!

I post about every new Impure release and some other group releases I have a vague association with, so it'll definitely come up from time to time. :)

I totally get that. He has handled (or rather, not handled) this very poorly. The silence hit me pretty hard as well. We used to voice chat constantly to scheme on projects and talk about ways to help move the scene forward. I can only think that there are things going on in life that are making him shut down this way. Hawk's passing was especially tough for him and would have only added to that.

So, absolutely; people in the community have a right to be upset about ArakNet being neglected to the point of dying. I don't blame them one
bit. I just want to make sure that we are putting this in the context of
a friend handling things poorly when we don't know all of the details
as opposed to some rando screwing things up for people.

Yep. And with that, I personally don't feel the need to say much more about it. Smooth and I don't have much of a history nor were we good friends or anything - no bad blood there or anything either, to be clear. I always respected the dude and never had any clashes with him. But that also means I have *zero* clue about what could have been happening in his life, whether it was something incredibly mundane or some serious real life drama that led to this, and don't think there's much reason to speculate at this point.

I'm glad to hear that. After I cautioned Spitfire in a friendly
manner earlier, he is looking for clarification from Smooth before
either ceasing his efforts or continuing. I'm not sure if that clarification is forthcoming, so it would be useful to get input from
more former/current nodes before I circle back to him.

Seems unlikely. Hell, if Smooth does respond to the situation I would think it would be in the opposite manner (which is to say, he'd be unhappy about it) though maybe I'm wrong. Me 20 years ago might have taken a lot more offense and gone after Spitfire, but these days I'll just choose not to support this unsanctioned revival attempt and be done with it. Outside of mentioning it in the next Demonic newsletter, I'm over it for the moment.

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

Metro is awesome and I *love* having a TG related FTN on 2oFB!! The old-tim

TG?!?! You just made Santa's naughty list for 2026. :)

... I have a rock garden. Last week three of them died.

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (911:1724/0)

Hey Paulie420!

On Wed, Dec 31 2025 20:31:54 -0600, you wrote:

zer0net is the new Arak!! :P

I can't agree with that. Zeronet has been around since the 90s. I've been a member since about 2004. In my opinion, every other artscene related network (including mine) that has come and gone has been /because/ of Zeronet (hint: Smooth was a long time member of Zeronet long before he started Araknet).

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

zer0net is the new Arak!! :P

I can't agree with that. Zeronet has been around since the 90s. I've been a member since about 2004. In my opinion, every other artscene related networ (including mine) that has come and gone has been /because/ of Zeronet (hint Smooth was a long time member of Zeronet long before he started Araknet).

I don't get what everyone is so boo-hoo about this net. I had my reservations about joining when he asked me years back, but I joined anyways. It was nothing special. It was just everyone that is here, was there also. I prefer this network to that one.

... He's not drunk; He's neurologically challenged.

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (911:1724/0)

Hey Exodus!

On Wed, Dec 31 2025 17:25:33 -0600, you wrote:

I don't get what everyone is so boo-hoo about this net.

It's just the most recent network to fall apart, with barely any to absolutely no warning whatsoever. It's probably more of a shock than "boo-hoo" because things were going good, until they weren't.

Quite a few of us went through the same thing when Scinet fell off the map (and then got boozled by the guy again, even). Unfortunately, nowadays I just expect it with newer networks.

I had my reservations about joining when he asked me years back, but
I joined anyways. It was nothing special. It was just everyone
that is here, was there also.

I never joined, because of reasons I've probably already mentioned. I don't care to drag anyone through the mud, though.

Ultimately, he is a great guy and artist when he isn't ghosting, and his modding group came up with some killer stuff (which I can't just credit to him, of course, as there were multiple contributors).

I prefer this network to that one.

I prefer this network to most others, to be completely honest. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On Wed 31-Dec-2025 8:38p, |11Exodus|03 ranted to |11aNACHRONiST|08:|03

|10ES|08>|02 still here like an old man sleeping in a chair waiting to be woken up when |03
|10ES|08>|02 dinner is ready. <G>|03

....wait. You can see me?

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10-------------------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 "42? 7 million years and all You come up with is 42?" |16|10||16
|16|10`-------------------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

I can't agree with that. Zeronet has been around since the 90s. I've
been a member since about 2004. In my opinion, every other artscene

I remember around 2008/2009 JP was very good with me during the launch of Clutch. Great sysop and great net....

I can't recall on hand, but I've seen quite a bit come and go over the years. The one that's always standing on it's two feet has been Zer0Net.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2023/04/30 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Clutch BBS * telnet://clutchbbs.com (911:1519/1)

on 31 Dec 2025, Accession said...

I can't agree with that. Zeronet has been around since the 90s. I've
been a member since about 2004. In my opinion, every other artscene related network (including mine) that has come and gone has been
/because/ of Zeronet (hint: Smooth was a long time member of Zeronet
long before he started Araknet).

Ha! I was going to say something similar, but as mentioned in that Zer0net history thing I wrote up for our 20th birthday, we pretty much stole most of our inspiration from CCi, so what goes around comes around, I guess! :P

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

on 31 Dec 2025, Exodus said...

I don't get what everyone is so boo-hoo about this net. I had my reservations about joining when he asked me years back, but I joined anyways. It was nothing special. It was just everyone that is here,
was there also. I prefer this network to that one.

First, thanks! :P

But I mean, I think that despite the overlap in the nodelist and theming, it had a bit of a different flavor than Zer0net owing to everything Smooth brought to the table, not the least of which was his constant presence as a very active poster. Smooth had been a part of Zer0net for ages, as Accession mentioned, but he almost *never* posted here. Likewise, there were some other people who posted a lot there but never or rarely here, including my man Anachronist. I liked it a lot, and I'm sad to see it come to this. Simple as that!

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

Re: Re: Araknet - GOODBYE
By: Anachronist to All on Wed Dec 31 2025 05:11 pm

Spitfire of Reign of Fire BBS has decided to act as a hub and is actively recruiting current members to move to his unofficial copy of ArakNet. He messaged me just today and we talked about it. Personally, I think this is a bad idea.

Agree with this 100%.

Spitfire's heart is in the right place. I've known him for years. But, I don't want to see ArakNet become a zombie "great value" version of its former self using patorjk.com generated ASCII like what I've seen from his recent post. Let it live or die with its creator.

Someone in recent years also tried a "RetroNet NEO" in an attempt to recreate RetroNet from the ground up, after the original RetroNet had become pretty much dead. The one or two occasions I checked it out, it was just as dead as the original.

As I've read all this talk about someone wanting to "take over ArakNet", I couldn't help but think of RetroNet NEO, and how it really didn't make RetroNet's loss any better.

I do hope that ArakNet roars back to life one day. But, I'm happy to keep moving forward and hanging out with you gents on Zer0Net. :)

Well said.

|15 ■ ∙ · codefenix · ∙ · ConstructiveChaos BBS · · ∙ ■ ■
|08 ■ ■ ∙ (https/telnet/ssh)://conchaos.synchro.net · ∙ ■
|07
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Win32
* Origin: -=[conchaos.synchro.net | ConstructiveChaos BBS]=- (911:1330/0)

Hey Jack!

On Thu, Jan 01 2026 09:31:32 -0600, you wrote:

Ha! I was going to say something similar, but as mentioned in that
Zer0net history thing I wrote up for our 20th birthday, we pretty
much stole most of our inspiration from CCi, so what goes around
comes around, I guess! :P

Probably better that I/we said it, though. ;)

CCi was about 30 years ago (or longer), and you have kept the torch burning ever since. Well done ol' chap!

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

On 01 Jan 2026, jack phlash said the following...

on 31 Dec 2025, Accession said...

I can't agree with that. Zeronet has been around since the 90s. I've been a member since about 2004. In my opinion, every other artscene related network (including mine) that has come and gone has been /because/ of Zeronet (hint: Smooth was a long time member of Zeronet long before he started Araknet).

Ha! I was going to say something similar, but as mentioned in that
Zer0net history thing I wrote up for our 20th birthday, we pretty much stole most of our inspiration from CCi, so what goes around comes
around, I guess! :P

CyberCrime? I miss that board and Mitch.

I used to talk to Mitch a lot when I didn't care about paying my phone bill back in the 90s, dude was pretty warm and friendly both voice and on the BBS. Even asked me to make a logon screen for his board which he promptly put up. I was pretty sad when he died.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/12 (Linux/64)
* Origin: http://www.throwbackbbs.com -\- meriden, ct -\- (911:1203/3)

CCi was about 30 years ago (or longer), and you have kept the torch
burning ever since. Well done ol' chap!

I've always been semi curious about a CCi resurrection. However I don't think there's a point; it fills no void or anything and would just be another net
for people to mindlessly collect for their BBSes.

I just missed out on it when I was a kid lol.

|03--|11[|05esc|13!|05dEMONIC|11]|03--|07

--- DayDream BBS/UNIX (Linux) 2.15a
* Origin: [>mONTEREYbBS.COM>] (911:1719/0)

....wait. You can see me?

Crap. He heard that!

... Squirrels: Rats with good P.R.

--- Renegade v1.35/DOS
* Origin: The Titantic BBS Telnet - ttb.rgbbs.info (911:1724/0)

on 01 Jan 2026, esc said...

I've always been semi curious about a CCi resurrection. However I don't think there's a point; it fills no void or anything and would just be another net for people to mindlessly collect for their BBSes.

You (or whoever) would just be doing the same thing that we're talking about SpitFire doing. It would have no real relationship to the original iterations of CCi, so what would be the point? I feel like there's an extremely fine line between naming something as a tribute or homage, and just trying to crib something else's name recognition and other assets (like artwork) in a shitty, cynical way.

We've seen this a lot with BBS softs lately. I mean, how many re-codes of PCBoard, Oblivion/2, and Vision/2 are we going to have? :P So yeah, I'm generally against the idea.

Like I said, we were *inspired* by CCi, and while we obviously came up with our own name, we also didn't just copy/paste the Mitch's old infopacks. :P

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

On Wed 31-Dec-2025 6:30p, |11Paulie420|03 gibbered to |11aNACHRONiST|08:|03

|10P0|08>|02 I'll keep the Message Areas and posts in archive - but...|03

I haven't deleted the areas or files, but I have made them invisible to callers. This way, if Smooth does resurrect it then I can just toggle a
switch and jump back in.

|10P0|08>|02 it... but I can't speak badly about how a pioneer here went away - we|03
|10P0|08>|02 don't know the reason(s); I hope that he is OK...|03

That is a great attitude. :) I do, too.

|10P0|08>|02 I also personally agree that a zombie Arak isn't the solution. As you|03
|10P0|08>|02 mentioned, I think Spitfire is in the right PLACE - but as you mentioned,|03
|10P0|08>|02 Arak was more than just a FTN. As mentioned having to be nominated, its|03
|10P0|08>|02 scene affiliations and its important owner kinda make it something that I|03
|10P0|08>|02 think would be watered down if not handed off or with Smooths blessing. :/|03

Spitfire means well, but this just isn't how things are done. The more I
think about it, the worse it is on many levels. I'm going to circle back
to him today and strongly recommend that he pull the plug on this.

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10----------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 "I'm taking over a TV network." -Dade Murphy |16|10||16
|16|10`----------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

On Thu 1-Jan-2026 3:53p, |11aNACHRONiST|03 exclaimed to |11Paulie420|08:|03

|10AT|08>|02 think about it, the worse it is on many levels. I'm going to circle back|03
|10AT|08>|02 to him today and strongly recommend that he pull the plug on this.|03

I spoke with Spitfire and he readily agreed to shut it down immediately.
He really is a nice guy who wanted to help out. Moving on!

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10-------------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 "You're gonna carry that weight." -Cowboy Bebop |16|10||16
|16|10`-------------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)

Metro is awesome and I *love* having a TG related FTN on 2oFB!! The old

TG?!?! You just made Santa's naughty list for 2026. :)

<3 <3 I *knew* that would get ya.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbS>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (911:1503/0)

Hey Anachronist!

On Thu, Jan 01 2026 10:43:24 -0600, you wrote:

I spoke with Spitfire and he readily agreed to shut it down
immediately. He really is a nice guy who wanted to help out. Moving
on!

I tend to think that's a good idea. However (and I mentioned this early on in this conversation before you got here), if he's interested in putting in the work, he should come up with something original and start his own network. People will join, that's not the issue. Keeping people active is usually the challenge.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.34-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

maskreet wrote to jack phlash <=-

CyberCrime? I miss that board and Mitch.

I used to talk to Mitch a lot when I didn't care about paying my phone bill back in the 90s, dude was pretty warm and friendly both voice and
on the BBS. Even asked me to make a logon screen for his board which he promptly put up. I was pretty sad when he died.

My dial-up BBS was in CCi back in the '90s, we chatted a lot - more than
any other network operator. I thought I had a backup of my BBS when I
was on CCi, but it looks like I had already left.

I did find some GaSpnet (a TG support network), InfiNet, and JustaXNet
message areas, though.



--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (911:1415/0)

on 01 Jan 2026, Anachronist said...

I spoke with Spitfire and he readily agreed to shut it down immediately. He really is a nice guy who wanted to help out. Moving on!

That wasn't the reaction I would have predicted, but good on him for taking your feedback seriously.

|07j |15A C K |07p |15H L A S H |07!
|08[https://jackphla.sh]

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1423/0)

On Fri 2-Jan-2026 4:19p, |11Jack Phlash|03 stammered to |11aNACHRONiST|08:|03

|10JP|08>|02 That wasn't the reaction I would have predicted, but good on him for|03
|10JP|08>|02 taking your feedback seriously.|03

I just mentioned that I have a very particular set of skills.

J/k; definitely good on him. I thanked him for being mature about it,
and that was that.

|10aNACHRONiST |08+o |02aBSiNTHE BBS|03

|16|10.|16|15|16|10--------------------------------------------------.|16
|16|10||16|13 Admit nothing, deny everything, blame the sysop. |16|10||16
|16|10`--------------------------------------------------'|16
--- CNet/5
* Origin: aBSiNTHE BBS absinthebbs.net:1940 (911:1919/0)