We've talked about the state of ArakNet several times since it started to capsize due to Smooth sort of disappearing, but usually amongst Zer0net's ops in the private 0N-SYSOP. The most recent mentions of it here have mostly related to node ops finally deciding to jump ship and remove the network from their BBSes.

Anyway, I'm guessing that most of us have already removed it, though I still haven't, yet what is prompting me to post this is that I think we've now hit the longest stretch of non-bot post inactivity I can recall. As of right now, it's been 8 days since I've even received any bot posts. Is ArakNet finally dead?! RIP!

Or not...?

Coincidentally, I saw a post or two on Facebook recently about Spitfire of Reign of Fire BBS wondering about its status and offering to possibly take it over (as several others, including a few people here, have also done) and he was hoping to get clearance from Smooth to do so. Today I saw a post that he's now hosting ArakNet. I'm frankly pretty surprised that Smooth gave him that go ahead (or hell, replied at all!)

|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)

over (as several others, including a few people here, have also done) and was hoping to get clearance from Smooth to do so. Today I saw a post that now hosting ArakNet. I'm frankly pretty surprised that Smooth gave him tha ahead (or hell, replied at all!)

Oh well, little too late for me ... not readding it. It's been gone from here for months now.

... To quote the Librarian at Unseen University, "Oook!"

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

Coincidentally, I saw a post or two on Facebook recently about Spitfire
of Reign of Fire BBS wondering about its status and offering to possibly take it over (as several others, including a few people here, have also done) and he was hoping to get clearance from Smooth to do so. Today I
saw a post that he's now hosting ArakNet. I'm frankly pretty surprised that Smooth gave him that go ahead (or hell, replied at all!)

Are you kidding. I literally removed it yesterday. ugh!

Now I have to recreate everything... We'll see.

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

on 14 Dec 2025, jack phlash said...

Coincidentally, I saw a post or two on Facebook recently about Spitfire
of Reign of Fire BBS wondering about its status and offering to possibly take it over (as several others, including a few people here, have also done) and he was hoping to get clearance from Smooth to do so. Today I
saw a post that he's now hosting ArakNet. I'm frankly pretty surprised that Smooth gave him that go ahead (or hell, replied at all!)

I was talking about this situation a couple hours after posted this and was looking at the thread where Spitfire was talking about this originally (it's in the "ArakNet Community" Facebook group, if anyone is curious) and he actually mentioned in the comments that he never got a hold of Smooth, thus is seemingly doing all of this without any sort of consent/approval. I think most people here would agree with me in that this changes things a
lot. I'm not sure how I feel about it, myself.

That is, on one hand it feels a lot like Spitfire is just sort of, err, misappropriating the network. We all know its Smooth's - he put a ton of work, artwork, community building, etc. into it, especially early on. To simply change your node address to the hub's and start using that name and accepting applications feels a little off to me.

On the other hand, Spitfire and his board Reign of Fire were long time members of the network, and I assume he was as disappointed by its downfall as most of the rest of us were. He may genuinely feel that he's simply trying to keep the community alive, which isn't a bad thing, but is more commendable than anything.

Personally, this has led me thinking a lot about the broader topic of exactly what makes a community, and how small BBS networks fit into that. Certainly, if a community has sprung up around some kind of a framework - a chat server/network, social media site, or indeed, FTN or even an individual BBS - does it need to die if that "framework" suddenly shuts down or becomes otherwise unusable? Should it (or can it) be kept alive by moving it else where? The answer is surely "yes" - I'm sure many of us can site various examples we've seen or been a part of.

The thing about small othernets (and more obviously, individual BBSes) is that their "vibe" is usually *heavily* affected by the operator(s) rather than just the core community posters. I suppose a lot of communities have people who end up in "leadership" type roles, though it feels like a more consistent thing with the echomail networks I've been a part of. Like BBSes in the telnet age, I haven't seen many that have succeeded by simply being stood up and the operator walking away. Accession and I have talked a lot about this over the years - how, for better or worse, simply building a network isn't really enough to keep conversation going, rather it usually takes someone (almost always the operator) actively stirring the pot to some degree.

That is all to say that I have my doubts that without Smooth on board, ArakNet will feel like ArakNet, and I'm highly skeptical that even if the entire nodelist signs up to this new version of the network, it'll really be the same. Happy to be proven wrong, of course.

Anyway, interesting topic to think about. I should have probably let my coffee kick in before writing this - hopefully it makes sense. ;)

|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 14 Dec 2025, Exodus said...

Oh well, little too late for me ... not readding it. It's been gone
from here for months now.

Yeah, I suspect this is going to be the case for most of us. If he had done this even 6 months ago I think he'd have a lot more success.

|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 15 Dec 2025, niter3 said...

Are you kidding. I literally removed it yesterday. ugh!

Now I have to recreate everything... We'll see.

Ha!

Yeah, I'm not going to switch my configs over yet - I'll keep an eye on things and see how it develops. (See my giant post about why I'm a little skeptical about this.)

|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)

Are you kidding. I literally removed it yesterday. ugh!

Now I have to recreate everything... We'll see.

I wouldn't bother.

... White dwarf seeks red giant for binary relationship.

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

Oh well, little too late for me ... not readding it. It's been gone from here for months now.

Yeah, I suspect this is going to be the case for most of us. If he had don this even 6 months ago I think he'd have a lot more success.

Agreed. I'm not taking time to recreate bases and such again for it to maybe disappear in like 6 months again. Not worth it to me.

... Heavy rain: What you get 2 hours after washing your car.

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

Re: Re: ArakNet?!
By: jack phlash to All on Mon Dec 15 2025 08:22 am

Howdy,

ArakNet will feel like ArakNet, and I'm highly skeptical that even if the entire nodelist signs up to this new version of the network, it'll really be the same. Happy to be proven wrong, of course.

I think you are on the money.

In the past I've taken over two networks (SciNet and Sportnet), when the operators went AWOL at the request of the existing nodes who were disappointed that the network stopped. (I did it under the same offer, that when the ZC returned, I'd hand it back - but they never did.)

The problem with this hobby, is a network gets created based on the aspiration of a single person, its success is, as you describe as a result of the inspiration from that person, but when they they loose interest (or life takes over), the network falls apart :(

One of my goals when creating clrhgouz was to set it up so that it could be an "FTN in the cloud" (so to speak) - so a busy ZC wasnt a bottleneck, and I even played with distributed database engines so that there wasnt a single point of failures/responsiblity.

At one time I had nodes in the UK with MeatLotion and at home, but the latency (and memory requirements) were too high for my liking. I'm keen to still explore this (just to see if it would work) and open to ideas on how to do it.

(I was starting down another journey of developing my own "sync" protocol - but I've been distracted by other activities. I'll get there eventually...)

Its a shame to see such vibrant networks die ...


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (911:613/0.1)

Hey jack!

On Mon, Dec 15 2025 10:22:04 -0600, you wrote:

I was talking about this situation a couple hours after posted this
and was looking at the thread where Spitfire was talking about this originally (it's in the "ArakNet Community" Facebook group, if anyone
is curious) and he actually mentioned in the comments that he never
got a hold of Smooth, thus is seemingly doing all of this without any
sort of consent/approval. I think most people here would agree with
me in that this changes things a lot. I'm not sure how I feel about
it, myself.

IMO, it's like stealing someone's art, and putting your name on it.

That is, on one hand it feels a lot like Spitfire is just sort of,
err, misappropriating the network. We all know its Smooth's - he put
a ton of work, artwork, community building, etc. into it, especially
early on. To simply change your node address to the hub's and start
using that name and accepting applications feels a little off to me.

Completely agreed. If you want to start a network that bad, start a new one. Don't steal/take over someone else's. Make a new name, and if you really want to and/or worship Araknet that bad, dedicate the creation of the new network to it, or something like that.

To be fair on this and provide somewhat of an example that may be somewhere in the ballpark with this topic: Many moons ago, I was interested in starting a new network. Captain Hood (RIP) had the idea of possibly reviving Agoranet (ACiD's original message network). I thought it was worth persuing, so he contacted Radman, brought him into a conversation with the three of us, and we got his permission/blessing to do so. Had Radman not responded, or said "no," I would have named it something else and went another direction with it.

On the other hand, Spitfire and his board Reign of Fire were long
time members of the network, and I assume he was as disappointed by
its downfall as most of the rest of us were. He may genuinely feel
that he's simply trying to keep the community alive, which isn't a
bad thing, but is more commendable than anything.

Keep the community alive by starting a new and original network. Don't take someone elses. It became completely obvious after awhile, and people trying to get ahold of him, only for their words typed to be "seen" and not responded to, that Smooth had no give-a-fuck in the world of saving his network or the community he built around it.

Accession and I have talked a lot about this over the years - how,
for better or worse, simply building a network isn't really enough to
keep conversation going, rather it usually takes someone (almost
always the operator) actively stirring the pot to some degree.

Definitely. Hate to say it, but you can even see this on FSX these days, with Avon taking a bit of a hiatus/break it went from probably 100+ posts per day to more like 20.

That is all to say that I have my doubts that without Smooth on
board, ArakNet will feel like ArakNet, and I'm highly skeptical that
even if the entire nodelist signs up to this new version of the
network, it'll really be the same. Happy to be proven wrong, of
course.

It won't ever be the same, unless Smooth comes back to take the reigns. If the guy that's doing this has somewhat of a following or good group of friends (if I remember right, his BBS was Amiga or some such?), it's not that hard to start your own network and build it how you want it to be.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.33-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (911:1262/700)

Hey deon!

On Mon, Dec 15 2025 16:03:07 -0600, you wrote:

In the past I've taken over two networks (SciNet and Sportnet), when
the operators went AWOL at the request of the existing nodes who were disappointed that the network stopped. (I did it under the same
offer, that when the ZC returned, I'd hand it back - but they never
did.)

Oh man. I don't remember you taking over Scinet. I only remember Frank going AWOL, twice. Leaving every linked node behind without letting anyone know what his plans were. As a matter of fact, it was VERY much like what Smooth has done this past year. So I'd be willing to bet you took it over after the second time he disappeared, because I completely gave up on him and/or anything he was tied to in this hobby.

The problem with this hobby, is a network gets created based on the aspiration of a single person, its success is, as you describe as a
result of the inspiration from that person, but when they they loose interest (or life takes over), the network falls apart :(

This has been how FTN networks have worked since the very beginning. Hell, even Fidonet with ZCs, RCs, and NCs all over the world has been on it's last legs for awhile now (because there's only a couple handfuls of people actually engaged in conversation there - and even some areas should be avoided unless you want to be attacked/harassed for trying to contribute).

One of my goals when creating clrhgouz was to set it up so that it
could be an "FTN in the cloud" (so to speak) - so a busy ZC wasnt a bottleneck, and I even played with distributed database engines so
that there wasnt a single point of failures/responsiblity.

While it's still a great idea, I still think the "busy ZC" is always the bottleneck, because of your reasoning above (solo aspirations, and stuff).

There was a time I barely had time to read/reply to messages, because I was constantly trying to chase down systems that were down, sysops that were AWOL or didn't really care if their system was up or not, or helping new applicants set their systems up because they couldn't read documentation and/or just wanted someone else to do the work for them.

(I was starting down another journey of developing my own "sync"
protocol - but I've been distracted by other activities. I'll get
there eventually...)

You have plenty of time, as some of us stubborn folk, while taking however many breaks and hiatuses we need, probably aren't going anywhere any time soon. ;)

Its a shame to see such vibrant networks die ...

Start a newer, /more/ vibrant one. Take the faults of as many networks that die as you can think of, and try to change the outcome. You too, will eventually get burned out. I applaud JP for running Zeronet for so long.. but he was definitely one of the smartest in doing so, by not allowing new, stock systems or sysops that either A) want to collect as many networks as possible on their dead BBS, or B) have no idea what they are doing (helping these new sysops are a dime a dozen that it ends up worth the effort - perfect example; just look at how many FSX takes on compared to how many are actually actively posting messages in the network, or how many your automated cloud FTN thing removes on a weekly basis because people set their shit up, lose interest, and then let their shit die), and keeping it to mostly active members only. WAY less overhead and extras he had to deal with, IMO.

Sorry for the rant. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/12/25 (Windows/32)
* Origin: d i s t o r t i o n // d1st.org (911:1262/700)

on 16 Dec 2025, deon said...

I think you are on the money.

There's a first time for everything!

In the past I've taken over two networks (SciNet and Sportnet), when the operators went AWOL at the request of the existing nodes who were disappointed that the network stopped. (I did it under the same offer, that when the ZC returned, I'd hand it back - but they never did.)

Wow. I don't remember you ever taking over SciNet - was that the first time or, I'd imagine from the "they never did", the second?

The problem with this hobby, is a network gets created based on the aspiration of a single person, its success is, as you describe as a
result of the inspiration from that person, but when they they loose interest (or life takes over), the network falls apart :(

Yeah, I think that restates one of my points much better than I did. In Araknet's case, there were other strong posters who helped build that "tone" of the network - I mean, Anst posted a lot and doesn't carry or post on any other networks to my knowledge, for perhaps the best example, but at the end of the day, it always felt like Smooth's thing to me - can that really exist without Smooth?!

I didn't really want this thread to devolve into bashing Spitfire or indeed Smooth, and I really do think the more broad topic is pretty interesting. I've been in gaming communities that had key people leave and fell apart, scene groups... hell, I've had key players leave or get moved around at work, and while it wasn't like it could fall apart in quite the same way since it's rare that such a thing would inspire everyone to turn in their notices, it sometimes did do irreparable harm to the spirit of the department/team, never mind the technical prowess and/or institution "tribal" knowledge. It's just been on my mind since thinking about this whole thing.

|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 15 Dec 2025, Accession said...

IMO, it's like stealing someone's art, and putting your name on it.

Completely agreed. If you want to start a network that bad, start a new one. Don't steal/take over someone else's. Make a new name, and if you really want to and/or worship Araknet that bad, dedicate the creation of the new network to it, or something like that.

To be fair on this and provide somewhat of an example that may be somewhere in the ballpark with this topic: Many moons ago, I was interested in starting a new network. Captain Hood (RIP) had the idea of possibly reviving Agoranet (ACiD's original message network). I thought
it was worth persuing, so he contacted Radman, brought him into a conversation with the three of us, and we got his permission/blessing to do so. Had Radman not responded, or said "no," I would have named it something else and went another direction with it.

That sums up my initial reaction to it quite well - my initial reaction was to be offended by the idea of someone "stealing" Smooth's work, his brand, his art, etc. I did try to see it from another angle, but I'm at least partially still stuck in that mindset.

Keep the community alive by starting a new and original network. Don't take someone elses. It became completely obvious after awhile, and
people trying to get ahold of him, only for their words typed to be
"seen" and not responded to, that Smooth had no give-a-fuck in the world of saving his network or the community he built around it.

Ha! I was talking to esc about this yesterday and mentioned that this could be the ultimate test to see just how few fucks he has to give. I mean, if I left the scene entirely and someone started up a counterfeit Distortion or Zer0net or whatever without me, I'm be furious, and you bet I'd be storming back.

I joked that maybe he should also rename his BBS to Ink Two and steal all of his art while he's at it. Maybe we'd finally bring Smooth back. ;)

It won't ever be the same, unless Smooth comes back to take the reigns.
If the guy that's doing this has somewhat of a following or good group
of friends (if I remember right, his BBS was Amiga or some such?), it's not that hard to start your own network and build it how you want it to be.

That's one of the more sus things about this - dude already runs multiple networks - CommodoreNet, PiNet, and RetroNet. I was thinking that one or two of those were similar situations - other people's networks he resuscitated, but I could be wrong. *shrug* Again, not trying to bash him as I don't really know the dude, but it's all a bit weird.

|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?!
By: Accession to deon on Mon Dec 15 2025 07:04 pm

Howdy,

I don't remember you taking over Scinet. I only remember Frank going AWOL, twice. Leaving every linked node behind without letting anyone know what his plans were.

Yeah, I took it over at the request of a few who wanted to keep it alive until they figured out what happened to frank.

Its still in clrghouz :) I think it was one of the first networks I hosted with it while I tweeked all the issues.

https://clrghouz.bbs.dege.au/domain/view/6

Start a newer, /more/ vibrant one. Take the faults of as many networks that die as you can think of, and try to change the outcome. You too, will eventually get burned out. I applaud JP for running Zeronet for so long..

Yeah, I've not thought about starting one - mainly because I like running the network rather than being the network. Also, most of us in 1 network are in all them that are active.

I'd happily host a network *with* somebody, but I'm not that into "messaging" hence why you dont see me post much about stuff outside of general tech or FTN...

perfect example; just look at how many FSX takes on compared to how many are actually actively posting messages in the network, or how many your automated cloud FTN thing removes on a weekly basis because people set their

Yeah, one of the things I've done is to take out the admin of running, everything from node sign up (bar me assigning an FTN) to node shutdown and cleanup is automated. I've planned to add a membership application to clrghouz, but not finished it yet (which then will make a new node fully automatic, with just an admin (ZC) to press "accept" or "decline").

Your point is valid though, there are many "new" nodes that have sent in a request to join, for me to say "sign yourself up on clrhgouz and set up your BBS" to not hear from them again.

Many of those that do, go in autopilot after a few weeks, and the clrghouz migrates them to de-linked..

Of those that remain, yes there are only a handful. I plan on actually generating a graph that shows who are actually the contributors to the network that should give a more meaningful representation of the "busy" networks. I suspect fidonet's 1000+ nodes is really only a handful of interactive ones.


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (911:613/0.1)

Re: Re: ArakNet?!
By: jack phlash to deon on Mon Dec 15 2025 06:32 pm

Howdy,

Wow. I don't remember you ever taking over SciNet - was that the first time or, I'd imagine from the "they never did", the second?

I think it was the second - I wasnt around for the 1st one I dont think...

I didn't really want this thread to devolve into bashing Spitfire or indeed Smooth, and I really do think the more broad topic is pretty interesting.

Yeah, I actually think we should join all the othernets together as 1 big network - most of us are in many of them, and it might hide the fact when somebody disappears.

I was going to enable that from clrghouz - but havent got there yet, because I'm not sure many ZCs would want to do it (I'd seek a blessing before actually doing it) - I know of a few though that really take ownership of "their" network seriously...


...δεσ∩
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (911:613/0.1)

Hey jack!

On Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:39:30 -0800, you wrote:

That sums up my initial reaction to it quite well - my initial reaction
was to be offended by the idea of someone "stealing" Smooth's work, his brand, his art, etc. I did try to see it from another angle, but I'm at least partially still stuck in that mindset.

That's honestly the only way I can look at it, when the other option to start a new network is completely free, and takes the exact same amount of time. :)

Ha! I was talking to esc about this yesterday and mentioned that this
could be the ultimate test to see just how few fucks he has to give. I
mean, if I left the scene entirely and someone started up a counterfeit Distortion or Zer0net or whatever without me, I'm be furious, and you
bet I'd be storming back.

I don't know what I'd do, to be honest. There's the possibility that if I left the scene /entirely/, I wouldn't give a shit as to what happened while I was gone, knowing that our little corner of the internet is just getting smaller and smaller as the years go on. *shrug*

I joked that maybe he should also rename his BBS to Ink Two and steal
all of his art while he's at it. Maybe we'd finally bring Smooth back.
;)

Hah! You could test that theory.. sign in to discord as an unknown, and just go into wherever he hangs and advertise for a non-existant Ink Two BBS, and see if anything happens.

That's one of the more sus things about this - dude already runs
multiple networks - CommodoreNet, PiNet, and RetroNet. I was thinking
that one or two of those were similar situations - other people's
networks he resuscitated, but I could be wrong. *shrug* Again, not
trying to bash him as I don't really know the dude, but it's all a bit weird.

Two of the three of those sound familiar, as in I was around when RetroNet and PiNet were started.. and I don't recognize his name whatsoever. Could have swore I've seen advertisements for those networks, but don't remember how long ago and the BBS years are mashing together quite a bit these days. ;)

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)

Hey deon!

On Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:07:04 +1100, you wrote:

Yeah, I took it over at the request of a few who wanted to keep it alive until they figured out what happened to frank.

I guess I had probably already given up by then.

Yeah, I've not thought about starting one - mainly because I like
running the network rather than being the network. Also, most of us in 1 network are in all them that are active.

This is also true, and probably one of the main reasons people that start networks eventually disappear, besides real life catching up with you, of course. The work you put in gets time consuming, and the conversations dwindle. Next thing you know there's automated BBS ads and stat reports with no actual conversation going on. The work you put in ends up all for nothing, except self interest in the hobby, which is much like running a BBS with few callers, too.

Networks start up, the excitement is there and people post. Then it seems to become a chore for people to keep their own conversations going, or they've already repeated themselves multiple times in multiple networks over the years.

I'd happily host a network *with* somebody, but I'm not that into "messaging" hence why you dont see me post much about stuff outside of general tech or FTN...

That's probably more participation than than 75% of the rest of current sysops, my dude.

Yeah, one of the things I've done is to take out the admin of running, everything from node sign up (bar me assigning an FTN) to node shutdown
and cleanup is automated. I've planned to add a membership application
to clrghouz, but not finished it yet (which then will make a new node
fully automatic, with just an admin (ZC) to press "accept" or
"decline").

That's another side of things. I was so gung-ho about automating everything (besides adding/removing nodes), that once I got there I was bored and had nothing to do. Then I even got someone to help host from their system, and started passing half (and eventually more the lazier I got, lol) the applications to him. With less to do, I spent more time doing other things outside of this hobby.

Your point is valid though, there are many "new" nodes that have sent in
a request to join, for me to say "sign yourself up on clrhgouz and set
up your BBS" to not hear from them again.

Yep. It's amazing how many people don't care to try doing something new and out of their comfort zone. Or, on the other hand want/need the work done for them. Silly, really.

Many of those that do, go in autopilot after a few weeks, and the
clrghouz migrates them to de-linked..

Yep. I do about the same here, albeit it's not announced to the public or anything. I have a nice perl scripts that was made specifically for HPT link maintenance. I don't have to edit any config files, just type one thing at my command prompt and it will delete any packets and/or files I have sitting here or listed in passthru, and then comment out or delete the link from my config depending on what options I use.

Of those that remain, yes there are only a handful. I plan on actually generating a graph that shows who are actually the contributors to the network that should give a more meaningful representation of the "busy" networks. I suspect fidonet's 1000+ nodes is really only a handful of interactive ones.

Guaranteed. This has already been tested and proven. However, Fidonet only works via the nodelist. If your mailer answers via the method(s) listed in the nodelist, it's considered an "active" system. Doesn't matter if the sysop passed away and the obituary was announced with a link to it, even. ;)

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)

Hey deon!

On Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:11:04 +1100, you wrote:

Yeah, I actually think we should join all the othernets together as 1
big network - most of us are in many of them, and it might hide the fact when somebody disappears.

At this point it's probably a good idea. However, you said it below already as far as people taking ownership of their networks seriously, and some even rule them with an iron fist.

I was going to enable that from clrghouz - but havent got there yet,
because I'm not sure many ZCs would want to do it (I'd seek a blessing before actually doing it) - I know of a few though that really take ownership of "their" network seriously...

Honestly, I doubt it would matter much. If there's no conversations going on in one network, and you merge it into another there would be no conversation to merge anyways. That and the fact that most people were probably already connected to both networks, anyways. So if they weren't engaged before the merge, they're not going to change. ;)

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)

on 16 Dec 2025, deon said...

I was going to enable that from clrghouz - but havent got there yet, because I'm not sure many ZCs would want to do it (I'd seek a blessing before actually doing it) - I know of a few though that really take ownership of "their" network seriously...

Present company not at all excepted?! :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 16 Dec 2025, Accession said...

I don't know what I'd do, to be honest. There's the possibility that if
I left the scene /entirely/, I wouldn't give a shit as to what happened while I was gone, knowing that our little corner of the internet is just getting smaller and smaller as the years go on. *shrug*

You may be right. If I ever truly "quit" maybe I wouldn't care that much because I'd just keep all of this shit off of my radar. That might be where Smooth is right now...

Two of the three of those sound familiar, as in I was around when
RetroNet and PiNet were started.. and I don't recognize his name whatsoever. Could have swore I've seen advertisements for those
networks, but don't remember how long ago and the BBS years are mashing together quite a bit these days. ;)

I mean, he loves to post ads for them on social media, so you might have seen his. ;) I'm 100% sure RetroNet used to be run by someone else - the dude who ran Necronomicon IIRC, and fizzled out in like 2022ish, but obviously I have no idea about how that transition took place. I feel like CommodoreNet existed before too, but I don't know anything about it.

|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)

Hey jack!

On Tue, 16 Dec 2025 17:23:12 -0800, you wrote:

You may be right. If I ever truly "quit" maybe I wouldn't care that much because I'd just keep all of this shit off of my radar. That might be
where Smooth is right now...

Possibly. Although he has also done this before. Except it was back in the 27inch days and he didn't have a network or modding group going at the time so it wasn't nearly as noticeable to the BBS/FTN side of the scene. He just disappeared from any communication with the guys, and left his BBS on autopilot until it crashed or shut down, IIRC.

I mean, he loves to post ads for them on social media, so you might have seen his. ;) I'm 100% sure RetroNet used to be run by someone else - the dude who ran Necronomicon IIRC, and fizzled out in like 2022ish, but obviously I have no idea about how that transition took place. I feel
like CommodoreNet existed before too, but I don't know anything about
it.

Hah, nah probably not. I'm not in any of the BBS/FTN groups where I would assume the ads get posted, and the few BBS/FTN/artscene friends (probably moreso artscene than anything) I keep on social media is mainly for keeping in contact kind of stuff, you know.. 2FA, if you will (you, Jeremy, Ivan, Dave, Cat, Christian, and a few others I've sat with and/or drew with in Pablodraw for hours/days on end, discussing life goals and whatnot). ;)

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)

The problem with this hobby, is a network gets created based on the aspiration of a single person, its success is, as you describe as a
result of the inspiration from that person, but when they they loose interest (or life takes over), the network falls apart :(

I think it's great that an individual brings new idea to the community and is persistent to retain it but everything has a life cycle and I don't expect everybody live up to the original idea endlessly.

Still, the community nature of this establishment should provide tools to keep up with the history of that original nostalgia as if individual's idea gets successful it means it's no more that one's product. it's community's product and we should have our netiquette rights to carry on when no harm to the original idea is intended, nor executed as collective effort.

-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)

on 22 Dec 2025, hollowone said...

Still, the community nature of this establishment should provide tools
to keep up with the history of that original nostalgia as if
individual's idea gets successful it means it's no more that one's product. it's community's product and we should have our netiquette
rights to carry on when no harm to the original idea is intended, nor executed as collective effort.

This is a fair point, and along the lines of what I was thinking about when I was addressing the positives of the situation in my original reply. A community is, by definition, more than a single person.

|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)

Yeah, I suspect this is going to be the case for most of us. If he had this even 6 months ago I think he'd have a lot more success.

Agreed. I'm not taking time to recreate bases and such again for it to maybe disappear in like 6 months again. Not worth it to me.

Something you & jackphlash get right is the consistency. Zeronet has been reliable since (for me and for others even longer) 2010.

There are certain people who will never stop BBSing. I think I'm one of them.

--- 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)

Agreed. I'm not taking time to recreate bases and such again for it t maybe disappear in like 6 months again. Not worth it to me.

Something you & jackphlash get right is the consistency. Zeronet has been reliable since (for me and for others even longer) 2010.

I'll second that!

... If it's not on fire, it's a software problem.

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

Yeah, I suspect this is going to be the case for most of us. If

he had

this even 6 months ago I think he'd have a lot more success.

Agreed. I'm not taking time to recreate bases and such again for it

to

maybe disappear in like 6 months again. Not worth it to me.

Something you & jackphlash get right is the consistency. Zeronet has been reliable since (for me and for others even longer) 2010.

There are certain people who will never stop BBSing. I think I'm one of them.

Same here!

--
Shurato, Sysop Shurato's Heavenly Sphere (ssh, telnet, pop3, ftp,nntp,
,wss) (Ports 22,23,110,21,119,999)


*** THE READER V4.50 [freeware]
---
* Origin: Shurato's Heavenly Sphere telnet://shsbbs.net (911:1208/2)

jack phlash wrote to All <=-

Coincidentally, I saw a post or two on Facebook recently about Spitfire
of Reign of Fire BBS wondering about its status and offering to
possibly take it over (as several others, including a few people here, have also done) and he was hoping to get clearance from Smooth to do
so. Today I saw a post that he's now hosting ArakNet. I'm frankly
pretty surprised that Smooth gave him that go ahead (or hell, replied
at all!)

Was Smooth involved at all? I didn't catch that. In another post he said
he couldn't get ahold of Smooth.

I hope all the best for Araknet, but I've trimmed my nets down and don't
think Araknet would fill a need any more now that 0Net is thriving.



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

on 17 Dec 2025, poindexter FORTRAN said...

Was Smooth involved at all? I didn't catch that. In another post he said he couldn't get ahold of Smooth.

I covered this in a subsequent post (that I'm guessing you saw) and it turns out he didn't - he's gone rogue! :P

I hope all the best for Araknet, but I've trimmed my nets down and don't think Araknet would fill a need any more now that 0Net is thriving.

If there's any sign that Araknet is dead (for now) and Zer0net is helping to further fill that gap, it would be that...

Well, you'll see! ;) /teaser

|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)

Anyway, I'm guessing that most of us have already removed it, though I sti haven't, yet what is prompting me to post this is that I think we've now h the longest stretch of non-bot post inactivity I can recall. As of right n it's been 8 days since I've even received any bot posts. Is ArakNet finall dead?! RIP!

Yeah I ditched it too-- its dead to me :).

oP!

... <ZAP!> That was *not* manual override. -- Data

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