Filed under: Social Software, Browsers, Retrocomputing
I grew up in Fidonet and the BBS culture. I remember whole nights spent online in my early teens, slugging my way through text MUDs (multi-user D&D games). I really liked it. But it's gone. Times have moved on, things have changed. We now have graphics.
Apparently, one Zach Perry takes issue with that. He has recently launched AEIN, or Alternative Electronic Information Network. In a single word, it's a BBS. You have to download custom software and pay a fixed monthly fee of $2.50 to access the service. The screenshot above isn't historical -- it really does look like that. Once you're in, you can enjoy "product reviews, news headlines, weather forecasts, software, e-book downloads, recipes, online games, world time information, computer tips, local sales boards, and forums, among other features", and it's all ad-free (!).
The whole service is apparently serious; this is not a prank. There is also an ecological angle here: Mr. Perry promises to plant a number of trees equal to the number of users on the service at the end of each year.
[Via: TinyApps]
AEIN tries to bring paid BBSes back from the dead originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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