| A personal history of the BBS vii | ||
Acknowledgment xii |
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What is this book about? xiii |
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1 The Internet BBS 1 |
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| An obligatory definition 2 | ||
| The real cyberspace 3 | ||
| BBSs and the Internet 3 | ||
| BBSs are the Internet's virtual communities 4 | ||
| BBSs join the Internet 5 | ||
| A look ahead 6 | ||
2 Getting online with an Internet BBS 9 |
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| Making the right connection 10 | ||
| Dial-up access 10 | ||
| Using telnet to access Internet BBSs 11 | ||
| SLIP/PPP and telnet 12 | ||
| Configuring Winsock 13 | ||
| Using a telnet client directly 14 | ||
| Using telnet through a Web browser 16 | ||
| Using telnet through a shell account 17 | ||
| Connecting through a special client 18 | ||
| Telnetting through communications software 19 | ||
| The Web-based BBS: The future of BBSing? 21 | ||
| What can you do on a Web-based BBS? 21, BBSs on the Web 22 | ||
| Logging in to a BBS as a new user 25 | ||
| The new user sign-up process 25, Account verification 26, Becoming a full member 27, Subscription plans 27, Time-block plans 28 | ||
3 Using an Internet BBS 29 |
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| Online chat 30 | ||
| Private chat 31, Public chat 32, Chat networks 34, What do people talk about? 35, Chat jargon 35, Chat games 37 | ||
| Games 39 | ||
| Internet and BBS games 39, Game nets 40, Gaming co-ops 40, Commercial game connectivity 40, GUI games 41, Board games 41, Text adventures 42, Hack and slash 43, Arcade-style games 44, Word/knowledge games 45 | ||
| Files, files, and more files 47 | ||
| Downloading via the Internet 48, The basics of down-loading 52 | ||
| Message bases 63 | ||
| Getting started with message bases 64, Saving time and money using offline readers 64, Information and news 65 | ||
4 Starting points 67 |
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| Choosing your first BBS 68 | ||
| The general-purpose BBS: Point Blank BBS (pointblank.com) 69, Special interest starting points 72 | ||
5 The anatomy of a BBS listing 75 |
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| A guide to the ratings 77 | ||
The Internet BBS travelogue 80 - 312 |
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Appendix A Getting on the Internet 313 |
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| Choosing an Internet service provider (ISP) 313 | ||
| Types of Internet access 313 | ||
| SLIP/PPP 314, Shell 314, Integrated access 314 | ||
| Types of Internet features and functions 315 | ||
| Types of Internet service providers 316 | ||
| Major online services 316, National Internet service providers 317, Local Internet service providers 317, BBSs as Internet service providers 318 | ||
| How much does it cost? 319 | ||
| Making a choice 320 | ||
Appendix B Internet BBS summary list 321 |
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Appendix C Internet BBSs by location 337 |
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Appendix D Top-rated Internet BBSs by category 355 |
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Appendix E Are you a newbie? 365 |
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About the author 371 |
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Index 373 |
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Index of popular games 382 |
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