Setting up a retro multi-node BBS on OS/2 Warp
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- Опубликовано: 17 авг 2024
- Follow along as we revisit our roots and setup a multi-node Renegade BBS on OS/2 Warp 3!
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00:00 - The BBS Dream
01:02 - The Reality
02:28 - OS/2
05:52 - FOSSIL and SIO
10:22 - Renegade
13:21 - Setting up the nodes
16:24 - Outro
Huge thanks to:
Sleeps-Darkly (2022) - commons.wikime...
defacto2.net for ANSI art
S N U G for the luscious "Purple Skies":
Watch: • S N U G - Purple Skies...
Listen: open.spotify.c...
Above music provided by Lofi Girl. 
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Great video!
Thanks for everything Ray!
I sat and laughed at the fact that you MAILED, like is in envelope and stamp, a letter to get the SIO driver. I can't wait to see the outcome of that. At least you are trying to be legit about it.
Really nice video. A history of BBS software through a focus on Renegade would be great and fill a much needed space where those stories haven’t yet been fully told.
I loved Renegade. Team that up with RIPTerm!
This is awesome. I ran an 7+ node PCBoard BBS via PC-DOS and Desqview on multiple PCs. I was a big OS/2 2.x user but never put the two together because I got busted for SW piracy in Aug 1994. My Warp 3 pre-order arrived just a few weeks after I lost everything :). Seeing this video gave me a big nostalgia rush, really cool to see what might have been, a year or two later.. :).
I ran a BBS in OS/2 called OS/2 Northwest from Bellevue, WA for many years. It also became a Fidonet node and I was a regional manager. This all quickly wound down when we got a virtual port driver that allowed us to connect serial ports to our internet service. I went from 8 telco lines to none and did everything over the internet using native OS/2 BBS and Fidonet software. Everything ran in a terminal - no GUI anywhere. Every once in a while I see a reference to it on Google. Thanks to OS/2 I have never owned a copy of Windows, and even now use Unix-based Macos computers.
I ran a 4 node BBS in the 90's off of OS/2 Warp 3!! Great times! I still run an OS/2 BBS in a virtualbox, just for kicks. Thanks for the video!
thank you for your service (literally & figuratively) 🫡
Heck yeah! Renegade was my BBS software in 91-93 when I ran a BBS in Fort Worth, Texas.
Back in the day, I was a Co-Sysop for several dial up only boards. Ironically, I was one of the more computer savvy operators. I learned how to use TriBBS pretty much on the fly when the Sysop (Who wasn't computer saavy... Her BF/Fiance set the board up and had to leave the country for education purposes) had misconfigured a game. I jumped on, learned the ropes, was given Sysop access and we became friends, until she moved to Texas. I was in college at the time, had RG running locally only, unfortunately, and had spent MANY hours tinkering and configuring. Cott, at this time, was still owner. I did manage to get the board switched over to RG from Tribbs because it was SO much easier to configure and tinker and get going. Great memories.
PCBoard BBS was my toy back in the day ;)
This definitely demystified a lot for me in the OS/2 world! I connected to a lot of BBSes back then, but never really thought about what they were running behind the scenes besides the BBS software itself. I only knew one guy that ran OS/2 and he would talk circles around me and ramble off all these amazing features that Windows wasn't even close to having. I didn't understand it well enough, but now I know what my next retro project will be! Love these videos so much and all the effort you put in to making them awesome!
Omg, please get us a video about history of BBSs and those that are still in active development today. I deployed a MysticBBS cus it was most similar to RA, but would love to know what all else is out there. Thanks for a great video ...
Running a BBS in the '90s, this brought back some memories!
Arguments and hours of LORD sum up my memories of time spent on BBSes. Rushing home after school to try and beat everyone eles onto our local single node machines. 😂
Great work man!!! I didnt grow up on BBS but i cant describe how cool it is finally seeing one, let alone seeing one set up on OS/2!!!
My favorite BBS software is still Wildcat. Mostly because I'll never forget, when I was 13, printing the entire manual on my dot matrix printer, from my Compaq "Luggable" 286 with small green screen, then reading all of it in a weekend back in 1990.
I ran The Watering Hole BBS in Tokyo on OS/2 2.11 - through - Warp 3. Good times.
My buddy ran obv2 on os2 and was so proud he was able to play doom in a window while we were on his bbs. I used desqview and RG myself. Renegade was so approachable and easy to mod. Such an iconic BBS software, which between that, iniquity, obv2, and pipeline defined my teenage modem days.
I used to run a BBS on OS/2 as well and used Gwinn's X00 driver. I ran a T.A.G. BBS. Rocked!! Miss those days. 😀
iniquity BBS is what I ran - it was glorious! Lots of folks over here in South Africa used it. Others used RemoteAccess
Wow, I love all the history, and I'm excited to start testing this out and see how it works. Another awesome video!
Glad to see PC based BBS' being able to multitask in 1995. I remember doing that on my Amiga BBS in 1990, but of course the Amiga had been doing that since 1986. To be fair though, I did have to upgrade to an Amiga 3000 with a GVP I/O card to get the faster UART chips to support the dual HST modems as the stock Amiga serial port was limited to 19200. I ran a 3 node (two phone line, one local) Amiga Warez bbs on Ami-Express from 1990-1995 and then then again on telnet from 2008 till a couple of years ago. Fun, but eventually got to be a chore to keep up with such limited interest.
Great video! Awesome to see all the progress and the innerworkings!
Renegade was *SUPER* popular in the San Diego area in the mid-90s. Most boards were either WWIV, Renegade, or MajorBBS. Loved the video! Warms my heart 🥰
I remember running a two line BBS with OS/2 Warp V3. I even purchased a license to run the special FOSSIL UART serial driver for better performance with my two 28.8k modems. I miss those days.
So Cool.... i used to run a multinode Renegade based BBS back in the day...
I didn't have the chance to get a computer back in the BBS era, but it looks terrific. I'll do my best to test it out in a modern virtualized way.
Hearing FOSSIL driver and Ray Gwinn’s SIO was like taking me back to my teenage self when I was setting up a 2 node BBS running in OS/2 so a few friends and I could play a bunch of door games together. It worked for about a month and then the HDD dramatically died, which was when I learned how important it is to make backups 😅
Yes please to the Renegade history video!
This answers a 30 year old curiosity for me; I recall a few BBSes using OS/2 under the bonnet, and I thought that was great because I was an OS/2 fan. However it never occurred to me that the reason was due to OS/2 robustness running DOS applications in virtual 8086 mode, all under a truly preemptively multitasked OS. At the time they were the only such game in town for PCs, at least for a few fleeting moments
Great video - and a vote for a deeper dive into Renegade as a future installment!
+1 for Renegade deep dive. I spent many of my teenage years on Renegade BBSs with RIPTerm
And making ANSI graphics with The draw!
Shout out to The Pool Room.
How you doing Gary?
I ran a multimode BBS in the mid 90s using DR DOS by Novell. This was a true multitasking DOS that would run from a command line. I think you used either CTRL or ALT with a function key to access each shell
Nice! U used to rub Magnum BBS running on OS/2. It was single node but worked
Absolutely great work, great video!!
This is total recall for me! AdeptBBS was the choice at the time. Along with the cyclades multi port serial card (16550A UARTS of course) …….. I loved saying "I'm tossing the mail". Tosser has another meaning in Australia too. ;-)
Please make a video about history of Renegade BBS software!
Wow! This is great! Brings back memories.....totally crying for the simpler times.
1:16 Ah, nothing like a tantalum capacitor to add some spark to the mix
great success!
OK this was a run down memory lane.
I originally started on WWIV boards through my C-64 then Later on my PCs and Amigas (500 and 4000).
I set up a bbs on my C-64 back in '89 (I don't remember the name of the software used but I had it across running across three 1541 drives.) it didn't last long though. Guess I need to hook my A500 up again and get the ethernet working again.
Fun video!
very cool! there are native os/2 bbs packages like maximus/2
Would be awesome to have the links to the resources you used to get this BBS up & running. Well, maybe, in one of your next videos... Overall, a pretty awesome overview of the things still possible to do with the tech from way back in the day.
Very cool!
My brother,
Glad you got this out!
I remember in the early 90s downloading a BBS program and setting it up so I could play BBS games without having to dial into boards, and being kicked out when I hit my daily time quota. My parents were glad I figured that out, since it noticeably cut their phone bill. I considered setting up my own BBS for my friends to dial into, but I really had no idea what I was doing, because I'd never heard of a FOSSIL driver and I had no idea how to find out what it was or where to get one. I didn't even know that a "multi-node" system would've required running multiple instances of the BBS software, so I could login locally and play games with my friends, which you couldn't really do under MS-DOS, so the whole thing would've been pointless.
Anyway, it was interesting to see what would've actually been required to set up such a BBS. Kind-of makes me want to try my hand at setting one up using some kind of VM setup.
PcBoard was the shit. Man I miss programming PPEs
Awesome. Should do one in mIRC
I would love to see a video on Renegade history
oh holy shit this brings back memories :D
Warp 3 was my favourite. I used to run the OS/2 versions of BinkleyTerm and Maximus back in the day.
I don't think Ray Gwinn is able to provide registered versions of SIO any more. There is a thread from 2021 on the OS2World forums about it, with a few people sharing their registered versions.
same.. and squish 😀
it's funny, I see all these other BBS software, but where I was in the 90s, RemoteAccess was the software of choice, often running under DesqView for the multitasking. Other BBS software was rare... some explanation might be in order as I've never figured it out.
+++1 for Renegade deep dive!
Take me back 30 years.... Yep, Warp & a BBS.
I ran a Fidonet node on OS/2 Warp. And I belive I had Remote Access software also running on it.
M U L T I M E D I A
I ran a BBS for a few years using Desqview so I could multitask in DOS. It was quite neat but unfortunately it was not very popular. It worked well with Frontdoor for FidoNET and Renegade and Searchlight. Maybe would be neat to a video on it?
You should look into RemoteAccess BBS software since they had a native OS2 version. I used to run an RA board back in the day and I loved that software!!
i think these questions, "do you want something, yes or no?" are rather pointless b/c the answer is always yes :-D
Awesome video! Beyond OS/2 being a great DOS multitasker, it was also by far the best way to run a DOS (or OS/2 native) BBS via telnet as there wasn't anything similar to SIO's VMODEM for Windows at the time. Unless you wanted to run something native with built-in telnet support, like MajorBBS/Worldgroup or Wildcat!/WINServer under Windows, or maybe Daydream or Waffle or something in Linux, you had very few options, and of those, performance and stability was utterly terrible in comparison. OS/2 with SIO was in a league of its own until better native BBS software, notably Synchronet and Mystic, came along, along with a shift to Windows 2000 and XP and some better options for COM and FOSSIL emulation.
Memories... I transitioned straight from PC-XT/DOS to Pentium/OS/2 :-)
I ran a bunch of boards from '84 til about '96. My first was on an Adam and the others on Amiga (DLG and CNet). I used my A1000 and then A3000 to run a board and us the computer at the same time, sucked to be DOS back then.
I remember I had a _bsc MultiFace III_ card in my A3000 so that it could handle high-speed serial operations with little to no CPU impact. I used _AXsh,_ which wasn't a traditional BBS software package but instead provided dial-in capabilities for AmigaOS and a "multi-user" shell. I also remember what a fight it was to get everything working properly so that whatever getty(?) I was using would be able to take all calls and then hand over fax calls to _GPFax_ instead of _AXsh,_ which was such a hassle to confine due to most software expecting being the only one to access the serial port at a time and thus open the device in exclusive mode.
But that was nothing compared to getting UUCP and the Amiga port of _CNews_ up and running properly. I can't even estimate how many test calls it took me until everything was working. But it was totally worth it though - the feeling of joy when I received the first reply from the other end of the world to an e-mail I had sent was absolutely overwhelming.
Those were the days.
@@Thiesi Yup, I had the GVP I/O board for the 16550 UART / dual 9 pin serial port hookup.
Wow, I have a copy of OS2 warp, I should give this a go.
Actually I have a box running a non-dedicated Novel server that also has Maximus BBS software installed, with the obligatory fossil drivers. I used the fossil drivers under Turbo Pascal to run a four port serial card, to talk to a data logger and part of my security system - all under Novell, on a '486
If someone could ring the modem, my home grown door program would launch Maximus and you could login.
Maybe I should figure out how to get it connected to my broadband with Telnet etc.
12-05 was version of RG or 12-25 i used on my old boards.
Did you ever get your registration code?
I was running a 4 line bbs using desqview back in the days but I guess I was not a serious sysop.
Oh calm down. :-) You know that was tongue-in-cheek.
FWIW, I used to frequent a handful of BBSes in the 90s. I got to know some of the sysops and see what was on the other side of the modem. Most of them were just single-line boards running in DOS. One of the most prolific of my list of regulars was indeed being run from OS/2. He moved to Warp when it was released, because it was stable enough that he could run the BBS as a background task on his main PC.
I had Desqview, but outside of Unix circles, it just wasn't talked about much. Linux was still very very young. So, at least in the PC world, it was pretty much either DOS/Windows, OS/2, or maybe a bit of NT. But the latter mostly just for business, whereas OS/2 somehow seemed to capture the imagination of some end users as well.
FidoNet, I still miss it. I wonder why no one ever moved it to use TCP instead of dialup.
Cool video, add some DOOR GAMES!maybe trade wars ! 😅
thanks for making me remember
Renegade deep dive please.
You really shouldn't use ATZ to init your modem. That restores whatever settings were last saved to the modem - which could be anything if you move hardware around between devices like you do. I know this is a virtual modem, but it's still good practice to hit the thing with AT&F to get the factory settings and then go from there. That way, you KNOW what the initial state of the modem will be. Could be why your Sportster continued to auto-answer - the register you set for that was never cleared.
I recall you could multitask DOS with Windows 3.11
Ah it was mentioned ;)
Just curious as to why os/2 would be preferable over say NT?
Add "stuff" :D
Would be nice if you explain at the beginning what the hell is a BBS!
If only you had access to some sort of device. One that was networked to other devices, that would allow you to search for that information? Oh well, maybe someday.
Yeah, it's kind of a fair assumption that, if you're watching THIS channel, you know what a BBS is. The whole point of this channel is to give a look at the other side of 90s communications as it grew up. There is absolutely no way, if you were alive in the 90s and knew what a modem was, that you weren't aware of BBSes.
I know there are new generations interested in old tech for whatever reason (vs. us OGs with nostalgia glasses on), but, frankly, a lot of content here isn't going to mean as much unless you were there, or unless you go to lengths to learn what was going on at the time.
defacto2 is down or has rotted; the site root throws a 404.
Renegade, right?
One of the best BBS softwares ever made iMO.
Do patreon members get to actually dial in or is there something bridging the gap and its thru a web portal?
This channel is a bad influence on me. * unpacks a new-in-box Digiboard Acceleport 4r *
I might have to take on writing a simple BBS for BeOS. BeBS. hehe
I keep forgetting you're technically a small channel
Serious sysops ran multinode under OS/2? Funny. Commercial BBS's had multi-node. It wasn't until the late nineties that the phone companies didn't charge the same for another line, and started to lighten up on the long distance bills. Sure, there were some private bbs's running multinode, but they were few. Generally, BBS's were the something to do with the old computer after an buying a new one. A hobby that most sysops took very seriously. When the considerations come as to the cost of electricity, and phone lines, as well as the cost of the software it takes to run it, yeah most took it as same as entering their house and expected the same courtesy. Back then, OS/2 was nothing more than an occasional advert that people glanced over, or overlooked. When they went to the store they saw oceans of software that said "Windows compatible," or "Mac compatible." I really don't think people connected with OS/2 because IBM's marketing sucked, and no one was really sure what OS/2 was really compatible with.
I lived in a small town in northern California in the 80's and 90's and we had several multinode BBS systems, some commercial and some hobbyist. You didn't need to dial long distance for most things. Maybe it was different where you lived.
The trick was to buy metered "payphone" lines... incoming calls cost nothing, outgoing costs per minute. The basic line charge for those was peanuts. By the time the internet (dialup) was a thing, that wasn't possible anymore, and "business" lines had to be purchased at 2-3x the residential rate. (We paid over $40/mo for our lines, at a time when a home phone was in the $12 range.)
@@jfbeam You had a better phone service than I did. Mine ran forty a month so having a second line didn't feel an option. In hindsight, I wish I knew about the "payphone" line option. Now that I think about it, there were about a few dozens of us that would have liked to known that then. Out of curiosity, how did you find out about that? Asking because I don't remember and it doesn't seem that it would be common that the phone companies would offer that.
@@fwingebritson Remember this was a long time ago (late 80's into the 90's) Everything was regulated, so services and prices were right there in the open. Metered service was a well known trick in the BBS world I knew. As I said, the trick didn't last; the phone company can quickly figure out what you're doing... a residential house with 4+ metered phone lines that never makes outbound calls?
@@jfbeam Just curious if you remembered. Thank you for taking the time to answer.