The KEEP BBS has been online and operational since 1983. We started on a TI-99/4a home computer running software called “TI-Net” (which is ironic, since it never networked to anything) and now we are a 32-channel MULTI-USER Worldgroup 3.13 system.
What does this mean to you? The internet has brought about the demise of many BBS systems. Why? Because nobody out there knows what a BBS is anymore. And those of us who know about BBS’s have found our favorite systems shut down due to lack of participation or support from members.
For those of you who are new to this, a BBS is an abbreviation for Bulletin Board System. Which is exactly what the first BBS’s were – an electronic bulletin board where computer users could leave messages in public “Forums” for other people to read and respond to. We had a GREAT time communicating via our computers with people we’d never meet in person.
BBS systems have evolved since then; now they feature more than just forums and “Electronic Mail,” much much more. File libraries had lots of shareware programs to download for your computer, and soon online games appeared. At first, these games were run by the BBS computer and each player played alone, as the systems only had 1 phone line. Then as multi-line and multi-node systems evolved, you could play head-to-head or cooperatively with other BBS users in real-time. ANSI colors, extended character sets and RIP Graphics standards made the BBS more fun and interesting, even though it was just text on your screen.
You had to use your imagination and your on-line personality, and actively participate in the system, to become part of the online community of a BBS. This is the standard to which The KEEP operated, and the standard it continues to meet today. We try hard to provide not just a system for you to participate in, but an interesting, thought-provoking, imaginative and entertaining experience.
The KEEP is still here. And we will endeavor to remain here for you, regardless of what new trends the Internet may follow. I have set up a dial-up modem for incoming calls and also it can be used to dial-out to other systems in the world from the BBS.
thank u for keeping this BBS alive. long live the KEEP.
can’t believe i found this. grew up in 818 dialing you. and considered moving to portland recently as well! (now in boulder, co).
Are you still in Co? Hope to see you online 😀
Wow! I remember hearing about The Keep BBS in those days. It was long distance for me so I never actually dialed in because in the 80’s long distance in my house went through my Dad! My friends were always telling me it was the BBS to dial in to though. So awesome that it is still running. Now via telnet no long distance! I am a little late to the party but plan on checking it out. Time to hook up the DOS 486 and new WiFi modem for the full experience, heh.
I am running a linux based BBS on a Digital Ocean VM. I would really like to provide dialup access. Is your BBS installed locally and you just plugged a modem into it? What service are you using to get dial tone? I think I can setup a local computer with a modem that runs a program that can communicate back to the BBS via TCPIP.
My BBS supports serial ports so I have a USB-RS232 plugged in and plug that into the modem. I run the BBS on a Linux KVM VM and just linked the USB port on the server to the VM. Works great!
This is just awesome. I was just on at 300 baud using an acoustic coupler via my mobile phone (made up my own wiring to attach an Automatic Electric standard handset), using TERM.COM on my early model Kaypro II.
Too much fun! I will be back.