MSGID: 1:229/426 25C56ADD   
   REPLY: 1:218/820 78d4feaa   
   On 09 Dec 22  16:30:53, Ryan Fantus said the following to T.J. Mcmillen:   
      
   RF> How many people let the internet into their home firewall because they want   
   RF> run a DOS BBS? If you ask me, /THAT/ is what's retarded. I travel for work    
      
   I'm one of them... I pay for a commercial-grade Internet connection, have a   
   good firewall and freely allow connections on port 23. Which is running an   
   obsolete OS running a DOS BBS. Also a dialup line which gets maybe a few   
   callers a month. Usually some maniac in the boonies with an old Thinkpad   
   and a long-distance plan to call Toronto and wayyyyy too much free time. Who   
   has complained via email - Internet email - when he can't dial in. To my BBS.   
      
   The decision to pay for those things and my DOS BBS also powers the entire   
   backoffice operation of Fidonet between two zones, tosses mail to close to a   
   hundred links using some stuff dating back to... '87 I think. All for others   
   to keep enjoying... Ask TJ/Exodus, I really only use RG for cranking out    
   messages. Thousands, literally thousands I've written since '94. If others    
   call my board and enjoy whats here, good for them.   
      
   While our resident Professor effeminately screams murder that I'll be "hacked   
   tomorrow" I've made many long lasting friendships from running that silly   
   system or at least able to trade bizarre banter with total strangers. Theres   
   something amusing about not knowing who will vanish tomorrow... who will   
   die and leave their computer unattended until a relative, police or landlord   
   shuts it off. I have a very morbid dark sense of humor.   
      
   "Retarded" is very subjective... 99% of the world thinks we're ALL nuts for    
   what we're doing here.   
      
   Nick   
      
   --- Renegade vY2Ka2   
    * Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)