>   Re: Re: Internet and FTN   
    >   By: echto to Mro on Sat May 12 2012 08:59 pm   
    >    
    >  >  > they had poor foresight and a poor handle on what   
    >  >  > people wanted at that time.  they were like an old man who refused to   
    >  >  > leave his house even though a horrible hurricane was coming.   
    >    
    >  > HyperText killed BBSs.   
    >    
    >    
    > no they had poor foresight and a poor handle on what people wanted at that   
    > time.   
    >    
      
      
   Many BBS systems that were multiline became Internet Service Providers.   
      
   People got AOL, MSN, ect forced on them by the $500 Internet Rebate and   
   $25/month access rates for three years for a new PC bought. They got scammed   
   into it.   
      
   In order to get on a BBS you needed to have the phone number, which normally   
   was not in a phone book and could only be gotten from another BBS or BBS user.   
   The Internet was able to use search engines to find web sites and made it   
   easier to locate information.   
      
   It is not poor foresight, the BBS did not have the ability to compete with the   
   Internet and WWW as it was not easy to find a BBS or know what to do as   
   different BBSes had different menu systems. Then getting the right terminal   
   program for a BBS, if you had Ripscript support you had graphics on a BBS but   
   not all BBSes supported it. It was that Internet services were better marketed   
   and bundled with new PC sales.   
      
   It was not a poor handle on what people wanted at the time, people didn't know   
   what they wanted. But this Internet and World Wide Web was forced on them and   
   they paid their monthly fees even if most BBSes were free and didn't charge   
   fees. Most BBSes were run out of someone's house or basement or in some cases   
   by a company that charged for access.   
      
   The Internet and WWW was better marketed, was easier to find information, was   
   easier to use, and was bundled with new PC sales. Once Microsoft bundled IE   
   with Windows they bundled an ISP finder software as well.   
      
   ---   
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