[sorabji]

This is a new BBS, as of yet populated only by myself. This is an open forum for anyone, a test of randomness to see who lands here and chooses to interact with the others who arrive -- a random gathering of online humanity. There was a time when this sort of gathering was somewhat common. Before the Internet vanquished other online interactive services it was typical for an individual Internet Service Provider (ISP) to have a local message base for its users. Often these message bases were used for technical support and service complaints, but in some cases those boards became active communities of their own. There was an excitement about that randomness. The forums were not focused on a specific theme as are most boards today. The people who arrived in these forums (I almost said "fora") were not a product of Internet keyword searches or specialized quests for information. The participants were, simply, whoever was on the other side of the modems at the time, an arbitrary gathering of people who happened to choose the same ISP but otherwise had nothing in common. The forums of yore (at least the ones I knew) were usually lightly moderated, with self-moderation the rule. I believe that should be the rule today but realities of spam and liabilities for illegal activities make such a casual attitude naive. Nevertheless I have maintained other message boards since around 1995 (everything before 1997 is gone) and I generally believe that moderation ruins the freedom of things. I don't mean anything rude toward my fellow humans who rigorously control their boards -- to each our own -- but I do not conform to that appraoach myself and I have little interest in re-visiting sites whose owners take their role too seriously. I did not exactly choose this BBS software for this purpose. I do not hate this software but I find its Admin screens a blinding maze, its front end a sometimes cluttered mess, and on balance I could take it or leave it on its merits. I purchased a license for this software several years ago, only to never use it. Until now. This board could become a lot of things, but I am uncomfortable in the role of impresario or chatterguide.

It is June 24, 2009, and if you are reading this within a week or so of that day then you are among the very first to find this place.

Look for another BBS RANT .