Re: Re: 'Door Game' Networks - but..
By: paulie420 to deon on Fri Feb 13 2026 06:21 pm

Howdy,

Here's my idea; on 2oFB, I'd like to offer a Menu where users can boot MANY different BBS softwares... they'd all be bone stock - just to show the various BBS softwares that were popular; Telegard, Renegade, Obv/2, iMPULSE, VBBS, Wildcat, etc etc etc.

So, I've been chipping away at how to do this the last couple of weeks as time permitted.

I've done a couple of things:

* I've setup a (public) "inside" network to host BBSes, so they are a level behind the public internet (making extra work for script kiddies, port probes, etc). Details of that is at https://intus.top

I need to make a DNS service easy to use, because domain names are easier than IPv6 addresses. (and since is an inside net, I'm using my own TLD .bbs).

Anybody can join intus if they want...

* I've build a docker image, that boots QEMU/486 (for DOS bbs's) which appears to work well.

The image is based around two disks - C: for the OS, and I have a MS-DOS 6.22 image and a FreeDOS 1.4 image, and D: drive for the BBS/frontend mailer/tosser, etc.

The benefit of FreeDOS, is that it will also connect to TCP/IP which might be an option to get mail via a HTTP API call (which clrghouz can do).

Without TCP/IP, tcpser connects to a tty0tty null modem device that should enable an EMSI mailer to be in front to get mail, or just to connect directly to the BBS.

The D: drive is for the BBS software and accompanying software, and by using docker, all I need to do is boot a container from the image, and provide it a C: drive and D: drive. (We'll that's the plan...)

The first setup I created is my 1995 BBS (which I found the backups for a couple of years ago), running Ezycom v1.1 and Portal of Power - and its up and running at 303:d1a0:fc6e:83d8::23 port 2301 as it was when I shut it down in the 90s - old users are there too, except no mail, games nor files :(.

I plan on finding some other BBS softwares and boot them up (if anything to try them out as I never did in the 90s) - and leave them running so others can jump on if they are curious.

I'd probably use Sync to be a "BBS server" (aka door server) that could frontend access to them if I run a few.

If anybody wants to run some old software, let me know, happy to host it or setup access to my VM so you can run some as well...


...ëîåï
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

So, I've been chipping away at how to do this the last couple of weeks
as time permitted.

I've done a couple of things:

* I've setup a (public) "inside" network to host BBSes, so they are a level behind the public internet (making extra work for script kiddies, port probes, etc). Details of that is at https://intus.top

I need to make a DNS service easy to use, because domain names are
easier than IPv6 addresses. (and since is an inside net, I'm using my
own TLD .bbs).

Anybody can join intus if they want...

* I've build a docker image, that boots QEMU/486 (for DOS bbs's) which appears to work well.

The image is based around two disks - C: for the OS, and I have a MS-DOS 6.22 image and a FreeDOS 1.4 image, and D: drive for the BBS/frontend mailer/tosser, etc.

The benefit of FreeDOS, is that it will also connect to TCP/IP which
might be an option to get mail via a HTTP API call (which clrghouz can do).

Without TCP/IP, tcpser connects to a tty0tty null modem device that
should enable an EMSI mailer to be in front to get mail, or just to connect directly to the BBS.

The D: drive is for the BBS software and accompanying software, and by using docker, all I need to do is boot a container from the image, and provide it a C: drive and D: drive. (We'll that's the plan...)

The first setup I created is my 1995 BBS (which I found the backups for a couple of years ago), running Ezycom v1.1 and Portal of Power - and its
up and running at 303:d1a0:fc6e:83d8::23 port 2301 as it was when I shut it down in the 90s - old users are there too, except no mail, games nor files :(.

I plan on finding some other BBS softwares and boot them up (if anything to try them out as I never did in the 90s) - and leave them running so others can jump on if they are curious.

I'd probably use Sync to be a "BBS server" (aka door server) that could frontend access to them if I run a few.

If anybody wants to run some old software, let me know, happy to host it or setup access to my VM so you can run some as well...

w0w; nice work, man... reading about intus.top - and it sounds like you have a platform for all MS-DOS platformed BBS Software here.

Interesting - are you gonna lean it up as time permits???



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Re: Re: 'Door Game' Networks - but..
By: paulie420 to deon on Mon Mar 09 2026 06:45 pm

Howdy,

w0w; nice work, man... reading about intus.top - and it sounds like you have a platform for all MS-DOS platformed BBS Software here.

Yup, and obviously linux stuff as well...

In fact with QEMU, I think it can do other architectures, just not sure how good?

Interesting - are you gonna lean it up as time permits???

"lean it up"? Whatcha talkin' bout Willis?


...ëîåï
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

Interesting - are you gonna lean it up as time permits???

"lean it up"? Whatcha talkin' bout Willis?

I meant - are you going to put this idea, a BBS Software 'Door' system up @ your BBS or some domain.com:port??

... I had momentarily taken Bucko's suggestion of just using other active BBSes that are currently running - but I stopped because I was trying to add ALL BBS softwares, but the C=, Atari, etc etc NON-ANSi/ASCII ones won't look correct when users are logged into my bbs.

Your 'platform' sounds really awesome, and while I'm not suggesting that you do something you weren't trying to do before, but you mentioned that you started... I still want to offer all the MS-DOS and ANSi/ASCII compatible BBS softwares at some point - and am willing to build/host, I was just asking if you were gonna continue with this project.



|07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
|08.........

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 2024/05/29 (Linux/64)
* Origin: 2o fOr beeRS bbs>>>20ForBeers.com:1337 (21:2/150)

Re: Re: 'Door Game' Networks - but..
By: paulie420 to deon on Tue Mar 10 2026 06:52 pm

Howdy,

I meant - are you going to put this idea, a BBS Software 'Door' system up @ your BBS or some domain.com:port??

... I had momentarily taken Bucko's suggestion of just using other active BBSes that are currently running - but I stopped because I was trying to add ALL BBS softwares, but the C=, Atari, etc etc NON-ANSi/ASCII ones won't look correct when users are logged into my bbs.

So yes...

I'm in mixed mind as to whether to have them all directly accessible - so you can connect to the right "port" to get to the experience that you want to get to, and/or having them accessible via a single frontend - that behaves like a door server...

For systems that are not DOS/ASCII/ANSI directly accessible might be the desired approach, given the frontend may not know how to present those systems that are not DOS/ASCII/ANSI...

So maybe both?

But as you suggest, I wouldnt mind "trying" to host non DOS/ASCII/ANSI systems as well, so maybe a proxy frontend (which should be easy) that speaks the clients rendering characters, with a like set of targets (amiga client to amiga BBSes, etc)

But as to directly access via the public internet - maybe not, via intus (which is yggdrasil) just to reduce the bots that might tie up nodes, since many of these BBSes might be single node only.

Connecting to intus is not difficult, and happy to help make it easier if I can...

(Just moving stuff around, so that clrghouz can join the intus network, since the plan is to feed those systems mail from it, if it's not too much effort.)


...ëîåï
--- SBBSecho 3.29-Linux
* Origin: I'm playing with ANSI+videotex - wanna play too? (21:2/116)

Here's my idea; on 2oFB, I'd like to offer a Menu where users can boot
up MANY different BBS softwares... they'd all be bone stock - just to
show all the various BBS softwares that were popular; Telegard,
Renegade, Obv/2, iMPULSE, VBBS, Wildcat, etc etc etc.

don't forget Maximus ;)

And Ezycom
And RemoteAccess

The list will end up being pretty crazy lol!

Cheers,
RetroSwim

--- Ezycom V2.15g1 01FD0295
* Origin: >> Pool's Open - The RetroSwim BBS (21:2/121)