I built a web-based TheDraw font viewer/exporter:
https://thedraw.retroboardbbs.com/
It lets you browse classic TheDraw .TDF fonts, preview custom text in the original ANSI style, switch font/color variants where available, and export the result as .ANS or .PNG.
Free, non-commercial, and built for retro/BBS/ANSI art folks.
#bbs #free #ANSI #graphics #retrocomputing
Just ja - Sklaffkom är uppe igen efter ett antal veckors strulande. Alla får regga om sig för jag kunde inte rädda den gamla installationen. Mer info på https://www.sklaffkom.se.
Sklaffkom är ett svenskt BBS-system som utvecklades för över 30 år sedan. BBS-system som Sklaffkom och de BBS:er som Sklaffkom låg till grund för är en del av det svenska kulturarvet, ett kulturarv som riskerar att försvinna och glömmas bort i takt med att modernare teknik tar över. Därför fattades beslutet att återuppväcka Sklaffkom och starta en ny BBS baserad på detta system. Ett intensivt arbete med att uppdatera och korrigera källkod där det behövdes, modernisera integrationer och skriva dokumentation tog vid under sommaren och hösten 2025. Arbetet skedde via Github där aktuell källkod alltid finns att tillgå tillsammans med dokumentation.
Ich erinnere mich noch an die Zeit. Mein Vater bekam eine AVM B1 ISDN Karte von seinem Arbeitgeber, damit er sich von zuhause aus mit der AS/400 verbinden konnte. Es gab nicht viele ISDN Endpunkte. Ich empfand die Zeit als sehr abenteuerlich.
FidoNet is a point-to-point and store-and-forward email WAN which uses modems on the direct-dial telephone network. It was developed in 1984, and has over 20,000 public nodes worldwide. Although originally based on MS-DOS hosts, it has been ported to environments ranging from UNIX to the Apple //. There are gateways from FidoNet to the Internet, usually via the uucp network.
CD-ROM Journal: A Trip to 90s Kansai: Exploring the XD FirstClass Network BBS. “XD-submit Vol. 1, as it turns out, is a promotional disc for a Kansai-area bulletin board system (BBS) called XD FirstClass Network. As I started digging into it I assumed this would be sort of a basic information kit, a digital pamphlet or something, but it’s something a lot more exotic: a functioning archive of […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/06/02/a-trip-to-90s-kansai-exploring-the-xd-firstclass-network-bbs-cd-rom-journal/As I started digging into it I assumed this would be sort of a basic information kit, a digital pamphlet or something, but it's something a lot more exotic: a functioning archive of the BBS with its original client software for Mac. This was supposed to be a demo so you could browse it offline and decide if you wanted to join, but here in 2026, when this BBS has been offline for three decades, it gives us a chance to actually see what it was like when it was alive.
snake
I'm working on something new. Here's a teaser on what it does
#art #ascii #asciiart #ansi #ansiart #bbs #computer #computerart #demoscene #digital #digitalart #text #textart #textmode #typedesign #design #snake #toxic #metal #radioactive
Attached: 1 image New blog post! I came across a fully-interactive offline archive(!!) of a BBS from 1994 and wanted to share an interactive walkthrough of it. Let's explore 90s Kansai online and see what people were chatting about. https://cdrom.ca/games/2026/05/30/xd.html
Exploring the Japanese XD FirstClass Network BBS
calvusrex
BlackICE BBS / BBSindex.de
root42
Joakim Melin
enter-haken
ResearchBuzz: Firehose
Beto Dealmeida
𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊𝖇𝖎𝖙𝖘𝖕𝖆𝖈𝖊
JevidL
Lobsters