Jamie RDec 19, 2022
Learning the ropes of using #mastodon - the sign up was easy. Something about it reminded me of setting up to use #Usenet news in the early days of the Internet going mainstream.
I’m really showing my Internet-age now!
Show threadJdeBPDec 19, 2022
@Jamie_R You're only truly showing your age if you liken #TwitterMigration to the difference between #Compuserve and #FidoNet. (-:
Show threadAdam
@Jamie_R @JdeBP I’ve been having #FidoNet and #BBS memories since I signed up 😳
Dec 19, 2022 at 5:13pmWeb
Show threadJamie RDec 19, 2022
@creidiki @JdeBP was Fidonet a #usenet service? I recall seeing that as one of the top-level domains.
Show threadJdeBPDec 19, 2022
@Jamie_R @creidiki No. #FidoNet was a vast, planet-wide, network of amateurs with personal computers, that exchanged "echomail" and "netmail" messages (and file requests) via store-and-forward techniques, using mostly local telephone calls, the PSTN, and modems. There was a vast "node list" of FidoNet addresses mapped to telephone numbers.
Show threadJamie RDec 19, 2022
@JdeBP @creidiki Everyday is a school day! 😉
Show threadAdamDec 19, 2022
@JdeBP @Jamie_R it was wild stuff, at least in my area iirc there was a whole chain of POTS links to avoid long distance charges. Nodes would sync to neighbors, no single link big enough to incur the fees. I didn’t know all the details but the high level idea was so cool
Show threadDale RossDec 19, 2022

@Jamie_R @creidiki @JdeBP

No. Fidonet was and I guess to some degree still is a network of sysops, that originally used dialup networking to connect to other system and transfer mail.

Eventually backbones sets created to transfer what was called echo mail, and filess.

Show threadDale RossDec 19, 2022

@creidiki @Jamie_R @JdeBP

Yep!

Show threadJdeBPDec 19, 2022
@creidiki @Jamie_R I'm waiting for #Mastodon to reinvent #FidoNet's local echoes. (-: