
         SUBMITTED BY:  Jim Anderson - SysOp MSB - Billings, MT

                              REQUIEM FOR A SYSOP
                              -------------------

         Excerpt from an article in "PC WEEK", Nov. 20, 1984:

         There  may be no such thing as a free lunch,  but there is an
         ample supply of free software that's yours  for  the  asking.
         All  you  have  to do is dial up,  make a connection,  browse
         through a couple of menus, check over long lists of available
         software, make your choices and start downloading.

                                 - + - + - + -

         Exchange of E-Mail between sysop and BBS user:

         Well,  John,  the good news is that the faulty file has  been
         fixed  but  the  bad news is that your downloading privileges
         have been revoked.  I just went through the last  two  months
         of logs and came up with some interesting statistics.  During
         that  time  you have logged on 23 times,  downloaded 66 files
         and uploaded NONE.  You have called for chat twice,  and left
         a  total  of  two  messages  on  the board,  one requesting a
         specific program and the other informing me of a  disk  error
         in  a download file.  I can only draw the conclusion that you
         are interested in this board for ONE REASON ONLY --  to  rape
         hell out of the download menus.  I've left plenty of messages
         regarding PARTICIPATION in the BBS and the Message Base,  but
         you either haven't  read  them  or  else  you  ignored  them.
         Sorry,  but  one-way  streets just don't hack it around here.
                                     Jim.

         Jim, I have been taking part in the BBS.  Every time I log on
         I read all the new messages.
                                     John.

         John,  I  just  can't help but feel that in all that time you
         could have atleast said "Hi" or "Thanks for the downloads" or
         SOMETHING to acknowledge that there's a real live human being
         on this end.
                                      Jim.

                                 - + - + - + -

         Except for power failures,  my computer has been  continually
         running  since  Nov.  11,  1982,  and has fielded over 12,000
         telephone calls operating as a BBS.  Back then,  it was a joy
         to  be  a part of the realm of computer telecommunications --
         now it's a drag.  It seems to me that a "GIMMEE" attitude has
         pervaded the whole arena of BBSing,  with callers  interested
         in  nothing  more than material gains in the way of software.
         My board is far from  the  busiest,  being  isolated  in  the
         "foreign  country"  of  Montana,  but an average day will see
         about 20 or 25 calls to the system.  An average day will also
         see about three or four messages  (of  ALL  types,  including
         E-Mail)  being posted.  The typical log entry shows so-and-so
         logging on,  going to the  file  transfer  area,  downloading
         several  files  and  then logging off.  Thanks,  that's why I
         started up a BBS, to supply people with free programs. Really
         makes my day to see that I've spent all this time  and  money
         just to watch pigs at the trough.

         Whatever    happened     to     the     COMMUNICATIONS     in
         telecommunications?  Is  this the result of the Computer Age,
         that people don't talk or communicate with  each  other?  Are
         we  getting  so totally in tune with our equipment that we're
         excluding PEOPLE?  If so,  then Orwell's predictions are tame
         in  comparison with the reality.  Who took the BULLETIN BOARD
         out of Bulletin Board System?  The file transfer  section  of
         my board is shiny from daily use, but the bulletin section is
         obscured  by  cobwebs.  The  thought has crossed my mind more
         than once just to load up a host program and let people  grab
         whatever programs look interesting.

          "Do you have a logon code for this system (Y/N) ==> Y <=="
          "What is your account number? 775"
          "What is your logon code? PASSWORD"
          "INVALID LOGON CODE"
          "Do you have a logon code for this system (Y/N) ==> Y <=="
          "What is your account number? 305"
          "What is your logon code? PASSWORD"

          et cetera, ad infinitum et ad nauseam.

         Hackers.  Or so they'd like to believe.  Vandals, pests, yes.
         Hackers?  They should be so talented, devoted and lucky.  Why
         do these computerized delinquents find such delight in trying
         to  break  into  bulletin  boards?  Don't  they  realize that
         sysops are ordinary people just  like  themselves  trying  to
         find a little enjoyment in their hobby?  Why pick on me?  I'm
         spending a lot of time and money trying to provide  people  a
         service  for  free,  and  they  want  to  go and spoil it for
         everyone.  Heck, if they want onto the system,  all they have
         to  do  is  apply  for  a logon.  Why make life difficult for
         everyone?  Leave me alone.  Go pick on CompuServe.

         Caller  logs on.  Leaves E-Mail to a friend.  Lines only fill
         half the screen, so he's probably using a Commodore 64.  Goes
         to file transfer section,  and  selects  UltraTerm  protocol.
         Chooses  a  file  that  indicates it's a TRS-80 program.  BBS
         goes to send,  he figures out that he's somewhere he  doesn't
         want to be and drops carrier.

         Another caller logs on four times in a row,  but keeps losing
         carrier before he can do anything.  Probably phreaking  on  a
         cheapie phone service.

         Another  caller  successfully  downloads a file.  Sit.  Wait.
         Wait some more.  System eventually times out and drops him.

         I'm not the most polite person in the world and I'm certainly
         not one to stand on ceremony, but I am old enough to remember
         what  manners  were.  They  also  went  down  the  tubes with
         "communications"  and  "bulletin  boards."  Whoops!   Dropped
         carrier!  So  what?  If  it's a halfway decent system,  it'll
         reboot.  Well,  I'll just go to bed  while  downloading  this
         long  file,  the  system  will  eventually  throw  me off and
         reboot.  Never mind that there's other people wanting to call
         into the board.  Who cares that the sysop  climbs  the  walls
         when  he sees someone drop carrier or time-out on the system?
         Lately I've gotten into the habit of dropping carrier  ON  MY
         END  for  the  worst  offenders.  One  good  hang-up deserves
         another.

         Along  with  all the other goodies that have bitten the dust,
         there's good old APPRECIATION.  As I mentioned before, my BBS
         has fielded over 12,000 calls.  Out of all of  them,  I  have
         gotten maybe a dozen messages saying "Thanks for running your
         BBS."  That's  about  one  "Thank  You"  per  THOUSAND calls!
         Unfortunately,  it seems that people think they have all this
         automatically  coming  to  them.  It's their right!  Sorry to
         disillusion anyone,  but  that  just  ain't  so.  The  master
         switch  for  this  system  is  two feet away,  and I'm not so
         decrepit that I can't hit it in  a  flash.  Alternatively,  I
         can  ban  anyone I wish from my system.  Callers use this BBS
         at my forbearance only, and it's not a God-given right.  It's
         a sysop-given privilege!  I sincerely  feel  that  we  should
         proclaim  a  "Sysop Appreciation Day." We certainly don't get
         any on a day-to-day basis!

         Don't get me wrong.  There ARE joys and benefits in running a
         BBS,  although  sometimes in my nether moods I'm hard pressed
         to enumerate them.  But the fact is,  there  have  been  many
         occasions  when  I've rested my finger on the switch with the
         idea of going offline forever.

         Now  for  the  moral  of the story.  I'm only one sysop among
         many, and I'm not trying to evoke sympathy for myself through
         this article.  The point is that almost  every  sysop  around
         has  these  feelings to some extent or another.  And further,
         most of these sysops (especially the best  and  most  devoted
         ones)  are  going  to  reach  a  saturation point and wind up
         depriving the general public of their services.  I foresee  a
         day  coming,  and  very  soon at that,  when the high quality
         BBS's will be all gone.  So all this is  really  a  plea  for
         everyone  to  shape  up  their acts before it's too late.  If
         nothing else, when you're on a bulletin board, leave a little
         message to the sysop.  "Thanks for the use of your system" or
         "Fine  BBS you have here." Let them know they're appreciated.
         When I see a message like that, I say to myself,  "THAT's why
         I'm  doing all this!" Sysops are real,  live human being with
         feelings and emotions.  Let's start treating them as such!

                                 - + - + - + -

         EPILOGUE:  Twelve hours after the above was written,  I  find
         out  that  one  of  my  best friends (with higher than normal
         access to the system) has allowed a third party  to  use  her
         logon.  That's  forbidden for anyone on my BBS to do,  but it
         hurts even more because  a  valued  and  trusted  friend  who
         should  have  known better went and did it.  That's the final
         straw.  The  Most  Significant  Byte  BBS  is  no  longer  in
         existence.

              Jim Anderson, Ex-Sysop
              The Most Significant Byte BBS
              Billings, Montana
              January 13, 1985

         NOTE:  I agree completely with Jim in his above comments,  if
         not his action.  I find it difficult to comprehend  the  mind
         of  individuals,  who  take  those  of  us  who,  through our
         generosity and good  nature,  are  supplying  them,  free  of
         charge,  this service.  Please note,  this attitude of SysOps
         is spreading and BBS's around the country are disappearing or
         getting more difficult  to  access.  I  certainly  hope  this
         action  in  tiny  Billings,  Montana  has  some effect on the
         community of computerists.  Don't abuse a good thing!

              Dave Williams, still SysOp
              Magic City RBBS
              Billings, MT
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