BBSes and the Internet

A loose library of text files and FAQs about the online world, its features, and its services collected during the 1990's. While the vast majority will by now be obsolete, if not utterly redundant and superseded by other facilities and sites, they should offer a small window into a primitive network of networks as well as its BBS predecessors -- before Google, before YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, and indeed even before the days of graphical browsers like Netscape.

Pertaining to Bulletin Board Systems

So you want to be a sysop? (Wally Byczek, 1989)
The 30 Commandments of BBSing (Unknown, 1994)
Connecting your BBS to the Internet (Patty Morris, 1995)
How to cheat the Call Back Verifier (Greg Murrell, 1995)
How to gain maximum access on a RemoteAccess BBS (Lourens Steyn, 1995)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Doors (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Frontend Mailers (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Mail Tossers (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Multitasking Environments (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Networks (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: RemoteAccess 2.50 (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Programs (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Protocols (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: Questionnaire (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: RA (Eric Staufer, 1996)
Q & A for RemoteAccess 2.x Version 11: RACONFIG (Eric Staufer, 1996)
BBS vs WWW: The Future of Bulletin Board Systems (Herby Hönigsperger, 1997)

Pertaining to FidoNet

A brief introduction to FidoNet (Unknown, 1987)
Fidonet Policy 4 Document (Version 4.06, 1989)
Extended Fidonet Echomail Policy for Region 5 (Africa) (Unknown, 1989)
Region 71 FidoNet Policy (Republic of South Africa) (Unknown, 1991)
Fidonet Net 7102 documentation (Frank Pizer, 1991)
The Big Dummy's Guide to FidoNet (Michael Schuyler, 1992)
FidoNet: A brief introduction (Various, 1993)
FidoNet Zone 5 Frequently Asked Questions Release 3 (Simon Driver, 1993)
How to use the FidoNet/Internet Gateways (Burt Juda, ca. 1996)

Pertaining to the Internet

RFC #822: Standard for the format of ARPA Internet text messages (David H. Crocker, 1982)
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Internet (Ed Krol, 1987)
Introduction to Internet Protocols (Charles Hedrick, 1988)
Zen and the Art of the Internet: A Beginner's Guide to the Internet (Brendan P. Kehoe, 1992)
What is Usenet? (Gene Spafford, 1992)
RFC #1392: Internet Users' Glossary (G. Malkin, 1993)
Surfing the Internet: an Introduction Version 2.0.3 (Jean Armour Polly, 1993)
Jacques Marneweck's Guide to the Internet (Jacques Marneweck, 1996)
EFF's Guide to the Internet, v. 2.3 (Adam Gaffin et al, 1995)
alt.hackers.malicious: Introduction to Denial of Service (Hans Husman, 1996)
The alt.2600 Survival Guide (Voyager, 1999)
Pornography on the internet (Unknown, 1999)
internet-services/access-via-email: Accessing The Internet By Email (Gerald E. Boyd, 2000)
The History of the Internet in South Africa: How it began (Mike Lawrie, 1997/2001)