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The Beige Years

FidoNetThe Wrong Number That Rang Every Night

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FidoNet's boards called each other for one hour a night, and a wrong number in its list rang a stranger every night.

Tom Jennings wired bulletin boards into FidoNet, then ended up selling the internet that replaced them.

Subject
FidoNet, 1984
Chapters
7
Sources
8
Credits
45
Corrections
0

Sources

8
  • Article8

The sources the story leans on most, primary sources first. Read dates are when the page was consulted; the live page may have changed since.

  1. [1]
    Article Ward Christensen and Randy Suess

    The Birth of the BBS

    chinet.com/html/cbbs.php ↗
  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
    Article Issues in Science and Technology Kevin Driscoll

    A Prehistory of Social Media

    issues.org/prehistory-social-media-modem-world-driscoll/ ↗
  6. [6]
    Article Jon Lebkowsky, interview with Tom Jennings

    FringeWare Review

    plutopia.io/?p=206 ↗
  7. [7]
  8. [8]

Image & music credits

45
  • License unknown32
  • CC BY-SA 4.03
  • CC BY-SA 2.02
  • CC BY 4.02
  • CC BY 2.01
  • CC BY-SA 3.01

39 photos, 1 font, 1 music track, from the hosts linked below. Each file name links to the file's page, which carries the full license terms.

#UseFileAuthorLicense
1 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/WE500dialphone.jpg ProhibitOnions, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
2 Photo https://16colo.rs/pack/orbit01/raw/M-NC1.ANS ORBiT, 'No Carrier BBS' pre-login (sysop mouse), ORBiT's First Pack, February 1995, via 16colo.rs License unknown
3 Photo 5151 monochrome monitor.jpg steverenouk CC BY-SA 2.0
4 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Hayes Smartmodem 1982 (1).jpg Aeroid, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
5 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/FidoNet dog-and-diskette logo.png John Madill, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) License unknown
6 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Hayes Smartmodem 1982 (3).jpg Aeroid, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
7 Photo Nostalgia (7539894906).jpg Thiago A. from Brazil CC BY 2.0
8 Photo USRobotics Sportster 14400 Modem 1995 Retail Box Finnish.jpg Khaosaming CC BY-SA 4.0
9 Photo Lake Shore Drive Chicago Illinois 1978.jpg Acabashi CC BY-SA 4.0
10 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Model 500 Telephone.jpg Starbucks Guy, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
11 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/TI Silent 700, 1971.jpg Michael Dunn, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) License unknown
12 Photo https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1978-11/page/n0 Byte, November 1978, via the Internet Archive (byte-magazine-1978-11) License unknown
13 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Michael Holley Computer 1978 NWCN.jpg Gale Sherry, Northwest Computer Club News, July 1978, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
14 Photo https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1978-11/page/n151 Byte, November 1978, p. 150, via the Internet Archive (byte-magazine-1978-11) License unknown
15 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Acoustic coupler-IMG 7282-7283.jpg Rama & Musée Bolo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0 fr) License unknown
16 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Tom Jennings.jpg Jason Scott, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) License unknown
17 Photo KL Motorola MC68000 CDIP.jpg Konstantin Lanzet CC BY-SA 3.0
18 Photo TRIO TS-520S transceiver (Kenwood).jpg Zalasem1 CC BY 4.0
19 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Pre-nodelist "fido list" June 1984.jpg Tom Jennings, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) License unknown
20 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Trimline phone.jpg Donald Genaro, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) License unknown
21 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/McDonnell Douglas logo.svg?width=576 Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
22 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/IBM PC 5150.jpg Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) License unknown
23 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Arpanet logical map, march 1977.png ARPANET, Wikimedia Commons (public domain) License unknown
24 Photo https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1979-10/page/n107 Byte, October 1979, p. 110, via the Internet Archive (byte-magazine-1979-10) License unknown
25 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/USRobotics Courier 2400 Modem powered on.jpg Jonathan Schilling, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
26 Photo https://16colo.rs/pack/vpr0695/raw/VZ-LOMAT.ANS voiz [vapor], vapOr June 1995 pack, via 16colo.rs License unknown
27 Photo https://16colo.rs/pack/acdu0193/x1/DC4ACID1.ANS.png ACiD Productions, pack acdu0193 (1993), via 16colo.rs License unknown
28 Photo https://archive.org/details/Boardwatch 1.1 MAR 1 1987/page/n0 Denver PC Boardwatch, March 1, 1987, via the Internet Archive (Boardwatch_1.1_MAR_1_1987) License unknown
29 Photo https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Zd8AAeSw-ftona7z/s-l1600.jpg an eBay seller's photograph of the issue (ebay.com/itm/157243571528) License unknown
30 Photo https://archive.org/details/boardwatch-7.1-jan-1993/page/n0 Boardwatch Magazine, January 1993, via the Internet Archive (boardwatch-7.1-jan-1993) License unknown
31 Photo Lombard Street to Coit Tower 1992.jpg Lars Plougmann CC BY-SA 2.0
32 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Modem ZyXEL U-1496E V32b-V42b-FAXpg.jpg Erkaha, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
33 Photo https://archive.org/details/boardwatch-1995-12/page/n0 Boardwatch Magazine, December 1995, via the Internet Archive (boardwatch-1995-12) License unknown
34 Photo https://archive.org/details/boardwatch-1995-12/page/n65 Boardwatch Magazine, December 1995, p. 66, via the Internet Archive (boardwatch-1995-12) License unknown
35 Photo https://archive.org/details/boardwatch-1995-12/page/n13 Boardwatch Magazine, December 1995, p. 14, via the Internet Archive (boardwatch-1995-12) License unknown
36 Photo https://web.archive.org/web/19961219232824im /http://www.best.com/graphics/logo.gif Best Internet Communications home page (www.best.com), December 19, 1996, via the Wayback Machine License unknown
37 Photo https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/CBBS Login.svg/1280px-CBBS Login.svg.png Aeroid, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
38 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Altair 8800-Computer.jpg Dr. Bernd Gross, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
39 Photo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Hayes Smartmodem 1982 (2).jpg Aeroid, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) License unknown
40 Font https://int10h.org/oldschool-pc-fonts/ IBM VGA 8x16 from VileR's Ultimate Oldschool PC Font Pack CC BY-SA 4.0
41 Music Andreas Viklund - Faraway Love.wav Andreas Viklund (TSEC) CC BY 4.0

Video by Ron Lach on Pexels

Footage from BBS: The Documentary by Jason Scott

Video by Andrew Kota on Pexels

Video by KoolShooters on Pexels

Corrections

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