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From: jpdres10@usl-pc.UUCP (Green Eric Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: The future of simple BBS boards...
Message-ID: <373@usl-pc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Nov-87 16:20:08 EST
Article-I.D.: usl-pc.373
Posted: Fri Nov 20 16:20:08 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 23-Nov-87 05:43:52 EST
References: <4942@ncoast.UUCP> <246@usl-pc.UUCP> <339@ddsw1.UUCP> <575@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>
Organization: Univ. of Southwestern La., Lafayette
Lines: 37
Keywords: BBS network future software complex

In message <575@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM>, rogers@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Bob Rogers) says:
>
>The "Citadel" BBS system has preserved a simple user interface and incorporates
>networking.  

I've never seen "Citadel" myself. Would appreciate it if you sent me a
couple of phone numbers. However, I DO have an example of where modern
technology makes a BBS easier to use:

Consider a full-screen text editor. This full screen text editor has 6
commands: cursor movement in all 4 directions, delete a character, and
justify the current paragraph.

I submit that this text editor would be as powerful as any other
simple BBS text editor available, even the C-NET editor which has
about 60 jillion commands doing all sorts of weird and wonderful
things. Yet, it'd be ten times easier to use.

User interfaces are the solution to the problem of complexity. Alas,
we cannot yet assume that everybody out there has access to a
bit-mapped display, so BBS's aren't going to be running mouse-and-icon
based software anytime soon. However, we CAN assume that either a)
everybody has a terminal emulator, or b), everybody can get one real
easy, perhaps by a pre-login mode that lets people download one
without login in. I mean, if I can get a VT100 emulator with Kermit
for the lowly Commodore 64, I can't even imagine some computer that
doesn't have an emulator available for it (except maybe the Sinclair
ZX81 :-).

Now comes the question of WRITING this masterpiece... err... maybe
I'll have to put da programming where da mouth is....

--
   Eric Green  elg@usl.CSNET       P.O. Box 92191, Lafayette, LA 70509
   {ihnp4,cbosgd}!killer!elg,      {ut-sally,killer}!usl!elg
"Clothes make the man.  Naked people have little or no influence on
 society."  -- Mark Twain