╨╧рб▒с>■  @B■   ?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴7 Ё┐з3bjbjUU &L7|7|з/      l       HHHH TЎttttttttОРРРРРР$ % F┤ ttttt┤|  tt╔|||tN t tО|tО||В  Вth Овyy4─*H┬║ВВ ▀0Вk |k В|    ┘A Cat's Eye View of BBS'ing and The Bee-Line by The Catseye A flat electronic plain sat quietly unbeknown to the vibrational terror that would soon ensue. The relay was flipped and a proximally shattering shriek screamed across the blackness... from somewhere across the plain, came an answering scream and the two were linked as if by some inter-spacial coitus. The pitch rose into a dull scream approaching that of rhythmic white noise then abruptly stopped as I sat quietly observing the progress of my call. "CONNECT 1200" stared at me blankly on the screen and I gently tapped return. Welcome to the Bee-Line! Home of Ralph Enter ID, password, or, type "NEW" if you are a new user: Is what greeted me... but, not just in the past tense. Several times a day, perhaps hundreds of times over the past year and a half, or so. The Bee Line is a seven line chat system run by one Craig Weinhold ta.k.a. The Bumblebee> in Madison, Wisconsin. It is a place where people possessing modems and computers can freely call to discuss whatever they wish with seven other people. This chatline, as it is called, was started around 2 years ago as a lark idea by its creator. Programmed on an Apple //+, it survives now as Madison's premiere chatline and the inspiration for the creator of a currently existing rival. It has received over 120,000 calls at the time this was written from all sections of the country... daily call volume has been known to approach 400. Approximately 17 an hour. It runs rather efficiently; despite the fact that it operates on a 12 year old-design computer. What, however, makes this "local" if I may refer to it as such, so interesting is its effect on the people that decide to use their otherwise idle computer equipment to call it. Before, however, this point can be explored, BBSing as a whole must be explained. Sometime around 1977 one Ward Christiansen set out with some equally skilled friends to create a program or system of programs that would allow the few and far between computer enthusiasts to communicate with each other across the wide expanses of amber waves and purple mountain majesties that separated them. What they came up with was an interesting system which was referred to... well, anyway, the original title escapes me at this point, but, it quickly became known as a "BBS" or bulletin board system. Using something called a "Modulator/Demodulator" to translate the analog telephone line signals to digital ones that the computer could understand, it allowed computers to talk over great distances; simply by hopping on Ma Bell's telephone network. The popularity of Ward's system became quite obvious... soon, similar systems began springing up like mushrooms at various points around the country. However, equipment for such a setup was still very expensive and it remained an almost "taboo" part of the computer hacker scene until the early 80's when the world saw it's first dramatic drop in computer prices. While the time and money needed to start up a BBS was still in the prohibitive range, the equipment needed to call a BBS had come down to reasonable levels and, subsequently, BBS's flourished. What I believe provided the allure that attracted so many people to BBS's was the fact that, compared to the huge telecommunication services of the time they were free, often more interesting and more "personal." One could talk one-on-one with a real live Sysop or engage in a discussion through easy to leave messages without waddling though hundreds of menus and online charges like on the major telecommunication services. At the time, Madison had a few boards... the exact number and names are unknown to me at this point, but, it is known that the Madison PC user group BBS was in place... and perhaps several other now defunct systems. As the 80's dragged on, BBS's as a whole took off all over the country; including Madison. Boards like the New Tech Times BBS, BBS Moscow, Absurd and The Bee Hive began coming and going. What made the BBS explosion possible was, indeed, the United States rushing head on into the information age... bigger, better, cheaper, and faster were the key words in computer production. What made these particular early boards so popular was their intense ability, no matter how horrid the software they ran on was, to pull a variety of people together who would subsequently think, talk, create, modify and compose a myriad of intensely creative ideas. To be later known as "discussion boards", these simple operations tied together a great deal of Madison area computer enthusiasts . However, as computer prices continued to fall, and more and more people gained the ability to call out and about to the various systems, it became clear that the "breed" of the average caller was changing. The esoteric, sometimes downright bizarre caller of the early National and Madison area BBS's found himself pushed out by what can be classified one of two different ways: The 12 year old Commodore 64 user, and, the professional, executive user who bought an IBM "to increase his productivity and help better prepare himself for the onrushing flow of the computer age." "Bullshit" comes to mind, but, nevertheless, the transformation took place and boards like BBS Moscow, and Insomnia Zone are no longer. It seemed that the end of the general intelligent discussion BBS was here. Not true. What seemed to emerge after the foray was yet another user. One that wasn't quite a snot nosed 12 year old, but, not a professional who concerned himself with the 17,000 possible uses for Lotus 1-2-3 either. This user could be classified as the late high-school/college user who had some money to spend, marginal to professional programming ability and a unique sense of humor and creativity. Confined to the "rad warez!" boards of the 12 year old and the Lotus worshipping shrines of the young-upwardly-mobile-boob, however, these personalities stayed boxed in and unexpressed; a tragic suppression. These future yuppies and former 12 year olds found themselves at a point in their "BBSing career" when something else was needed... the allure of illegal hacking and phreaking had worn off and the dull luster of unused creative minds cut through the BBS air like so many knives. The tragic regression of the BBS community seemed not only possible, but, imminent. However, the creative flow of the industrious mind of one 16 year old hacker proved to be the saving grace which presented a whole new avenue of BBSing to the Madison community; a new niche to spark the creative fires again. From what I can gather, without intense research and questioning of the Bumblebee, The Bee Line was a combination of intense programming skills and the support of friends of the Bumblebee's. Programmed in Nebraska, the Bee-Line V.1.0 then moved to Shorewood Hills where it sat; like a buried treasure left by a jolly roger years ago. Pushed to go ahead with the project at hand by the so-called, self-liberated Mycophile Bee began looking for people to help pay for what, quite believably, was an expensive venture. "Stocks" were sold, modems and phone lines were bought . September of 1986, The Bee Line Chatline was born. The beginning days, weeks and months were predictable in nature; like a newborn deer in a vast forest, others approached the newcomming with cautious fervor... interest, but, suspicion; a xenophobic halo of the information age. Slowly, however, the idea of an open chat forum over a computer changed from a quizzical idea to one that was readily accepted and the Bee-Line began to flourish. The userlog grew and Bee knew that his shaky venture had taken a firm hold of Madison. I, myself, entered the Bee-Line scene sometime in early 1987.. I assume around February or March. While I remember my first experiences with BBS's quite clearly, the Bee-Line remains quizzically fuzzy. The Bee-Line struck an interesting cord inside of me almost instantly; I was never one to make friends quickly and the anonymity of an open chat forum struck me as an interesting and potentially enjoyable outlet of pent up emotion. Apparently, my feelings and ideology were not unique; when I began calling with regularity, I found not only interesting surroundings, but, equally interesting people; people that perhaps were similar to me... they talked, laughed, cried- and best of allthey were friendly. Without hesitation, I was welcomed into the small Bee-Line clique and accepted. Not only had I found this impossible to do in real life, the prospect of any lasting friendship and become nothing more than the haunting laugh of nightmares. The Bee-Line, however, was not this way... The Bee Line was not real life. The people who called it rebelled against the societal norms of hatred and suspicion; rebels of a peaceful cause subconsciously fighting a conceivably insurmountable opponent. As time progressed, I saw the coming and going of a wide mix of users and the Bee-Line entrenched itself as a definite part of my life; a social outlet, it seemed, had been formed for those of us who find that of the normal world unworkable. The problems of the unsure no longer needed to remain the taboo subjects of the psychologist's couch; depending on how open you are willing to be, the desired responsiveness will immediately reassure you that you do indeed have friends out there. I can attribute my best friendships to the Bee-Line and the characters housed within. A now unique gathering of, actually, all sorts of people. From, even, the 12 year old right on through the Lotus worshipper. It seems that the culture shock imposed by the computer age created whole new avenues for people to use for the expression of emotion. It's always an interesting task to try and explain the spectacular allure of The Bee-Line to a layman,.. it seems to take the hands-on experience that we, as an "elite" group have. I sometimes find it interesting to think about my life, and the life of others, if the Bee-Line had never come into existence. My own struggles with the beast of depression and suicide, along with those of others would never had been dealt with; the lives that the interaction between members of the Bee-Line has saved cannot readily be measured; only guessed. Some of the best relationships and the greatest people have joined me and others through life from the Bee-Line. One of these days, the Bee-Line will receive its last call. Where I will be, or what I will be doing I can only speculate... but the passing of such a large influence in my life will undoubtedly leave me slightly emptied; like the loss of a loved one. On the event of this sad occasion, when it eventually arrives, all that can be hoped is that the Bee-Line will be remembered as the second culture; the utopian atmosphere that fulfilled the missing link in not just my, but everyone's life. ------------------------- This essay is dedicated to the following people: To Susie, Sammy, Rebecca, Phaedrus and The Bumblebee for being my best friends and listening to this silly Cat when he rambled on in fits of depression. To Dream Voyager for being my friend beyond the Bee-Line,.. may he rest in peace. To John Striker for introducing me to Pink Floyd. To Robbing Moose who I never really understood, but, that's okay. And to everyone who I have ever had the fortune of talking to on the Bee-Line: You're all one hell of a great group of people. з3√OJQJ-<NOhvwФ▒▓= ╟+7╜$U'Ц)О-k1ўяцссссссс╪╧╧┬ц╧╗░ц Д@dрдИ`Д@dрдИ ДРД╨dр]ДР`Д╨Д╨dр`Д╨ ╞dрdрД@dр`Д@Д░ д8^Д░ ДЁдИ^ДЁз3■k1Ж1╖1P2в2ц2(3з3ўєььєєчdрdрдИд@Дpд╨^Дp$░╨/ ░р=!░"░#Ра$Ра%░░h░h iv@ё v Normal.$ДДДdЁдд]Д^Д`Дa$)7@ИB*CJOJQJ_HmH o(sH tH `A@Є б`Default Paragraph Font$7@ИB*CJOJQJmHnHo(uз/L    -<NOhvwФ▓=╟ +7╜ U#Ц%О)k-Ж-╖-P.в.ц.(/й/Ш0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААЪ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААз3"k1з3#%з3$4;q|[bНУBJ▌х╡ ║  f p sxюєЇў"(ГМчэS\╠╘\fj q J!O!Ф#Ь#╙,╪,╤-┘-й/$,-/fhщ=Х║=Щ┐╪+f <=╗╞╠═J R ∙ √ c!k!Л!У!##$#U#Y#▐#ц#Я$з$ф%ь%к'▓'╒'("(&(>)A)B)D)х)э)o*r*:+G++З+И.Л.М.П.//m/u/й/333333333333333333333333333333333333  Craig WeinholdpC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures\A Cat's Eye View of BBSing and the Bee-Line.docй/ @А┴┴а63┴┴з/@@  Unknown            GРЗz А Times New Roman5РАSymbol3&Р Зz А Arial?5Р Зz А Courier New"q ИЁ╨hO=Дж<ЕжфJ'Sa#Ё20?0Ё▀  Craig Weinhold■ рЕЯЄ∙OhлС+'│┘0XИРЬи┤└╘ ь°   ,8@HPфssss Normal.dotCraig Weinhold2aiMicrosoft Word 9.0@0@jgK─@yy4─фJ'■ ╒═╒Ь.УЧ+,∙о0 hpЬдм┤ ╝─╠╘ ▄ щф"Berbee Information Networks Corp.tS?0а  Title  !"#$%&■   ()*+,-.■   0123456■   89:;<=>■   ¤   A■   ■   ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Root Entry         └FАG═yy4─CА1Table            'WordDocument        &LSummaryInformation(    /DocumentSummaryInformation8            7CompObj    jObjectPool            АG═yy4─АG═yy4─            ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ■       └FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8Ї9▓q