August,

 AA> I was bit leary about ICQ when it first came out. But it proved
 AA> to be a fine communications medium to stir up a "live" chat
 AA> with someone at any time of the day.

  I haven't been on ICQ in ages. I still remember the password and
my number, but I don't have the program on my Windows 10 laptop. I
probably was purged as inactive...since I quit using it years ago.

 AA> My first real awareness of BBSes to call in my local area was
 AA> courtesy of Boardwatch magazine.  Then, it was a matter of
 AA> getting a good LD plan to check out some of the ones farther
 AA> away.   A little later, I gravitated towards Compuserve.

  I was on CompuServe as well (I still remember my User ID). The
computer science department of the local college, the University
Of Arkansas At Little Rock (UALR), had its own BBS, and that's
how I found out about other area BBS's. I have a bulletin on my
BBS, showing long gone BBS's in Arkansas, mostly in the Little Rock
Metropolitan Area.

 AA> You are less of a lurker than others.  

  There are several topics and areas I don't even mess with.
While I do autoposts in several echoes, I also participate
in them. Yet, I only post the ad for my BBS once a month...not
like some systems who post the ad several times a day!!

Daryl

... A Sysop and his money are soon...Hey!! Where's my wallet??!!
=== MultiMail/Win v0.52
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32
 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (618:250/33)