20 years ago, I was dealing with interesting posts of people who were SYSOPs of BBSes in the 1980s/1990s, to the BBSLIST.TEXTFILES.COM project, where I asked for stories and thoughts. The result of this, ultimately, was the BBS Documentary. I also checked what BBSes remained. 
The easiest way to figure that out is checking the FidoNet Nodelist for who remains. At some point, your BBS would join the FidoNet out of necessity and ease. I considered it such an important part of the BBS story that I made an episode about it.
So, 20 years ago, there were about 200 BBSes in North America that were on the Fidonet. Considering that my BBS List work had shown at least 105,000 one existed, I thought this was a pretty low number. I think there are 200,000 in total, many to still track down.
I decided to swing by the Fidonet Nodelist, which still comes out weekly, to see the state of things.
First, let's define a BBS very specifically: A computer, hooked up via a modem to a phone line, answering calls automatically to use it. Let's stick to that.
First, let's define a BBS very specifically: A computer, hooked up via a modem to a phone line, answering calls automatically to use it. Let's stick to that.
There are, as far as I can tell, thirty-two Bulletin Board Systems remaining in North America. Here's the list.
Generating this was actually a lot more complicated than it might seem. I wouldn't report this as canon; in some cases, the BBSes are now taking on multiple roles in Fidonet that would be different people and numbers, like a very small town with people taking different roles.
Also, technically, there are many more BBSes on the Fidonet, if you expand it to "no phone number available" and "internet only" but I'm choosing to go the old route, like sugar vs. corn syrup, horseback vs. airplane.
Call me sentimental.
Call me sentimental.
Also, there are a number of BBSes entirely off the Fidonet, off the grid, available via phone number but doing their own weird little thing. I'm not privvy to them, but it won't be many more at this point. Increase it from 32 to 50 if you want, but it's not many at all.
With the loss of Randy Suess this year, along with the many other pioneers and players in this medium over the past 40, we're now seeing this story close up, and the beginnings get hazy.
nytimes.com/2019/12/20/tec…
nytimes.com/2019/12/20/tec…
I put all 8 episodes of the BBS Documentary up on Youtube, free to watch.
