BBS Gateway

From: Aaron Christopher Finney <aaron_at_wfi-inc.com>
Date: Mon Sep 28 06:46:45 1998

Uh-oh, 4:00am inspiration. I just got out of bed to ask about this:

Is there an existing BBS system that provides a BBS<==>Internet mail
gateway? So that a BBS user could, say, subscribe to a mailing list like
this one? The reason I ask is that I tried to get a shell account with a
local ISP a few months ago so I could use internet services on my Atari
1200XL. None of the local providers offered that service at all, and
seemed shocked that someone was even asking for one. But a shell prompt
doesn't exactly have the romance of a classic BBS and I am now set on
writing one that can do internet mail and browse text html docs. Even
more ambitious would be the ability to http/ftp binaries using xmodem/etc.
 
But first, your input would be appreciated:

Does such a system exist already? Is the source available? For what
platforms?

Is there anyone who would be interested in using such a product/service? I
guess what I'm asking is if there are others who would like to log on to a
"classic" BBS using a "classic" computer but still have access to the
wealth of information and software on the internet...

Any thoughts on platform/environment? Language? My first impulse is Linux,
written in C. But I also do Windows, and some other languages too.

Anyone want to collaborate on something like this? My time is rarely my
own, so this would take me a long, long time to do myself. But it seems
like it'd be an interesting project, so I don't mind at all.

Thanks for listening to a groggy man's ranting. I'm going back to bed
now...
Received on Mon Sep 28 1998 - 06:46:45 BST