LuzNET 2 BBS

Summary

LuzNET 2 BBS was a bulletin board system I ran from my bedroom at my parents’ home between 1993 and 1998, back when modems, phone lines, and terminal software were the way people connected before the internet went mainstream. Users would dial in directly to the system to exchange messages, share software, and stay in touch with others in the community.

Description

LuzNET 2 was a dial-up Bulletin Board System (BBS) that I operated from 1993 to 1998, before the Internet became mainstream (or even popular) in Spain. It was focused on MSX computers.

Users dialed into the BBS over a phone line using a modem connected to their computer, and I had a number of file areas where they could download (and in some cases upload) games, demos, documentation, utilities...

Besides the file download areas, there were also local and international discussion forums organized by theme, as if it was a text-based version of Reddit, but with strong moderation. We were using our real names back then, so users tended to be more careful with how they behaved in public. These message areas were distributed via computer networks such as Fidonet (my BBS's address was 2:343/163), RedBBS, VirNET and others.

When I launched the BBS it was running on an AMD 486DX4 at 100MHz, with 4MB of RAM and a 540MB hard drive and a single 14.400bps modem. By the time I shut it down it was running on an Intel Pentium at 200MHz, 64MB of RAM and approximately 5GB of storage, with two 33.600bps modems.

During its peak I had about 700 users, and it was quite active in Barcelona at the time.

I don't have photos of that far back. The image below is an interview I gave in 1996 (in Spanish) to HNOSTAR, a magazine for MSX users.