Doc’s Place Online | From The Fidonet Days Into CyberSpace!

This personal website offers Doc, AKA FidoSysop’s opinions on many subjects. I’m 72 years old but have been around the block many times, and self-educated in many trades. Mastering the www is my continuing cyberspace adventure! 😃

doc's place online
Doc’s Place BBS Online 1994 AKA The Droolnet Headquarters!

This domain DocsPlace.org, registered in 1998, was my Computer Bulletin Board System (BBS) access point, which allowed the public dial-up Internet access to the www and the Fidonet network, operated by hobbyists utilizing dial-up modems. After a 32-year milestone, the Internet-connected Wildcat V5 which allowed both www and Telnet access was retired! ☹️ It was the most advanced BBS software of its kind!

An original Floridian is often called a Cracker, and Florida is a Cracker State. I’ve got many cracker stories to tell. One I recently published is about James Earl ‘Doc’ Webb, who founded Webb’s City and made St Petersburg, FL, world-famous in the 50s-’60s!

docs/s place online
Doc’s Place BBS Online Sysop View in 2005

In 1998, I upgraded my Wildcat V4 software to the latest version, Wildcat V5, with the optional Internet connection pack. At that time, I could call my BBS from work and browse the web using my tiny gateway. The local net 1:3603 was losing Sysops because folks quit calling and transitioned to the net. Since my site was then online, nobody knew about it. I developed a clever plan using a dynamic DNS provider to get a subdomain that automatically updates my IP address when it changes.

Fidonews Archive 08/14/2012 | Doc's Place BBS Online Fido News BBS Advertisement

At that time I had a dual-channel ISDN net connection and was line camping on Microsoft Network. I was ready to cast my digital hook into the Fidonet backbone, which had around 900 conferences at the time. I sent a single Internet BBS ad to every conference. The moderators were sending me Netmail, threatening to cut my feed. But as it turned out, many people lost access when their local BBS pulled the plug!

Doc's Place BBS Fidonews Volume 27 Number 40 10/04/2010
Doc’s Place BBS Fidonews 2nd Article 2010