I recently asked ISCABBS users to post some of the reasons they like ISCABBS so much. Why are people so attached to this on-line community? Here are some of the answers I received. Some are humorous. Some are serious. All reflect a diverse community that has existed since the dawn of the public internet and has persisted for over 16 years.
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May 18, 2005 07:43 from Festus Mahoney
Tomte:
That's kind of like asking why alcoholics like Mad Dog. Is there really any satisfactory answre?
May 18, 2005 07:44 from Giraffe
ISCABBS is cheap and gets you drunk fast?
May 18, 2005 07:56 from Sherlock Holmes
I'm here simply out of habit I think. Started here in late 91/early 92 when I went to college. Now it's just a force of habit to log in, chat with some friends, and scroll through the forums.
May 18, 2005 09:13 from John Public
ISCA BBS is small enough that there are rarely more than a few threads going at once in any given forum.
Also: no spam.
May 18, 2005 09:24 from Tanj
ISCABBS is old enough that experienced experts hang out in the technical forums to help you with your problems.
May 18, 2005 10:21 from JLHL
I continue to log in due to my eager expectation of the new, multi-layered, web-compatible software coming in 1998.
May 18, 2005 10:06 from Peterock
ISCA is unobtrusive and lends itself well to participation while you're doing more important things like working. The conversations are self-paced, as opposed to the constant scroll of a typical "chat room." Topics are abundant, but most move slowly enough that you can fully particiapte in numerous forums without running the risk of missing parts of the conversation. It's also a good way to stay in touch with people over great distances.
Plus, you can meet hot babes.
May 18, 2005 10:15 from Xanthi
I like ISCA because I'm not bothered by pop up ads, don't have young teens running amuck thinking they own the airwaves (yahoo chat is the worst for that) and that most of the people here are pretty cool most of the time. That and if I ever need an answer typically someone here has it.
May 18, 2005 11:51 from Kirk
I login to hear the same lame jokes repeatedly.
May 18, 2005 12:46 from Steppenwolf
I log in to hear people repeatedly bemoaning the repetition of certain jokes.
May 18, 2005 13:11 from Pocket
I login to take advantage of poor, horny, drunk men that don't know any better.
May 18, 2005 13:21 from Beta
I log in to read the more technical forums. I don't chat on here much at all. The technical forums have proven useful to me, so I use them to keep up with what's going on in tech. By reading the tech forums on ISCA I've discovered many geek websites like Slashdot.org and arstechnica.com. I haven't gone a week without logging in to isca since 97. It use to be pretty popular at my school (Tuskegee University), but with the advent of web based chatrooms, many students were turned off by the text base interface of ISCA.
May 18, 2005 14:06 from The After Party
I like beta come here for the tech stuff. Unlike the rest of the net, the content here is higher quality. I trust the regulars in the tech forums. If I were to google for technical advise/answers, the source would be unknown.
I keep up with my college buddies as we all created accounts 10ish years ago and don't see each other as often as we did in college.
I read VGAP because the gamer community is full of "asshats" so its nice to have a group of mature adults to game with.
May 18, 2005 14:38 from Kirk
ISCABBS: We have fewer asshats.
May 18, 2005 15:02 from Debauch
I log in to talk to friends, and to read forums.
Looking elsewhere online, it seems like some sites have too little moderation- I've seen chat rooms that constantly got spammed by pornbots. On ISCA, if someone claiming to be a hot horny blond 18 year old comes into Babble, we'd known someone had changed their name and decided to play a little joke, because there's no pornbots or horny teens here.
Other sites have too much moderation. On one parenting site, it will censor the word "prick", so you have to find other terms to use when talking about a baby getting a shot. Lame. On ISCA, you can say prick, or any other word you'd like to use.
May 18, 2005 16:24 from Larusso
I come here because unlike graphic based internet sites, I can pass off ISCA as actual work. God bless the old school text-based world! Helping slackers coast by at work since 1990!
May 18, 2005 16:28 from Cyanide
Someone usually has the correct answer or has time to find a good one. You cover a variety of topics. And you can sift through most of it quickly with the space bar. Plus you can use an X and try to get a direct reply without trying to hard. You don't need external applications to do IM. It doesn't slow your machine down if you are actually trying to do real work in the background.
Most people are fairly nice, and fairly helpful or just funny. Plus it can be a wider variety of views. Although a larger userbase would help that.. =)
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With testimonials like that, do you need to hear more? Join ISCABBS today!
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May 18, 2005 07:43 from Festus Mahoney
Tomte:
That's kind of like asking why alcoholics like Mad Dog. Is there really any satisfactory answre?
May 18, 2005 07:44 from Giraffe
ISCABBS is cheap and gets you drunk fast?
May 18, 2005 07:56 from Sherlock Holmes
I'm here simply out of habit I think. Started here in late 91/early 92 when I went to college. Now it's just a force of habit to log in, chat with some friends, and scroll through the forums.
May 18, 2005 09:13 from John Public
ISCA BBS is small enough that there are rarely more than a few threads going at once in any given forum.
Also: no spam.
May 18, 2005 09:24 from Tanj
ISCABBS is old enough that experienced experts hang out in the technical forums to help you with your problems.
May 18, 2005 10:21 from JLHL
I continue to log in due to my eager expectation of the new, multi-layered, web-compatible software coming in 1998.
May 18, 2005 10:06 from Peterock
ISCA is unobtrusive and lends itself well to participation while you're doing more important things like working. The conversations are self-paced, as opposed to the constant scroll of a typical "chat room." Topics are abundant, but most move slowly enough that you can fully particiapte in numerous forums without running the risk of missing parts of the conversation. It's also a good way to stay in touch with people over great distances.
Plus, you can meet hot babes.
May 18, 2005 10:15 from Xanthi
I like ISCA because I'm not bothered by pop up ads, don't have young teens running amuck thinking they own the airwaves (yahoo chat is the worst for that) and that most of the people here are pretty cool most of the time. That and if I ever need an answer typically someone here has it.
May 18, 2005 11:51 from Kirk
I login to hear the same lame jokes repeatedly.
May 18, 2005 12:46 from Steppenwolf
I log in to hear people repeatedly bemoaning the repetition of certain jokes.
May 18, 2005 13:11 from Pocket
I login to take advantage of poor, horny, drunk men that don't know any better.
May 18, 2005 13:21 from Beta
I log in to read the more technical forums. I don't chat on here much at all. The technical forums have proven useful to me, so I use them to keep up with what's going on in tech. By reading the tech forums on ISCA I've discovered many geek websites like Slashdot.org and arstechnica.com. I haven't gone a week without logging in to isca since 97. It use to be pretty popular at my school (Tuskegee University), but with the advent of web based chatrooms, many students were turned off by the text base interface of ISCA.
May 18, 2005 14:06 from The After Party
I like beta come here for the tech stuff. Unlike the rest of the net, the content here is higher quality. I trust the regulars in the tech forums. If I were to google for technical advise/answers, the source would be unknown.
I keep up with my college buddies as we all created accounts 10ish years ago and don't see each other as often as we did in college.
I read VGAP because the gamer community is full of "asshats" so its nice to have a group of mature adults to game with.
May 18, 2005 14:38 from Kirk
ISCABBS: We have fewer asshats.
May 18, 2005 15:02 from Debauch
I log in to talk to friends, and to read forums.
Looking elsewhere online, it seems like some sites have too little moderation- I've seen chat rooms that constantly got spammed by pornbots. On ISCA, if someone claiming to be a hot horny blond 18 year old comes into Babble, we'd known someone had changed their name and decided to play a little joke, because there's no pornbots or horny teens here.
Other sites have too much moderation. On one parenting site, it will censor the word "prick", so you have to find other terms to use when talking about a baby getting a shot. Lame. On ISCA, you can say prick, or any other word you'd like to use.
May 18, 2005 16:24 from Larusso
I come here because unlike graphic based internet sites, I can pass off ISCA as actual work. God bless the old school text-based world! Helping slackers coast by at work since 1990!
May 18, 2005 16:28 from Cyanide
Someone usually has the correct answer or has time to find a good one. You cover a variety of topics. And you can sift through most of it quickly with the space bar. Plus you can use an X and try to get a direct reply without trying to hard. You don't need external applications to do IM. It doesn't slow your machine down if you are actually trying to do real work in the background.
Most people are fairly nice, and fairly helpful or just funny. Plus it can be a wider variety of views. Although a larger userbase would help that.. =)
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With testimonials like that, do you need to hear more? Join ISCABBS today!
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