• The Sysop And The BBS

    From Daryl Stout@1:19/33 to All on Saturday, July 04, 2015 11:59:21

    The Sysop Of A BBS
    Dedicated to all current and former Sysops
    Written By Daryl Stout, Sysop
    The Thunderbolt BBS, Little Rock, Arkansas

    1) Long before the world wide web, a special thing was there.
    Run by men and women both; whose hobby, they would share.
    With callers who would logon to, what they had in store.
    The Sysop Of A BBS, with offerings galore.

    2) The BBS, a bulletin board system, it was known.
    While some would be professional, most would be home grown.
    A labor of love it was, as a hobby, too.
    Messages, files, doorgames, bulletins, for all to view.

    3) From starting in the seventies, to what it is today.
    First dial-up, then telnet, then web browsers to display.
    Some were specialized in themes, featured there online.
    Others had so many things, to do with logon time.

    4) So many brands of software, too...that Sysops, could there choose.
    And also many message networks, that they too, could use.
    Reading system manuals, to set things up just right.
    Whether it would be part time; or both day and night.

    5) Setting up access levels, doors and files, there.
    Bulletins and other things, many to prepare.
    Message areas and nets; data to be tossed.
    Then power, phone, and internet, and computer cost.

    6) There is an unwritten rule, with Sysops everywhere.
    The majority of work: your system...you prepare.
    Then, do you have Co-Sysops, to help you with the work??
    Responsibility, as Sysop, you can not, there, shirk.

    7) Once the setup was complete, validation was the task.
    Callers as guests in your home...what questions there, to ask.
    While most users would comply, with the system rules.
    Unfortunately, miscreants; thought Sysops, were just fools.

    8) Protecting from a virus, spyware, or other trojan horse.
    Constant part of Sysops work, it's par for the course.
    Removing users whose data, is there, falsified.
    And protecting other Sysops...they too, are notified.

    9) User data confidential, unless rules are broken.
    Or if summoned by subepona; when justice law, has spoken.
    To let strangers in your home, a death wish, you have there.
    But, if these do as you have asked, their data isn't shared.

    10) Other rules that you, as Sysop, must follow every day.
    If InterBBS doorgames, how competition's played.
    Or with message networks, using handles or real names.
    Responsibility for posts; truthfulness, or shame.

    11) Then like movie ratings there, the content you employ.
    Will it be for all ages, parents, girls, and boys??
    Or will there be limits on areas, seen there??
    Validate the callers age; with this, take great care.

    12) While the job seems glamorous, with every Sysops life.
    Many times, ungratefulness, and never ending strife.
    With your work, some callers there, never will be pleased.
    They'd never run a board themselves, reject it like a sneeze.

    13) No matter what others think, you know deep inside.
    Your BBS, it is your own, and a source of pride.
    Even though there are other boards, worldwide, or in town.
    Some boards up for a long time; but many have gone down.

    14) No matter what its content theme, or even of its size.
    The Sysop Of A BBS, their system, is their prize.
    So, whether current, or retired, from the Sysop ranks.
    For everything done with your board, I for one, say thanks!!

    **************************************************************************
    From the "My Testimony --To Soar With Jesus Collection".
    Writtten by Daryl Stout. (C) Copyright 1989, 2015 by Daryl Stout.
    All Rights Reserved. Any abuse or unauthorized usage of this poetry
    will be dealt with at The Judgment Before Jesus Christ. The "Soar
    With Jesus" Eagle Design was created and designed by Dale Larison,
    and it is used by permission. ************************************************************************** ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


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    * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS (1:19/33)