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"Cartoon By WAYNE YANG Staff writer "Connection Confirmed... Identity not established. Password? CR if new user," says the computer's screen. A blinking cursor waits at the end of the line. The person at the terminal types in "H-E-RO-I-C-S," and waits. "Welcome, Bionic Baby, calling from Columbia, S.C. You've called the WordWorks 112 times before. "Searching message base. You have the following waiting:" The computer eoes through a list of posted messages for Bionic Baby. "Read now?" Bionic Baby decides that, yes, he wants to read his mail now. ^^1SG 49695 ARTS AND SCIENCES^^B I V 01/14/88 21:19:51 (READ TWO TIMES)^B / [ FROM: JAMES ROSE V I I TO: BIONIC BABY J I SUBJECT:MOVIES / I Bio, did you see that crummy movie on I / I HHBC* last night? What's with all the gore, the I I I bloody limbs and the teeth? I / 1 Bionic Baby is on the WordWorks electronic V I bulletin board service ? "BBS" to the/ / 1 ^faithful. I itiraifaw "W ? j 10pm I * Steak'n'Egg ! & 2* EKS 814 Harden St farw forv J you may wit notes to your heart'; And if that isn't ( reason to look at a A today, here's anothe Right now, you three chances to wi of Sony's Discman " nlawrc?inrludine ViU iiiv--" Q citing Sony Pocket I which also plays th< 3-inch CDs. And ev( miss out on the CD is" speak A BBS is a glorified, computerized bulletin board. Computer users hook translator boxes, "modems," to their computers and link their computers by phone. These modems can tirelessly translate computer language to electrical phone impulses, then back to computer language ? two computers, two modems, one phone line ? that's a modem hookup. Computer users with a modem hookup can link up directly with a BBS. The system has software programming which allows it to save "public messages," and the messages are then posted on different "boards." These boards are open to the public for viewing and consumption (hence the name bulletin board service). Like most BBSes, the Word Works also offers "electronic mail." These messages are protected from viewing by people other than those whom the "letter" is addressed to. Like any technological toy, the WordWorks has its share of the fanatical, users who call up the system everyday, sometimes leaving as many 20 or 30 messages to 20 different people. 9 9 *1 --11 - 1 .1 ' nacners, uicy aic eanea, mougn tney are not anything like the precocious teen "hackers" who break into defense and bank computers. No, they are BBS hackers, and BBS hackers are known more for their pursuit of truth along the telecommunications phone lines than for flagrant abuse of the law. They spend hours glued to their computer terminals, calling local or long distance in the eternal pursuit for the ultimate BBS. Few BBSes are worth spending a lot of time on, but the WordFive Points light Restaurant irs: 11pm - 11am & Sun. until 1pm I -6am SPECIAL ] + 2 + 2 [ is, 2 pancakes | mk ilkes of bacon 04 Wk ourp aus la Sony Disc > content, you may still win enough Apple T-shirts. Nc lacintosh attached?just fil r: registration form; have location listed be n nnp On mmp in or VilV U\J VUIHV JUl OA CD your hands on a } the ex- If not for your )iscman, for your folks, inew / in ifyou wplayer, The power to bey : on comi "This is just the place to be f< The WordWorks is just sever! everyone is a Death Knight or Flaming Deal or something in a: WordWorks regularly aren't lc telligent electronic correspondei ps< workers know that the "Works," is one of the best. c? niia id judi me piacc isj uc iui liiiciiigeni debate on any subject. The WordWorks is just several cuts above those boards where everyone is a Death Knight or Demon Prince or Great Big Hairy Flaming Deal or something in a similar vein. The people who call up WordWorks regularly aren't looking for anything more than intelligent electronic correspondence," says Milo Bloom, the pseudonym for a Columbia area journalist. "It is an excellent forum for finding out what people are interested in, and what people want to know. It is the perfect format for getting feedback for your work," Bloom says. An IBM PC clone, a single floppy disk drive, a 20 mega-byte hard disk drive, an Epson MX-80 printer, an Everex modem card and TBBS communications software make up the actual hard components of the Works. The hardware, the electronics components martStyli] Sure, you're le; meiu,ureP And lessons to like style?whc I and who doesr I Command Pert' In a class by 01 every visit. N H mand# Five Points nrmonno" w??dhillMall ; DUIMiIUC Decker Mall / vIG SALONS Dutch Center 7 ?19 areni man. /y one of 15 f I 4acintosh. self, do it I puterizef or intelligent debate on any subject al cuts above those boards when Demon Prince or Great Big Hain similar vein. The people who call uf >oking for anything more than in ice." Milo Bloom eudonym for a Columbia area journalist ? these are physical parts. As any person on the WordWorks will tell you, electronic parts do not a BBS make. "The Works is the people on the Works. Quro or?\7 DDC ^ + U ?* ? ? mi j mjmju \,a 11 tunic up Willi 1111a pell I U1 this board, or this message base or this editorial base," says one BBSer. "But can any ' other system come up with Milo Bloom, Oliver Wendell Jones or Y54 Blazoo? The Works is the only system in Columbia where you can have a serious discussion with a cartoon character," says one BBSer. Well, not exactly cartoon characters, but people (professionals, public officals and students) who choose to use pseudonyms out of necessity or out of shyness. Sure, there are real "characters" on the WordWorks too. No dialogue can go on long without a one-liner from the intelligent but mischievous Ray Radlein. There is also Bill Weston, the "Answerman in Residence" on the Arts and Sciences board. Weston prides 3g rf^C V.? * |v<" yffiST* K tents. and r today, >has1600 PARK CI 11 PLACE ON THI ormance. jrselves. ^ modem conve nsultation only CL o appoint Studios 1 Furnish 254-9175 T * "vrrfcii/r 776-0865 LANDMi '88-7213 98-7812 B6 COMMPERF. INC s, 1 bulletin 1 himself on being able to find the most arcane and trivial facts. He insists, for instance, that he knows the secret formula for Coca-Cola. " He answers questions about quasars, f phonetics and black and white movies. Bill, j you see, is a detective by profession when he is not hibernating in his personal library. The system is also populated by characters such as the Censorship Sentinel, who gives case studies of current censorship incidents and punctuates his call to arms with "Write! Write! Write! Write! Stand up and be counted!"Anonymous Jones, a cult figure among BBSes in the United States, calls occasionally to update a BBS directory. "As far as the community pf the Works... They are a group of nasty, opinionated, arrogant, over-educated, well-read, intelligent... Hey, I like them," Weston says. "I mean, one can be 'nice' just so long until someone rubs you the wrong way, then you have to get nasty. But I think that the majority of callers here expect that. In fact, many of them hope for it. One week, you and another caller may be at odds, the next you stand side by side. One might call us an electronic brotherhood." Of course, there is Wes Ives ? Wesley D. Ives ? creator, arbitrator and system censor of the WordWorks. Wes is the sysop (systems operator), the one who created this monster compilation of games and message boards. "I'm the guy who built this system, who turned his computer into a glorified answering See "Works," page 10 ALL TODAY THE BEST SELECTIONS IN TOWN FOR SALE OF LEASE RCLE PLAZA CENTER C GREENE FIVE POINTS niences including security and shnrt 1/inll- in nines Bedrooms 2 Bedrooms ed and Unfurnished iRK RESOURCES 799-0859 % \ \_ Ji0Sn POftTUUCOMHCTMC