From the perspective of Facebook, Google, and especially Wikipedia ... anything to the right of Mother Jones is a "hate site".

I just find it interesting that they've changed the reason they won't let me link from "hate site" to "SPAM." 

They're sure good about getting out ahead of criticisms. 

It isn't like I've posted it a billion times in a billion different groups. For one thing, I don't WANT that much traffic - my ISP might get upset. For another... there isn't anything for sale here, except free opinions - and you know they're like assholes, only good for one... maybe two... things, depending on your own personal preferences. 

This doesn't work if I'm the only one posting messages. 

maybe I need to use this with Telnet to get the real BBS experience 😬

Fri Jul 31 2020 08:40:44 MST from kc

What the fuck is this BBS software? I never actually encountered it in the wild back then. Were all
BBS softwares this bad?

KC, you're about to get a history lesson. 

Citadel BBSes seem objectively bad to people interested in Menu Driven BBSes with an emphasis on file transfer and online door gaming - and that was the majority of online BBS users back in the day. But a little exploration reveals that Citadel was ahead of the curve and set the tone as the precursor of Usenet forums and modern web forums. 

Citadel was invented by a guy named Cy - I think - and was originally intended to be an online MUD FRP game. That is where the concept of ROOMS came from. You would enter a room, have an encounter, interactively, with other users, and then move to the next room, where another encounter would happen. 

That didn't work - it was probably too complex for the machines of the day. But, the idea was salvaged into a different kind of BBS experience - one where you would have rooms based on TOPICS, and users could post sequential messages that other users would respond to. It made Citadel's message forums FAR more interactive and created a user base more interested in *conversation*, debate and discussion than when the next hot Warez crack was going to be in the file section. 

But basically, while menu driven BBS systems are an evolutionary dead end - you don't really see anything online today that evolved from that concept - every leap forward of online communication, all the way to Facebook - has its genesis in Citadel. 

It isn't *everyone's* cup of tea - and never has been - and the users of Citadel, "Citadelphians," would have suggested this was part of the allure of Citadel. It weeds out the h@x0rz and phreakers and warez traders. 

I hated it when I first encountered it to. But once I figured it out and it dawned on me how it worked, I was hooked. 

Are you connecting via the webclient or a text client, because - they're significantly different experiences. 

Also, important to know, and not really described... maybe I should make a "Citadel FAQ"... 

On your first log-in, EVERY message in EVERY room is a "NEW" message, which means you may be seeing months or even years of conversations that meander, go off topic, go back on topic, have had messages deleted... and each room can take a long time to wade through, especially if you try and read every message in every room. This may initially make a lot of people give up before they've seen the beauty of how this works. 

The trick usually is, on your first call, just <G>oto each room, one after the other. Once you <G>oto a room, then <G>oto the next room, all messages in the previous room are marked <R>ead. At the end you <T>erminate (or in the web client, log out). When you do this, all these changes are saved. 

Then on your next call - new messages will be much more manageable - and you'll be able to pick up on the CURRENT conversation in each room and start to contribute. 

Imagine if the first time you entered Facebook, you saw every message posted by EVERY person on your friend list (and you had a complete friend list). But the next time you went back, only the messages since the LAST message you read on your first visit would show as new. 

That is what Citadel does. 

Ok. I'm quitting Facebook. This is it. I'll only log on here now. 

I love the real internet.

Thanks for being here.

If you're not off FB Messenger yet, I've sent you a message there. 

But it looks like I haven't explored the Chat function here yet, so never mind that. I'll try and send a personal chat here. 

Sun Nov 08 2020 14:53:42 MST from Wangiss

If you're not off FB Messenger yet, I've sent you a message there. 

But it looks like I haven't explored the Chat function here yet, so never mind that. I'll try and send a personal chat here. 

The catch is, I have to be logged in to get an IM from Citadel - But, I may just get in the habit of opening a window and leaving it active. I did get your message. 

There is more to come. I'm dedicating myself to investing some time and money into getting this more reliable and more available. Before, this was just kind of a side thing - but clearly - the way things are going - I'm interested in social media - just not on the terms of Facebook, Twitter and a Democrat administration that simply doesn't make any sense. 

I also want to divest my social media of morons in general - and it seems like the learning curve on Citadel is a built in barrier to entry for most of them - so... There are a lot of "Friends" in my "friendslist" that I don't really care to interact with anymore. 

You're welcome. We're not going anywhere, if we can do anything about it. 

Sun Nov 08 2020 14:43:53 MST from Wangiss Subject: {heaves sigh of relief}

I love the real internet.

Thanks for being here.

If you could be so kind, if you're on Facebook, and you see that people are upset that I am gone, go ahead and drop them a note that they can keep in touch at secure dot wallofhate dot com. 

You may have to be creative in sharing the URL with them. 

How Citadel Works: 

This informative video will show you how to navigate from room to room in Citadel if you are confused or overwhelmed by this. It isn't hard once you get the hang of it. 

https://youtu.be/pTyHIWMRSCc

I posted your video in one of my groups.  We'll see if anything happens.