BBS: The Documentary
A documentary on the bulletin board system subculture.
BBS: The Documentary is an eight-episode film series about the culture that emerged from the creation of the bulletin board system. It was produced by computer historian Jason Scott over a period beginning in July 2001 and ending in December 2004, with the finished product shipping in May 2005. The documentary was released under a Creative Commons license, though the downloadable version contains only a portion of the material, and the author recommends purchasing the DVDs.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Jason Scott
- Producer
- Nicole Sparks
- Released
- 2005, 05
- Runtime
- 4 hours 58 minutes
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Episodes
Disc 1 contains Baud, covering the first BBSes with Ward Christensen and Randy Suess, and SysOps and Users, featuring experiences from operators and users including B.W. Behling of Ahoy! magazine. Disc 2 includes Make it Pay, about the BBS industry with eSoft founder Philip L. Becker; FidoNet, on the largest volunteer-run computer network; and Artscene, on the ANSI Art Scene. Disc 3 holds HPAC, about underground BBSes; No Carrier, on the end of dial-up BBS and its integration into the Internet; and Compression, covering the PKWARE/SEA legal battle. Disc 3 also functions as a DVD-ROM with thousands of photographs from the 200 interviews. All episodes have English subtitles and director commentary; only Artscene includes Russian subtitles. All discs contain hidden easter eggs.
Reception
The documentary received positive reviews, mainly from technology-focused publications. Wired described it as a five-and-a-half-hour tribute to an era of computers named Stacy and Lisa and rivalries between Atari and Amiga users. Film Threat called it a fascinating documentary about an obscure technology. Popular Mechanics termed it a labor of love, fascinating to those who can digest it. The film has been cited in multiple academic works on computing history and internet culture.
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