A World Locally oh my did it change my direction in tech

When I kicked off my journey with AWL, the internet was often referred to as the information superhighway, a term that only the most tech-savvy folks understood. In just a short span, my tech landscape evolved rapidly: from being an Amiga enthusiast to embracing my first x386 machine running Windows/DOS, and then setting up a modest 4-line BBS (which was quite the feat back then, considering most BBSs only had a single line).

Then came the leap to installing Linux 1.0, a process that required a whopping 72 floppy disks, bridging the gap from a DOS-based BBS to a Novell server NLM, and finally to Linux, connecting through a local "internet provider" that typically catered to T1 telecom customers. Initially, my BBS offered basic services like Gopher, FTP, and Usenet, but soon evolved to support PPP connections with the Mosaic web browser. It's worth noting that Internet Explorer wouldn't make its debut until a year later, packaged on just a single floppy disk.

At its zenith, my setup boasted a whopping 10 phone lines, each running on 33.6 modems.

I was self-taught on all of the above with no internet help in those days.  

Only evidence I could find of my old ISP

 Hah, the only evidence I could find of my old ISP https://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=455436&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE

Take me way back to the late 80s and create a color 64 bbs emulator with door games. With fake users and sysop mode as well in python

 

ChatGPT

Creating a nostalgic BBS (Bulletin Board System) emulator in Python with colorful text, fake users, sysop mode, and door games is a fun project! Below is a simple Python script that demonstrates a basic BBS emulator with these features. We'll use colorama for color text support and random to generate fake users.

First, ensure you have colorama installed:

sh
pip install colorama

Here's the Python script:

python
import random
import time
from colorama import init, Fore, Back, Style

# Initialize colorama
init(autoreset=True)

# Fake users data
fake_users = [
    {"username": "RetroGamer", "status": "online"},
    {"username": "SysopMaster", "status": "offline"},
    {"username": "TechGuru", "status": "online"},
    {"username": "BBSFan", "status": "online"},
    {"username": "NetSurfer", "status": "offline"}
]

def display_welcome_message():
    print(Fore.CYAN + "Welcome to the Retro BBS!")
    print(Fore.CYAN + "Connecting to the BBS..." + Fore.GREEN + " Connected")
    print(Fore.CYAN + "====================================")

def list_users():
    print(Fore.YELLOW + "User List:")
    for user in fake_users:
        status_color = Fore.GREEN if user["status"] == "online" else Fore.RED
        print(f"{user['username']}: {status_color}{user['status']}")

def door_games():
    print(Fore.MAGENTA + "Available Door Games:")
    print(Fore.MAGENTA + "1. Tradewars 2002")
    print(Fore.MAGENTA + "2. Legend of the Red Dragon")
    print(Fore.MAGENTA + "3. Barren Realms Elite")
    print(Fore.MAGENTA + "4. Exit")

def sysop_mode():
    print(Fore.BLUE + "Entering Sysop Mode...")
    print(Fore.BLUE + "1. View System Logs")
    print(Fore.BLUE + "2. Manage Users")
    print(Fore.BLUE + "3. Exit Sysop Mode")

def view_system_logs():
    print(Fore.BLUE + "System Logs:")
    logs = [
        "User RetroGamer logged in.",
        "User BBSFan started a game of Tradewars 2002.",
        "User TechGuru logged out."
    ]
    for log in logs:
        print(Fore.BLUE + log)

def manage_users():
    print(Fore.BLUE + "Managing Users:")
    for user in fake_users:
        print(Fore.BLUE + f"{user['username']} is {user['status']}")

def main_menu():
    while True:
        print(Fore.CYAN + "\nMain Menu:")
        print(Fore.CYAN + "1. List Users")
        print(Fore.CYAN + "2. Play Door Games")
        print(Fore.CYAN + "3. Enter Sysop Mode")
        print(Fore.CYAN + "4. Exit")

        choice = input(Fore.CYAN + "Choose an option: ")

        if choice == "1":
            list_users()
        elif choice == "2":
            door_games()
            game_choice = input(Fore.MAGENTA + "Choose a game: ")
            if game_choice == "4":
                continue
            else:
                print(Fore.MAGENTA + "Launching game...")
                time.sleep(2)
                print(Fore.MAGENTA + "Enjoy your game!")
        elif choice == "3":
            sysop_mode()
            sysop_choice = input(Fore.BLUE + "Choose an option: ")
            if sysop_choice == "1":
                view_system_logs()
            elif sysop_choice == "2":
                manage_users()
            elif sysop_choice == "3":
                continue
        elif choice == "4":
            print(Fore.CYAN + "Goodbye!")
            break
        else:
            print(Fore.RED + "Invalid option, please try again.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    display_welcome_message()
    main_menu()

This script sets up a simple BBS emulator with the following features:

1. Welcome Message: Displays a welcome message and simulates connecting to the BBS.
2. List Users: Lists fake users with their online/offline status.
3. Door Games: Displays a list of door games.
4. Sysop Mode: Allows entering sysop mode to view system logs and manage users.
5. Main Menu: Provides a main menu to navigate through the options.

Run this script, and it will give you a nostalgic feel of a late 80s BBS system. You can expand this by adding more functionality and interactive elements as needed.