BBS: The Documentary

Disc 1: • Baud: the beginnings of the first BBSes, featuring Ward Christensen and Randy Suess • SysOps and Users: experiences from those who used and operated BBSes, including B.W. Behling from Ahoy! magazine Disc 2: • Make it Pay: the BBS industry of the 1980s and 90s featuring Philip L. Becker, founder of eSoft • FidoNet: details the largest volunteer-run computer network in history • Artscene: the history of the ANSI Art Scene which thrived in the BBS world Disc 3: • HPAC (Hacking Phreaking Anarchy Cracking): hear from the users of "underground" BBSes • No Carrier: the end of the dial-up BBS and its integration into the Internet • Compression: the story of the PKWARE/SEA legal battle of the late 1980s Disc 3 also serves as a DVD-ROM which contains thousands of photographs from the 200 interviews recorded during the 4-year production of the film. All of the episodes are subtitled in English and include director's commentary tracks. The Artscene episode is the only one to include subtitles translated into Russian. All discs include hidden easter eggs. == Reception ==

BBS: The Documentary was well reviewed, mainly by publications within the technology space. Wired called it "a five-and-a-half-hour paean to the era when computers were named Stacy and Lisa, and tech loyalists fought bitter battles over the superiority of Ataris to Amigas". Popular Mechanics called it a "labor of love" and said it was "the sort of thing that not everyone can digest, but is utterly fascinating to those that can". Since its release, the film has been cited by multiple academic works on the topic of computing history and internet culture. ==References==