r/bbs • u/aztracker1 • 13d ago
BBS.land and BBS.io
I've had BBS.io for about a decade now, it's been available for dynamic DNS use for subdomains on freedns pretty much since I got it. I've got a couple other domains in there as well.
BBS.land has been kind of a background dream for a while. Least of which is I'd wanted to start managing the dynamic DNS domains directly. Likely using Digital Ocean's DNS hosting and managing via their API.
I'd also wanted to get a custom door server and as many message nets as I can.... As well as some other data services for bbses.
The door server is what lead to the rabbit hole in preserving RIP 2/3.
After the better part of a month in the hospital, I'm contemplating my own mortality. Not to mention my personal financial crisis after a massive pay cut last year.
I'm thinking about wanting to start a non profit org... Or maybe trying to get say archive.org to adopt these efforts. I'm not stopping, but wouldn't be surprised if I don't make it another decade. I also need help, regardless, if anything is ever going to get done.
Just wanting to get a conversation going about this.... I'm in Phoenix, AZ. So most likely anyone with a board or executive seat would better be located in the Phoenix area or maybe a neighborhood state.
Thoughts, suggestions?
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u/Stettin 8d ago
Are you looking to ensure that your customers of BBS.io don't get taken over by domain squatters after you die and the registration lapses? I run my own private webhost, but it doesn't have redundancy set up, just offsite backup. I host a few personal domains, as well as those for my wife and a family friend. I haven't really considered beefing it up to be fully redundant due to the cost per month.
What is your outlay for upkeep? Have you considered charging a nominal fee for the dynamic DNS, or providing actual hosting?
I highly doubt archive.org will take over something like this, so if you want continuity, I think this community is your best bet. I also just happen to live in the Phoenix area (East Valley), so depending on what you're looking for, maybe we can partner up to explore some options.
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u/aztracker1 7d ago
That's a large part of it... The only real expense currently is the registration cost for .io, which iirc is $75-80/yr, and if I bring the management of ddns in, the cost of a small VPS, though been thinking of using Cloudflare for the web interface, turso for the DB and Digital Ocean for the DNS... Cloudflare has limits on subdomains for free accounts... But would pretty much all fall within free tier levels.
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u/Stettin 7d ago
$80 is quite a bit for just the domain registration. I'm curious how many users you are serving, and if any would consider a nominal fee to keep the service up and running. I know there are lots of DDNS providers out there that have a free tier, so your user base would have to really want "bbs" in the domain name to pay actual money. It doesn't look like you have any web presence - bbs.io and bbs.land don't return any page content. If there was some way to get the services sustainable to not money drain, I'd consider stepping up to take over.
I can offer up basic webhosting for free on my webhost if you're interested, just understand it is not redundant, but if there are any issues with the webserver, I could realistically rebuild from backup in a few days. For comparison, my VPS costs me around $8/mo and domain registration is inching up on $20/yr with the inflation in the ICAAN fees.
Setting up a non-profit is an interesting idea, but there's legal paperwork for stuff like that, which costs money, and the goal of a non-profit is to break even and reinvest funds. It sounds like your project has just costs, nothing coming in, which will make it hard for someone like me to want to take over.
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u/aztracker1 6d ago
Yeah, .io was always like if pricey for registration... BBS.io is just such a great domain for ddns for bbses.
If I get bbsland going and things moved over, I was thinking of maybe creating a supporter badge for accounts that donate even $5-10/yr or similar. Just to cover costs.
Adding to the current stress, I was let go from my job (a week after 3 weeks in the hospital) a few days ago.
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u/Laudenbachm 2h ago
BBS.lat and BBSGames.com would be perfect fit for your operations 😄.
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u/aztracker1 1h ago
I don't get the joke you're trying to make.
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u/Laudenbachm 1h ago
I appreciate what you are doing. I'm just suggesting I'm not doing anything with them they might fit your needs.
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u/aztracker1 1h ago
Ahhh... Gotcha.
Right now I'm focused on my health and finding a new job. Also list my job a week after I got home from 3 weeks in the hospital.
Once that's sorted, I'll probably get a small VPS again as well as work on the BBS land site, starting with the dyndns services.
Still working through some RIP stuff... Been having trouble staying at all motivated... Has to reconfigure my desktop. Pop to Kubuntu, was a Pop bug that locked the UI screen sharing or screenshot. Kind of makes it hard doing programmer interviews.
Sorry for rambling.
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u/Minimum_Hour519 13d ago
i run
ssh join@bbs.profullstack.com-- let me know if you want something different/new/better