I was about 12-14 years old when I used to run an OLD 2400bps dial modem.
Upgrading that first time to 9600bps was quite a thrill. I was lucky enough to have my own phone line where the phone rang continuously to connect to my BBS system. I was known as the SYSop (system operator). I named some lieutenants to login and cleanup the BBS. I caught some co-ops steeling passwords from users who registered. I then learned some of their early on hacking methods. Many people use shortcut passwords for every BBS system. I learned people are lazy, and generally use the same password and username.
This is basic for hackers and goes on today. In any case we had messages going on, as well as file upload and download. You had to upload in order to download ( similar to steem power and upvoting). Our cash was the upload / download ratio. Files were knowledge and power back then. For those of you who don't know, a BBS or bulletin board system is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. See wiki https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulletin_board_system Anyways the short version, I installed a Renegade BBS system and then learned of the underground. The underground consisted of WAReZ. Commonly known as games, gifs, music, utils, and art.
The artwork definitely hooked me. I wanted to draw like these guys (even though it was 256 resolution). These guys were talented. So I started to up it to sVGA graphics. I have been looking for my old work. I was in a group called RELiC and then I moved to an electronic magazine called Catharsis. It didn't last long and my career was over. In the late 1990s started to hear about the internet from a Toronto based group called Dark. http://artscene.textfiles.com
Underground, What was the BBS underground? Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet it has taken on a whole new light...Lets blow out the candles and speak in terms anyone can understand... What you see today online or references being made towards gambling, securities fraud, identity theft, worms to name a few... This is the internet, not the hobby of BBSing... Back in the day there was hackers, crackers and phreakers to name a few...It was real rare for someone to knock down a bulletin board system, when the internet came along it brought on a whole new breed of problems, some created and some brand new... Some so far blown out of proportion by a very few... BBSing, this is where the names where coined... This is where the hobby of BBSing and the Internet part ways, what you have today is where the Internet, started it all...
This explanation was taken from a prominent underground persona:
"In a time and a place, in the BBS world as they say... Elite (31it3, l33t) - Arrogance was of the nature, they didn't care if there was a point to be made... they would make it... These are the best, they where coined "Elite"
not by a toss of a coin but by the knowledge they had, the things they could do...
Righteous was the name... It was a moto all the same... They had no need for a Pedigree... Hackers - A quest for knowledge, a hidden way... Out of the shadows they came,
looking for more, taking on the machine and the ones behind the scenes. To prove a point, to show their skills... Putting operating systems to the test, and showing in reality who's better the man or the machine. Script Kiddies - With the Internet bubbling through the roof like a hot air balloon,
they where born out of a need to be... White Hats - These are Hackers "ankle bitters" once again, these are the ones
like your best friend... On a toss of a dime, would stab you in the back or as they
could be called "pretend to be's..." Black Hats - They hide in the shadows without a need for a name if they surface
they have a agenda, it's all their own game...
Phreakers - They had a mission it was the phone companies, as they say, "call someone who cares". These are the ones that didn't want to pay the dime...
Crackers - These are the ones that invented the name Warez, they didn't want to have to buy anything... They carried the bolt cutters, they had no need for a locksmith... They wrote the book...
Virus Coders - Destruction was the motive, a challenge was the name... In reality these are by far the worst of any name given in the Underground, these are held a part... totally unique... and rarely seen... 2600 - "The Hacker Quarterly since 1984, started as a Bulletin Board System... home of HOPE"
Cult of the Dead Cow - "One of the largest sites dedicated to the underground... step on in"
Defcon - "The largest undergound hacking event in the world, home of Defcon the conference"
Phrack - "Underground Ezine made by and for hackers started as a bbs back in 1985" History of Hacking - "Yartube History of Hacking Documentary, "grab some popcorn and a beer!"
BBSing Underground, "Where hacking was coined, L33t, Noob, Root, Cracker" Anyways the long and the short of it.. I connected with the silk road about 8 years ago (about 2 years after it was busted). I never transacted but saw low and behold BTC trading!
It all reminded me of the underground scene. All in all I grew up and conformed to society. Steemit brings back some of those memories so I i just wanted to share. I feel more open an vulnerable in this global internet community. But eventually we all upgrade to that 5 gig per second life.
Update to this post: I have been asked by some to mention: ACiD, iCE, DaRK, Razor 911
(posted about 4 months ago) to steemit
Upvotes were Uploads.. so I guess UPVOTE
