SPECIAL OFFER: YOUR WORDS ON THE BBS DOCUMENTARY DVD

A SPECIAL PROMOTION

The BBS Documentary was created in a manner as open as possible, with research, interview lists, schedules and conversations all made available. The idea behind this approach was that the BBS spirit itself was one of openness and collaboration, and a documentary about the subject should be as well.

Now, as the DVD set becomes a wonderful reality, I'm offering the people who have waited so long for its arrival a chance to be a part of the final product.

In the DVD set, I will include paragraphs of text from people who have pre-bought copies, allowing them to make their mark. These documents will be included in a number of forms in the DVD-ROM section of the set, with their words in ASCII, HTML and other formats. It's an easy way to assure you're a permanent part of this unique product.

RULES AND AN EXAMPLE PARAGRAPH

Now, the rules. Paragraphs are limited to 2,000 characters, which should allow for a sizeable piece of text. Here's an example of a 2,000 character paragraph:

Hello, this is Jason Scott, Director of the BBS Documentary. In another decade, I was known as "The Slipped Disk", coming out of the 914 area code. I'd like to send a shout-out to all my friends from the BBS era, people who I knew better than anyone I've ever known, even without actually meeting them. Hello to BIOC Agent 003, The Keymaster, Hackmaster, Krakowicz, Barney Badass, The Joker, Bill the Cat, The Datamaster, Mr. Icom, Bowtie, The Outland, Someone Else, Alexander of Atlantis, and so many others. You were a big part of my life, and it's in the spirit of the times we shared online that I spent these years on this project. I wish you the best in where your lives have taken you, and I hope that this work does you proud. I'll always remember my time on Sherwood Forest II and III, The Central Office, OSUNY, Milliways/Outland, The Metal AE, Dark Side of the Moon, The South Pole, The Greek Inn, and of course 1985. It was with great pride that I got the chance to meet some of my personal heroes during shooting, and travelled to states I'd only known of as words on a screen. There were so many hundreds of people I met, if only briefly, and I couldn't have asked for a better time to have spent my childhood. At the end of the day, I discovered a very important thing about BBSes and what they were: the machines, the modems, all the files, were just the bones. It was the people who used all of this technology that made it worthwhile. So to anyone who used a modem to talk to others, I thank you for being a part of the big party we had with BBSes. For a couple years, I was the sysop of The Works BBS in 914, a BBS that lives on at works.org and as the genesis of textfiles.com. After me came a run of sysops who took care of the thing: Dave Ferret, Matt Iskra, and Mr. Owen. I appreciate their work and the thousands of logins the BBS has gotten over the year. Here's hoping the documentary was worth it! Jason Scott, The Slipped Disk, Director of the BBS Documentary

The usual rules apply to subject matter, but they are stated explicitly here: Avoid libel or invasion of privacy. I have to also reserve the right to reject a paragraph, although this will be followed by mail to your e-mail address explaining why it was rejected and asking you to re-submit. I also must state the other obvious fact (and will do so in the file), that I can't personally verify everything in every paragraph. Therefore, as you read others, you should not assume they are who they say they are or did what they claim they did. This is the nature of bulletin board message bases, and it'll hold true here.

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

Once you pre-order your copy of the BBS Documentary, you will be sent to a page with a form to fill out, which will allow you to enter your paragraph. This will then be sent to me to add to the on-DVD file.

This is an unusual experiment in the world of DVDs, but I wanted the people who ordered early to get a special reward for doing so, and as their purchase helps make it that much easier to pay for the DVD production, so should they leave a mark on it.

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO THE ORDER PAGE

BBS DOCUMENTARY - 3 DVD SET - $50 - ARRIVES DECEMBER, 2004