Pandemonium Free Space Port

PFSP was in existence from April of 1992 to March of 1994 when it became the MindScape BBS. PFSP survived three moves, two motherboard deaths, and one hard drive crash. Throughout, it's diehard participants remained loyal. Although many of the them haven't been seen in this part of Cyberspace for quite some time, their dedication and talent remain for posterity.

In 1989 The Pandemonium Free Space Port begins operation in Pluckemin, New Jersey on a IBM XT with 20 meg hard drve and 2400 baud modem at 201-685-9344.

In May of 1993 PFSP moves to Edison, New Jersey and changes its number to 908-985-PFSP.

In June of 1994 PFSP moves again, to North Plainfield, New Jersey and changes its number to 908-668-PFSP.

In Mid-July of 1993 The IBM XT which holds the contents of PFSP quits out. The BBS is offline for fifteen days before it returns on a brand new 486DX2/66 computer.

On August 15, 1995 the MindScape saga comes to a close when Al Everett announces online that the BBS will cease operation on September 15, 1995.

Why did I set up PFSP? When I first started getting into BBSing, I felt that the vast majority of sysops weren't particularly helpful to their users, so I decided to start a board because I wanted to help the people getting into this new hobby. After a short time, I felt that just helping wasn't enough--I wanted to break out of the pack.

The majority of BBSs focused on ambitions that I felt to be really meaningless--the most files, the most users, the most multiple lines. I wanted to find a core or critical mass, so to speak, of people who would logon and hangout in a kind of online "Cheers" concept, without all of the childish prattle one usually finds on a chat board or the likes.

At that time, I wasn't participating in a lot of role-playing adventures since I was so busy, and I decided to bring it into my BBS. I had had a little experience in Interactive fiction on other Bulletin Boards, so I felt I could handle it.

I wanted to find a set of "core users" that would help the board along and be able to fully realize this Interactive Fiction concept. I believe in the first iteration (the Pandemonium Free Space Port in Pluckemin), it took about four months to find these people. Unfortunately, soon afterwards, I moved to Edison and lost most of these users. It took me then another couple of months to accomplish then. Not soon after I moved to North Plainfield and was forced to start over again.

When I moved from Edison, I felt that I just couldn't get the momentum going again. I had fallen into a trap. I tried to leave the environment of PFSP fairly open. It gave all the participants unlimited options, and they could do almost anything they wanted as long as it didn't conflict with the actions of another user or the theme of the adventure. There were a good number of very talented participants, and while they had good imaginations, they simply couldn't fill in the background. Most would go with an idea that was really simple or familiar, or else they were unable to come up with anything.

Previous experience gave me the idea of a free-environment role-playing situation. For me, role-playing seemed very structured, you can't do this, you can't do that, here are your spells, here is what they do, even unpleasantly so. I thought it would be more interesting to be be a little more open, a Star Trek meets Star Wars meets Niven's Ring World intersection. The entire of PFSP really just popped into my head--an instantateous genesis. I was thinking to myself; what could I do? Wizards were not an option, seeing as there was already a fantasy BBS in the same are with that concept. Then all at once, the entire idea of Pandemonium popped into my head-- an artificial panetoid, trading center and center of commerce in a little pocket of the universe. You may think that PFSP is a spin-off of the hit TV show Babylon Five, but it's not true. I had the concept way before the show ever his the airwaves.

It was at this point that the BBS world started to almost geometrically expand. Now, there were just so many bulletin board systems that it was tough to keep up. Look at it this way; say you were someone who liked to play interactive games. Back when PFSP began there was really no competition for the attention and time of the users. Interactive fiction is a very time consuming thing, so users are faced with the dilemma of are they going to call PFSP and write up a post for twenty minutes or more, or should they go download a brand new video games in a file-farm BBS with no ratios.

You have to understand, when PFSP began, there were no real BBS networks like FidoNet. The degradation of participation in PFSP started about the time that Fidonet at the was exploding into use by the different BBSs around the country. Then when FidoNet enthusiasm started to level off, people began to talk about the Internet about the latest thing in computer communications. PFSP simply couldn't keep up, but by the same token, if I had made the necessary effort and changes, PFSP would have lost what it was-- a small, intimate, interactive BBS. I actually sucummed to the lure of FidoNet for the benefit of my users. At that time the nodelist for the network was five megabytes long. Was it worth the six hour download effort? Probably not.

Do I think that the PFSP/MindScape BBS overstayed its welcome? Back when we first started back in 1989, a lot of BBSs were still local callers only, nobody netted, there were no offline mail readers, everyone was still using the XMODEM protocol and 9600 baud modems were close to $800 and everyone was 2400 or 1200 baud. The online role playing was not too popular, but there just weren't too many places to call. If one out of ten BBSs was a role playing BBS, you either only called nine or you got into the role-playing. By the time PFSP went by the wayside, everyone had a BBS--they were like dogs, everyone had one once.

Really I think the demise of MindScape sprung from two things; the explosion of online services and the Internet at large. Instead of people buying modem's to call the BBS, people were getting modems to call their Internet provider or large online service, and then by some means discovering that the BBS community existed. The talent pool then became thinner-- the gems are tough to find in a crowd. Some of the people would have been great in Interactive BBSs, but but they went to a kiddie board first, and came to MindScape with the wrong idea of what a BBS should look and act like.

The MindScape concept came about from the help of a few good friends. Alan and Amy Kantor and Peter Wells did the hashing out of MindScape BBS. The concept of the virtual reality theme-park sprung up from Niven/Cornell novel Dreampark came to creation in a matter of a few weeks, but it took almost as long to find the name. Before the BBS, I had never heard the name before, even though I found it was the name of a computer game company. It kind of came from the movie Dreamscape, from the early eighties. We polled for online suggestions from the users, but nobody came up with a good suggestion, so Alan and I finally went for MindScape, the idea of Hosts and using greek letters for their names.

After a short time, I found that a virtual park concept was even worse. It had the same problems as the PFSP space opera, except a thosand times worse. Not only were the characters options unrestricted, but appearances, surrounding objects and the entire environment were totally at the whims of the participant. Evidently, infinite options yield infinite indecision.

The Alan and Amy Kantors had earlier gave up running their fantasy BBS, the Enchanted Grove. They loved running the adventures, they said, but were tired of dealing with the user problems. I volunteered handling the administration of the BBS, and the Kantors could run the adventures. of Teryl. Teryl was a solid concept, and it had just enough structure, except for two things; user participation at this point continued to decline. And I simply didn't have time to keep up with what was changing on the adventures; sometimes I had would have the time, but nothing to respond to, and sometimes there would simply be no free time in my schedule for the BBS.

Now that I'm back in "cyberspace" without the responsability of being a sysop, I plan to do a bit more web surfing, and I'll probably start calling local boards again. I think for now my time as a Sysop is over.

I raise the odd coffee cup to my lips and sip of it's contents. The cup has an odd texture to it, like fine sandpaper. My fingertips even feel a small crack in the crockery. The liquid touches my lips, it's hot, and slurp some of the liquid into my mouth. I then immediately spit out again. The individual drops move as if in slow motion, as if the system wasn't prepared to track the trajectory of several thousand individual droplets of liquid. That's not good.

The coffee, on the other hand, was horrible. With a thought, the table I'm sitting at transforms into a computer console. For the next several hours I sit engrossed in my previous programming efforts and neural net models.

Al Everett has carried a dedication to his system. Not since then have I seen a cleaner, more effeciently run system that managed to avoid feeling even a bit ``institutional'' and carry an open, friendly atmosphere that allowed people to really communicate, not just talk.

Within days (even hours), the smallest problem would be taken care of. A problem with the file protocols? No problem! Online games not working right? I'll get right to it! Blue Wave burping back messages? In a day it is fixed like new.

On December 31, 1992 when I loaded up Procomm on my IBM PC and made my first call to the Pandemonium Free Space Port over a 2400 baud external Hayes modem. Then located in Edison, New Jersey at (201) 985-PFSP, PFSP was my foray into the world of BBSing. I became user number 51. One user in many user to brave the 2400 baud modem and some then current version of T.A.G. BBS software. Pandemonium taught me basic netiquette and what a net.personality is really like. It was on PFSP that I learned the ropes of e-mail and public mail communications. I believe I have Al Everett and his BBS to thank for teaching me a lot and helping me to come to the stage that I am now.

I remember the first time I saw the bright colors and straightforward layout of the PFSP system and thought ``It can't get much better than this.'' I was right. In my years of BBSing since then, I have not seen a system quite like PFSP. That was PFSP-- Al Everett's quality standards in action. Thanks Al, for a great three years. I hope that you can realize just what a impact you've had on the lives of many people, some of whom you have never and may never meet again. Good luck in the future.

Boy, I'm sorry to see this go! Al saw me through the tramua of actually intalling Telix and them learning how to do off-line mail readers and such! I really enjoyed working Nola up and was having lots of fun. Ah well, another fantasy with unwritten pages. I will likely link up somewhere toll-free in Buffalo. Maybe we will all connect yet again someday through some FIDO backbone somewhere. Till then, It was fun writing with you all!

It is the Twenty-fifth century. Space-travel, specifically supra-light travel, has been commonplace for decades. The galaxy, centuries ago thought to be inconceivably beyond exploration, is now divided into multi-system empires. Some are at war, some conduct trade, most are a little of both. Between these artificial boundaries in the empty vacuum are independent Space Ports. Like the European City-States of the Medieval period, these Ports hold relatively little territory, but are instrumental in governing trade between empires otherwise on the verge of hostility. Arguably the most powerful, but certainly the most famous and (to Traders) most popular of these is the Pandemonium Free Space Port.

The Pandemonium Free Space Port has enjoyed a long and profitable existence. There are two reasons for this. First, empires and federations find it invaluable in facilitating trade amongst themselves. For a nominal fee, the administration oversees the transfer of millions of goods and trillions of credits without favoritism. It is so valuable that any one sovereignty trying to control it would be opposed by dozens of others. This is the second reason for its long standing in the galaxy. It's a rough and tumble place, not for the faint of heart or short of cash. But you'll find more adventure here than in high-production holo-vids anywhere else in the galaxy. Just don't ever call someone "Pirate" to his face. You won't live to regret it.

I wish that I could have been around here longer.... the time I spent here will leave lots to remember.... I don't know I just wish that there was more ROLE PLAYING BBS' out there.... I mean this is a very creative enviornment for story telling and I hate to see it go..... I have the bug and I wan't to excercise it!

I pause outside the plain storefront, the bustling city moving around me like a blockage in a drainage ditch. I imagine the glorious openings of past great events: The cheerful cacophony of a brass band. The press of people eager to see the latest new entertainment. Speeches. Cheers. Bright banners. None of that is evident here. This storefront is in the same drab condition as any of the others on the block. The only reason I know I'm at the right place is the flashing neon sign declaring itself to the world:

I push my way through the door, noting that there's already a good collection of trash in front of it. No matter, I tell myself. It's not what's on the outside that counts. It's what's on the inside that matters. I smile at the old cliche. I walk down the short corridor, and slide my credit slab through the slot. There is a pause as the system verifies my account, and then the door slides open. My path leads me to a small changing room, where I shed my street clothes and put on a SenSuit. There is a momentary slithering feeling as the SenSuit adjusts to my size, until it fits me like a second skin.

I'm not sure exactly when the transition takes place, but suddenly things about me begin to brighten. Large, glowing letters, repeating the neon message outside, appear in the black sky, and slowly begin to fade. A large gate, reminiscent of an old amusement park, stands before me, glowing slightly. I look down at my hands; the light from the letters in the sky reflect in the metal sheen. I touch the cloth of my pinstriped sleeve, pleased to discover that it feels like wool. I look up to see a well-endowed woman...well, she's a woman above the waist. Below the waist she moves on a couple of metal treads, like an old army tank. She gives me a peck on the cheek, which I feel as if it had really occured, and says in a husky voice: "Welcome to MindScape."

Although we never knew each other personally, Al Everett helped me along in the early stages of becoming a BBS Sysop myself. His message bases were distinctly original and all the users were very active. I especially enjoyed the role playing storyboards. Although my stay was rather short, I think Al for keeping his BBS up for so long and for putting up with me and my friends. I really enjoyed it.

Zim's Paradox is like no other Inn in all of Teryl. There are things there that'll make your hand stand on end, and I been here nigh on twenty years. But I'm gettin' ahead o' meself. Zim is an Archmage. By that I mean he is one of a handful of the most powerful mages in Teryl. Sure, N'rbani can do plenty o' stuff, and there's some mighty sharp wizards in Wyvernspire that'll make your toes curl with the stuff they can do, but Zim...Aye, he's quite somethin' else. Only actually met him a couple of times. First time was when he asked me to come be his Innkeep. That's another story, though.

Anyway, this Zim, contrary to what you would expect from one of the most powerful beings in Teryl, loves people. He loves people and the fun that they're able to have with one another. Loves them so much that he wanted a place where there would always be people having fun. But, see, there's this problem with that. Sure, you can gather a bunch of people together to have fun, but they've got to sleep sometime, and other stuff, and sometimes people want to go to a store or riding in the country or something. But if they're all doing that, then they're not having fun, which for Zim was the biggest problem. So he created the "Paradox."

Weird stuff happens right there in the entrance. If you were to get up from this table and walk out, go down to the bazaar or something, you'd also walk back to the table, sit down, and we'd continue our conversation. Even while you were out and about, some part of you remains here...the fun-loving part. So really, nobody ever leaves Zim's Paradox.

Yeah, Zim's Paradox is a strange place, all right. I been here longer than anybody, except Zim, of course, and I still have to remind myself that it's all normal for the Paradox.

Ahhhh, I am very sorry to hear that MindScape will be going down. It was the first BBS I ever connected to, and it will be missed.

After three (or is it four, or maybe five?!) years as a SysOp, first on Pandemonium Free Space Port and then the MindScape BBS, I've decided to pack it in.

There is no particular reason for my decision; no event at which I can point my finger and say "that's why I stopped being a SysOp." It's really more simple than that: I just don't look forward to it any more. I used to come home from work and, after a quick change and an insufficient dinner, would sit down in front of the BBS console and happily wile away the hours, tweaking this, writing that. Now, however, I seem to go days without feeling the need to even log on.

In fact, if I may wax maudlin for a moment, the only reason I didn't pull the plug months ago is because of you, the users. Except for one brief period of time, I have had the best users a SysOp could ask for. Unfortunately, though, in the end, it's just not enough. Perhaps if I were satisfied with a "typical" BBS there wouldn't be the constant struggle to increase participation.

So, it is with some sadness that I announce the demise of MindScape. MindScape will cease to exist as a BBS on or about September 15th.

From: vergara2@TCNJ.EDU
Subject: What you find in Pandemonium
Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 18:59:34 -0400
To: rob@cola.qis.net

Hi, I was just doing a random search to see if something of mine came up on lycos, when I came across your webpage that briefly tells the story of Al Everett and his BBS, PFSP!

I cannot tell you how many fond memories I have of that BBS and the many times we all wrote to bring the current story-line forward; it is one of the few times in my life I had the ability to creatively write and just go with the flow. There were quite a few individuals who's writing I still remember (and still have archived on my hard drive, 3 computers later!) and many members of that BBS who made it worthwhile, especially the efforts of The Administrator even though I've never met any of you in person.

I just wanted to let you know I found your webpage and I still remember PFSP and MindScape in all its re-incarnations, but most fondly remember the people who made it worthwhile!

Just out of curiosity, where is everyone now? I'm graduating from The College of New Jersey next week (May 12) with a BS in Computational Physics, and Neil Patel (Aeqous on MindScape v.1 ... I don't remember his character name in PFSP) is graduating (also from TCNJ, he's a longtime friend and was my roommate frosh year) with a BS in Biology and going to UMDNJ for med school.

was HiLite, Gridaniel on PFSP, Kordial & Sordid on MindScape (first time around), and Kotharil Varrd (second time around!)

Please let me know how you got here, if this page was useful to you, and your opinions.

Unless noted, all content on epistolary.org is © Copyright 1999-2008 to Rob Carlson with all rights reserved. All information is verified when possible, cited as appropriate and applied in the real world at your own risk. Send all feedback to rob@vees.net.

Leave a Reply