Modem Memories
While putting this whole thing together I did some digging for an old BBS I used to frequent - FBN. As I recall, it was based in Champaign, IL and was one of the larger and more general BBSes in the area. But searching for it today finds practically nothing. Even TEXTFILES.COM's BBSLIST for the 217 area code didn't have it. So maybe it wasn't as big as I remember, or maybe I'm misremembering some critical detail like the name. This would have been over 30 years ago now. Maybe there's some evidence on an old computer somewhere, but it's probably just gone.
There was another one I remember that is on that list - After School. Downloaded my first naughty pictures from there. Good times.
I was never a social BBS user. My social anxiety extended even into the abstract arenas of ANSI characters. So I don't really have any old friends from that era. I browsed forums, played the odd door game, but mostly I downloaded files (or WAREZ as it was sometimes called).
As you all know, BBSes gave way to commercial services and eventually the Internet. I wish I could go back and talk to some of those guys, though. What a weird world that was.