Message boards · built in
Threads worth coming back to.
Message boards on NetBBS are the slow conversation that outlasts a chat session: topics, replies and quotes, a full-screen editor, New scan for what changed while you were away, and moderation that a SysOp can hand to people they trust. A message board can stay on this node or be shared with other nodes over NetBBS Link.
For callers
Read, reply, pick up where you left off.
Every list is a numbered picker: type a row's number, or move the highlight and press Enter. A post counts as read once you open it, so the list always knows what is new to you. In the browser you can also click an entry or a numbered row.
Harbor Lights › Available message boards page 1/1, 5 total ──────────────────────────────────────── NAME ACTIVITY ABOUT 01. [This node] News and housekeeping 02. [Hobbies] What we do when we're not o... 03. General not visited yet Anything that fits nowhere ... 04. Classifieds not visited yet Buy, sell, swap -- every po... 05. NetBBS Users not visited yet [/] Find [B]ack Find by name Return without picking [O]rder Change sort order Sort: SysOp's order; or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
Categories and message boards in one list
Categories open like folders. The list keeps the SysOp's order, so the number you remember still picks the same message board; [O]rder sorts it by activity, name, newest or size instead. A message board carried over NetBBS Link has its name drawn in pale turquoise, like NetBBS Users here; on a plain-ASCII terminal its name ends in
~.Harbor Lights › Message boards › Hobbies › Retro Computing Newest posts · 5 new ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Old machines, new tricks # Subject Author Posted ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 01 Recapping a C64 breadbin otto 03.09.2026 19:48 02 Re: Recapping a C64 breadbin wren 04.09.2026 09:55 03 Re: Recapping a C64 breadbin keeper 04.09.2026 14:02 04 Which 3.5" drives still read 720K? wren 04.09.2026 19:09 05 Show us your desk new marla 05.09.2026 09:16 06 Re: Show us your desk new otto 05.09.2026 14:23 07 Re: Show us your desk new alice 05.09.2026 19:30 08 Zip disk click of death -- myth? new otto 06.09.2026 09:37 09 Swap meet on the 26th new keeper 06.09.2026 14:44 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── [01-09]/Enter read [P]ost [M]ark all read [F]ollow: on [B]ack (Up/Down to move, Ctrl-H for help) Choice:
One page of posts, the new ones marked
The heading counts what is new to you, and each unopened post says so. [F]ollow puts a message board first in New scan; [M]ark all read catches up in one key.
Re: Recapping a C64 breadbin ──────────────────────────── wren · 04.09.2026 09:55 reply to "Recapping a C64 breadbin" otto wrote: > Finally opened up the breadbin I found at the flea market. Every > electrolytic on the board is the original. Anyone have a cap list > for the 250407 board, and is it worth doing the whole lot at once? Do them all at once. The 250407 list is in the file area under Utilities -- recap-250407.txt. Mind the polarity on C35. [R]eply [M]ail author [N]ext post [P]revious post [B]ack Choice:
Replies say what they answer
A reply names the post it answers and quotes the part it is answering. From here: [R]eply, [M]ail author for a private answer, and the next or previous post.
Reply Board: Retro Computing Subject: Re: Which 3.5" drives still read 720K? ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── wren wrote: > I have a stack of DOS disks from 1991 and a modern USB drive > that refuses every one of them. What are people using? > > Edit: it is a Teac FD-235HF, if that helps. Mine is the same Teac. Check the HD jumper: 720K needs it open. Line 7 Col 64 244/200000 Ctrl+O save Ctrl+X exit Ctrl+G help
The fullscreen editor
The message board and subject sit above the text, and a reply starts with the post quoted. Ctrl+R rewraps a quoted paragraph, Ctrl+X offers to keep a draft, and the status line counts what you have left. A line editor is there for those who prefer it; both keep what you typed if the connection drops.
Mail: 1 unread -- [E]-mail to read it Replies to you: 1 -- [R]eplies to read them Re: Hello from the night shift (General) Harbor Lights › New scan page 1/1, 6 total ──────────────────────── 01. Retro Computing - * board, 5 unread 02. Announcements - board, not yet visited, 2 posts 03. General - board, not yet visited, 2 posts 04. Door Games - board, not yet visited, 3 posts 05. Classifieds - board, not yet visited 06. NetBBS Users - board, not yet visited, 3 posts [/] Find [M]ark read [F]ollow [V]iew followed [R]eplies [E]-mail [B]ack or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
What changed while you were away
Unread mail and replies to your own posts come first, then every message board you can open, followed ones marked and listed first. Back from each one returns here with the next new one ready for Enter.
Harbor Lights › Search results for 'drive' page 1/1, 2 total ────────────────────────────────────────── 01. Zip disk click of death -- myth? - [POST] Retro Computing: My Zip 100 s... 02. Which 3.5" drives still read 720K? - [POST] Retro Computing: I have a s... [/] Find [B]ack — or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
Search the node
Find searches the posts, files and retained chat this node holds, carried NetBBS Link content included, and your own mail. Picking a result lands on that exact post.
Harbor Lights › Message boards › NetBBS Users Newest posts · linked from Bluewater · bluewater.example.net ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── # Subject Author Posted ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 01 Running NetBSD on a Pi 4? signal@Bluewate 11.09.2026 20:10 02 Masthead art swap fen@Bluewater · 12.09.2026 20:11 03 Re: Masthead art swap signal@Bluewate 13.09.2026 20:12 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── [01-03]/Enter read [P]ost [F]ollow: off [B]ack (Up/Down to move, Ctrl-H for help) Choice:
A message board shared between nodes
Carrying a message board creates a local copy callers browse like any other. Authors are shown with their home node, by the name that node gave itself, and the heading says where the message board comes from.
For SysOps and moderators
Gates, queues and a paper trail.
Each message board has its own read and write levels, moderation, retention and gates. Moderators are granted per message board or per Community, and they work from the same screens callers use: a held post is one key away from the message board it is waiting on.
Harbor Lights › After Hours ─────────────────────────── 0 posts (no posts yet) · place 3 of 4 · not Linked ACCESS > 03 Min read level: 0 · 5 users 04 Min write level: 0 · 5 users 05 Min age: 18 06 Name requirement: verified [U]p [H]istory Earlier in the callers' list Its moderators and what they did [D]own [L]ink this message board Later in the callers' list Share it via NetBBS Link [R]emove [B]ack Permanently remove this board Return to the list [P]ending posts Review posts awaiting approval 01-12 or ↑↓ choose · Enter change · ←→ step · Ctrl-H help (Section 2 of 4: < > switches) Choice:
One screen per message board
Numbered settings in four sections: name and description; read and write levels, a minimum age and a name requirement (shown here); where it is filed; and moderation, how long posts are kept and whether posts may use color. Sharing it over NetBBS Link is one key away.
Harbor Lights › Pending posts in 'Classifieds' page 1/1, 2 total ────────────────────────────────────────────── NAME KIND BY SUBMITTED 01. FS: Hayes Smartmodem 2400 post otto 07.09.2026 19:12 02. WTB: Amiga 500 power supply post marla 08.09.2026 09:19 [/] Find [B]ack — or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
The approval queue
On a moderated message board, new posts wait here until a moderator approves them. The author is told at the main menu either way, and a rejection arrives as mail from System with the reason and what they wrote.
Harbor Lights › Versions of Which 3.5" drives still read 720K? page 1/1, 2 total ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 01. 06.09.2026 19:51 - current 02. 04.09.2026 19:09 - original [/] Find [B]ack — or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
Edits keep their history
An edited post keeps its earlier versions, and moderators with edit rights on the message board can open each one to see what changed and when.
Good to know
The details that make it work.
Writing
- Drafts come back where you left them. A new post's draft is offered when you return to that message board, a reply's when you reply to the same post again. Nothing is posted by itself.
- Point at files instead of pasting them. A post can name up to five files from this node's file areas; readers download them from there.
Reading
- Your place is kept. Only opening a post marks it read; a list showing it does not.
- A post keeps its lines. A list, a short line or a sign-off stays as written; only a line too wide for the reader's screen wraps.
Moderation
- Held, not hidden. Pending posts wait in a queue for a moderator, and the author always hears the outcome.
- Pinning. A moderator pins a post to the top of its message board, which also keeps it from expiring.
Shared over NetBBS Link
- The origin decides who posts. A message board's home node can keep new topics, or all posting, to its own callers; other nodes are not offered [P]ost where it would be refused.
- Search stays local. Find covers what this node holds, carried content included; it is not a search of the entire network.
Start a message board of your own.
Install a node, create a message board under Content, and invite your first callers.