Multi Relay Chat · built in
MRC, spoken natively.
NetBBS connects to Multi Relay Chat, the public inter-BBS chat network that Mystic, Synchronet and ENiGMA½ BBSes use, with nothing extra to install. The bridge runs inside the node and speaks MRC's wire protocol directly: no gateway program, no door, no separate client. MRC rooms show up as ordinary NetBBS chat channels.
For callers
Same chat, more people.
A bridged chat channel looks and works like any other chat channel on the node. It has the same line editor, scrollback, search and moderation. The only difference is who is in the room: callers on other boards, wherever they connected from.
[21:24] <alice> tradewars and global war are on the door menu too [21:24] [MRC] <kite@Blackwater> tw2002! I have not played that since the 90s [21:24] [MRC] <marla@TheOuterRim> we run trade wars here as well. same universe age? [21:24] <alice> fresh one, started it over the weekend [21:24] [MRC] <jasper@Vertigo> how are you hosting the dos ones? [21:24] <alice> dosbox-x with a fossil driver, over a serial link [21:24] [MRC] • jasper@Vertigo whistles [21:24] [MRC] <kite@Blackwater> that is the part I could never get working [21:24] <alice> the setup guide has the emulator patches. took an evening [21:24] [MRC] <marla@TheOuterRim> bookmarking that for the weekend, thanks [21:24] [MRC] <kite@Blackwater> right. making a character now. what is the address? [21:24] <alice> telnet harborlights.example.net 2323 -- doors are on the main menu [21:24] [MRC] <kite@Blackwater> see you in the woods [21:24] [MRC] <marla@TheOuterRim> what is your board called, for the list? [21:24] <alice> harbor lights. we sit in #lobby most evenings [21:24] [MRC] <jasper@Vertigo> noted. good to have another board on here [21:24] [MRC] • marla@TheOuterRim raises a mug back ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── #lobby[PUBLIC][MRC] | 1 here (0 away) | 3 MRC | alice | 21:24 ›
A conversation across the network
Lines from other boards arrive tagged with the BBS that sent them, so it is always clear who is remote. Callers type as they would in any chat channel; their lines go out to every BBS in the room.
Harbor Lights › Available chat channels page 1/1, 4 total ─────────────────────────────────────── 01. [Multi Relay Chat] - rooms on the MRC network 02. games - Door games, high scores and trash talk (0 online) 03. harbor-talk - Local only: news and notes from the node (0 online) 04. lobby - The front room, bridged to MRC (1 online) [/] Find [O]rder [B]ack Sort: Alphabetical; or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
MRC sits next to the local chat channels
The chat section lists the node's own chat channels, one of them bridged by the SysOp, with a Multi Relay Chat entry on top for the rest of the network.
Harbor Lights › Chat › Multi Relay Chat page 1/1, 7 total ─────────────────────────────────────── 01. [Open a room by name] - type the MRC room to open; a room that does not... 02. retro - 1 here, 3 on MRC 03. lobby - 14 on MRC | Welcome to MRC -- be excellent to each other 04. doors - 4 on MRC | LORD, TradeWars, Global War: find an opponent 05. ansi - 3 on MRC | ANSI and ASCII art, show your latest 06. sysops - 9 on MRC | Running a board? Ask here 07. trivia - 2 on MRC | Daily quiz at 20:00 UTC [/] Find [B]ack or type a number to select; Ctrl-L: redraw, Ctrl-R: refresh, Ctrl-H: help Choice:
Every room on the network, one keypress away
Rooms already open on this node show who is here and who is on MRC. The rest come from the hub's room directory, each with its user count and topic. Picking a room enters it as a chat channel; a room that does not exist yet is created by entering it.
[21:24] [MRC] <jasper@Vertigo> evening, harbor lights [21:24] [MRC] • nyx@Amberlight waves from the other side of the network [21:24] <alice> hi all -- first night on MRC from here [21:24] [MRC] <marla@TheOuterRim> welcome aboard! what are you running? [21:24] <alice> NetBBS. the bridge is built in, no extra daemon [21:24] [MRC] <otto@SilverLining> nice. is that the python one with the message network? [21:24] <alice> that one. our local lobby is this room, so callers just walk in [21:24] [MRC] <kite@Blackwater> trivia in #trivia at 20:00 UTC tomorrow, bring snacks alice bob jasper@vertigo (on MRC) kite@blackwater (on MRC) marla@theouterrim (on MRC) nyx@amberlight (on MRC) otto@silverlining (on MRC) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #lobby[PUBLIC][MRC] | 2 here (0 away) | 5 MRC | "The front room, bridged to MRC" ›
One roster for both sides
/who lists local callers and the people the hub reports in the room together. The status line keeps both counts in view.
For SysOps
Switched on from the console, watched live.
The hub link is off until the SysOp turns it on. Settings apply live: saving reconnects the bridge without restarting the node. Which chat channels are bridged is decided per chat channel, so turning MRC on never puts a chat channel on the network by itself.
Harbor Lights › Inter-BBS chat (MRC) ──────────────────────────────────── Multi Relay Chat is a public, unauthenticated inter-BBS chat network with one central hub. Enable it here, then bridge individual channels from each channel's own screen. Link now: ● CONNECTED HUB 01 Enabled: yes 02 Hub host: mrc.bottomlessabyss.net 03 Hub port: 5001 04 TLS: yes [01-19] change Change a field by its number [S]ave & apply Write this draft to the database [B]ack Discard the draft, nothing saved (Ctrl-H for help on these fields) (Section 1 of 5: < > switches) Choice:
Settings
Hub, port and TLS first. Further sections cover the site name other boards see, the INFO fields shown to
/info, and the rules for rooms callers may open.Harbor Lights › Node › Inter-BBS chat (MRC) This node's link to the Multi Relay Chat network, live. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CONNECTION State: ● CONNECTED Hub: mrc.bottomlessabyss.net:5001 (TLS) Site name: Harbor Lights Connected since: 12.09.2026 21:24 TRAFFIC Connection attempts: 1 Callers announced: 2 Dropped lines: 0 outbound, 0 inbound NETWORK Network size: 12 users on 7 boards, 3 rooms, low activity (as of 0 min ago) Hub round trip: 1 ms (as of 2 s ago) [R]econnect now [S]ettings [<] Prev [>] Next [B]ack (Page 1 of 2: < > turns) Choice:
The bridge, live
Connection state, traffic and the network's size as the hub reports it. Reconnecting is one key.
Harbor Lights › Node › Inter-BBS chat (MRC) This node's link to the Multi Relay Chat network, live. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────── CALLER-OPENED ROOMS Open rooms: 1 of 32 open, retired after 7 idle days Heard of: 6 rooms Retired since start: 0 BRIDGED CHANNELS Channel MRC room State Users Who ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── lobby #lobby bridged 5 jasper@vertigo, kite@blackwater, marla@theouterrim, nyx@amberlight, otto@silverlining mrc:retro #retro open room 3 dex@vertigo, quill@pixelpit, wren@theouterrim [R]econnect now [S]ettings [<] Prev [>] Next [B]ack (Page 2 of 2: < > turns) Choice:
Every bridged chat channel at a glance
Mapped chat channels and rooms callers opened, with who the hub reports in each. Open rooms have a cap and are retired after a set number of idle days.
Ground rules
A public network, handled carefully.
MRC is unauthenticated and has one central hub. NetBBS treats everything that arrives from it accordingly.
Nothing is bridged by accident
- Off by default. The SysOp enables the hub link, then maps each chat channel to a room by hand.
- Open rooms are a separate switch, with a minimum caller level, a cap, a retention period and a blocklist.
Remote authors stay remote
- Never a local account. Every inbound line is shown as an external, unverifiable author, with control and escape sequences stripped.
- Kept apart from NetBBS Link. A room a caller opened is never shared over NetBBS Link in either direction.
Private things stay private
- No stored MRC credentials. Registration and identify commands read the password with echo off and send it once; it reaches no scrollback, log or input history.
- Private messages are opt-in and unstored, with a plain warning that a public hub can read or spoof them.
Bounded, whatever the hub does
- Rate-limited both ways. A fixed outbound queue and per-caller limits mean a stalled hub or a pasting caller only quiets the bridge.
- Reconnects on its own, with backoff, and re-announces exactly who is in each bridged room.
Run a node, join the network.
MRC is one switch in the SysOp console. The installation guide gets the node itself running.