
                                  IceNEWS
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     IceNEWS was the official news-letter of the IceNET BBS network.
     IceNET was a BBS network based around the BBS software package
     WWIV.  WWIV was first written by Wayne Bell (Random) in BASIC in
     the early 1980's.  In the mid-1980's he rewrote it in Turbo Pascal
     - it first became popular around the Turbo Pascal v2.x and v3.x
     versions.  In the late 1980's Wayne Bell taught himself C using
     Turbo C and rewrote WWIV in C, giving the world WWIV v4.x.   Around
     version 4.06 (if I remember correctly) Wayne Bell introduced the
     concept of networking into WWIV.  It was loosely based on the
     networking model you see in Usenet Newsgroups.
     
     It was around this time that WWIVnet came into existence.  Due to
     internal strife in the WWIVnet world, a revolution occurred and
     several systems broke away to form WWIVlink.  Then, in the Buffalo,
     NY area Jim Nunn was setting up a BBS of his own.  He decided to
     use WWIV as his BBS software.  But due to Western New York BBS
     politics he couldn't get his Great White North BBS into WWIVnet.
     So, Jim set up IceNET so that he could learn WWIV based networking
     while trying to navigate the world of BBS politics to get into
     WWIVnet.   In that process... IceNET became a real rival to WWIVnet
     in its own right.
     
     IceNET normal perceived as above the fray of normal BBS politics
     quickly grew.  It then grew from a mid sized local network to a
     small national network.  That occurred when a local network in New
     Orleans, LA asked Jim Nunn to merge IceNET with their local
     network.  So, it went from about 13-15 boards in WNY to about 25-30
     boards in both WNY and the New Orleans, LA area.
     
     I am not sure of this, but I think it was about this time that
     IceNET became the 3rd largest WWIV based BBS network around.  Every
     area had its WWIVnet systems.  A lot of areas had their WWIVlink
     systems.  Those were the national networks.  Every area, from what
     I have seen now, had its local WWIV based network.  For a long
     time, in WNY, that network was Trident<>Relay setup by Adam Lambert
     (Eh ????).  But Adam let that network go.  He tried to make it grow
     every now and then, and would asks a board or two to join it... but
     then it would die again.
     
     Anyway, to cut this story short... WWIVnet had a WWIVnews
     news-letter.  So, Jim Nunn thought that IceNET should have an
     IceNEWS newsletter. JIm got Louis Hall (LouHal) at the The Forest
     BBS in WNY to put something together.  He put the first issue
     together in September 1992.  That first issue was not very long and
     contained a few items that were local to the WNY area and to
     LouHal's board itself.  But there were a few folks who read it on a
     regular basis and enjoyed it.
     
     * September 1992.   The first issue. LouHal was the original editor.
     * October 1992.
     * November 1992.
     * December 1992.
     * February 1993.    This issue was put together by Jim, myself and
                         Zeus because LouHal stopped doing them.
     * March 1993.       This issue was the first edited by Spelunker and
                         Deacon Blues/The Fez.
     * April 1993.
     * May 1993.
     * June 1993.        This was the first issue done by Special Agent.
     * July 1993
     * December 1993.    This was the first issue put out by the
                         reorganized team.  The team was originally 
                         Deacon Blues, Will, Ima Moron, and Jack Ryan. 
                         I joined the staff about a month later.
                         This was the way it was done until Deacon and I quit.
     * Jan. 1994.        This was the month I joined the staff as an editor.
     * February 1994.
     * March 1994.
     * April 1994.
     * May 1994.
     * June 1994.
     * July 1994.
     * August 1994.
     * September 1994.
     * November 1994.
     * December 1994.    This was the first issue put out primarily by Will
                         alone.  Deacon Blues and I quit the staff this month.
     * January 1995.
     * June 1995.        This was the last issue of IceNEWS ever done that I
                         know of.
       
     I just think that the Internet should remember the BBS networks
     that were what the average computer geek used before the Internet
     came into every home in the world.
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     This page was created by and is the responsibility of
     dnr@frontiernet.net.  Please direct all comments toward
     dnr@frontiernet.net.
