This time I have some sad news for BBS users in Denmark, two of the most popular BBS' are either closing or have already been closed. Having said that I couldn't help take the opportunity to mention my own BBS as an alternative the closing BBS'.
The Danish IBM OS/2 BBS is closing down on June 1st 1997, and The JAM BBS closed on April 1st.
For years, the IBM OS/2 BBS has been the number one source for OS/2 software in Denmark, with an extensive and ever growing collection of shareware, freeware and public domain programs.
Besides, IBM OS/2 BBS was the cornerstone in the "FidoNet Technology Network (FTN)" OS2NET, and the primary meeting place for Danish Team OS/2 members. However, these activities have already been moved to other systems, but will now depend on private contributions for picking up mail and files, more about this later in this report.
Apparently IBM Denmark didn't want to spend any more money on the BBS, nor move it to the Internet. The reason for closing the BBS seems to be due to a stagnation in the number of calls per day, and people asking for URLs rather then BBS telephone numbers, when asking support personnel for driver updates and software in general.
The decision makers at IBM Denmark must have overlooked the fact that IBM OS/2 BBS were much more than just an common BBS, but also a place to go if you wanted support out of the ordinary or to communicate with other OS/2 users.
The OS/2 community is naturally very dissatisfied with IBM Denmark's decision and feel that this is just another sign that IBM is not willing to support OS/2 properly anymore.
Thanks to Anders Thue Petersen (current sysop) and Henrik Brandbye (former sysop, now using his spare time to run IBM OS/2 BBS' OS2NET and FidoNet activities) for their past and present work!
The best private source of OS/2 related files has closed as well. The JAM BBS closed on April 1st (no April's Fool). Thanks to my good friend, the former sysop of The JAM BBS, Jan Meldtoft, for feeding my BBS with OS/2 files all these years. Jan's decision to close his BBS has nothing to do with IBM Denmark closing the Danish IBM OS/2 BBS.
OS/2 CONNECT's BBS index has phone numbers to other Danish bulletin boards with OS/2 files and message bases. I haven't checked all of the BBS' personally, but incidentally my own BBS, NightCall, has about 1.3gb OS/2 related files on-line, and a number of message bases.
OS2NET is connected to the rest of the World again
With IBM Denmark's decision to close down IBM OS/2 BBS, which connected OS2NET in Denmark with the rest of the World until IBM's link in the Netherlands stopped in November 1996, I decided to start picking up mail from Germany at my expense, to finally join the rest of the network again.
By the time you read this, a reliable link should have been established, and further reorganizations are being planned to switch away from IBM OS/2 BBS, which has been the central system in OS2NET Denmark.
Feel free to contact me if you want to join OS2NET. "FidoNet Technology" software is required to pick up mail, but there is fine collection of FidoNet software for OS/2 available.
New OS/2 software licence agreement for Team OS/2 members
IBM has made obsolete the old OS/2 software licence agreement for Team OS/2 members. A new licence agreement will soon be distributed to the local Team OS/2 branches. All Team OS/2 members who use the commercial software that IBM provides must sign this new agreement, this also includes members who signed the old agreement. Check with your local Team OS/2 branch for details.
Team OS/2 Denmark's list of active members
Eric Johannesen, Team OS/2 Sjaelland's contact person, has put the list of active Team OS/2 members in Denmark on his home page at:
http://www.zitech.net/userwebs/ericjohs/
Please do not hesitate to send me any Danish specific news and information you would like mentioned in this column.
Kaare Thor Olsen is a programmer in Odense, Denmark. He has been using OS/2 since version 2.0 and is a member of Team OS/2. He is also the SysOp for the NightCall BBS at +45-63 12 10 74, +45-63 11 10 74, and +45-66 19 30 74.
