1993: Late in 1993, The Major BBS software was purchased from Galacticomm. The 6.0 version was installed on a local computer and evaluated. Over the next several months the system was customized and
tested to insure proper operation.
1994: OOTW (Out of this World BBS) makes it's debut on August 1st. The BBS was located in Clifton, NJ and promoted as such. Major BBS version 6.0 configured and customized. There was 1 dial-up line
available. OOTW began spreading the word about the new BBS on other local systems. The BBS had one sysop, Pat (Dell17).
1995: As the word spreads about the new BBS in town, many locals visit and membership begins to build. Management begins to invest and adds some popular games to attract new members. As membership
increases, management decided to add 3 additional dial-up lines making a total of 4 available. OOTW upgrades to Major BBS version 6.5.
1996: OOTW upgrades to Worldgroup 1.01-20. There were 4 additional dial-up lines added making a total of 8 lines. OOTW registers OOTW.COM in February 1996. Internet connectivity is established in March
with Camba Internet Services. All members were provided with both local and internet e-mail services, Telnet, FTP and IRC. OOTW begins to offer personal web pages to members. OOTW members also
have unlimited access to the World Wide Web. There were 2 new sysops added, Maddie and Dom. OOTW begins to charge a membership fee of $5.00 per month.
1997: OOTW offers a 900 Service membership option. A Post Office box was also established in Pompton Lakes, NJ for members who prefer to mail in their membership dues. The BBS now promotes it's new
location in Pompton Lakes, NJ however the system itself remains in Clifton, NJ. Interlink was installed and connectivity was established between other BBS systems such as Trilogy, The Laser Connection,
Chat Chalet, Hidden Alcove, Malibu, Wizard BBS, CedarNet, TCBI and many more. Due to it's continued success and popularity, the BBS added additional channels bringing the total to 20 ports. Raistlin
and Sparky become staff members of the system and provide a tremendous amount of support as the system continues to grow. BBS gatherings are held at local restaurants and diners which gives the
members a chance to meet one another. OOTW promotes Worldgroup as it adds such games as Checkers, Chess, Guess What and CrossWordz which support the Worldgroup Windows type 3-D graphics.
All Menus were also recreated to give the Windows feel. Unfortunately members were required to download a client that needed to be installed on their computer and of course this was unpopular. Members
favored the traditional operation over Worldgroup as they felt apart from all of the other members using the system. Worldgroup ran as a separate layer and not all traditional functionality was available. For
these and other reasons Worldgroup was not very popular. With the addition of the new services, OOTW raises it's membership fee to $10.00 a month.
1998: The BBS loses it's internet connectivity as Camba goes under. Trilogy, a local BBS and good friend, offers help by establishing a dial-up type connection which would allow OOTW to piggyback off of their
internet connection. Fortunately OOTW BBS was only down for one week. As dial-up becomes less and less popular with high speed internet becoming the trend, OOTW decides to outsource to Trilogy
BBS as they had much greater bandwidth to offer. The physical system (hardware) is moved to Bergenfield, NJ. The Trilogy team is hired only to host the BBS as the ownership of the system remains the
same. All 8 dial-up lines are disconnected and OOTW BBS becomes accessible only from the internet (Telnet). The BBS still promotes it's location as "Pompton Lakes, NJ". Popularity sours with game
tournaments in Trade Wars, Major Mud, T-LORD and Cross-Wordz. Dozens of BBS systems across the country join the Interlink Chat Network making it one of the most popular choices off the main
menu. Trilogy and OOTW begin joint BBS gatherings. Membership is at an all time high!
1999: Popularity continues with new members joining on a regular basis. The game tournaments and Interlink continue to be popular. Limited free access to OOTW is offered to all members belonging to the
Interlink brotherhood. The BBS member gatherings continue with Trilogy. OOTW continues to host member and commercial web pages.
2000: Times are a changing. The World Wide Web explodes. Systems such as AOL, Earthlink and MSN become giants in the industry and lure more and more people away from the traditional BBS services.
Membership slips drastically. System usage is on the decline. The BBS gatherings are few and far between. OOTW drops membership dues and becomes a totally free system. OOTW web hosting is reduced
to only a couple of long time clients. Other BBS providers throughout the United States are also feeling the pinch.
2001: OOTW system usage is at an all time low. The system remains free but continues to lose members each day. Web hosting is completely shut down. The system decides to retire and end all services in the
early part of 2001. The relationship with Trilogy ends and the system hardware is retrieved and brought back to Clifton, New Jersey where it sits today on a shelf powered off.
Epilog: OOTW will always be remembered as the "Friendly BBS". There were many BBS rivalries throughout the New York metropolitan area but OOTW remained a friend to all. Some believed OOTW was
managed in an unorthodox manner and perhaps that was the secret. I personally believe the BBS would never a have taken off without the help of Raistlin. Mike tirelessly managed to recruit new members,
assist members with questions and issues, create all of the ANSI graphics for the menus, created the teleconference and Interlink actions, research new services to offer our members and create our member's
personal web pages. These are just a few things that Mike will always be remembered for and we graciously acknowledge all of his hard work. Thanks Mike! I also would like to thank our staff Maddie, Dom
and Nancy (Sparky) for all of their time and effort helping to support the system! Without these individuals we would never have gotten the system off the ground. A special thank you goes out to our friends
at Trilogy, Brian (Bee) and Tony (Faz) for helping us through difficult times especially when we lost our internet connectivity in 1998. The "Trilogy Team" really came through for us during this real difficult
period. Thanks to all of the Bulletin Board Systems that allowed us to link with them as it certainly helped us gain popularity and to allow us to make many new friends! Last but not least, to all of our
members that helped support us through the years. I've always felt that the most rewarding part of the whole BBS experience was meeting all of the wonderful people throughout the years and the good
friends that we became then and always.
Pat (DELL17)
