The BBS Users Zone - How to Access BBS Systems
So you want to get started on Bulletin Board Systems?
That's great! Here's a guide of Telnet Clients to help you get the best
experience of Telnet BBS systems.
Windows 2000 and XP
users have a built-in Telnet client that works rather well. Windows
Vista and Windows 7 users must "turn on" the Telnet client in those
operating systems. (We will add step by step instructions
soon.)
OS/2 and Unix (including Linux) users also have
built-in Telnet clients. The Telnet client in Linux may not properly display
"High ASCII" characters or ANSI colors correctly. Again, use a dedicated Telnet
Client to help with your Telnet BBS experience.
These built-in (operating system based) Telnet
clients work - but they are not ideal for the full BBS experience. Suggested Telnet
clients are listed below. The most highly recommended are
mTelnet and SyncTerm. mTelnet is good for OS/2
and Windows, SyncTerm is good for a variety of operating systems (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X). Both are
freeware.
Telnet Client Software - Windows
Absolute
Telnet (Shareware)
mTelnet (Freeware)
NetTerm
(Shareware)
SecureCRT
(Shareware)
SyncTerm
(Freeware)
ZOC
(Shareware)
Telnet Client Software - Mac OS X
SyncTerm
(Freeware)
The Mac
Orchard (various Telnet clients for the
Mac)
ZOC
(Shareware)
Telnet Client Software - OS/2
mTelnet
(Freeware)
ZOC
(Shareware) (Old versions only, no longer supported)
Telnet Client Software - Unix/Linux
SyncTerm
(Freeware) - Net BSD, Solaris, Linux
Dial-Up Terminal Software
Traditional BBS systems (pre-Telnet) are accessed
via regular telephone lines over analog modems. However, this requires "Terminal
Software". Below are examples of Terminal Software for DOS and Windows
platforms.
Telix for DOS
Telix is one of more common brands of Terminal Software
Note - Telix for DOS will work in Windows 95/98/2000/XP if you have a regular (non-Winmodem) modem installed.
Telix for Windows
Telix also has a Windows version for Windows 3.1/95/98/2000/XP, etc.
Telix For Windows ver 1.1.5