I've never run a bbs in my life. In fact over here in Germany they
were never very popular, since during the late-70s to mid-80s
1.) local calls weren't ever free, and around 1980 they also stopped
being "pay once, talk as long as you like".
2.) phreaking was impossible on the German mechanical-electrical
switched phone net.
3.) long-distance calls had very hefty prices
4.) connecting modems to the phone net was not allowed, except for
very expensive bad-quality non-standard models you could rent from the
German Post Office for a hefty monthly fee.
Wow. And I thought the telecommuncations industry in the US was
a mess. I hope you can get it to change before falling productivity
solves the problem in a Darwinian sense.