_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ ______
( ____ \ ( ____ \( ____ \( ____ \( ____ \( ____ \( ___ )( __ \
| ( \/ | ( \/| ( \/| ( \/| ( \/| ( \/| ( ) || ( \ )
| (_____ _____ | (_____ | | | | | (__ | (_____ | (___) | | \ |
(_____ )(_____)| ___) || | | | | __) (_____ )| ___ | | (\ \ |
) | | ( ) || | | | | ( ) || ( ) | | | \) |
/\____) | | ) | || (____/\| (____/\| (____/\/\____) || ) ( | |____) |
\_______) |/ \|(_______/(_______/(_______/\_______)|/ \(______)
The BBS is back. And it's yours.█A modern, real-time, federated BBS with a custom scripting language, dual terminal + web access, and live reactive screens. Built on Java 26, Postgres, and a love for ANSI art.
The Exchange runs on its own server. Not on AWS. Not on Google Cloud. Not on Big Tech infrastructure.
No algorithms deciding what you see. No engagement metrics. No data harvesting.
No ads. No tracking. No "your data is the product."
And with MeshCore LoRa, it federates over radio — no internet needed.
Just a BBS. Run by people who remember when the internet was ours.▊
Features
⚡ Phosphor Language
Customize everything — menus, boards, screens, games, themes — without recompiling or restarting. Write .phos files, save, see changes instantly.
Learn more →🖥️ Dual Terminal + Web
Connect via SSH for the authentic terminal experience, or via web browser. Same event bus, same data, same users. Real-time sync.
Learn more →🌐 Federation
Multiple BBS nodes sync across the internet. A post on one node appears on another in real-time. Boards, mail, and custom resources all federate.
Learn more →📡 Reactive Everything
Screens update live when data changes. New mail? Inbox updates instantly. No refresh key, no polling, no logout/login. Every screen is a live view.
Learn more →🔧 User Scripts
Regular users write their own event handlers. Mail filters, auto-replies, personal chat macros. Sandboxed to their own session. Classic BBS culture, reborn.
Learn more →🎮 Door Games
Write games in the same language as the BBS. Save/load state, scoreboards, ANSI art per room. Shareable as .phos files.
Learn more →📡 MeshCore LoRa
Federation without internet. Nodes sync over LoRa radio — no ISP, no cell tower, no cloud. Off-grid BBS networking. The ultimate counter-culture feature.
Learn more →Live Stats
Latest Dev Log
- July 30, 2026
Building the Phosphor Parser — Week 1 Dev Log
The first phase of Phosphor implementation is underway. Here’s what’s happening and why it matters.
The Problem
Every BBS system has the …
- July 30, 2026
Why I'm Building a BBS in 2026
I ran a BBS when I was younger. This was before the web — you’d dial in on a modem, read messages, play games, chat with people in your town. It …