With many programs that you downloaded from BBSes, you would often find a little hint of text in the unpacking of the archive, or when you read a file called READ.ME or CALLTHIS.BBS. These were ads for BBSes, and would promise you the world if you called. Some of them go on for a long time, telling you every last detail about the BBS, and some just hint at the greatness you will find when you dial in.
It should be noted that this practice was most popular with pirate BBSes, because they would have many individual programs that they were trying to spread around, and get some fame as being the First and Best at getting the latest stuff. On the other hand, a lot of the major, major BBSes would also "tag" every file in their collection because they wanted people to subscribe to them, so they could make some cash. Fame, money, all in little 1k files.
| Filename |
Size |
Description of the Textfile |
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!digital.!!! | 1681 | Tag File for the Digital Illusions BBS
| !give_me.lsd | 936 | Tag File for the LSD Institutde BBS
| !ixbbs.hpa | 1264 | AD: The IX BBS (1996)
| !legend.ary | 1460 | Ad for the Skytopolis BBS
| !nstall.nfo | 731 | Tag File: Incognito BBS
| $legal$.nfo | 1450 | Agreement to Evaluate The Software in this Archive from the Software Evaluation Library BBS
| 002814.txt | 1809 | Tag file for the Flying Teapot BBS
| 011114.txt | 1947 | Tag File for the P.I.T.S. BBS (June 26, 1993)
| 011594.txt | 1201 | Tag File for The East BBS
| 073251.txt | 1950 | Tagfile for The Pits BBS, September 20, 1993
| 1000bbs.cmt | 783 | AD: The One Thousand BBS from Mississauga, Ontario
| 11.asc | 1698 | Tag File for Terra Firma
| 141227.txt | 1947 | Tag File: The P.I.T.S. BBS
| 147581.txt | 849 | Tag File for the Brewery BBS
| 19.asc | 1467 | IBM ASCII Tag file for Joe's BBS
| 1_in9o5.nfo | 1304 | Tag File: Beyond The Cemetery BBS
| 1dempire.nfo | 3644 | ONE DAY EMPIRE: Member List and BBS List
| 21.asc | 1625 | Tag File for Dr. Dread
| 31227562.txt | 1301 | BBS AD: The Collection
| 46-8-664.vie | 725 | Tag File for the Flashbacks BBS
| 558_5636.818 | 845 | Tag File for the Data Control BBS
| 7rxv6dlq.nfo | 848 | Tag File: Silverado BBS
| 7th_heav.nfo | 1249 | Tag File: 7th Heaven BBS
| 86258625.txt | 1293 | Tag File: Arrested Development BBS
| @tribe@.now | 1051 | BBS Ad for The Tribe, and for you not stealing anything
| ^a-v-g^.nfo | 2434 | Ad for Atlantis Power BBS
| _$ynd.nfo | 433 | Tag File: Syndicate
| _elite_.nfo | 1373 | Tag File for the Elite BBS
| _tec_.nfo | 1580 | BBS Tag for The Electric Circus
| _úklanú_.nfo | 3052 | Tag File: Kosher Kourier Klan (Membership List)
| abode.ad | 1983 | AD: The Kode Abode BBS
| ad | 1312 | BBS AD: The Country Micro RBBS
| ad!cuthe.ere | 1264 | BBS AD: Abyssimal Dissimulation
| ad-2-the.lst | 770 | AD: The Chattanooga Area BBS
| ad.asc | 1388 | AD: The Slowest BBS List
| ad.txt | 1664 | Advertisement for the Upside Down AE Line
| ad6 | 1972 | Tag File for The Complete Tarto
| add.asc | 1032 | Tag File for the Sourcery BBS
| adevelop.tag | 1327 | BBS AD: Arrested Development BBS
| adjÓcÕÒÞ.ßßs | 1071 | AD: Adjacent Reality BBS
| akira.dis | 1088 | Tag File for AKIRA PROJECT BBS
| akira.txt | 4072 | Akira Lets You Know The Toronto Pirates Had Better Watch Out
| akira296.nfo | 925 | AKIRA BBS
| akiraprj.nfo | 1188 | Tag File: The Akira Project
| akra0995.nfo | 805 | Tag File: The Akira Project (1995)
| alpha2.nfo | 4462 | ALPHA: Tag File, Member List, BBS List
| ambient.bbs | 177 | Ambient BBS Tagfile
| ambiq.nfo | 1566 | BBS: Ambiquous
| amigabbs.txt | 534 | Tagfile for the EDOX BBS
| amn.nfo | 7987 | AMNESIA: Member List and BBS List
| amn0396.nfo | 8192 | AMNESIA: Member List and BBS List, Feb. 1996
| amn96.nfo | 4365 | AMNESIA: Courier, Member, and BBS List
| amn97.nfo | 4627 | AMNESIA: Courier, BBS, and Member list 1997
| anarchy.add | 1909 | Tag File for the Anarchy BBS
| aney.asc | 907 | Tag File for Aneurysm BBS
| aod2.txt | 1656 | TAG: The Miskatonic University BBS
| aof.bbs | 634 | Agents of Fortune BBS Ad
| app_zero.txt | 497000 | Tag File for COMAX, Scandanavian Headquarters
| argosy.nfo | 1958 | Tag File: The Argosy BBS
| arrested.dev | 1367 | BBS: Arrested Development
| aseeds.inf | 1248 | Ad for the Appleseeds BBS in 919
| asp.nfo | 850 | BBS: Alpha Storage Place
| assault!.nfo | 1187 | Tag File: The Nuclear Assault BBS
| asylum.nfo | 855 | BBS: Asylum
| axis.whq | 1577 | TAG File for the AXIS BBS Software World Headquarters
| b-t-l.nfo | 1706 | BBS AD: Beyond the Limit BBS
| babylon.4.ad | 2176 | AD: Babylon 4 BBS
| backstge.nfo | 1335 | Tag File: The Backstage
| badlands.txt | 1907 | NFO: The Badlands BBS
| bb-p.inf | 2804 | Ad for the Bloom Beacon-Picayune BBS
| bbs' | 1267 | BBS: Seven in Heaven
| bbs.1st | 873 | Tag File for the Comnet Luxembourg BBS
| bbs1 | 1621 | Tag File for Jack's Place BBS
| bbs3 | 1291 | Tag File for Sunlight Through the Shadows
| bbs4 | 1787 | Tag File for the TGN BBS
| bbs5 | 1094 | Tag File for Seattle BBS
| bbs6 | 1643 | Tag file for the NIGHT WINGS BBS
| bbs_ads.txt | 1645 | Tag File for Sarcastic Existence BBS (January 20, 1994)
| bbsad_tx.dis | 1054 | Tag File for Spatula City BBS
| bbx.nfo | 1631 | Tag File: The Bleachbox BBS
| bcbadrx.ans | 32876 | BBS: Bad Medicine (Mammoth File, IBM ASCII)
| beastieb.oys | 490 | BBS AD: The Digital Underground
| best.bbs | 1519 | Tag File for the Software Connection BBS
| best.txt | |