Gateways To Non-WWIV Computer Networks
As the WWIV software continued to be improved, and more third-party software was being developed for the BBS system, new gateways systems were set up. Most notably, WWIVnet–FidoNet gateways that allowed some interconnectivity between the two traditionally hostile networks. Similar WWIVnet gateways even allowed messages to be sent to and from standard Internet email addresses and USENET newsgroups by means of the UUCP protocol.
Thanks to the network implementation, WWIV sysops and their users worldwide became united to one another much in the same way forum communities exist on the Internet today. This camaraderie gave rise to WWIVCons, annual meetings where sysops and users of WWIV boards met in some central, real-life location to share stories, discuss the future of BBSing, and even hang one or two infamous sysops in effigy. It gave everyone a chance to see just what the person on the other side of the screen actually looked like in a day when GUIs and browsers with tons of pictures available at a click simply hadn't been invented yet.
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