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Citadel (software)
Encyclopedia
Citadel is the name of a bulletin board system
software program, and of the genre of programs it inspired. Citadels were notable for their room-based structure (see below) and relatively heavy emphasis on messages and conversation as opposed to gaming and files. The first Citadel came online in 1980 with a single 300 baud modem; eventually many versions of the software, both clones and those descended from the original code base (but all usually called "Citadels"), became popular among BBS callers and sysops, particularly in areas such as the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and Upper Midwest of the United States, where development of the software was ongoing. Citadel BBSes were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but when the Internet became more accessible for online communication, Citadels began to decline. However, some versions of the software, from small community BBSes to large systems supporting thousands of simultaneous users, are still in use today. Citadel development has always been collaborative with a strong push to keep the source code in the public domain
. This makes Citadel one of the oldest surviving FOSS
projects.
The utilization of a natural metaphor, the concept of rooms devoted to topics, marked Citadel's main advancement over previous BBS packages in the area of organization. Messages are associated with rooms, to which the user moves in order to participate in discussions; similarly, a room could optionally give access to the underlying file system, permitting the organization of available files in an organic manner. Most installations permitted any user to create a room, resulting in a dynamic ebb and flow closer to true conversation than most other BBS packages achieved. Certain versions of Citadel extend the metaphor of rooms with “hallways” and/or “floors,” organizing groups of rooms according to system requirement. By contrast, previous bulletin board software emphasized the availability of files, with a single uncoupled
message area that could only be read linearly, forward or backward.
Citadel further improved the user experience in the area of command and control. Based on Alan Kay
’s philosophy of user-interface design, “Simple things should be simple; complex things should be possible,” and influenced by the fact that Citadel was developed in an era of 300 baud modems, the basic and most heavily used commands are accessed via single keystrokes. The most common commands are <G>oto (the next room with new messages), <N>ew messages (display the New messages in the room to the user), and <E>nter a message into the room. Other single keystroke commands exist as well, such as <K>nown rooms, which lists the rooms known to the user.
This elegantly small command set made the system so usable that many daily users during Citadel’s golden era were never aware that Citadel also provided sophisticated capabilities. These are known as the “dot” commands and build logically from the set of single keystroke commands. A simple example would be the requirement to go directly to a specified room. The user would type <.G>oto <roomname>”, where the text between the brackets is user typed, while the rest is filled in by the system. A more complex example might be <.R>ead <A>ll rooms <Z>modem <N>ew messages (.RAZN), which results in all of the new messages in all of the rooms known to the user being sent to the user via the ZMODEM
protocol. Filters for users, keyword searches, and other capabilities have been implemented, depending on the version of Citadel.
operating system in 1981 by Jeff Prothero, known to the nascent Citadel world as Cynbe ru Taren
(CrT). Unlike most BASIC-based BBS programs of the time, it was written in a fairly standard dialect of C known as BDS C, a compiler written and distributed by Leor Zolman. The first installation came online in December, 1981, running on a Heathkit H-89, and in its 6 month lifetime achieved immediate success.
Version 2 debuted on David Mitchell's ICS BBS, and with the release of 2.11, Prothero's involvement with the project ended following a conflict centered around a user called "sugar bunny". He released the source to the public domain and it became available as a download from various systems as well as through the C Users Group.
At this point, the history of Citadel becomes complex as many individuals began modifying the source to their own ends, and lacking modern distributed source tracking, innovations were never incorporated into a central source repository, as such a thing did not exist. Initially, Bruce King, David Bonn (releasing under the name Stonehenge), Caren Park, and James Shields, amongst others, picked up the opportunity in the Seattle area.
The longest lived fork from the 2.10 code started in the American Midwest, when Hue White (aka Hue, Jr.) ported the code to MS-DOS and called it Citadel-86 ("C-86"). His board, Citadel-86 Test System, served not only as a discussion board and distribution center for the software, but also was the focal point for a lively Citadel-86 community in the 612 area code (the Twin Cities), which at their peak numbered roughly forty systems, and probably more than 100 over the years. Numerous suggestions from sysops and users, both local and national, guided the growth of Citadel-86, including the addition of a network capability as well as enhancements to the command set. Hue's contributions were substantial enough that several other porting projects used Citadel-86 as source material, such as Asgard-86 (MS-DOS), Macadel (Macintosh), STadel (Atari ST, fnordadel), Citadel-68K (Amiga), and Citadel:K2NE (MS-DOS), and many of these contributed back to Hue Jr's project. Most of these ports were compatible with the growing Citadel-86 network (C86Net). Local systems would network with each other on a demand basis (due to the work of David Parsons), while the long haul network was serviced late at night.
An early fork from Citadel-86 was DragCit, written by The Dragon. DragCit also introduced networking code, but the DragCit network was not generally compatible with the Citadel-86 network. DragCit forked to several more versions, eventually leading to efforts to merge several code bases under the guidance of Matt Pfleger, Richard Goldfinder, Brent Bottles, Don Kimberlin, and Elisabeth Perrin, the end result being Citadel+, a multiuser capable version of the software, which also included advanced scripting, user control of message displays, and other features.
Some of the more notable ones included Glenn Gorman's TRS-80
BASIC
implementation called Minibin, a clone of Cit-86 intended to run on a Unix running on Motorola processors called Cit/68, and a Unix version called Citadel/UX
. Citadel/UX is still being developed, extending the Citadel metaphor to enable what its developers call "a messaging and collaboration platform (for) connecting communities of people together": a groupware platform. Citadel/UX is referred to simply as "Citadel" in its documentation and web site, although the developers no longer assert a previous claim that it is the only remaining actively developed implementation.
Several attempts have also been made to adapt the Citadel paradigm to the World Wide Web
, including Webadel, written by Jarrin Jambik, a former Citadel-86 sysop, and http://www.anansi-web.com/ Anansi-web], hosted by former Citadel-86 Sysop, Ultravox the Muse. The only current actively developed web-enabled Citadels are Citadel/UX and PenguinCit, a PHP-based Citadel.
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
software program, and of the genre of programs it inspired. Citadels were notable for their room-based structure (see below) and relatively heavy emphasis on messages and conversation as opposed to gaming and files. The first Citadel came online in 1980 with a single 300 baud modem; eventually many versions of the software, both clones and those descended from the original code base (but all usually called "Citadels"), became popular among BBS callers and sysops, particularly in areas such as the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and Upper Midwest of the United States, where development of the software was ongoing. Citadel BBSes were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but when the Internet became more accessible for online communication, Citadels began to decline. However, some versions of the software, from small community BBSes to large systems supporting thousands of simultaneous users, are still in use today. Citadel development has always been collaborative with a strong push to keep the source code in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. This makes Citadel one of the oldest surviving FOSS
Foss
Foss may refer toPeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop...
projects.
The Citadel user interface
Coupling
A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. Couplings do not normally allow disconnection of shafts during operation, however there are torque limiting couplings which can slip or disconnect when some torque limit is exceeded.The...
message area that could only be read linearly, forward or backward.
Citadel further improved the user experience in the area of command and control. Based on Alan Kay
Alan Kay
Alan Curtis Kay is an American computer scientist, known for his early pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface design, and for coining the phrase, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."He is the president of the Viewpoints Research...
’s philosophy of user-interface design, “Simple things should be simple; complex things should be possible,” and influenced by the fact that Citadel was developed in an era of 300 baud modems, the basic and most heavily used commands are accessed via single keystrokes. The most common commands are <G>oto (the next room with new messages), <N>ew messages (display the New messages in the room to the user), and <E>nter a message into the room. Other single keystroke commands exist as well, such as <K>nown rooms, which lists the rooms known to the user.
This elegantly small command set made the system so usable that many daily users during Citadel’s golden era were never aware that Citadel also provided sophisticated capabilities. These are known as the “dot” commands and build logically from the set of single keystroke commands. A simple example would be the requirement to go directly to a specified room. The user would type <.G>oto <roomname>”, where the text between the brackets is user typed, while the rest is filled in by the system. A more complex example might be <.R>ead <A>ll rooms <Z>modem <N>ew messages (.RAZN), which results in all of the new messages in all of the rooms known to the user being sent to the user via the ZMODEM
ZMODEM
ZMODEM is a file transfer protocol developed by Chuck Forsberg in 1986, in a project funded by Telenet in order to improve file transfers on their X.25 network...
protocol. Filters for users, keyword searches, and other capabilities have been implemented, depending on the version of Citadel.
History
Citadel was originally written for the CP/MCP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system in 1981 by Jeff Prothero, known to the nascent Citadel world as Cynbe ru Taren
Cynbe ru Taren
Cynbe ru Taren is an American computer programmer. He is the author of Citadel, arguably the first virtual world system and one of the longest-running open source projects; the Digital Anatomist software, better known as the Visible Human Project; the original Pascal strek.pas Star Trek game...
(CrT). Unlike most BASIC-based BBS programs of the time, it was written in a fairly standard dialect of C known as BDS C, a compiler written and distributed by Leor Zolman. The first installation came online in December, 1981, running on a Heathkit H-89, and in its 6 month lifetime achieved immediate success.
Version 2 debuted on David Mitchell's ICS BBS, and with the release of 2.11, Prothero's involvement with the project ended following a conflict centered around a user called "sugar bunny". He released the source to the public domain and it became available as a download from various systems as well as through the C Users Group.
At this point, the history of Citadel becomes complex as many individuals began modifying the source to their own ends, and lacking modern distributed source tracking, innovations were never incorporated into a central source repository, as such a thing did not exist. Initially, Bruce King, David Bonn (releasing under the name Stonehenge), Caren Park, and James Shields, amongst others, picked up the opportunity in the Seattle area.
The longest lived fork from the 2.10 code started in the American Midwest, when Hue White (aka Hue, Jr.) ported the code to MS-DOS and called it Citadel-86 ("C-86"). His board, Citadel-86 Test System, served not only as a discussion board and distribution center for the software, but also was the focal point for a lively Citadel-86 community in the 612 area code (the Twin Cities), which at their peak numbered roughly forty systems, and probably more than 100 over the years. Numerous suggestions from sysops and users, both local and national, guided the growth of Citadel-86, including the addition of a network capability as well as enhancements to the command set. Hue's contributions were substantial enough that several other porting projects used Citadel-86 as source material, such as Asgard-86 (MS-DOS), Macadel (Macintosh), STadel (Atari ST, fnordadel), Citadel-68K (Amiga), and Citadel:K2NE (MS-DOS), and many of these contributed back to Hue Jr's project. Most of these ports were compatible with the growing Citadel-86 network (C86Net). Local systems would network with each other on a demand basis (due to the work of David Parsons), while the long haul network was serviced late at night.
An early fork from Citadel-86 was DragCit, written by The Dragon. DragCit also introduced networking code, but the DragCit network was not generally compatible with the Citadel-86 network. DragCit forked to several more versions, eventually leading to efforts to merge several code bases under the guidance of Matt Pfleger, Richard Goldfinder, Brent Bottles, Don Kimberlin, and Elisabeth Perrin, the end result being Citadel+, a multiuser capable version of the software, which also included advanced scripting, user control of message displays, and other features.
Other Citadel implementations
Implementations that share the familiar Citadel user interface, but are not derived from the original Citadel code base, are also common. They have ranged from vanity projects such as a Citadel-like control program to control the serial port of an advanced graphing calculator, to full-blown efforts to modernize the Citadel interface with modern protocols.Some of the more notable ones included Glenn Gorman's TRS-80
TRS-80
TRS-80 was Tandy Corporation's desktop microcomputer model line, sold through Tandy's Radio Shack stores in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first units, ordered unseen, were delivered in November 1977, and rolled out to the stores the third week of December. The line won popularity with...
BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
implementation called Minibin, a clone of Cit-86 intended to run on a Unix running on Motorola processors called Cit/68, and a Unix version called Citadel/UX
Citadel/UX
Citadel/UX is a collaboration suite that is descended from the Citadel family of programs which became popular in the 1980s and 1990s as a bulletin board system platform. It is designed to run on open source operating systems such as Linux or BSD...
. Citadel/UX is still being developed, extending the Citadel metaphor to enable what its developers call "a messaging and collaboration platform (for) connecting communities of people together": a groupware platform. Citadel/UX is referred to simply as "Citadel" in its documentation and web site, although the developers no longer assert a previous claim that it is the only remaining actively developed implementation.
Several attempts have also been made to adapt the Citadel paradigm to the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, including Webadel, written by Jarrin Jambik, a former Citadel-86 sysop, and http://www.anansi-web.com/ Anansi-web], hosted by former Citadel-86 Sysop, Ultravox the Muse. The only current actively developed web-enabled Citadels are Citadel/UX and PenguinCit, a PHP-based Citadel.
External links
- The Citadel Archive, the largest repository of historical information about Citadel implementations. Contains archived software of many different Citadel versions, as well as the Citadel Family Tree, which shows the relationship of the various code branches descending from the original Citadel.
- Homepage for Citadel/UX, currently called simply "Citadel"
- Early text file (1982) about CrT's Citadel and its earliest descendants
- The release notes from Citadel 2.1 in 1982, containing interesting comments from CrT about the basic philosophy behind the Citadel user interface.
Active Citadels
| Name/site | Description | telnet TELNET Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection... | ssh Secure Shell Secure Shell is a network protocol for secure data communication, remote shell services or command execution and other secure network services between two networked computers that it connects via a secure channel over an insecure network: a server and a client... with login=bbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| KaraNet BBS | The largest Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... n BBS (DOC). |
||
| depths of hell BBS | Running BBS100. | ||
| The Dog Pound II BBS | Formerly known as The Dog Pound BBS, running Citadel/Ux, one of the major hubs of the larger Citadel BBS network. Also available via SSL. | ||
| eschwa BBS | For a particular subgroup of DOC users, often considered the endpoint of several migrations, (possibly) from ISCABBS to Heinous BBS, from Heinous BBS to Atrium BBS, and from Atrium BBS to eschwa BBS. | ||
| Haven BBS | One of Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is... 's oldest surviving BBSes (started 1992), running Citadel/UX. |
||
| ISCABBS.com | Started in 1989 and still the largest active DOC (Dave's Own Citadel) BBS. | ||
| Mac Citadel | A bbs100 board for Mac users. | ||
| Slumberland | One of the last remaining Citadels running on an implementation derived from the original code: a multi-user version of Citadel+ (established in 1991). | ||
| UNCENSORED! BBS | The home BBS of Citadel/UX, established in 1988. | ||
| BARBARIA | The last of the many Citadel BBSes in Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean... . |
||
| Utopia Dammit! BBS | A cousin of eschwa, where sporadic development of the DOC codebase still goes on nearly 15 years after its creation. | ||
| New Moon | A PHP PHP PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document... -based implentation by Angst Badger. (appears to be down as of July 31, 2010) |
||
| MY Castle Wall | Putting Social back into Social Network since 2008, running Citadel/UX. | ||
| Saltine's Lair | Located in Stockholm, Sweden. Connect no-echo, no line-edit. System is single-user only running Citadel/86 in DOS |