sites have different requirements, including
at least one that’s accessible exclusively
through the vintage Gopher protocol.
Once they’re signed up and logged in, users
have access to a chunk of hard drive space
suitable for hosting simple websites. These
sites typically, though not exclusively, evoke a
1990s aesthetic, aided by the complete lack of
support for server-side scripting languages.
Acting as a webhost, though, is only a part of
tilde.club. It’s a social network too. Users have
access to an internal bulletin board system
and live chat, as well as on-server email,
and both communication and collaboration
are strongly encouraged. There are games
too – primarily, though not exclusively, multi-
user dungeons (MUDs), which are played
out directly in the terminal, using the ASCII
character set in place of graphics.The original tilde.club, though, was
increasingly closed off until, up to five
years after originally signing up, waitlist
members received notifications that
they had been approved, but under new
ownership. ‘Recently Paul Ford has given me
the pleasure of taking over tilde.club,’ new
system operator Michael Buchholz explained
in an email. ‘I do understand some of you
have waited since 2014 for an account, which
all involved do regret. But it is a new time and
we all at tilde.club hope you join us on our
new journey moving forward.’
It’s now 2020, and tilde.club memberships
are available with no waiting time. They’re
also free of charge, although donations
towards the running cost of the server are
welcome. Access is provided via SSH, using
key pairs for security, although other tildeThere’s one major rule across all tildeverse sites: don’t hack the GibsonThere are one or two nods to the modern
web as well. The tilde.club server includes
ttrv, a terminal-based client for the popular
social network reddit. In all honesty, though,
it’s difficult to recommend using it once the
novelty value has worn off.
All the code for running tilde.club is open-
source and accessible at github/tilde.club, and
it’s this aspect that’s really made the growth
of the tildeverse possible. While the codebase
has remained largely untouched since Ford
created the server back in 2014, that’s enough
to get started running a tilde server of your
own. However, for most tilde denizens, it’s the
community aspect of joining an existing server
that’s likely to be of most interest.
Those looking to join an existing server
can apply at tilde.club now with no five-year
wait expected; tildeverse.org contains a list
of alternative tilde servers whose sysops
have chosen to join the group, and tilde.
club/~pfhawkins/othertildes.html has a longer
list of known tilde servers, covering topics and
interests ranging from lo-fi HTML artwork to
collaborative science fiction authorship.MNT Reform V2
design finalisedOpen-source laptop specialist MNT
Research has finalised the Version 2
design of Reform system, boosting
the specifications considerably
ahead of a Crowd Supply campaign
launch scheduled for February- The new model includes an
NXP i.MX8M system-on-chip, 4GB
of RAM and fanless cooling, plus a
1080p embedded DisplayPort panel.
An improved keyboard also houses a
secondary OLED display, tied into the
system management processor. Pricing
for the models – which will range from
board-only to fully assembled versions
- had not been confirmed
at the time of
writing. More
information is
available on
mntre.com
N EWS I N BRI EF
There’s an internal
bulletin board, plus
chat and mail for
communication
and collaborationsiteshavedifferentrequirements,including
atleastonethat’saccessibleexclusively
throughthevintageGopherprotocol.
Oncethey’resignedupandloggedin,users
haveaccesstoa chunkofharddrivespace
suitableforhostingsimplewebsites.These
sitestypically,thoughnotexclusively,evokea
1990saesthetic,aidedbythecompletelackof
supportforserver-sidescriptinglanguages.
Actingasa webhost,though,is onlya partof
tilde.club.It’sa socialnetworktoo.Usershave
accesstoaninternalbulletinboardsystem
andlivechat,aswellason-serveremail,
andbothcommunicationandcollaboration
arestronglyencouraged.Therearegames
too– primarily,thoughnotexclusively,multi-
userdungeons(MUDs),whichareplayed
outdirectlyintheterminal,usingtheASCII
charactersetinplaceofgraphics.Theoriginaltilde.club,though,was
increasinglyclosedoffuntil,uptofive
yearsafteroriginallysigningup,waitlist
membersreceivednotificationsthat
theyhadbeenapproved,butundernew
ownership.‘RecentlyPaulFordhasgivenme
thepleasureoftakingovertilde.club,’new
systemoperatorMichaelBuchholzexplained
inanemail.‘I dounderstandsomeofyou
havewaitedsince 2014 foranaccount,which
allinvolveddoregret.Butit isa newtimeand
weallattilde.clubhopeyoujoinusonour
newjourneymovingforward.’
It’snow2020,andtilde.clubmemberships
areavailablewithnowaitingtime.They’re
alsofreeofcharge,althoughdonations
towardstherunningcostoftheserverare
welcome.AccessisprovidedviaSSH,using
keypairsforsecurity,althoughothertilde
There’s one major rule across all tildeverse sites: don’t hack the Gibson
There are one or two nods to the modern
web as well. The tilde.club server includes
ttrv, a terminal-based client for the popular
social network reddit. In all honesty, though,
it’s difficult to recommend using it once the
novelty value has worn off.
All the code for running tilde.club is open-
source and accessible at github/tilde.club, and
it’s this aspect that’s really made the growth
of the tildeverse possible. While the codebase
has remained largely untouched since Ford
created the server back in 2014, that’s enough
to get started running a tilde server of your
own. However, for most tilde denizens, it’s the
community aspect of joining an existing server
that’s likely to be of most interest.
Those looking to join an existing server
can apply at tilde.club now with no five-year
wait expected; tildeverse.org contains a list
of alternative tilde servers whose sysops
have chosen to join the group, and tilde.
club/~pfhawkins/othertildes.html has a longer
list of known tilde servers, covering topics and
interests ranging from lo-fi HTML artwork to
collaborative science fiction authorship.MNTReformV2
design finalisedOpen-source laptop specialist MNT
Research has finalised the Version 2
design of Reform system, boosting
the specifications considerably
ahead of a Crowd Supply campaign
launch scheduled for February- The new model includes an
NXP i.MX8M system-on-chip, 4GB
of RAM and fanless cooling, plus a
1080p embedded DisplayPort panel.
An improved keyboard also houses a
secondary OLED display, tied into the
system management processor. Pricing
for the models – which will range from
board-only to fully assembled versions
- hadnotbeenconfirmed
atthetimeof
writing.More
informationis
availableon
mntre.com
N EWS I N BRI EF
There’s an internal
bulletin board, plus
chat and mail for
communication
and collaboration