# BBS: The Documentary

11 Hacker News commenters recommended BBS: The Documentary and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A free, Creative Commons documentary on the BBS scene, praised especially for its Fidonet episode and its coverage of BBS subculture and the warez era.

## Why people recommend it

- Fidonet episode is the standout (4 comments): "has an episode entirely on Fidonet (creative commons, freely available online)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48403862)) "Episode 4 of the BBS documentary covers Fidonet and is worth watching" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47322406)) "Can't hear Fidonet without recommending BBS: The Documentary (2005)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48372986))
- Covers BBS subculture and scene history (3 comments): "If you want to know about this magical subculture, watch the BBS Documentary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47322228)) "touches on _some_ Warez scene topics and legendary characters of the era" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510992)) "And of course, the BBS Documentary: Artscene episode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46381739))
- Enjoyable watch recommended to others (3 comments): "I think you would like the BBS Documentary" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50242878)) "it was a pretty descent watch" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50008102)) "I sure want to watch it now!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50020586))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [You Can See Everything](https://hackerapproved.com/p/you-can-see-everything.md): 39 recommend
- [The Thinking Game](https://hackerapproved.com/p/thinking-game-documentary.md): 15 recommend
- [HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hypernormalisation.md): 14 recommend
- [It's Quieter in the Twilight](https://hackerapproved.com/p/it-s-quieter-in-the-twilight.md): 12 recommend
- [Listers documentary](https://hackerapproved.com/p/listers-documentary.md): 11 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "BBS: The Documentary", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bbs-the-documentary/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).