BBS: The Documentary
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 5 of 17 documentary films by recommenders
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.
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.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fidonet episode is the standout
“has an episode entirely on Fidonet (creative commons, freely available online)”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Fidonet: Technology, Use, Tools, and History” “Episode 4 of the BBS documentary covers Fidonet and is worth watching”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: Remember Fidonet?” “Can't hear Fidonet without recommending BBS: The Documentary (2005)”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Fidonet: Technology, Use, Tools, and History” - Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Ask HN: Remember Fidonet?”
Covers BBS subculture and scene history
“If you want to know about this magical subculture, watch the BBS Documentary”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “Darkrealms BBS” “touches on _some_ Warez scene topics and legendary characters of the era”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “SCiZE's Classic Warez Collection” “And of course, the BBS Documentary: Artscene episode”
Comment from 25 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: Merry Christmas!” Enjoyable watch recommended to others
“I think you would like the BBS Documentary”
Comment from 26 Oct 2026 in “Why I Am a Programmer” “it was a pretty descent watch”
Comment from 8 Oct 2026 in “Telnet BBS Guide” “I sure want to watch it now!”
Comment from 9 Oct 2026 in “Telnet BBS Guide”
Other documentary films people recommend
The four most recommended other documentary films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You Can See Everything | 39 | 30 | 57% | 2 | — | — |
| The Thinking Game | 15 | 8 | 65% | 3 | — | — |
| HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis | 14 | 1 | 93% | 7 | — | Approved |
| It's Quieter in the Twilight | 12 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| BBS: The DocumentaryThis page | 11 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I think you would like the BBS Documentary”
“I sure want to watch it now!”
“it was a pretty descent watch”
“has an episode entirely on Fidonet (creative commons, freely available online)”
“Can't hear Fidonet without recommending BBS: The Documentary (2005)”
“the fidonet chapter of that documentary is the best one.”
“Episode 4 of the BBS documentary covers Fidonet and is worth watching”
“If you want to know about this magical subculture, watch the BBS Documentary”
“Lot of great native 60i footage in this doc.”
“touches on _some_ Warez scene topics and legendary characters of the era”
“And of course, the BBS Documentary: Artscene episode”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.