(Web) CompuServe Information Service

Dial in

New to this board? Log on with the sign‑up account below:

User ID:

70006,1011

Password:

SIGNUP*NOW

Just looking? Log on as a guest to look around:

User ID:

88888,8888

Password:

GUEST*LOOK

You will not see the password when typing on the screen for security as CompuServe had this same behavior.

Dial in →

You can also dial-in with a Telnet terminal instead of using the browser terminal DIAL IN button above:

Telnet:

node.compuserveweb.com

Port:

23

Note

A new account can't log on until a sysop approves which could take up to 24 hours. You will get notified by email once your account has been approved.

This is a working recreation of CompuServe from the 1980s era written in Pascal using historical content (manuals, images for CB Simulator) located on various websites. You dial with your web browser and connect to the service.

I started using CompuServe in the early 80s when I was 13 years old on my Commodore VIC-20 with the Data 20 Z80 Video Pak running CP/M which I purchased with my paper route. I spent a lot of time on the CB Simulator and in forums learning how to code using Turbo Pascal. I also used it for email with my brother-in-law who contracted with Honeywell at the time. I spent a lot of time online learning. CompuServe was my library and I loved being connected, until the bill racked up. So I switched to TAPCIS. I still remember my User ID after all these years.

I started to rebuild this from my wife wanting her own site like craigslist to sell stuff on, so I built the backend database and started front end editing in a console, and realized this was similar to CompuServe and so it began. I worked on this project on and off in my spare time, which I did not have a lot of time with a family and a full-time job, so it has taken many years. Recently, I was having trouble with multi-session threading in my code, and used Claude-AI to assist with some of those parts to get this project up and running.

There are a lot of pages that are empty still because they require content that doesn't exist any longer. Many CompuServe pages were other companies' databases, airline schedules, stock quotes and the encyclopedia. Those companies and their feeds are long gone. Currently, the working parts are CB, Forums, News, Weather, EasyPlex, File Areas and some basic strategy games from the terminal days mostly from CP/M Turbo Pascal.

I hope that users who connect can see the way things were before the web and get a sense of what it was like back then. I always tell my kids that I didn't have the internet when I was growing up, we had CompuServe. What's that, Dad?

CONNECT 1200
Host Name: CIS

User ID: 70006,1011
Password: 

(Web) CompuServe Information Services

Last login: 15-Aug-26 00:41

CompuServe                          Page CIS-1

CompuServe Information Service

 1  Subscriber Assistance
 2  Find a Topic
 3  Communications / Bulletin Bds.
 4  News / Weather / Sports
 5  Travel
 6  The Electronic MALL / Shopping
 7  Money Matters / Markets
 8  Entertainment / Games

Enter choice !  

Working Areas

Every service below is running and accessible. The CIS page codes are from the CompuServe user manual that was OCR'd. Type GO CB or TOP exactly as a user did in the 80s.

FILE MANAGEMENT

1 Brief CATalog of files
2 Detailed DIRectory of files
3 CREATE or EDIt a file
4 TYPe a file's contents
5 DELete a file
6 RENAme a file
7 COPy a file
8 Change a file's PROTECtion
9 Upload or download a file
10 PRInt a file ($)
11 Enter command mode

FILES !  

Recreated from the manuals

All the manuals were found by looking through the archives and many sites which were then downloaded and OCR'd. I was able to find a lost treasure that really helped with this build, the SYSOP manual. I am trying to stay within the time frame and only port things from that time period. I could have added other items that weren't part of the period, but that would make the site non-nostalgic, so this is a port rule that I try and follow. I did add color to some of the games and security which CompuServe didn't implement, everything was plain text in the database so User Data and messaging are all encrypted.

Components used

Who did what

Getting in touch

Forgot your password? Email the sysop from your account's address for a reset.

Helping out

If you have manuals, ads, screenshots, printouts, or anything that shows what a screen really looked like, or if you used CompuServe and remember how sections worked, please get in touch. Testing CB, Mail, forums, and other areas to report any inaccuracies.

Keeping it running

Access is free, but keeping the server running costs money, and that comes out of pocket. Please support if you can. Thank you.

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