Yusupov's House yusupov https://yusupov.cloud/wiki/Yusupov%27s_House MediaWiki 1.44.0 first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Yusupov Yusupov talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk Module Module talk 0 3 255 179 2025-10-10T13:24:46Z Mvuijlst 2 255 wikitext text/x-wiki {{Infobox | name = Yusupov's House | 01 Sysop = [[Michel Vuijlsteke]] | 02 Founded = 1990 | 03 Closed = 1995 | 04 City = Ghent | 05 Country = Belgium | 06 Software = QuickBBS | 07 Operating System = DOS | 08 Modem Speeds = 2400, 14.4k | 09 Networks = FidoNet (2:291/1925) | 10 Related = [[yusupov.cloud]] (informal “spiritual successor”) }} '''Yusupov's House''' was a [[bulletin board system]] (BBS) based in [[Ghent]], Belgium, operated by [[Michel Vuijlsteke]] between 1990 and 1995. It was a single–line system running under DOS with [[QuickBBS]] software and connected to [[FidoNet]] as node '''2:291/1925'''.<ref name="VuijlstekeAbout">Michel Vuijlsteke, "Over mezelf", blog.zog.org, <span class="plainlinks">[https://blog.zog.org/about https://blog.zog.org/about]</span>, accessed 1 October 2025. (in Dutch)</ref><ref name="Nodelist">“Nodelist history search: History of node 2:291/1925,” NodeHist, accessed 1 October 2025, https://nodehist.fidonet.org.ua/?address=2%3A291%2F1925</ref> == History == Vuijlsteke launched the BBS in 1990 on a personal computer equipped with a USRobotics Courier/Sportster 2400 baud modem. In 1992 he upgraded to a [[ZyXEL U-1496]], enabling connections at 14.4 kbit/s. The system offered standard message boards, freeware file areas, and a small selection of door games. It also carried Vuijlsteke’s ANSI artwork, created with ''TheDraw'', which gave the board a distinctive visual identity.<ref name="VuijlstekeInterview">Michel Vuijlsteke, interview, 1 October 2025. Interview about memories of his BBS, Yusupov's House.</ref> Although listed in national BBS directories, Yusupov’s House attracted only a handful of regular users and was mostly accessed by random callers. According to Vuijlsteke, unexplained calls to the system’s telephone line continued for years after the BBS had been shut down, a sign that people were still attempting to connect long after its closure.<ref name="VuijlstekeAbout" /> == Name == The title ''Yusupov’s House'' was chosen spontaneously. While reading Leo Tolstoy’s ''[[War and Peace]]'', Vuijlsteke opened the book at random and encountered the sentence, “I was driving past Yusúpov’s house just now.” He adopted it immediately as the name of the board.<ref name="VuijlstekeInterview" /> == Closure == The system was discontinued in 1995 following the introduction of [[Trumpet Winsock]], which enabled Vuijlsteke to connect to the Internet via dial-up under Microsoft Windows. With the spread of consumer Internet access, the practical need to maintain a personal BBS quickly disappeared.<ref name="VuijlstekeInterview" /> == Legacy == No message archives, file collections, or other artifacts of Yusupov’s House are known to have survived. Its existence is chiefly recorded in Vuijlsteke’s later writings and recollections.<ref name="VuijlstekeAbout" /> Although modest in scale, Yusupov’s House illustrates the transition from grassroots BBS culture to the commercial Internet in Belgium. Running the system introduced Vuijlsteke to online community management, digital publishing, and technical experimentation at a time when such practices were rare outside specialist circles. He would go on to become one of Belgium’s early Internet professionals, creating websites commercially by 1993–1994. In 1995 he joined [[Netpoint]], among the first Belgian web development companies, which later evolved into part of [[Unit4Agresso|Amercom België]]. His later work included roles in information architecture, advertising technology, and eventually user experience leadership at [[Ghent University]].<ref name="VuijlstekeInterview" /><ref name="VuijlstekeAbout" /> === Modern revival === Since the mid-1990s Vuijlsteke has continued to run self-hosted projects and small web tools. In 2025 he began operating a VPS at {{plainlink|https://yusupov.cloud}} hosting several applications on subdomains. While not a BBS, the single-admin, self-maintained setup echoes the board’s do-it-yourself ethos. == See also == * [[Bulletin board system]] * [[FidoNet]] * [[History of the Internet in Belgium]] * [[Michel Vuijlsteke]] == References == {{Reflist}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Yusupov's House}} [[Category:Bulletin board systems]] [[Category:History of the Internet in Belgium]] [[Category:Ghent]] q7soosr8qyavpi1u714nqdtmmo2k9yj