CompuServe Information Service remade for the modern web

This is a free, browser-accessible reconstruction of CompuServe’s 1980s information service, designed to let visitors experience its text-based menus and commands rather than simply view screenshots. Users can sign up or enter as guests through an on-screen terminal, or connect via Telnet; new accounts require sysop approval. The recreated service includes the CB Simulator’s chat channels, EasyPlex member email, forums, news, weather, personal file storage, profiles, and period strategy games. Visitors navigate with historically styled commands such as “GO CB,” reflecting the service’s original operation.

The project is a personal preservation effort by Gary Sullenger, who began using CompuServe as a teenager and remembers it as a place to learn programming, communicate, and explore before the web. He rebuilt the system in Pascal using digitized, OCR-processed manuals and other archival materials, aiming to keep its features and feel within the era; some modern color and security protections are additions. Many original services cannot be restored because their external databases and data feeds no longer exist, so some pages remain empty. The site invites former users to test its working areas, contribute manuals or firsthand memories, and support the costs of keeping it online. It is independent of the trademark’s owners and is intended solely for historical and educational preservation.