Re: BBS Graphics
By: Hebrix to all on Sun May 31 2026 02:07 am
Josh, you have a fascination with BBS graphics. I am much less familiar with them than you. I notice there are 'BIG' format graphics in (somewhere) location, which I have never heard of. Do you have an article describing these and other (now) rare formats? Are they specified anywhere? I've commonly thought of ACiD style graphics as 'ANSI' graphics, but do they conform to ECMA escape codes, or something else? I'm using telnet right now, but I'm not really familiar with it. Thanks. -Hx
"BIG" is a text protocol for PC BBSes that makes it possible to draw vector graphics, play sounds, and make animations. It was a niche product, and not commercially successful. "BIG" stands for "Blue Instant Graphics."
"BIG" was preceded by "IGS", "Instant Graphics and Sound", which did the exact same sorts of things on the Atari ST.
The best way to learn about IGS and BIG is to read my in-depth six-part series:
https://breakintochat.com/blog/category/instant-graphics-and-sound/?order=asc
--Josh
////--------------------------------------------------
BiC -=-
http://breakintochat.com -=- bbs wiki and blog