area code 418

Every area code of an urban metropolitan area was a distinct cyberspace ecosystem of BBSes, some denser and more thriving than others. Area code 418 encompassed the area around Quebec City, the capital city of Quebec, Canada, and between Quebec's cultural solitude within anglo Canada, tempered with the more international cultural aspirations they inherited from France, they were prepared to make their own fun, and they were close enough to the NorTel technological heart of Canadian tech to bring the party online.

They had plenty of underground BBSes served by plenty of underground computer artists, often organized in locally-based crews such as [Astek] and [Irato]. They even had an EFNet IRC channel, #knife, and the area code's underground history was diligently documented in early issues of our Kithe e-mag. [Eerie]'s BBS [Sarcastic Toaster] acted as a local hub for this activity, and right off the bat he jumped in organizing an entirely 418-based division of Mist Classic immediately upon launch, though he was careful to keep himself at arm's length from it as soon as he'd got things cooking. As ambassador to his distant realm The Extremist started serving in his stead from City iZ Burning BBS, but once Thext established the [TABHouse] in area code 604 that side of our community, always only tenuously reached by sporadic long distance echomail calls (the same foundational problem that troubled iMPERiAL), was officially sundered forever. In practice our 418 division, vital as it was upon launch, only hung in through our first year, but we remember and celebrate the honest and lonely work put in by Zoltar, The Naughty Tycoon, Aristote, Mister Wrong and especially our titan on the ground there, Diamond Traveler.

Young's BBS The Cannibal Cookhouse was also a notable place to go when you were calling in to 418-based underground artscene BBSes.