This web site is the home of the Hermes BBS package, one of the oldest BBS software packages for the Apple Macintosh computer. Will Price re-acquired ownership of Hermes BBS and maintains this web site as it is rebuilt over time. Much of the current content such as that below is copied from Michael Alyn Miller’s website from prior to the transfer with minor corrections.
The Beginning
The first version of Hermes was released in 1989 by Will “Frank” Price. Development began when he was in 10th grade. The minimum system configuration for the first version of Hermes was a 1MB Macintosh Plus. You didn’t even need a hard drive; two floppy drives would do just fine! That configuration still works today, although most sysops use much more recent hardware.
The Hermes look and feel was based on the popular WWIV BBS software for IBM PC DOS computers. WWIV was a very successful BBS package and Hermes greatly benefited from the decision to use a similar interface. In contrast to DOS BBSs of the day, Hermes provided a complete sysop GUI for setup and configuration.
Externals
After the initial Hermes release, a powerful external API was added to the product. This API allowed developers to build MacOS code resources that could extend the functionality of the BBS. Externals were similar to “doors” in the DOS BBS world, although externals could hook into almost any part of the Hermes BBS.
The most popular type of external was, of course, the BBS game. Some games, like Blackjack, were single-user games and challenged you to get your best score on the BBS-wide high score list. Other games, like Leech and Merchant!, were multi-user games and pitted users on the BBS against each other.
The last version of Hermes included a new method of developing externals. The External Development System, first made available in Hermes II 3.5.10, is based on the Python programming language. Versions of Hermes source code and binaries with and without this are available to support compatibility with all externals developed over time.
The “II” in Hermes II
In 1993, Will Price was attending college and felt he couldn’t dedicate the necessary time to continue Hermes. He found a buyer named Lloyd Woodall and sold the rights to him. The last version of the original Hermes BBS was Hermes 2.2. To mark the transfer in the development of the software, Lloyd Woodall renamed the product to Hermes II.
Most people still refer to the product as ‘Hermes BBS’ (without the “II”) and this web site follows suit. At this point as Will re-acquired the rights, if a new version of Hermes were ever to be released, it would not have a ‘II’ in the title anyway.
Previous Developers
A number of developers have worked on the Hermes source code over the years. The following is a list of those developers in reverse-chronological order:
Will Price, July 2024 – Present
Michael Alyn Miller, 1998 – June 2024
Bill Dolinar, Arachnoware, 1997 – 1998
David Woodall, Lloyd Woodall, Robert Rebbun, dba. Computer Classifieds, 1993-1997
Will Price, AOC Software, 1988-1993
Version History
I hope to build a complete version history for Hermes some day. In the meantime, this is a list of major milestones over the years:
2024: Hermes is re-acquired by the original creator.
2006:
The Java-based External Development System is used to embed Jython, a Java implementation of Python, into Hermes. A complete API and set of utilities is created to allow developers to build externals in Python.
1999:
The first version of the new External Development System is created. This version is based on a PowerPC external (the first one ever!) that embeds Apple’s Macintosh Runtime for Java inside of Hermes.
The FidoNet code is removed from Hermes II and a new FidoNet external is created to handle all of the FidoNet processing and communicate with Formula1.
Massimo Senna hands off the source code to his Formula1 FidoNet mailer to Michael Alyn Miller. Formula1 becomes the official FidoNet mailer for the Hermes BBS.
The Hermes II Terminal Java applet is released and lets users to login to a Hermes BBS using their web browser. The applet supports all of the PC ANSI characters, colors, and escape sequences.
Supported is added in 3.5.9 for TCP/IP (telnet) access to the BBS.
1998:
Michael Alyn Miller purchases Hermes II from Bill Dolinar.
1997:
First PowerPC version of Hermes II (3.6 beta).
1994:
Hermes II 3.0.2 released; the version number is changed to continue the progression started with the original release of Hermes.
1993:
Hermes II 1.0.1 released.
Hermes 2.2 released. This is the last version of Hermes released before the switch to the “Hermes II” name.
1991:
Hermes 1.6.1 released.
1989:
First version of Hermes released!
1988:
Will Price begins development of Hermes.