524: Confessions of a Pirate BBS SysOp: The Arcadia Story - The Retro Hour EP524

Step back into the underground world of 90s dial-up piracy as we’re joined by Beast of Quartex, SysOp of Arcadia, once the largest pirate bulletin board system in the UK. From trading disks in the post to running a five-line elite BBS packed with the latest cracked Amiga games, Beast shares how the scene really worked: the hierarchy, the rivalries, and the race to release first. Plus, the secret world of crackers and couriers, and the moment it all came crashing down when FAST raided his operation.Contents:00:00 – The Week’s Retro News Stories50:08 – Beast of Quartex InterviewPlease visit our amazing sponsors and help to support the show:Bitmap Books – https://www.bitmapbooks.comGo to https://surfshark.com/retrohour or use code RETROHOUR at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!Play Expo Blackpool: https://www.playexpoblackpool.com/Check out PCBWay at https://pcbway.com for all your PCB needsWe need your help to ensure the future of the podcast, if you’d like to help us with running costs, equipment and hosting, please consider supporting us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/retrohourJoin our Discord channel: https://discord.gg/GQw8qp8Website: http://theretrohour.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/theretrohour/X: https://twitter.com/retrohourukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/retrohouruk/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theretrohour.comTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theretrohourShow notesSega 32X Elite-Style Game: https://youtu.be/rR-arrDKu3sDouble Baboon Ninja: https://tinyurl.com/3fb748tmXbox 360 PS3 Wii U Retro: https://tinyurl.com/yeyn8w6pFinal Fantasy IX Animated Series: https://tinyurl.com/4fsm7b22PS2 Emulator iOS: https://tinyurl.com/4kefxjppNew Steve Jobs Video: https://youtu.be/EoM2Y2KO6kU