SF NET Coffee House Network was an electronic bulletin board system created by Wayne Gregori in San Francisco, California in July 1991.
The network consisted of coin-operated, public access computers installed in many Bay Area coffee houses. SF Net allowed individuals from all walks of life to communicate with each other via chat rooms and message boards. Additionally, it provided games and access to FidoNet.
The coffee shop terminals were the culmination of a series of clever solutions to the problems of long-term remote placement in areas marked by low supervision and a young crowd. According to the then-popular Boardwatch magazine, the inexpensive, hence replaceable PC XT sat inside a locked plywood cabinet with vandalism-resistant Zolatone paint and "keyboard condoms," or spill-resistant rubber coverings. Wayne Gregori engaged David Lahti as a friend and fellow visionary to help develop and operator of a popular San Francisco BBS, to develop and maintain the code base for the cafe table's communications software named, TableTalk, the BBS code base was maintained by Gregori. Lahti and Gregori developed and introduced a handshake between the coffee shop terminals and the BBS to distinguish them from other callers, ensuring paying customers could continue to use dedicated lines.
Participating Coffee Shops Name Location Brain Wash 1122 Folsom Street, San Francisco, California Horseshoe Cafe 566 Haight Street, San Francisco, California Ground Zero 783 Haight Street, San Francisco, California Club Coffee 920 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California The Coffee Zone 1409 Haight Street, San Francisco, California Muddy Waters 521 Valencia Street, San Francisco, California Jammin Java 701 Cole Street, San Francisco, California Java Bound 1916 Irving Street, San Francisco, California Jammin Java 1398 9th Avenue, San Francisco, California Java Source 343 Clement Street, San Francisco, California Laundry Cafe 570 Green Street, San Francisco, California Caffe Roma 526 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, California Monday Blu's 3821 18th Street, San Francisco, California Cafe Nefeli 1854 Euclid Street, Berkeley, California Cafe Milano 2522 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, California Espresso Roma 2960 College Avenue, Berkeley, California Coffee Source 2404 Telegraph Berkeley Street, Berkeley, California Caffe Mediterraneum 2475 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley, California Gaylord Cafe 4123 Piedmont Avenue, Oakland, California Central Park Books 32 E. Fourth Street, San Mateo, California Royal Ground 1146 4th Street, San Rafael, California Caffe Nuvo 556 San Anselmo Avenue, San Anselmo, California Mama's Royal Cafe 387 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, California Java Beach 1396 La Playa St, San Francisco, California
SF Net discontinued service in August 1997.
See also Community Memory, a public access system similar to SF Net The First Social Network, Wayne's first-hand account of the history of SF Net and himself
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