- Author
- Brennan Kenneth Brown
- Published
- 24 September 2026
- Kind
- Personal blog essay with two how-to sections
- Original
- brennan.day/a-love-letter-to-the-super-dimension-fortress/
- Subject
- Future of computing
What it is
Brennan Kenneth Brown is a writer and web developer. The author recently joined SDF as an ARPA member. The essay traces SDF from a 1987 anime BBS to today. It also shows how to build small web features on the system.
What it says
- Brown says SDF began on 16 June 1987 as an Apple IIe BBS.
- Brown says over 150,000 BBSes peaked in North America, then a few hundred by 2005.
- Brown describes SDF as a member-funded nonprofit NetBSD system with tens of thousands of accounts.
- Brown lists SDF services, including a shell, a home page, Gopher and Gemini hosting.
- Brown says a lifetime ARPA membership costs a one-time $36 and adds more tools.
- Brown walks through building a Perl CGI guestbook on SDF, with no database or framework.
- Brown describes the Dillo browser as lacking JavaScript, flexbox and CSS grid.
What evidence it gives
The essay cites a retrospective, an interview, a survey and the SDF wiki. It shows part of the guestbook script and file paths from the author's own account. The Dillo section admits finding no official compatibility table.
Interests and limits
The author is an enthusiastic new member, not a neutral reviewer. Prices and service lists come from the author and were not checked here. The Dillo notes are hedged by the author.