Sorry, didn't read the full article, I got distracted with the link to an actual BBS. I went to the page and read that I could connect from my browser so I clicked it. When the ascii art slowly painted across the screen I about fell out of my chair. The wave of nostalgia was overwhelming. When I tried typing "visitor" and every keypress exhoed twice I totally lost it. Pure joy. Nothing has transported me back to the early days of my computer wonder so completely before. What was the AT command to fix that again?
Once upon a time I worked for what was (once) the world's largest BBS. Remember the US Robotics Courier HST? 16.8kbps! Now imagine a room filled with shelf after shelf of Couriers, several hundred individual lines, at least a few hundred amps worth - all negotiating vigorously, clicking on-hook and off, all the time. Fun times.
Pretty sure I could still tell the difference between a 14.4k and 16.8k negotiation by ear.
The build quality and design of this early Japanese computer hardware has stood the test of time really well. If you saw this Epson 'device' in somewhere unusual, e.g. a factory or a courtroom, it would not look out of place and dated.