What Was "Call Again Soon" and How Does joejohnson.net Relate to It?

Updated

"Call Again Soon" was a dial-up bulletin board system (BBS) started in 1990 by Joe Johnson, and joejohnson.net is the website that replaced it. The BBS ran out of Worcester, Massachusetts on three phone lines, used TriBBS software, and logged over 300,000 logins. It also served as a major hub for the QWK mail network called the World Message Exchange (WME). The current site carries on the same purpose: providing a place for people affected by Leukodystrophy, and those who know and love them, to find information.

What the original Call Again Soon was

Before the web, a BBS was a computer system people reached by dialing in over phone lines. Call Again Soon was one of these — a multi-phone-line information exchange dedicated to Joe Johnson's son Joey and to everyone affected by Leukodystrophy.

Key facts from the site:

  • Founded: 1990
  • Location: Worcester, MA
  • Lines: three phone lines
  • Software: TriBBS
  • Scale: over 300,000 logins since inception
  • Network role: major hub for the QWK mail network World Message Exchange (WME)

The BBS grew out of Joe Johnson's effort to find a community of people dealing with the same rare disease. Through that worldwide community, the family found DHA in time to save Joey's life — a detail the site credits directly to these online connections.

How joejohnson.net relates to it

The website explicitly states it replaces the Call Again Soon BBS. The dedication is unchanged: it exists for people affected by Leukodystrophy and rare disease, and for the people who care about them.

If you arrive looking for medical or rare-disease information, the site points you to its Adrenoleukodystrophy Resources page rather than treating the homepage as the resource itself. Joe Johnson began collecting NALD (neonatal adrenoleukodystrophy) information in 1990 using online databases and services like CompuServe, and that collection habit carried into the web era.

Who runs it

Joe Johnson is an Internet engineer based in Worcester, MA, who earned an MSIE (Master of Science in Information Engineering) after becoming absorbed in Internet technology. He goes by the nickname joemsie on most social networking sites. The site footer credits Joemsie Tech, LLC and notes optimization by iMedia Solutions, with a copyright range of 1998–2012.

What you'll find on the site

The page lists several sections and links, including:

  • About Joe Johnson
  • Leukodystrophy Info (directing to Adrenoleukodystrophy Resources)
  • About "Call Again Soon"
  • Joe's Favorite Links
  • Joe Johnson Resume
  • Reunion Photographs
  • DHA Information and DHA Links
  • Chemical Leukodystrophy
  • Leukodystrophy Canberra CA-70

The short version

Call Again Soon was a pre-web BBS (1990, Worcester MA, three lines, TriBBS, 300,000+ logins, WME hub) built to connect families affected by Leukodystrophy. joejohnson.net is its direct successor — same dedication, same audience, now on the web. If you're looking for the Leukodystrophy or rare-disease material specifically, start with the Adrenoleukodystrophy Resources page rather than the homepage.