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What is 16colo.rs?

16colo.rs is an online archive dedicated to ANSI and ASCII art, preserving artpacks released through the BBS underground artscene from the early 1990s to the present. It functions as both a historical record and a living community hub for textmode art.

What you'll find there

• Artpack archive — Browse releases by year, from 1990 through 2026, with named packs and individual pieces.
• Tagging and search — A tagging system categorizes content, and advanced text search helps locate specific works.
• Uploads — Anyone with a new or old pack can self-publish it.
• Collaboration tools — Public PabloDraw and Moebius servers let artists draw together.
• Paste service — Quick sharing of textmode art and images via unique private URLs.
• SAUCE editor — Add metadata to artwork.
• Community — Chat via IRC, Discord or Messenger, plus an active forum with requests, commissions and general discussion.

Who it's for

• Artists — To publish, collaborate and find commissioning opportunities.
• Historians and researchers — To trace the evolution of the artscene year by year.
• Enthusiasts — To browse, comment and connect with other fans of ANSI/ASCII art.

A practical next step

If you're new, start by browsing a year that interests you, then explore the tagging system to see how works are categorized. If you're an artist, the upload and collaboration options are the most direct ways to participate.

For related communities and tools, you might also look at Break Into Chat or GitHub for software projects mentioned in the forum.

How can I find ANSI or ASCII artpacks from a specific year or group?

Use the archive's year and group browsing paths rather than a general search. On 16colo.rs, the homepage lists every year from 1990 through 2026 as a browse link, and individual artpacks are named in a way that usually encodes the group and pack number (for example impure92, mist0526, blocktronics_codename_chris_wirth). That naming convention is your main finding aid.

Browsing by year

Pick the year from the year list, then scan the pack names inside it. Year browsing is the reliable path when you know the era but not the group — useful if you are researching a scene period, building a historical timeline, or looking for the visual style of a particular moment.

Browsing by group

If you know the group, use the advanced text search and enter the group name. Pack filenames and directory paths often include the group tag, so searching a tag like blocktronics or impure surfaces releases across multiple years in one pass. The tagging system is the intended tool for categorising and cross-referencing content, so check tags on any artwork you find to locate related packs.

A practical workflow

1. Identify whether you have a year, a group, or both.
2. With a year only: open that year and scan pack names for repeated prefixes.
3. With a group only: search the group tag, then note the years that appear in the results.
4. With both: search the group tag and filter the results by the year in the path.
5. Open the pack, then check its tags to find adjacent releases.

What to expect

Artpacks are preserved as they were released through the BBS artscene, so directory structures and filenames reflect the original pack layout rather than a normalised catalogue. Expect inconsistent capitalisation, abbreviations, and pack numbers that do not map neatly onto dates. The archive also carries NFO files, ANSI screens, and other pack contents, so a single pack is often worth browsing file by file rather than by name alone.

If you cannot find a group by name, try its common abbreviation or the pack-number pattern you have seen elsewhere — the naming is scene convention, not editorial labelling.

Can I upload my own artpack or old ANSI/ASCII collection to the archive?

Yes. 16colo.rs accepts uploads of both new and old artpacks, including personal collections. The upload page describes self-publishing "within minutes," and the archive's stated purpose is preserving artpacks released through the BBS artscene from the early 1990s onward.

What this means in practice

If you have a folder of ANSI/ASCII files from an old BBS, a scene group's pack, or your own recent work, the archive is built for exactly that case. You are not limited to work you made yourself; the site also invites people to share old packs they have kept.

Before you upload

• Check whether the pack already exists. Search by year, group name or filename first — the archive is organized by year (1990 through 2026) and by pack, and duplicates add noise.
• Identify the pack correctly. Artpacks usually carry a group name and a release number (for example, names like impure92 or mist0526 follow this pattern). Getting the group and number right makes the pack findable.
• Add SAUCE metadata if you can. SAUCE is the standard block of metadata attached to textmode artwork (title, author, group, date, dimensions). The site offers a modern SAUCE editor, which is useful if your files are missing it.
• Keep the original files intact. Conversion or re-saving can strip characters and control codes that define how ANSI art renders.

If you want to share a single piece rather than a pack

The site also runs a textmode art and image sharing service for quick sharing through unique private URLs. That suits a one-off image or a preview; a full pack belongs in the archive.

Who this is for

• Former BBS users and sysops with disk collections worth preserving
• Current ANSI/ASCII artists publishing new packs
• Researchers and enthusiasts who want material to be citable and findable by year and group

The trade-off is straightforward: uploading makes your material publicly archived and searchable, which is the point, but it also means anyone can view and discuss it. If a pack contains private or personal content, share it through the private-URL paste service instead.

Next step

Run a search for your pack's group name and release number. If nothing comes up, gather the original files, note the group, year and pack number, and upload. For help identifying a pack or its metadata, ask in the site's chat channels, where ANSI/ASCII artists and archivists are active.

How do I collaborate on textmode art with other artists using the site's tools?

16colo.rs is primarily an archive, but it also offers collaboration channels. You can work with others on public PabloDraw or Moebius servers listed under "Collaborate," and share a quick draft through the site's textmode art and image sharing service via unique private URLs. For feedback or recruiting a partner, the chat options (IRC, Discord or Messenger) and the forum's General Discussion and Requests sections are the practical routes.

Which route fits your goal

A concrete workflow

Start a session on a public PabloDraw or Moebius server and agree on canvas size, character set and palette before anyone draws, since mismatched settings are the usual source of garbled output. When you have something worth showing, paste it to a unique private URL and drop that link in chat or the forum. Once the piece is done, add SAUCE metadata so the title, author and group travel with the file, then upload it as a pack if it belongs to a set.

For a first collaboration, pick one small piece — a logo, a menu screen or a single screen — rather than a full artpack. It is easier to agree on style and credit, and it gives you a feel for each other's pace before committing to something larger.

What is SAUCE metadata and how can I add it to my artwork?

SAUCE (Standard Architecture for Universal Comment Extensions) is a metadata block that can be appended to ANSI, ASCII, and other textmode art files. It records information such as the artist's name, the group, the title, the date, and the character set or rendering mode — so viewers and archives can display a file correctly and credit the right people without inspecting the artwork itself.

On 16colo.rs, SAUCE is treated as part of the archiving workflow: the site provides a modern SAUCE editor specifically for adding metadata to artwork, alongside its search, tagging, and upload tools. You can browse the archive at 16colo.rs.

How to add SAUCE to your artwork

1. Open your file in a textmode editor or the archive's SAUCE editor.
2. Fill in the fields you can: title, author, group, date, and the file's display mode or character set.
3. Save the metadata so it is appended to the file, then verify it by reopening the file in a viewer that reads SAUCE, or by checking the file in the archive's editor.
4. If you are uploading to an archive, add SAUCE before uploading so the pack entry is searchable and correctly attributed.

Why it matters in practice

• Attribution: Artists and groups stay credited even when files are copied between BBSes, artpacks, or modern viewers.
• Correct display: Character set and mode details help viewers render the art as intended.
• Searchability: Archives can index by author, group, and date, which makes older packs easier to find.
• Preservation: Metadata travels with the file, so context survives long after the original release.

Trade-offs and cautions

SAUCE is not part of the artwork itself, so a file without it still displays; it simply loses context. Some editors overwrite or strip trailing metadata when saving, so re-check the SAUCE block after editing. Fields are also easy to fill inconsistently — for example, using a handle in one pack and a real name in another — which weakens search results. If you are preparing a pack for release, add SAUCE once, consistently, and keep a copy of the original file.

A useful next step: take one of your own ANSI or ASCII pieces, add SAUCE with the correct title, author, group, and date, then open it in a SAUCE-aware viewer to confirm the block is read correctly before you share or upload it.

How can I contact or chat with other ANSI/ASCII artists in the community?

The archive points to several community channels: an IRC network, a Discord server, and a Messenger option. It also hosts a forum where you can post requests and start discussions, and a paste service for sharing work with a private URL. For live conversation, IRC and Discord are the usual choices; the forum is better when you want a thread that others can find later.

Where each channel fits

• IRC or Discord — best for real-time chat, quick feedback on a piece, and meeting artists who are active right now.
• Forum — good for longer questions, commission requests, and posts that should stay searchable. Recent threads include art-viewer projects, commission requests for ANSI logos and BBS menus, and a request to recreate a credits sequence, so it is a working place to ask for help or hire someone.
• Paste service — for sharing a file through a unique (private) URL when you want comments without uploading a full pack.
• Collaboration servers — public PabloDraw or Moebius sessions, useful if you would rather draw alongside others than just talk.

If you are new, a concrete path: join the chat, introduce yourself and say what you draw, then post one piece to the forum or paste service with a specific question ("is the shading on this logo too heavy?"). Specific questions get far better responses than general ones.

The archive itself is at 16colo.rs. For broader text-mode communities outside this scene, 16 Colors and Blocktronics are known artist groups worth knowing, though activity varies.