No weapons required, only a computer and probably a like-minded attitude: a bit Libertarian in persuasion with some interest in firearms and survival lore.

Your brothers-in-ether may live in Hawaii or Alaska or three doors down the road. Headquarters is a corner of Allan Hitchmoth's living room in Penacook, where his computer hums with dialogue.

The Quiet Revolution is a bulletin board system, the Information Age's version of pen pals. With a computer, telephone line and the equipment to connect the two, anyone can visit more than a dozen boards in greater Concord, more than a hundred in New Hampshire, and through them, reach thousands worldwide.

"I'm a terrible letter writer but this is interactive, more topical and more immediate," said Hitchmoth, who repairs printers for a living.

Although he will never meet most of the members of his bulletin board, Hitchmoth counts a couple dozen as friends despite that. He can code messages for their eyes only and carry on private conversations that don't transfer to larger, nation- wide networks.

The bulletin board is less formal than letter writing, less argumentative than some face to face discussions, he said.

"You don't have to have your guard up... and you don't have to figure out how to win an argument," Hitchmoth said.

Bulletin boards are organized by hundreds of topics, called conferences, like cooking, books, home-brewing or genealogy. Each bulletin board operator narrows the list to his or her own interests, plus those that members call most often.

Hitchmoth makes no apologies for running a board with an attitude that includes conferences on firearms, survival strategies, and anti-big-government political chatter. Don't agree? Call another bulletin board Or jump into the fray. Hitchmoth and the other members of his board relish debate as long as it doesn't get nasty or crude.

"It give me the opportunity to say, 'Here's my system which is an extension of myself,' and find out how many nuts are like me," he said. "I have more friends than I had before, and I learned that I'm not quite as off the wall as I thought."

In a spare room on Fisherville Road, Mike Maggi over- sees Mario's Birdhouse, a bulletin board whose members are mostly New Hampshire-based. The real Mario, a brightly feathered Rainbow Lorey, is likely to be perched on Maggi's shoulder sqawking warnings about the family cat while Maggi reads through messages.

Maggi owes his marriage to computer conversation. He met his his wife Sandy, through a computer network they both joined six years ago. He lived in New Jersey. She lived in New Hampshire.

Maggi opened his bulletin board in 1991 and has logged more than 10,000 calls. Some members call to play games against other members with the computer tracking scores and ranking opponents. Some just want to talk about a movie they saw a recipe they tried, or a computer program they tested.

In a separate conference Maggi collates information for the New Hampshire chapter of the Boston Computer Society, which meets in Concord. From his computer the information automatically travels to other bulletin boards around the state.

In a house in South, Concord, the Starlite BBS, operated by Ken Kalloch, is a treasure trove of shareware software: software that is not copyrighted and so is available to anyone who wants to give it a spin.

Some shareware is free. With others, the originator relies on the honor system for payment: If you like and use the program, send money. Some shareware only gives you a taste of the program, and you have to pay if you want the whole package, Kalloch said.

The Starlite BBS stores dozens such programs that members can copy onto their own computer whenever they want. The only compensation Kalloch asks is that members send the board one new program for every 10 they take.

Like Maggi and Hitchmoth, Kalloch encourages a bit of humanity in his board, enjoying the cross talk among members, whose chatter can reach a New Hampshire network and a national one.

Since one member at a time uses the telephone line, computer communicating is like writing a quick letter and waiting by the mailbox for a reply.

Abbreviations aren't always obvious. ROFL: Rolling on the floor. LOL: Laughing out loud. IMHO: In my humble opinion. :) is a happy face :( is the opposite.

Talk is cheap - usually a local call - once callers buy a computer. Many newer personal computers come with the modem which connects to the phone lines.

In the gray hours before dawn each day bulletin boards refuse calls from members and wait to link with the world. The Quiet Revolution goes nationwide. Mario's leap-frogs New Hampshire and eventual reach a national network. Starlite messages shoot to Gonic, then zip to Alabama, the headquarters for the national network Kalloch Joined.

The transfers may cost a few cents on their monthly phone bills, but Hitchmoth, Maggi and Kalloch write that off as the price of their pastime and don't charge their members.

"It's the cost of any hobby, like bingo or bowling," Maggi said.

When Kalloch started the Starlite BBS about a year ago, he surprised himself.

"When I first got the program, the only person I intended to communicate with was a friend on the Heights," he said.

Now he owns two computers and pays for two phone lines, devoting one each to the Starlite BBS. While the bulletin board can pretty much run itself, he tunes in often to see what members are talking about, to leave messages of his own, and to clean out old program to make room for new ones.

"It's fun seeing how many people are getting into computers, and it's enjoyable having a place people can call and learn more," he said. What gives me the most enjoyment is doing the work and being appreciated."

But both - and Mario's Birdhouse - have similar rules: You must register your real name and phone number. The computer pauses to dial your telephone the number first time you sign on in order to verify it.

If the computer doesn't connect with a modem, it will hang up on you.

"It will dial five times and if no modem answers, forget it. You can't get in," said Mike Maggi who oversees Mario's Birdhouse. "Kids have put in Concord police headquarters (telephone number) and Dunkin' Donuts."

New members also need a code word that they pick the first time they call. It ensures that only verified members access the bulletin board.

The bulletin boards also have rules of courtesy: No swearing. No aliases. Don't pass on viruses or software that can damage operations. Don't expect to find or exchange copyrighted material. Don't enter any private information, such as credit card numbers.

Bulletin board operators limit the amount of time you spend in the system each day so one or two members don't hog the line. Members who call long distance don't stay long anyway, but learn how to copy messages onto their own computer to read after they hang up, said Allen Hitchmoth of The Quiet Revolution.

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