diff --git a/randogoth.com/bbs/static/bbs.js b/randogoth.com/bbs/static/bbs.js
index cc9c8c7..f6a8bb0 100644
--- a/randogoth.com/bbs/static/bbs.js
+++ b/randogoth.com/bbs/static/bbs.js
@@ -165,6 +165,11 @@ var BBS = {};
 
   addEventListener('keydown', function (e) {
     if (e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey || e.altKey) return;
+    // Until the reply form existed there was nothing on the board to type
+    // into, so every letter was a command. Now `i` in a message box would
+    // navigate to the index mid-sentence.
+    var t = e.target;
+    if (t && (t.tagName === 'INPUT' || t.tagName === 'TEXTAREA' || t.isContentEditable)) return;
     var k = e.key;
 
     clearTimeout(timer);
@@ -226,3 +231,172 @@ var BBS = {};
   if (document.readyState === 'loading') document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', init);
   else init();
 })();
+
+/* Replies.
+ *
+ * A message base is a thing people answer, and until now this one could only be
+ * read. The comments come from a remark42 instance which serves three sites
+ * from one database; everything below talks to its API directly rather than
+ * loading its widget, because the widget is a React app in an iframe and would
+ * arrive with its own fonts, spacing and avatars. None of that can be made to
+ * look like 80 columns of CP437, and an iframe cannot inherit the page's font
+ * in any case.
+ *
+ * The rules are drawn the way the guestbook draws them, padded to exactly 80
+ * cells, so a reply is indistinguishable from any other row on the board.
+ *
+ * Auth is anonymous and the token comes back in a header rather than a cookie,
+ * which is what lets this work from another origin at all: a cross-site cookie
+ * would be blocked outright by Safari and Firefox.
+ */
+(function () {
+  var W = 80;
+
+  function init() {
+    var box = document.getElementById('replies');
+    if (!box) return;
+    var host = box.dataset.host, site = box.dataset.site, url = box.dataset.url;
+    var token = null;
+
+    function esc(s) {
+      return String(s).replace(/[&<>"]/g, function (c) {
+        return { '&': '&amp;', '<': '&lt;', '>': '&gt;', '"': '&quot;' }[c];
+      });
+    }
+    function fill(n) { return n > 0 ? new Array(n + 1).join('─') : ''; }
+    function span(cls, text) { return '<span class="' + cls + '">' + esc(text) + '</span>'; }
+
+    /* `── 06 oct 26 · 14:09 ──`, lower case, as the listings elsewhere do it. */
+    function stamp(iso) {
+      var d = new Date(iso);
+      if (isNaN(d)) return '';
+      var mon = ['jan','feb','mar','apr','may','jun','jul','aug','sep','oct','nov','dec'][d.getMonth()];
+      function p(n) { return (n < 10 ? '0' : '') + n; }
+      return p(d.getDate()) + ' ' + mon + ' ' + String(d.getFullYear()).slice(2) +
+             ' · ' + p(d.getHours()) + ':' + p(d.getMinutes());
+    }
+
+    /* One rule, padded so the visible width is exactly W. */
+    function rule(n, who, when) {
+      var num = ('   ' + n).slice(-3) + ' ';
+      var left = '──[' + num + ']── ' + who;
+      var right = ' ' + when + ' ──';
+      var gap = W - left.length - right.length;
+      if (gap < 1) {                       // a very long handle: trim it, never overflow
+        who = who.slice(0, Math.max(1, who.length + gap - 1)) + '…';
+        left = '──[' + num + ']── ' + who;
+        gap = W - left.length - right.length;
+      }
+      return '<pre class="gb-rule">' + span('box', '──[') + span('count', num) +
+             span('box', ']── ') + span('area', who) + span('box', fill(gap)) +
+             span('date', ' ' + when + ' ') + span('box', '──') + '</pre>';
+    }
+
+    function header(count) {
+      var title = ' REPLIES ';
+      var tail = count === 1 ? '1 message ' : count + ' messages ';
+      var left = '┌─' + title;
+      var right = tail + '─┐';
+      return '<pre class="box">' + esc(left) + fill(W - left.length - right.length) + esc(right) + '</pre>';
+    }
+
+    function render(list) {
+      var html = header(list.length);
+      list.forEach(function (c, i) {
+        html += rule(i + 1, c.user.name, stamp(c.time));
+        html += '<div class="gb-body">' + c.text + '</div>';
+      });
+      if (!list.length) {
+        html += '<div class="gb-body">No replies yet. Be the first.</div>';
+      }
+      box.innerHTML = html + form();
+      wire();
+    }
+
+    function form() {
+      return '<pre class="rule">' + fill(W) + '</pre>' +
+        '<form class="gb-form" id="replyform">' +
+        '<div class="gb-row"><label for="rh">Handle</label>' +
+        '<input id="rh" name="handle" maxlength="24" required placeholder="anonymous"></div>' +
+        '<div class="gb-row"><label for="rt">Message</label>' +
+        '<textarea id="rt" name="text" rows="4" required></textarea></div>' +
+        '<div class="gb-row"><label></label>' +
+        '<button type="submit">' + span('key', '[') + '<b>P</b>' + span('key', ']') + 'ost</button>' +
+        ' <span class="hint" id="rs"></span></div></form>';
+    }
+
+    function say(msg) { var s = document.getElementById('rs'); if (s) s.textContent = msg; }
+
+    function load() {
+      return fetch(host + '/api/v1/find?site=' + encodeURIComponent(site) +
+                   '&url=' + encodeURIComponent(url) + '&format=tree')
+        .then(function (r) { return r.json(); })
+        .then(function (d) {
+          render((d.comments || []).map(function (n) { return n.comment; }));
+        })
+        .catch(function () { box.innerHTML = header(0) +
+          '<div class="gb-body">The message base is unreachable.</div>'; });
+    }
+
+    /* Anonymous login hands the JWT back in a header; we keep it ourselves so
+       no cookie is involved and nothing is blocked as third-party. */
+    function login(name) {
+      return fetch(host + '/auth/anonymous/login?user=' + encodeURIComponent(name) +
+                   '&aud=' + encodeURIComponent(site) + '&site=' + encodeURIComponent(site))
+        .then(function (r) {
+          token = r.headers.get('X-JWT');
+          if (!token) throw new Error('no token');
+        });
+    }
+
+    function post(name, text) {
+      // The site goes on the query string as well as in the body: a middleware
+      // reads it from there, and without it an authenticated request is
+      // refused outright.
+      return fetch(host + '/api/v1/comment?site=' + encodeURIComponent(site), {
+        method: 'POST',
+        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json', 'X-JWT': token },
+        body: JSON.stringify({ text: text, locator: { site: site, url: url } })
+      }).then(function (r) {
+        if (!r.ok) throw new Error(r.status);
+      });
+    }
+
+    function wire() {
+      var f = document.getElementById('replyform');
+      if (!f) return;
+      f.addEventListener('submit', function (e) {
+        e.preventDefault();
+        var name = (f.handle.value || 'anonymous').trim();
+        var text = f.text.value.trim();
+        if (!text) return;
+        // remark42 wants at least three characters, letters, numbers,
+        // underscores and spaces only. Fail here rather than at the server.
+        if (name.length < 3 || /[^A-Za-z0-9_ ]/.test(name)) {
+          say('handle: 3+ characters, letters numbers _ and spaces'); return;
+        }
+        say('posting…');
+        login(name).then(function () { return post(name, text); })
+          .then(function () { say(''); return load(); })
+          .catch(function () { say('could not post, try again'); });
+      });
+    }
+
+    // P puts the cursor in the message box. The bracket chrome is a promise
+    // everywhere else on this board, so it has to be one here too.
+    addEventListener('keydown', function (e) {
+      if (e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey || e.altKey) return;
+      var t = e.target;
+      if (t && (t.tagName === 'INPUT' || t.tagName === 'TEXTAREA' || t.isContentEditable)) return;
+      if (e.key === 'p' || e.key === 'P') {
+        var ta = document.getElementById('rt');
+        if (ta) { ta.focus(); e.preventDefault(); }
+      }
+    });
+
+    load();
+  }
+
+  if (document.readyState === 'loading') document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', init);
+  else init();
+})();
diff --git a/randogoth.com/bbs/templates/article.html b/randogoth.com/bbs/templates/article.html
index a96a24f..7324189 100644
--- a/randogoth.com/bbs/templates/article.html
+++ b/randogoth.com/bbs/templates/article.html
@@ -20,4 +20,13 @@
 
 <pre class="tagline">--- {{ SITENAME }} BBS
  <span class="origin">* Origin:</span> randogoth.com <span class="origin">(1:1/1)</span></pre>
+
+{#- Replies. A message base is a thing people answer, which is the one feature
+    the metaphor was missing. Filled by bbs.js from the comment server; without
+    JS the section simply is not there, which is honest, and the capsule never
+    sees it at all since Gemini has no way to render it. -#}
+{%- if COMMENTS_HOST %}
+<div id="replies" data-host="{{ COMMENTS_HOST }}" data-site="{{ COMMENTS_SITE }}"
+     data-url="{{ SITEURL }}/{{ article.url }}"></div>
+{%- endif %}
 {% endblock %}
diff --git a/randogoth.com/pelicanconf.py b/randogoth.com/pelicanconf.py
index b7f1455..a8c8bd7 100644
--- a/randogoth.com/pelicanconf.py
+++ b/randogoth.com/pelicanconf.py
@@ -98,3 +98,9 @@ MARKDOWN = {
 
 DELETE_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY = True
 CACHE_CONTENT = False
+
+# The comment server. One instance serves three sites, keyed on COMMENTS_SITE,
+# so this is the id rather than the hostname. Unset it and the replies section
+# disappears from every article, which is the off switch.
+COMMENTS_HOST = 'https://comments.randogoth.com'
+COMMENTS_SITE = 'randogoth'