Bulletin board system

A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a <a href="/facts/Computer_server/dEaYFD7r">computer server</a> running <a href="/facts/List_of_BBS_software/1yRRzWf6">software</a> that allows users to connect to the system using a <a href="/facts/Terminal_program/yNfevBJd">terminal program</a>. Once logged in, the user performs functions such as <a href="/facts/Upload/SclWHQAb">uploading</a> and <a href="/facts/Download/qN7fWmyI">downloading</a> software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public <a href="/facts/Internet_forum/bRuqfQfN">message boards</a> and sometimes via direct <a href="/facts/Synchronous_conferencing/7pcyspul">chatting</a>. In the early 1980s, message networks such as <a href="/facts/FidoNet/dM4jyojM">FidoNet</a> were developed to provide services such as <a href="/facts/M%252BNetMail/FWh0dkvs">NetMail</a>, which is similar to internet-based <a href="/facts/Email/6pD9GLtI">email</a>.
Many BBSes also offered <a href="/facts/BBS_door/jRBjxT6h">online games</a> in which users could compete with each other. BBSes with multiple phone lines often provided <a href="/facts/Chat_room/QbFjlYQU">chat rooms</a>, allowing users to interact with each other. Bulletin board systems were in many ways a precursor to the modern form of the <a href="/facts/World_Wide_Web/wvnTrWFq">World Wide Web</a>, <a href="/facts/Social_networking_service/qFIh6VT1">social networks</a>, and other aspects of the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>. Low-cost, high-performance <a href="/facts/Asynchronous_communication/sz5DacK8">asynchronous</a> <a href="/facts/Modem/9H0Xwtq0">modems</a> drove the use of <a href="/facts/Online_service/MSe2Ta87">online services</a> and BBSes through the early 1990s. <a href="/facts/InfoWorld/EJ0zA8FV">InfoWorld</a> estimated that there were 60,000 BBSes serving 17 million users in the United States alone in 1994, a collective market much larger than major online services such as <a href="/facts/CompuServe/Pjpdcf2a">CompuServe</a>.
The introduction of inexpensive <a href="/facts/Dial-up_Internet_access/gfhNU9s3">dial-up internet service</a> and the <a href="/facts/Mosaic_(web_browser)/qrA52r1E">Mosaic web browser</a> offered ease of use and global access that BBS and online systems did not provide, and led to a rapid crash in the market starting in late 1994 to early 1995. Over the next year, many of the <a href="/facts/List_of_BBS_software/1yRRzWf6">leading BBS software providers</a> went <a href="/facts/Bankruptcy/EAztPnMf">bankrupt</a> and tens of thousands of BBSes disappeared. Today, BBSing survives largely as a nostalgic hobby in most parts of the world, but it is still a popular form of communication for middle aged Taiwanese (see <a href="/facts/PTT_Bulletin_Board_System/CIJKaeL5">PTT Bulletin Board System</a>). Most surviving BBSes are accessible over <a href="/facts/Telnet/hxT0e85h">Telnet</a> and typically offer free email accounts, <a href="/facts/File_Transfer_Protocol/THuWgzfw">FTP</a> services, and <a href="/facts/Internet_Relay_Chat/oDr3VN9q">IRC</a>. Some offer access through packet switched networks or <a href="/facts/Packet_radio/90L290N1">packet radio</a> connections.

Bulletin board system open-in-new

Bulletin board system