<
communications, application> (BBS, bboard /bee'bord/, message
board, forum; plural: BBSes) A computer and associated
software which typically provides an electronic message
database where people can log in and leave messages. Messages
are typically split into
topic groups similar to the
newsgroups on
Usenet (which is like a distributed BBS).
Any user may submit or read any message in these public areas.
The term comes from physical pieces of board on which people
can pin messages written on paper for general consumption - a
"physical
bulletin board".
Ward Christensen, the programmer
and operator of the first BBS (on-line 1978-02-16) called it a
CBBS for "computer
bulletin board system". Since the rise of
the
World-Wide Web, the term has become antiquated, though
the concept is more popular than ever, with many
web sites
featuring discussion areas where users can post messages for
public consumption.
Apart from public message areas, some BBSes provided archives
of files, personal
electronic mail and other services of
interest to the system operator (
sysop).
Thousands of BBSes around the world were run from amateurs'
homes on
MS-DOS boxes with a single
modem line each.
Although BBSes were traditionally the domain of hobbyists,
many connected directly to the
Internet (accessed via
telnet), others were operated by government, educational,
and research institutions.
Fans of
Usenet or the big commercial
time-sharing bboards
such as
CompuServe,
CIX and
GEnie tended to consider
local BBSes the low-rent district of the hacker culture, but
they helped connect hackers and users in the personal-
micro
and let them exchange code.
Use of this term for a
Usenet newsgroup generally marks one
either as a
newbie fresh in from the BBS world or as a real
old-timer predating
Usenet.
(2005-09-20)