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# Bulletin board system

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A bulletin board system or BBS is a computer system running software that allows users to dial into the builletin board system over phone lines.

A typical BBS has:

- a computer
- one or more modems
- a BBS software package
- a sysop? - system operator

The BBS software usually provided:

- login screen
- welcome screen
- one or more [message base]?s
- file download? area
- file upload? area (sometimes)
- online games (usually single player or only a single active player at a given time)
- a doorway to 3rd party online games
- login/logout auditing capabilities

Most BBS were run as a hobby by the sysop and not for commercial purposes.

BBS grew in popularity from the 1980s to the early 1990s and have greatly declined in popularity with the rise of the internet in the middle/late 1990s. BBS were so popular that a major monthly magazine "Computer Shopper" would carry a list of BBS along with a brief abstract of each offering.

BBS usually ran at acceptable speeds on 300 baud? to 9600 baud modems (30 characters per second - 1000 characters per second) because all information was represented as characters and [ansi escape code]?s.

Before commercial internet access became common, networks of BBSes provided regional and international e-mail and message bases. Some even provided gateways by which members could send/receive e-mail to/from the internet. Fairly elaborate schemes allowed users to download binary files, search gopherspace, and interact with distant programs, all using plaintext e-mail. Most BBS networks were not linked in real-time. Instead, each would dial up the next in line, and/or a regional hub, at pre-set intervals to exchange files. The largest BBS network was fidonet?, which is still widely used outside of the United States.

Did BBSes make shareware a viable business prospect? Shareware was started via sharing software through BBSes. A notable example was Phil Katz's Pkarc. Also Wolfenstien 3d and Doom of ID Software. And all Apogee games.

See also:

- [ansi escape code]?
- bbs doors game -- is there a better term for this?
- fido and fidonet

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Last edited August 5, 2001 1:18 pm (diff)
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