bulletin board system
Sign in to saveAlso known as BBS, B.B.S., bulletin board, computer bulletin board, computer bulletin board system, CBBS, Bulletin Board Systems, Mailboxes
computer server
~38 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A welcome screen for the Free-net bulletin board, from 1994
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal or a terminal emulator. Once logged in, the user performs functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public message boards and sometimes via direct chatting. In the early 1980s, message networks such as FidoNet were developed to provide services such as NetMail, which is similar to internet-based email.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “bulletin board system” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.