Editing Bulletin board system (section)

{{short description|Computer server}}
{{Distinguish|Internet forum software}}
[[File:FreePort Software banner, inverted.png|thumb|upright=1.35|A welcome screen for the [[Free-net]] bulletin board, from 1994]]

A '''bulletin board system''' ('''BBS'''), also called a '''computer bulletin board service''' ('''CBBS'''),<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author=Derfler Jr. |first=Frank |date=1980-04-01 |title=Dial Up Directory |url=http://www.bbsdocumentary.com/photos/130randy/FILES/dialup.txt |access-date=2018-02-20 |work=Kilobaud Microcomputing Magazine |language=en}}</ref> is a [[computer server]] running [[list of BBS software|software]] that allows users to connect to the system using a [[terminal program]]. Once logged in, the user performs functions such as [[upload]]ing and [[download]]ing software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging messages with other users through public [[Internet forum|message boards]] and sometimes via direct [[synchronous conferencing|chatting]]. In the early 1980s, message networks such as [[FidoNet]] were developed to provide services such as [[M+NetMail|NetMail]], which is similar to internet-based [[email]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bush|first=Randy|date=1992|title=FidoNet: Technology, Use, Tools, and History|url=https://www.fidonet.org/inet92_Randy_Bush.txt|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-22|website=Fidonet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031203124343/http://www.fidonet.org:80/inet92_Randy_Bush.txt |archive-date=2003-12-03 }}</ref>

Many BBSes also offered [[BBS door|online games]] in which users could compete with each other. BBSes with multiple phone lines often provided [[chat room]]s, allowing users to interact with each other. Bulletin board systems were in many ways a precursor to the modern form of the [[World Wide Web]], [[social networking service|social networks]], and other aspects of the [[Internet]]. Low-cost, high-performance [[Asynchronous communication|asynchronous]] [[modem]]s drove the use of [[online service]]s and BBSes through the early 1990s. ''[[InfoWorld]]'' 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 [[CompuServe]].

The introduction of inexpensive [[Dial-up Internet access|dial-up internet service]] and the [[Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic web browser]] 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 [[List of BBS software|leading BBS software providers]] went [[bankruptcy|bankrupt]] and tens of thousands of BBSes disappeared.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-20 |title=Bulletin-board system |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/bulletin-board-system |access-date=2023-04-28 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[PTT Bulletin Board System]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thinkingchinese.com/chinese-bbs-the-social-activity-that-never-grows-old
 |title=Thinking Chinese - Chinese BBS – The Social Activity that Never Grows Old
 |website=thinkingchinese.com|access-date=14 April 2018}}</ref> Most surviving BBSes are accessible over [[Telnet]] and typically offer free email accounts, [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]] services, and [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]]. Some offer access through packet switched networks or [[packet radio]] connections.<ref name=":0" />