A Bulletin Board System (BBS) is a computer-based method of communication that emerged in the late 1970s and was popular until the rise of the Internet[2] in the mid-1990s. BBS was a pioneering system that allowed users to connect over a phone line using a modem to share messages, download software and games, and participate in online discussions. It was the precursor to modern online communities and social networks. The system evolved over time with the introduction of higher-speed modems and graphical user interfaces, enhancing user experience[1]. Despite a decline in popularity with the advent of the internet, BBS systems have left a lasting legacy. They have transitioned to the Internet using modern networking protocols and continue to be used in some communities.
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A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), was a computer server running logiciel that allowed users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as uploading et 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 courriel.
Many BBSes also offered online games in which users could compete with each other. BBSes with multiple phone lines often provided chat rooms, 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, les réseaux sociaux, and other aspects of the Internet. Low-cost, high-performance asynchronous modems drove the use of services en ligne 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 service et le 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 leading BBS software providers went bankrupt 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 Taiwanese youth (see PTT Bulletin Board System). Most surviving BBSes are accessible over Telnet and typically offer free email accounts, FTP services, IRC and all the protocols commonly used on the Internet. Some offer access through packet switched networks or packet radio connections.
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