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Bulletin Board Systems- This Best Forum Hosting tutorial is going to discuss bulletin board systems. We are going to tell you what bulletin board systems are, the history of bulletin board systems, and the functions of bulletin board systems.

What are bulletin board systems? Bulletin board systems are basically a computer system that runs specific software that allows the users to log into the system using a specific terminal program. The whole point of users logging in is to allow the user to upload and download software and data, socialize via bulletins or message boards, or to read news. In some bulletin board systems the users are also offered the ability to play online games, and chat in chat rooms. Bulletin board systems are also referred as BBS or BBSes.

History of bulletin board systems: The first public bulletin board system was created in 1972. At that time the founders of bulletin board systems had to use hardwired terminals that were placed in neighborhoods. In 1978 the first public dial up bulletin board system was created. This allowed the users to have some more freedom while using the bulletin board systems. While this was originally slow, the speed of the bulletin board systems did pick up as time went by. It is estimated that in 1996, bulletin board systems reached their peak. This is about the same time that the World Wide Web started to boom. Since then bulletin board systems have slowly decreased in popularity due to the rise of the internet.

What are the functions of bulletin board systems? Best Forum Hosting slightly touched on this when we told you what bulletin board systems are. Here is a list of some of the popular functions of bulletin board systems.

1. Download and share software- BBSes were the original shareware providers. They were around long before the sites that people use today to download and share software. BBSes were extremely slow in downloads and would frustrate users today.
2. Communicate with others- Bulletin board systems were popular in communicating with other individuals. It was a way for people to reach out and talk with somebody. This was done via a few methods; chat rooms, messaging, and emails. Now days there are specific programs that do this better than BBSes.
3. Entertainment- Some bulletin board systems allowed the users to play online games. This was the beginning of the popular online game era. It was the founding father of what later became game servers. The speed of the games were slow due to the technology that bulletin board systems used.

While Best Forum Hosting talks a lot about bulletin board systems in the past tense, there are still some BBS. They might not be as popular as they use to be but they still serve a purpose. Bulletin board systems are popular in the workplaces and education sites. A lot of online classes have bulletin board systems which allow their students to interact. Best Forum Hosting hopes you enjoyed this tutorial on bulletin board systems.

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