bboard

bboard
 /bee'bord/, n.

   [contraction of `bulletin board']

   1. Any electronic bulletin board; esp. used of {BBS} systems running
   on personal micros, less frequently of a Usenet {newsgroup} (in fact,
   use of this term for a newsgroup generally marks one either as a
   {newbie} fresh in from the BBS world or as a real old-timer predating
   Usenet).

   2. At CMU and other colleges with similar facilities, refers to
   campus-wide electronic bulletin boards.

   3. The term physical bboard is sometimes used to refer to an
   old-fashioned, non-electronic cork-and-thumbtack memo board. At CMU,
   it refers to a particular one outside the CS Lounge.

   In either of senses 1 or 2, the term is usually prefixed by the name
   of the intended board (`the Moonlight Casino bboard' or `market
   bboard'); however, if the context is clear, the better-read bboards
   may be referred to by name alone, as in (at CMU) "Don't post for-sale
   ads on general".
    

bulletin board system
bboard
BBS
bulletin board
CBBS

   <communications, application> (BBS, bboard /bee'bord/)

   A computer and associated software which typically provides an
   electronic message database where people can log in and leave
   messages.  Messages are typically split into {topic groups}
   similar to the {newsgroups} on {Usenet} (which is like a
   distributed BBS).  Any user may submit or read any message in
   these public areas.

   The term comes from physical pieces of board on which people
   can pin messages written on paper for general consumption - a
   "physical bulletin board".  {Ward Christensen}, the programmer
   and operator of the first BBS (on-line 1978-02-16) called it a
   CBBS for "computer bulletin board system".

   Apart from public message areas, a BBS may provide archives of
   files, personal {electronic mail} and any other services or
   activities of interest to the bulletin board's system operator
   (the "{sysop}").  Thousands of local BBSes are in operation
   throughout the world, typically run by amateurs for fun out of
   their homes on {MS-DOS} boxes with a single {modem} line each.
   Although BBSes have traditionally been the domain of
   hobbyists, an increasing number of BBSes are connected
   directly to the {Internet}, and many BBSes are currently
   operated by government, educational, and research
   institutions.  Fans of {Usenet} and {Internet} or the big
   commercial {time-sharing} bboards such as {CompuServe}, {CIX}
   and {GEnie} tend to consider local BBSes the low-rent district
   of the hacker culture, but they serve a valuable function by
   knitting together lots of hackers and users in the
   personal-{micro} world who would otherwise be unable to
   exchange code at all.

   Use of this term for a {Usenet} newsgroup generally marks one
   either as a {newbie} fresh in from the BBS world or as a real
   old-timer predating {Usenet}.

   (2005-09-20)