The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems¶
URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/the-lost-civilization-of-dial-up-bulletin-board-systems/506465/
Began the connection of the world.
BBSes once numbered in the tens of thousands in North America.1
Played a huge role in shaping the internet and the way we communicate online.
These mostly text-based, hobbyist-run services played a huge part in the online landscape of the 1980s and ‘90s. Anyone with a modem and a home computer could dial-in, often for free, and interact with other callers in their area code.1
“This is a modem,” my dad said. “You can connect to other computers over the telephone with it.”1
First instance of communication between computers.
Ward Christensen and Randy Suess, wanted a way to keep up with their computer club without having to gather together in person. So they figured out a way to do it with computers.1
Similar to a bulletin board at a school, hence the name.
personal-computer owners with modems to dial-in to a dedicated system and leave messages that others would see later1
Everything users did scrolled by on their screen, and they soaked in the joy of someone else using their computer. It was a gentle, pleasant form of surveillance.1
system operators (sysops)1
1: The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems | syndication link¶
BBSs Paved way for Social Media
BBS hosts had converted a PC—often their only PC—into a digital playground for strangers’ amusement.1