Editing Bulletin board system (section)

== Software and hardware ==
[[File:Amiga3000UX.jpg|thumb|Amiga 3000 running a two-line BBS]]

Unlike modern websites and [[online services]] that are typically hosted by third-party companies in commercial [[data center]]s, BBS computers (especially for smaller boards) were typically operated from the system operator's home. As such, access could be unreliable, and in many cases, only one user could be on the system at a time. Only larger BBSes with multiple phone lines using specialized hardware, multitasking software, or a [[LAN]] connecting multiple computers, could host multiple simultaneous users.

The first BBSes each used their own unique software,{{efn|CBBS Chicago (which [[Ward Christensen]] programmed) was about 20,000 lines of 8080 assembler.}} quite often written entirely or at least customized by the system operators themselves, running on early [[S-100 bus]] [[microcomputer]] systems such as the [[Altair 8800]], [[IMSAI 8080]] and [[Cromemco]] under the [[CP/M]] operating system. Soon after, BBS software was being written for all of the major [[home computer]] systems of the late 1970s era{{Snd}}the [[Apple II]], [[Atari 8-bit computers]], [[Commodore PET]], [[TI-99/4A]], and [[TRS-80]] being some of the most popular.

In 1981, the [[IBM Personal Computer]] was introduced and [[MS-DOS]] soon became the operating system on which the majority of BBS programs were run. [[RBBS-PC]], [[porting|ported]] over from the CP/M world, and ''Fido'' BBS, developed by [[Tom Jennings]] (who later founded [[FidoNet]]) were the first notable MS-DOS BBS programs. Many successful commercial BBS programs were developed, such as [[PCBoard]] BBS, [[RemoteAccess]] BBS, Magpie and [[Wildcat! BBS]]. Popular [[freeware]] BBS programs included [[Telegard]] BBS and [[Renegade (BBS)|Renegade BBS]], which both had early origins from leaked [[WWIV]] BBS source code.

BBS systems on other systems remained popular, especially [[home computer]]s, largely because they catered to the audience of users running those machines. The ubiquitous [[Commodore 64]] (introduced in 1982) was a common platform in the 1980s. Popular commercial BBS programs were [[Blue Board (software)|Blue Board]], [[Ivory BBS]], [[Color64]] and [[C-Net DS2|CNet 64]]. There was also a devoted contingent of BBS users on TI-99/4A computers, long after [[Texas Instruments]] had discontinued the computer in the aftermath of their [[price war]] with Commodore. Popular BBSes for the TI-99/4A included Techie, TIBBS (Texas Instruments Bulletin Board System), TI-COMM, and Zyolog.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Albright | first=Ron | date=March 1985 | url=https://ftp.whtech.com/magazines/micropendium/mp8503.pdf#page=12 | title=Touring the boards | journal=MICROpendium | volume=2 | issue=2 | pages=14–18 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627220622/https://ftp.whtech.com/magazines/micropendium/mp8503.pdf#page=12 | archivedate=June 27, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Christianson | first=Mike | date=August 1985 | url=https://ftp.whtech.com/magazines/micropendium/mp8508.pdf#page=31 | title='Techie' BBS is dream come true | journal=MICROpendium | volume=2 | issue=7 | pages=31–34 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240627220614/https://ftp.whtech.com/magazines/micropendium/mp8508.pdf#page=31 | archivedate=June 27, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Gerk | first=Barbara | date=September 3, 1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jy8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA39 | title=Communiques | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=6 | issue=36 | page=39 | via=Google Books}}</ref> In the early 1990s, a small number of BBSes were also running on the Commodore [[Amiga]]. Popular BBS software for the Amiga were ABBS, [[Amiexpress]], C-Net, StormforceBBS, [[Infinity (software)|Infinity]] and Tempest. There was also a small faction of devoted Atari BBSes that used the Atari 800, then the 800XL, and eventually the [[Atari ST|1040ST]]. The earlier machines generally lacked [[hard drive]] capabilities, which limited them primarily to messaging.

MS-DOS continued to be the most popular operating system for BBS use up until the mid-1990s, and in the early years, most multi-node BBSes were running under a DOS based multitasker such as [[DESQview]] or consisted of multiple computers connected via a [[LAN]]. In the late 1980s, a handful of BBS developers implemented multitasking communications routines inside their software, allowing multiple phone lines and users to connect to the same BBS computer. These included Galacticomm's [[MajorBBS]] (later WorldGroup), eSoft [[The Bread Board System]] (TBBS), and Falken. Other popular BBS's were [[Maximus (BBS)|Maximus]] and Opus, with some associated applications such as BinkleyTerm being based on characters from the [[Berkeley Breathed|Berkley Breathed]] cartoon strip of [[Bloom County]]. Though most BBS software had been written in [[BASIC]] or [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] (with some low-level routines written in [[assembly language]]), the [[C (language)|C]] language was starting to gain popularity.

By 1995, many of the DOS-based BBSes had begun switching to modern [[Computer multitasking|multitasking]] operating systems, such as [[OS/2]], [[Windows 95]], and [[Linux]]. One of the first graphics-based BBS applications was [[Excalibur BBS]] with low-bandwidth applications that required its own client for efficiency. This led to one of the earliest implementations of Electronic Commerce in 1996 with replication of partner stores around the globe. TCP/IP networking allowed most of the remaining BBSes to evolve and include Internet hosting capabilities. Recent BBS software, such as [[Synchronet]], [[Mystic BBS]], EleBBS, [[Dave's own version of Citadel|DOC]], Magpie or [[Wildcat! BBS]], provide access using the [[Telnet]] protocol rather than dialup, or by using legacy DOS-based BBS software with a [[FOSSIL]]-to-Telnet redirector such as [[NetFoss]].