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Celerity BBS was a descendant of the freely distributed source of TCS BBS 1.43, and ultimately nearly completely rewritten.
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Celerity BBS was a descendant of the freely distributed source of TCS BBS 1.43, and ultimately nearly completely rewritten.
It originally began as a project of Brendon Woirhaye (The Byter) and David Hicks (Moebius) in 1990 to quickly modify an existing BBS package to meet a simple organizational need (separate conferences for IBM PC users and Amiga users), and to meet the needs of high speed (9600 bit/s) communication, as most BBSes of the time could not pump data to the modem quickly enough. The I/O and display subsystems were rewritten, and the BBS package got its name.
It wasn't long before others became interested in the BBS software, and it went on to have over 500 authorized BBSes and about three times that number using it in an unauthorized manner. It was very popular in the underground pirate, hacking, and phreaking community as well as with legitimate systems, including church BBSes, non profit group BBSes, many shareware distribution systems, and a governmental BBS in Portugal.
Celerity BBS Version 2.04 boasts some of the following features:
(> Enhanced multitasking support including:
(> Intelligent time slicing for Windows 3.x, Windows 95, OS/2, and DesqView environments to improve background / multinode performance (> Inter-node messages can be sent from any BBS prompt to other users (> Support for the DigiBoard multi-port communications boards (> Enhanced file locking for data protection on multinode BBSes
(> Full featured message section featuring:
(> Multi-generational and cross-generational message threading (> File attachments to messages (> Message uploading/importing from a text/ANSI/graphic file (> Message downloading/exporting to a text/ANSI/graphic file (> Virtually unlimited message size limit (2,000,000,000+ bytes) (> QWK offline reader support built-in
(> Extensive conference management system featuring:
(> Genuine hierarchal structure with unlimited depth (> An unlimited number of conference items may be defined (> Conference items may include: (> Message bases (> Transfer areas (> Online doors sections (> BBS lists (> Art galleries (> Voting booths (> Bulletin sections (> Sub-conferences (> Selective intelligent newscanning of entire conference trees (> Four basic conferences may be defined with an unlimited number of sub- conferences off these structures
(> Enhanced file transfer section featuring:
(> Up to 999 file areas per file section (> Unlimited number of file sections via the conference management system (> Up to 9999 files per file area (> Area-selectable file_id.diz / desc.sdi description importation (> Unlimited-length file descriptions (> Optional extended descriptions (> Repeated file checking which will selectively scan other areas (> Automatic integrity checking of ZIP/ARJ/LZH archives upon uploading (> Automatic ZIP/ARJ/LZH archive commenting (> Automatic ZIP/ARJ/LZH archive advertisement deletion (> Provision for virus scanning of ZIP/ARJ/LZH archives (> Support for external file transfer protocols including bidirectionals
(> Revolutionary CelerityText language file system featuring:
(> Virtually unlimited size for each text entry (> Virtually all of the BBS text and formatting can be customized (> Intelligent indexing and text cache system to enhance display speed (> Support for multiple CelerityText files on a single BBS, allowing users to choose a motif of their preference (> Support for multiple CelerityText menu/prompt files on a single BBS to allow the user to choose a menu set that they like (> Built-in support for novice / intermediate / advanced / expert user help levels (> Over 75 CelerityText command directives providing access to user info, BBS statistics, context-sensitive details, and screen formatting
Celerity BBS had over 50 discrete releases between 1990 and 1995, and pioneered a number of new technologies which were not commonly seen, including split screen multiuser chat (8 node maximum), a file distribution network, an early "liveupdate" system where BBS updates were distributed, a cross BBS message board and email network (CelerityNet, adopted by some non-Celerity BBS programs), FIDONet support, offline (or off box) file upload processing, QWK offline reader support, the ability to completely change the look and feel of the system, new user application including new user committee voting, "geek speak" mode that transformed normal text to leet, and unlimited numbers of message and file conferences. It supported multiple user interfaces designs in ASCII/ANSI/RIP and NAPLPS. It supported multitasking under DesqView, Windows, and OS/2 environments.
Alacrity BBS was a premium version of Celerity BBS which was not broadly distributed. Its most notable feature was an AI sysop chat which incorporated ELIZA-style logic, sprinkled with references to current posts on the message boards and recently uploaded files.
v1.00 was the first working version, dated February 1, 1990.
v1.42 was the last major update of the 1.xx versions, released December 14, 1992.
v1.50 was released April 13, 1994 as a maintenance release for systems that were not ready to move to 2.0x.
v2.00 was released March 23, 1994. It represented a major overhaul which allowed sysops to customize all user-viewable text, allowing multiple languages and display motifs. Celerity boards entered a phase of heavy customization and art expression.
v2.04 labelled the "Final Release" was released as freeware on May 17, 1996.
v2.05 released multiple beta builds between 8/1/96 and the last release on 12/31/99 adding y2k support.
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), was a computer server running software that allowed users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as uploading and 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 email.
FidoNet is a worldwide computer network that is used for communication between bulletin board systems (BBSes). It uses a store-and-forward system to exchange private (email) and public (forum) messages between the BBSes in the network, as well as other files and protocols in some cases.
The computer art scene, or simply artscene, is the community interested and active in the creation of computer-based artwork.
StuffIt Expander is a proprietary, freeware, closed source, decompression software utility developed by Allume Systems. It runs on the classic Mac OS, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. Prior to 2011, a Linux version had also been available for download.
FILE_ID.DIZ is a plain-text file containing a brief description of the content of archive to which it belongs. Such files were originally used in archives distributed through bulletin board systems (BBSes) and is still used in the warez scene. FILE_ID stands for "file identification". DIZ stands for "description in zipfile".
ANSI art is a computer art form that was widely used at one time on bulletin board systems. It is similar to ASCII art, but constructed from a larger set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols — all codes found in IBM code page 437, often referred to as extended ASCII and used in MS-DOS and Unix environments. ANSI art also contains special ANSI escape sequences that color text with the 16 foreground and 8 background colours offered by ANSI.SYS, an MS-DOS device driver loosely based upon the ANSI X3.64 standard for text terminals. Some ANSI artists take advantage of the cursor control sequences within ANSI X3.64 in order to create animations, commonly referred to as ANSImations. ANSI art and text files which incorporate ANSI codes carry the de facto.ANS file extension.
Synchronet is a multiplatform BBS software package, with current ports for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and BSD variants. Past versions also ran on MS-DOS and OS/2, but support for those platforms were dropped in version 3.0.
The Bread Board System (TBBS) is a multiline MS-DOS based commercial bulletin board system software package written in 1983 by Philip L. Becker. He originally created the software as the result of a poker game with friends that were praising the BBS software created by Ward Christensen. Becker said he could do better and founded eSoft, Inc. in 1984 based on the strength of TBBS sales.
WWIV was a popular brand of bulletin board system software from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. The modifiable source code allowed a sysop to customize the main BBS program for their particular needs and aesthetics. WWIV also allowed tens of thousands of BBSes to link together, forming a worldwide proprietary computer network, the WWIVnet, similar to FidoNet.
PCBoard (PCB) was a bulletin board system (BBS) application first introduced for DOS in 1983 by Clark Development Company. Clark Development was founded by Fred Clark. PCBoard was one of the first commercial BBS packages for DOS systems, and was considered one of the "high end" packages during the rapid expansion of BBS systems in the early 1990s. Like many BBS companies, the rise of the Internet starting around 1994 led to serious downturns in fortunes, and Clark Development went bankrupt in 1997. Most PCB sales were of two-line licenses; additional line licenses were also available.
Citadel is the name of a bulletin board system (BBS) computer program, and of the genre of programs it inspired. Citadels were notable for their room-based structure and relatively heavy emphasis on messages and conversation as opposed to gaming and files. The first Citadel came online in 1980 with a single 300 baud modem; eventually many versions of the software, both clones and those descended from the original code base, became popular among BBS callers and sysops, particularly in areas such as the Pacific Northwest, Northern California and Upper Midwest of the United States, where development of the software was ongoing. Citadel BBSes were most popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but when the Internet became more accessible for online communication, Citadels began to decline. However, some versions of the software, from small community BBSes to large systems supporting thousands of simultaneous users, are still in use today. Citadel development has always been collaborative with a strong push to keep the source code in the public domain. This makes Citadel one of the oldest surviving FOSS projects.
Mystic BBS is a bulletin board system software program that began in 1995 and was first released to the public in December 1997 for MS-DOS. It has been ported to Microsoft Windows, OS/2, OS X, and Linux. Mystic was designed to be a spiritual successor to the Renegade (BBS) and Telegard bulletin board systems.
Ezycom (EzyBBS) is a shareware bulletin board system (BBS) application first introduced for MS-DOS by Peter Davies. It is still in active development and currently being developed by Stephen Gibbs and the Ezycom Development Team. The current version of Ezycom is v2.15g2, which was released on 21 April 2010. A minor update was released on 21 May 2010.
Blue Wave is a file-based offline mail reader that was popular among bulletin board system users, especially users of FidoNet and other networks that generated large volumes of mail. It allowed users to download all of their mail and messages, read and edit them offline, and then upload any replies. This reduced the amount of time they spent on line. The name "Blue Wave" originally referred to the client software, but as new clients were written that supported the same file format, the name came to refer primarily to the format itself.
QWK is a file-based offline mail reader format that was popular among bulletin board system (BBS) users, especially users of FidoNet and other networks that generated large volumes of mail. QWK was originally developed by Mark "Sparky" Herring in 1987 for systems running the popular PCBoard bulletin board system, but it was later adapted for other platforms. Herring died of a heart attack in 2020 after being swatted. During the height of bulletin board system popularity, several dozen offline mail readers supported the QWK format.
An offline reader is computer software that downloads e-mail, newsgroup posts or web pages, making them available when the computer is offline: not connected to a server. Offline readers are useful for portable computers and dial-up access.
The JAM Message Base Format was one of the most popular file formats of message bases on DOS-based BBSes in the 1990s. JAM stands for "Joaquim-Andrew-Mats" after the original authors of the API, Joaquim Homrighausen, Andrew Milner, Mats Birch, and Mats Wallin. Joaquim was the author of FrontDoor, a DOS-based FidoNet-compatible mailer. Andrew was the author of RemoteAccess, a popular DOS-based Bulletin Board System. JAM was originally released in 1993 in C, however the most popular implementation was Mark May's "MK Source for Msg Access" written in Pascal which also saw its initial release in 1993.
FastEcho is a message processing package for FTN mail systems. It was written and released as shareware by Tobias Burchhardt in 1991. The final version was 1.46.1 which was released in 1997. FastEcho was one of the fastest FTN mail processing packages available for FTN style messages. Running on MS-DOS, DPMI and native OS/2 32bit, it offered numerous features that were desirable for leafnode systems as well as highend FTN mail distribution hubs.
Blue Board is a bulletin board system software created by Martin Sikes (1968–2007) for the Commodore 64 in the 1980s in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and sold worldwide. Due to optimized code and memory allocation, Blue Board boasted very fast performance for a BBS on that hardware platform. In fact, Blue Board was faster than most if not all BBSs run on 8-bit computers. This speed combined with its use of the ASCII character set and XModem file transfer protocol rather than PETSCII and the Commodore-specific Punter protocol sometimes led users to believe that they were calling a BBS running on a much larger and faster computer.
GT Power is a bulletin board system (BBS) and dial-up telecommunications/terminal application for MS-DOS. It was first introduced in the 1980s by P & M Software, founded by Paul Meiners. GT Power can be used both to host a BBS as well as to connect to other BBS systems via its full-featured dial-up "terminal mode". GT Power was a shareware package that required a registration fee in order to access its proprietary network mail transport/handling software and, by default, the GT Power Network. The software is distributed in two "flavors": a terminal-only version, nicknamed GTO, and the full-featured host and terminal version.