bulletin board system

When online platforms were first developed decades ago, bulletin board systems focused on connecting people, sharing information and being social.

At the time, Morgan said, he was operating a BBS, a bulletin board system that served as a precursor to the World Wide Web and working with his brother-in-law.

Some folks connected with others on bulletin board systems, or BBSes, which were independent computer servers often run out of the system operator's home.

“I saw the internet being born,” she said, describing her time on dial-up bulletin board systems in the 1980s.

Using a dial-up modem and a phone line, anyone could sign on to a bulletin board system and read or write racist screeds.