bulletin board system
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...
software from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. The modifiable
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
allowed a
sysop
A sysop (; an abbreviation of system operator) is an administrator of a multi-user computer system, such as a bulletin board system (BBS) or an online service virtual community.Jansen, E. & James,V. (2002). NetLingo: the Internet dictionary. Netl ...
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
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
, the
WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.FidoNet.
History
Origins
WWIV started out in early 1984 as a single BBS in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, run by Wayne Bell, who wrote the original 1.0 version in
BASIC
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
as a high school programing project, and shared the software with 25 of his friends.
As the popularity of WWIV spread in the mid-1980s, for practical reasons Bell switched to
Pascal
Pascal, Pascal's or PASCAL may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Pascal (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Pascal (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** Blaise Pascal, Fren ...
—specifically
Borland
Borland Software Corporation was a computer technology company founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn. Its main business was the development and sale of software development and software deployment product ...
's
Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment (IDE) for the Pascal (programming language), Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS. It was originally develo ...
2.0—creating a
compiled
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
version of the BBS but distributing the
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
for it to anyone who was interested in their own BBS. This encouraged sysops to develop new features for WWIV, and these ideas were released as "mods" that others could add to their own copies.
Shortly after releasing the 2.0 version, Borland updated the compiler to the 3.0 and 3.1 versions; WWIV's versions were revised to reflect the compiler versions. One of Turbo Pascal's strong features was the ability to easily "
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
" sub-programs and external modules into memory only as required; as the average available RAM for a program to load and run in
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
was 384
kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information.
The International System of Units (SI) defines the prefix ''kilo'' as 1000 (103); per this definition, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes.International Standard IEC 80000-13 Quantiti ...
s, this became a very important feature. "Chaining" allowed for online games and other utilities to be used with WWIV without having to add the new source code for the game and then recompiling the entire BBS again. These programs—referred to as "chains" or "doors"—became very popular.
The switch to C++
After Borland released
Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment (IDE) for the Pascal (programming language), Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS. It was originally develo ...
4.0 and changed the structure of how compiled programs behaved—which made "chained" sub-programs such as the popular game Trade Wars II and
Geopolitik
Geopolitik is a branch of 19th-century German statecraft, foreign policy and geostrategy.
It developed from the writings of various German philosophers, geographers and thinkers, including Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), Alexander Humboldt (1769- ...
impossible to run—Bell switched to
Borland C++
Borland C++ is a C and C++ IDE (integrated development environment) for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. It was the successor to Turbo C++ and included a better debugger, the Turbo Debugger, which was written in protected mode DOS.
Libraries
O ...
, which allowed for remote shell operations and easy porting of the old games and utilities written for the Pascal versions. Until WWIV version 5.x, WWIV was written in C. For the
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
release, WWIV was converted to
C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
.
Bell also modified the base source so that multiple instances of the BBS could be running on the same system, with nonconflicting access to the various user databases. This was done to not only allow multiple-line BBSs to exist using WWIV, but to allow all WWIV sysops to access their own BBS without having to wait for a user to log off and/or be rude and kick them off. One other side-effect of the multi-line capability was that IBM's
OS/2
OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
—specifically the OS/2 Warp, Warp version—became a popular choice for some WWIV sysops, as the default two instance configuration could easily run under the most basic OS/2 system with ease. In the BBS world, WWIV was referred to sometimes as the "only killer app for OS/2, and it wasn't even written for it!". WWIV did run well even in Microsoft Windows, though—often better than Windows-native BBSs—because DOS applications ran preemptively, even with Windows 3.1. WWIV also ran well under Quarterdesk's DESQview and DESQVIEW/X multitasking shells.
The switch to C also allowed for Bell to implement a rather flexible BBS network,
WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.FidoNet gateways that allowed some interconnectivity between the two traditionally hostile networks. Similar WWIVnet gateways even allowed messages to be sent to and from standard Internet email addresses and USENET newsgroups by means of the UUCP protocol.
Thanks to the network implementation, WWIV sysops and their users worldwide became united to one another much in the same way forum communities exist on the Internet today. This camaraderie gave rise to WWIVCons, annual meetings where sysops and users of WWIV boards met in some central, real-life location to share stories, discuss the future of BBSing, and even hang one or two infamous sysops in effigy. It gave everyone a chance to see just what the person on the other side of the screen actually looked like in a day when GUIs and browsers with tons of pictures available at a click simply hadn't been invented yet.
WWIV vs Fido: controversies and BBS wars
Despite its popularity, WWIV wasn't without its share of controversy. To quite a few non-WWIV sysops, using WWIV was a sign of rebellion against the status quo; in fact, several key FidoNet administrators were quoted on several occasions that they firmly believed that running a WWIV board meant that you were probably running a "pirate" or "hacker" BBS, and that no WWIV BBS should be allowed access to FidoNet. This would lead to Bell's creation of
WWIVnet
WWIVnet was a Bulletin board system (BBS) network for WWIV-based BBSes. It was created by Wayne Bell (computer specialist), Wayne Bell on December 1, 1987.