A bulletin board is a surface for posting public notices — traditionally a corkboard or cork wall in schools, offices, and community centers, covered in push-pins, thumbtacks, and layers of paper flyers for lost cats, guitar lessons, and roommates wanted.
In the digital era, “bulletin board” took on a second life as Bulletin Board System (BBS) — the precursor to the modern internet. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, BBSes were computer servers users dialed into via modem to read forums, download files, play games, and chat. Before the World Wide Web, BBSes were the internet for most people.
Why It Matters
The bulletin board is one of those everyday objects that shaped how information spreads. The physical version created local community hubs; the digital version created online communities before “social media” existed. Many internet cultures, slang terms, and even file-sharing conventions trace their roots back to BBS culture.
Today, “bulletin board” also refers to services like Padlet or classroom tools — digital descendants of the corkboard tradition.
Examples
- Physical: The corkboard at your local laundromat.
- BBS: *The WELL* (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), one of the most influential early online communities.
- Modern: Pinterest, Padlet, classroom bulletin board apps.
Related Terms
- Corkboard, pinboard, notice board
- BBS, forum, newsgroup
- Usenet, FidoNet, dial-up