>what was the cost involved For BBS system operator (sysop), he typically bought a high-end modem like US Robotics for $500 to $1000. A dedicated computer wit

>what was the cost involved For BBS system operator (sysop), he typically bought a high-end modem like US Robotics for $500 to $1000. A dedicated computer with expensive harddrives. Some paid for commercial BBS software such as PCBoard. There were monthly costs for dedicated phone landlines. For most users, they just bought a modem and re-used their existing voice landline. >How similar was it to current social media networks In terms of participation, the dial-up BBS scene seems somewhat analagous to today's Mastodon instances that are run by altruistic admins who foot the costs themselves. BBSs typically had 1 or 2 phone lines which means only 1 or 2 people could be "logged in" at a time. Some BBS had discussion forums but unlike Mastodon, each bulletin board run by a homeowner was very local/regional because extra charges for long-distance phone calls was still a thing. So 99% of the regular users of a particular BBS would be in the same area code. There were some commercial BBSs with multiple phone lines that had paid memberships. The attraction there was larger harddrives with more things to download (shareware, etc). >How big the industry around it actually become The BBS community was very small because it was mostly computer enthusiasts. A very niche communications platform like CB radio for truckers or ham radio. The dialup modem service that attracted more non-computer folks was AOL.