To me, it was a computer magazine that introduced me to BBS:es. It had articles on how to use them, on good etiquette, and there were phone numbers to some newb

To me, it was a computer magazine that introduced me to BBS:es. It had articles on how to use them, on good etiquette, and there were phone numbers to some newbie-friendly ones. Eventually I became a "co-sysop" / moderator on one, and when that closed, on another. I'd think that the BBS:es were the real precursors to many web-based forums later, more so than Usenet News was. Text-based menu interfaces were the template to HTML-based menu interfaces. Etiquette rules were the precursor to web-forum etiquette. (There were both very liberal and very strict forums and everthing in-between then as there is now). The owner had to devote a computer and a phone line to it. Real multi-tasking operating systems such as AmigaOS or OS/2 were preferred so that the owner could use the computer for other things. In the Internet era, BBS:es got telnet and then SSH interfaces, and there are 30 year old BBS:es out there still running today.