Bulletin board system
From The IT Law Wiki
A bulletin board system (also referred to as computer bulletin board, bulletin board or BBS) is "an electronic interface between two computer systems that allows users to download digital files onto their computer systems.[1] As noted by one court:
- With an investment of as little as $2,000.00 and the cost of a telephone line, individuals, non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and businesses can offer their own dial-in computer “bulletin board” service where friends, members, subscribers, or customers can exchange ideas and information. BBSs range from single computers with only one telephone line into the computer (allowing only one user at a time), to single computers with many telephone lines into the computer (allowing multiple simultaneous users), to multiple linked computers each servicing multiple dial-in telephone lines (allowing multiple simultaneous users). Some (but not all) of these BBS systems offer direct or indirect links to the Internet. Some BBS systems charge users a nominal fee for access, while many others are free to the individual users.[2]
"Internet bulletin boards, or “message boards,” have the advantage of allowing users, or “posters,” to express themselves anonymously, by using “screen names” traceable only through the hosts of the sites or their Internet Service Providers (ISPs)."[3]
[edit] References
- ↑ Montgomery v. Noga, 168 F.3d 1282, 1286-87 n.2 (11th Cir. 1999).
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union v. Reno, 929 F. Supp. 824, 833-34 (E.D. Pa. 1996), aff’d, Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997).
- ↑ Krinsky v. Doe 6, ___ Cal.Rptr.3d ___, 2008 WL 315192, at *1 (Cal. App. 2008).
