The focus of this category is on specific BBSes, particularly those that are still available today.
I am well aware of the redundancy in saying BBS Systems. Since the "S" in "BBS" stands for "System," I am referring to them as Bulletin Board System Systems, which sounds a bit strange, but when I was a SysOp, pretty much everyone referred to the BBSes as BBS Systems, and as long as I use the acronym, it doesn't sound so weird. While I am on the topic of grammar, let me say that I think that the grammatically correct plural of BBS is BBSs, and I do see it written that way sometimes, but more often I see BBSes, so I'll go with that.
There is a tendency among many people to refer to computer bulletin board systems in the past tense. I find myself doing that sometimes because, of course, the heyday of the BBS was in the 1980s and 1990s. That is when I ran my own BBS and racked up telephone bills as high as $500 a month, connecting to long-distance hubs and BBSes all over the country.
However, there are hundreds of BBSes still in operation today, and new BBS software is still being developed, so the BBS is not dead.
I loved BBSing, and probably wouldn't have shut my Newberry BBS down when I did, in the mid-1990s, except that I had accepted a job in an area where DSL was not yet available and the quality of the telephone lines didn't even support dial-up. Most of my regular callers had abandoned the BBS for the Internet, so I let it go, but I have missed it ever since.
The primary purpose of this category is to list BBS systems that you can still connect to today. Some of these BBSes are still dialup BBSes, and I do not mean to imply any negativity in this, but others may offer Telnet connections or Telnet via your web browser, and some of these still offer dial-up options.
However, in this directory we can list only those BBSes that have a web address. In other words, we cannot list those with only a Telnet address. Because many great BBS systems don't have a web presence, we also list sites that include directories for dial-up and Telnet BBSes, even if they don't have a website. You will find these in the parent category.
In 2017, PC Magazine published an article on seven BBSes that they considered worth joining. They chose to include Particles BBS, Heatwave BBS, an 80s Apple II BBS, Piranha: Under the Black Flag, Level 29, Dura-Europas, and The Cave BBS. I have been able to find web addresses for only two of these, Particles BBS and Level 29, although I have found web references to some of the others. There is a website for The Cave BBS, but it is for a BBS by that name that closed in 1998.
If your BBS has a website, you are invited to submit your site for inclusion in this category.
Recommended Resources
AgentBBS is a modern, SSH-based recreation of a classic Bulletin Board System, but rebuilt for both humans and AI agents. It preserves the door-game, utilities, and message-board culture of the 1980s-1990s BBSes, while adding pods, agents, and modern infrastructure. Its door games include Doom, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Tetris, Snake, Nangman, and Shedding Snake, accessible from the BBS hub after logging in via SSH identity. Several utilities are also available.
https://bbs.profullstack.com/
Centronian is a Magnetar computer bulletin board system running on a Commodore 64. Accessible by Telnet 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, the BBS is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It can also be accessed in C64 mode or VIC20 mode through a web browser. Its site also features a video displaying a presentation about Centronian BBS that was given at the World of Commodore 2017. Membership is free and immediate.
http://bbs.centronian.ca/
Located in Mayflower, Arkansas, the CIA Amiga BBS is powered by and AMIGA 1200 with DKB 1240 and is available by Telnet. The computer bulletin board system carries FidoNet, AmigaNet, RetroNet, and PiNet, and supports Amiga, MorphOS, AROS, and Commodore 8-bit computers, although it can also be accessed through a web browser. Although subscribers may create an account using a handle, a real name must be supplied in order to access echomail.
http://www.ciaamiga.org/
Claude's BBS is a 604-Vancouver, Canada-based Bulletin Board System with a broad range of services, including message areas covering various interests, private messaging, file sharing, games, utilities, multi-user chat, and other features. The Sysop is Matthew Asham, and the BBS operates on BinktermPHP. Its website features an overview of the BBS, the house rules, the BBS directory, the Nodelist, and PacketBBS nodes, guest access to doors via Telnet, and a file download area.
https://claudes.lovelybits.org/
Convolution Bulletin Board System
Convolution BBS is an ANSI style system reminiscent of the original dialup BBSes of the 1980s and 1990s, and is accessible through Telnet and SSH, via terminal programs which are recommended. BBS features include several door games, message networks, member chat, and other resources, such as daily trivia, a neverending story, oneliners, and others. Its message networks and leagues are posted, along with BBS statistics and contacts.
https://convolutionbbs.org/
Cottonwood BBS / Borderline BBS
The site represents the web presence of two computer bulletin board systems in Hemet, California. Both systems are operated on Commodore 64c computers, feature message bases, text files, file transfers, and online games, and are accessible by dialup or through Telnet. Both are best viewed on a Commodore computer but can be accessed through a PC using CGTerm or 64 BlazerTerm, which emulate a Commodore graphic terminal program. Instructions are offered.
http://borderlinebbs.dyndns.org/
Cyrellia Bulletin Board System
Running on Synchronet, Cyrellia BBS is a modern, actively operated retro-style bulletin board system operated by Ryan Masters in Orlando. Cyrellia positions itself as a community-driven retro computing hub, explicitly designed to preserve the feel of 1980s-1990s BBS culture while using contemporary infrastructure. It is a fully functional, multi-service BBS with active sysop stewardship. Multiple access pathways are available, and you can access a full suite of BBS-era activities.
https://www.cyrellia.com/
Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, Fire Escape’s BBS is both a dialup and an Internet-based online community, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on WINServer BBS software. Offering discussion forums, chat rooms, real-time multiplayer games, and shareware files. Login options include a web browser login, JAVA Telnet login, ANSI Telnet login, Wildcat Navigator login, and FTP Login. A description of computer bulletin boards is given, along with access instructions.
https://www.fehq.org/
Representing the BBS named Kuchlbox, first established in 1993, shut down in 1996, and brought back in 2015, although on modern software, operating in a modern operating system environment, the BBS uses Mystic BBS software, and is running on Debian GNU/Linux. The site also features another retro BBS, designed to look more like what the BBS looked like in the 1990s, known as CyberDawg. Telnet address is given, along with project information and other information.
https://www.kuehlbox.wtf/
By appearance and, for most purposes, the Level 29 BBS is a traditional BBS running on an Apple II with an IWill KK266Plus KT133A motherboard with AMD Duron. It is available by dialup at 300, 1200, and 2400 bps, but it can also be accessed via Telnet or through a web browser, and multiple users can be logged into the system simultaneously. Level 29 is the official BBS of RetroBattlestations.com. There is no cost for membership, and visitors can view the BBS without registering.
https://bbs.fozztexx.com/
Offering online games, Fidonet, Francom newsgroups, and other features, the Manic Modem BBS can be accessed by ANSI/TELNET or by web browser. Registered members may login with their name and password, while others may sign up for a free membership. Powered by Wildcat Winserver, users may message other users, access the BBS’s file libraries, chat with other members, play casino games, or participate in forums. A terminal mode is available for a traditional BBS experience.
https://www.manic-modem.com/
Two or three decades ago, computer bulletin board systems played the role that is taken up by the Internet today. When more and more people gained access to the Web, many of the BBS systems dropped out, but some remained. Particles was founded in 1992 on a Commodore 64 computer and went through a few iterations over the years. In 2005, the BBS went back to using original Commodore equipment. Accessible via Telnet, the BBS is open 24 hours a day.
http://www.particles.org/particlesbbs/
Formed in 1991 as a dial-up BBS, Reality Check BBS is now a multi-line BBS available through telnet, nntp, the web, and ftp, with inter-BBS chat via IRC and Mystic Relay Chat (MRC), host to weekly BBS chats. Door games like LORD, Global War, and Operation Overkill are still running, with new games added. Other features include a forum, file downloads, a chat, access to Fidonet, radio streaming, a Synchronet BBS list, and a historical account. System information is presented.
https://realitycheckbbs.org/
The Retro32 BBS is driven by the Amiga community and for the Amiga community. It is focused on bringing BBS to the old-school Amiga users looking for that modern-day nostalgia and those who never got the chance to experience the prime BBS era in the 1980s and 1990s. A connection guide is available on the website, and the BBS features messaging services focused on Amiga user groups, file areas offering downloads to games, music, and Amiga utilities, and access to door games.
https://www.retro32.com/retro32-bbs
Created by a Sysop (CalvusRex) who used to run multiple boards and frequented a lot of other BBS's in the late 1980s and early 1990s, RetroBoard is a WWIV BBS designed to be a place to slow down and relive the heyday of the BBS era. Currently, the BBS offers message boards, file libraries with retro downloads, class BBS door games, and other BBS experiences. Links to Telnet clients are featured, along with BBS lists and other resources, including a WWIV BBS directory.
https://retroboardbbs.com/
Sanctuary was an Amiga Elite BBS from 1991 to 1996, located in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2017, the SysOp decided to put the BBS back online again, although it is currently running in an Amiga emulator since the Amiga hardware is gone. A brief history of the site is presented, along with instructions for connecting to it, including utilities that will be helpful in connecting via a PC. The BBS includes several BBS games, a collection of ASCII graphics, and other traditional BBS features.
http://sanctuary.brysk.se/
Telehack is a browser-based virtual command-line host that evokes the feel of an early traditional dial-up BBS in which users create an account or log into their existing account, and explore a large collection of retro-computing resources, communicate with other users, and experiment with features inspired by historic online systems, albeit through a modern web browser rather than through a dial-up service. It has strong BBS and timesharing system influences.
https://telehack.com/
A personal history of the Vortex BBS is featured, which includes other BBSes that the SysOps were involved in over the years. Its site includes development notes, presented in blog format, as well as a list of recent callers, callers currently online, one line notes from members, and auto-messages. Statistics of the number of calls today, message posts, files downloaded or uploaded, and new users are presented, along with users, scores, and a chat window. Browser access is included.
https://vortexbbs.com/
Built around DoorParty, classic BBS software, and a large archive of ANSI-era history, Throwback BBS is a functioning network that recreates the feel of the 80s/90s BBS culture while modernizing the transport layer. It is a multi-node BBS network you can access through a browser or a proper terminal client like SyncTerm, plus a shared DoorParty hub with hundreds of classic door games and a sysop resource archive. A modem is not required. Guides are included.
https://www.throwbackbbs.com/
The W4MSI EmComm BBS is a modern, RF-based packet radio Bulletin Board System operating out of Todd County, Kentucky. It is designed for infrastructure-independent emergency communications, running entirely over VHF packet radio using AX.25 and VARA FM. It provides store-and-forward messaging, bulletins (weather, news, space weather), private messages, file-style text retrieval, and offers access to web content via FETCH. Connection information and core BBS commands are included.
https://w4msi.com/bulletin-board-system-bbs/
Wildcat's Castle is an active, modern-classic Wildcat! A WinServer-based bulletin board system accessible via telnet or its browser-based interface. The installation runs a traditional multi-line BBS with messaging, files, chat, games, and a web gateway. In addition to access to the BBS itself, the website features photos of castles, information, and links to other BBS resources, particularly Wildcat!. It also includes instructions and options for connecting to the BBS.
http://bbs.wccastle.net/
