VBBS is an acronym for Virtual Bulletin Board System. It was a shareware
bulletin board system
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such ...
(BBS) for DOS (and later OS/2) that was conceived by Roland De Graaf in 1990. Written from scratch in
QuickBASIC
Microsoft QuickBASIC (also QB) is an Integrated Development Environment (or IDE) and compiler for the BASIC programming language that was developed by Microsoft. QuickBASIC runs mainly on DOS, though there was also a short-lived version for the ...
, it developed a loyal following. Originally it was a door for
WWIV
WWIV was a popular brand of bulletin board system software from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. The modifiable source code allowed a sysop to customize the main BBS program for their particular needs and aesthetics. WWIV also allowed tens ...
, but quickly grew into an original BBS concept on its own. By 1993, there were thousands of computers running VBBS around the world. VirtualNET, the largest VBBS message network, had close to 1500 members by version 6.14 in 1993.
Up to this time, VBBS remained
shareware
Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...
, but in 1994 Roland released version 7.0 as a commercial product. The lifetime registrations of prior versions were not honored for this version and required anyone who wished to use this version to pay. While some did decide to pay again for the upgrade, others became unsatisfied and began looking for other alternatives. There would not be another release of VBBS.
Instead, Roland switched gears again in 1995. He released Virtual Advanced (VADV) as the successor to VBBS. VADV contained many improvements to the old system. One notable feature was a much more powerful scripting language. It was a step forward for the software but once again SysOps were required to purchase the new software.
Virtual Advanced would finally reach version 2.10. This version along with its companion, the Virtual Internet Survivor Kit (VISK) v1.30, would show that it indeed was "advanced" for its time. With the growing trend of the Internet, VADV now supported features such as
POP3
In computing, the Post Office Protocol (POP) is an application-layer Internet standard protocol used by e-mail clients to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. POP version 3 (POP3) is the version in common use, and along with IMAP the most comm ...
,
SMTP
The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission. Mail servers and other message transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages. User-level email clients typic ...
,
NNTP
The Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) is an application protocol used for transporting Usenet news articles (''netnews'') between news servers, and for reading/posting articles by the end user client applications. Brian Kantor of the Univ ...
,
WWW
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
and
Finger
A finger is a limb of the body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of most of the Tetrapods, so also with humans and other primates. Most land vertebrates have five fingers (Pentadactyly). Chambers 1 ...
.
Ultimately, with the rise of the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
, costs of upgrades and tensions within the support network, Virtual Advanced all but faded away.
In 1998, Roland, who was legally blind, suffered a detached retina in his good eye and had to have immediate surgery to repair it. It would take years for him to recover and he never returned to the BBS scene.
Virtual Advanced was frozen in its current state. Only a handful of systems survived with the disappearance of its creator. VirtualNET did not survive.
In late 1999, Steve Winn, a loyal VBBS supporter and script writer, began to help revive the dying software. He and other loyal supporters began to rekindle interest in the software. A support site was born and from it grew AspectNet, a support network.
In 2002, Steve created the VADV-PHP project. This was a web front-end for Virtual Advanced. Users could access the BBS functions using a familiar web interface.
In 2003, a telnet server was developed by John Tipton called VADV32. A version 2.0 was released in 2005,.
VirtualNET was reborn in early 2005. The six-year-old support network AspectNet would surrender its existence to allow the rebirth.
External links
Virtual Advanced SupportVADV-PHP ProjectVADV32 Telnet ServerAT2k Design BBS (VADV-PHP Page)
Bulletin board system software
Computer-related introductions in 1990