Person

Ward Christensen

Ward Christensen co-created the Computerized Bulletin Board System, an early dial-up service through which personal-computer users could leave messages and exchange files.

Period
1978
Known for
Computerized Bulletin Board System
Historical contribution

What Christensen contributed

Working with Randy Suess in 1978, Christensen created software and transfer conventions that made a home computer accessible to remote callers over telephone lines.

Why it mattered

BBS culture helped establish online communities, user-run services and file sharing before mass Internet access.

Connected topics

Where this fits in ITEM

Evidence

Sources and further reading

  1. Hobbyist Computerized Bulletin Board System, BYTE, November 1978

    Ward Christensen, Randy Suess · 1978

    Open source ↗