On this day, February 16,  in 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).

The BBS was my first introduction to being online. The modem was connect to the phone line and you dialed each board from your terminal program. The number of people online with a BBS depended on the number of phone lines going into the host computer that was run by a sysop. These lines were called "nodes."

1-2 nodes was common. 10 was a huge system.

Message networks like Fido enabled people to send emails and messages across the country and world with a system of telephone relays to upload and download "packets" of data for both email and message boards.

It was so exciting and addictive!