BBS

1. Short for BIOS Boot Specification, BBS is a BIOS feature that creates, maintains, and prioritizes all the Initial Program Load (IPL) devices. While the computer is booting, each IPL device is checked to see if it is bootable, if that device fails the BBS returns to the BIOS and attempts to load the next IPL.

2. Short for Bulletin Board System, a BBS is a small computer network that a user connects to by dialing into it. The first Bulletin Board System came online February 16, 1978 and allows multiple users to communicate with each other, share software and information, play games, and much more. Most Bulletin Board Systems were free, however, may have required a subscription for extended use or additional features.

Bulletin Board Systems were popular before the wide use of the Internet, and although they are still used, most users today connect to the Internet to share files and data, chat, and perform other tasks that they may have done though a BBS.

3. Shorthand for Be Back Shortly, BBS is used in text-based communication such as chat. Below is an example of how this would be used. User1: That's pretty funny.
User2: Heh yeah, BBS.
User1: Ok.
<User2 logs off>
<User2 comes back on later>
User2: Ok I'm back.
User1: WB
User2: Thx

Also see: BBIAB, Boot sequence, Bulletin board, Chat definitions, Modem definitions, The WELL, WB