<s>
PCBoard	B-Protocol
(	O
PCB	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
bulletin	B-Application
board	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
BBS	B-Application
)	O
application	O
first	O
introduced	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
in	O
1983	O
by	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
was	O
founded	O
by	O
Fred	O
Clark	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCBoard	B-Protocol
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
commercial	O
BBS	B-Application
packages	O
for	O
DOS	B-Device
systems	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
considered	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
high	O
end	O
"	O
packages	O
during	O
the	O
rapid	O
expansion	O
of	O
BBS	B-Application
systems	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
many	O
BBS	B-Application
companies	O
,	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
the	O
Internet	O
starting	O
around	O
1994	O
led	O
to	O
serious	O
downturns	O
in	O
fortunes	O
,	O
and	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
went	O
bankrupt	O
in	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
native	O
32-bit	O
IBM	B-Application
OS/2	I-Application
version	O
became	O
also	O
available	O
with	O
PCB	O
V15.22	O
and	O
higher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
also	O
a	O
few	O
tools	O
available	O
for	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
were	O
specifically	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
OS/2	B-Application
2.0	O
and	O
OS/2	B-Application
Warp	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCBoard	B-Protocol
supported	O
the	O
16C550	B-Device
UARTs	O
(	O
universal	O
asynchronous	O
receiver	O
transmitter	O
)	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
16550	B-Device
UART	I-Device
(	O
"	O
Fifo	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
16554	B-Device
UART	I-Device
and	O
16650	B-Device
UART	I-Device
,	O
which	O
made	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
run	O
multiple	O
nodes	O
of	O
the	O
BBS	B-Application
on	O
a	O
single	O
(	O
multitasking	B-Operating_System
)	O
computer	O
using	O
either	O
using	O
IBM	B-Application
OS/2	I-Application
or	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
multitasking	B-Operating_System
tool	O
DESQview	B-Operating_System
in	O
combination	O
with	O
the	O
memory	O
manager	O
QEMM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
sysops	O
tried	O
to	O
run	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
on	O
the	O
(	O
then	O
)	O
new	O
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
by	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
reported	O
mixed	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stability	O
was	O
critical	O
for	O
a	O
BBS	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
usually	O
running	O
24/7	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
early	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Microsoft	O
32-bit	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
lacked	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
95	I-Application
was	O
never	O
officially	O
supported	O
by	O
CDC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
PCs	O
then	O
and	O
today	O
have	O
only	O
one	O
or	O
two	O
(	O
if	O
any	O
)	O
serial	B-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
(	O
COM	B-Protocol
ports	I-Protocol
)	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
needed	O
to	O
connect	O
an	O
external	B-Application
modem	I-Application
to	O
a	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
made	O
multiport	O
cards	O
like	O
the	O
G-Tek	O
"	O
BlackBoard	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
BBS550	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
SmartCard	O
"	O
and	O
the	O
"	O
DigiCard	O
"	O
by	O
Digi	B-Application
International	I-Application
popular	O
among	O
sysops	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
options	O
were	O
internal	O
multi-modem	O
cards	O
and	O
multiple	O
computers	O
connected	O
by	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCBoard	B-Protocol
also	O
supports	O
ISDN	B-Protocol
(	O
Integrated	B-Protocol
Services	I-Protocol
Digital	I-Protocol
Network	I-Protocol
)	O
and	O
Telnet	B-Protocol
access	O
via	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
open	O
source	O
terminal	B-Application
emulator	I-Application
SyncTERM	B-Protocol
,	O
available	O
for	O
Win32	O
,	O
Linux	O
,	O
FreeBSD	O
,	O
NetBSD	O
,	O
OpenBSD	O
,	O
Solaris	O
and	O
Mac	O
OS	O
X	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
for	O
example	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
few	O
remaining	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
BBS	B-Application
installations	O
that	O
are	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Starting	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
the	O
RelayNet	B-Protocol
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
RIME	O
for	O
RelayNet	B-Protocol
International	O
Mail	O
Exchange	O
,	O
allowed	O
BBS	B-Application
's	O
running	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
to	O
join	O
a	O
network	O
that	O
exchanged	O
messages	O
with	O
other	O
BBS	B-Application
's	O
in	O
a	O
system	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
older	O
FidoNet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
was	O
released	O
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
(	O
CDC	O
)	O
pioneered	O
the	O
FILE	O
ID.DIZ	O
format	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
powerful	O
scripting	B-Language
language	I-Language
(	O
PPL	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
supported	O
modifications	O
and	O
to	O
a	O
large	O
degree	O
replacement	O
of	O
most	O
standard	O
commands	O
and	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
compiled	O
interpreter	O
script	O
written	O
in	O
PPL	O
was	O
called	O
PPE	O
(	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
Programming	O
Executable	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PPEs	O
were	O
generated	O
by	O
the	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
Programming	O
Language	O
Compiler	O
(	O
PPLC	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
an	O
optional	O
tool	O
provided	O
by	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
and	O
was	O
also	O
available	O
for	O
purchase	O
as	O
stand	O
alone	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
less	O
than	O
$100	O
by	O
itself	O
and	O
less	O
than	O
$50	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
any	O
BBS	B-Application
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
programmers	O
to	O
develop	O
PPEs	O
for	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
without	O
having	O
to	O
purchase	O
a	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
BBS	B-Application
license	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
optional	O
and	O
available	O
by	O
itself	O
were	O
the	O
printed	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
manual	O
and	O
the	O
printed	O
PPLC	O
reference	O
handbook	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
script	B-Language
language	I-Language
was	O
introduced	O
with	O
version	O
15.0	O
and	O
made	O
this	O
version	O
of	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
even	O
more	O
successful	O
than	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
V14.5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
door	B-Protocol
programs	I-Protocol
were	O
in	O
use	O
,	O
including	O
Sam	O
Smith	O
's	O
Prodoor	O
,	O
which	O
added	O
a	O
full	O
screen	O
editor	O
and	O
other	O
features	O
which	O
were	O
later	O
included	O
in	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
script	B-Language
language	I-Language
PPL	O
and	O
PPE	O
's	O
which	O
became	O
more	O
and	O
more	O
available	O
,	O
increased	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
and	O
emerged	O
by	O
the	O
mid	O
nineties	O
as	O
the	O
de	O
facto-standard	O
BBS	B-Application
system	O
for	O
warez	B-Application
BBS	B-Application
on	O
the	O
IBM	O
PC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
warez	B-Application
BBSs	O
used	O
mostly	O
pirated	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
BBS	B-Application
software	O
and	O
thus	O
did	O
not	O
appear	O
in	O
any	O
official	O
sales	O
or	O
usage	O
statistic	O
for	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
high	O
price	O
tag	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
sold	O
more	O
than	O
50,000	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
licenses	O
by	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
full	O
release	O
of	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
by	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
was	O
version	O
15.3	O
in	O
September	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clark	O
Technologies	O
,	O
a	O
division	O
of	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
announced	O
on	O
July	O
29	O
,	O
1996	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
source	O
code	O
and	O
OEM	O
licenses	O
for	O
the	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
BBS	B-Application
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
the	O
lead	O
software	O
engineer	O
from	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
released	O
information	O
on	O
how	O
to	O
bypass	O
the	O
trial	O
period	O
timeout	O
;	O
the	O
timeout	O
had	O
been	O
inserted	O
as	O
a	O
reminder	O
and	O
had	O
not	O
been	O
intended	O
to	O
permanently	O
disable	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
Company	I-Protocol
went	O
bankrupt	O
in	O
July	O
1997	O
and	O
closed	O
its	O
offices	O
without	O
prior	O
warning	O
,	O
leaving	O
a	O
great	O
number	O
of	O
upset	O
customers	O
behind	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sysops	O
continued	O
to	O
use	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
around	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
even	O
after	O
support	O
by	O
CDC	O
stopped	O
when	O
the	O
company	O
went	O
out	O
of	O
business	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Help	O
was	O
available	O
from	O
many	O
individuals	O
who	O
created	O
tools	O
and	O
documentation	O
for	O
the	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
did	O
not	O
exist	O
anymore	O
when	O
the	O
Year	B-Error_Name
2000	I-Error_Name
problem	I-Error_Name
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Y2K	B-Error_Name
problem	I-Error_Name
or	O
millennium	B-Error_Name
bug	I-Error_Name
,	O
made	O
headline	O
news	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
only	O
had	O
a	O
few	O
minor	O
problems	O
with	O
the	O
year	O
2000	O
(	O
and	O
2001	O
)	O
and	O
fixes	O
were	O
made	O
available	O
by	O
several	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
last	O
full	O
release	O
version	O
of	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
,	O
version	O
15.3	O
,	O
never	O
really	O
caught	O
on	O
and	O
most	O
systems	O
that	O
were	O
online	O
after	O
1997	O
continued	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
previous	O
15.2x	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCBoard	B-Protocol
is	O
still	O
in	O
use	O
today	O
by	O
nostalgic	O
BBS	B-Application
fans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
freeware	O
FOSSIL	B-Protocol
driver	O
called	O
NetFoss	B-Protocol
which	O
allows	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
to	O
be	O
accessible	O
via	O
telnet	B-Protocol
under	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
DOS	B-Device
based	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
add-on	O
"	O
PCB	O
Internet	O
Collection	O
"	O
which	O
allowed	O
telnet	B-Protocol
access	O
by	O
installing	O
a	O
(	O
DOS-only	O
)	O
packet	O
driver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Full	O
network	O
support	O
for	O
any	O
NetBIOS	B-Protocol
compatible	O
network	O
,	O
including	O
NetWare	B-Operating_System
,	O
LANtastic	B-Operating_System
,	O
3-Com	O
,	O
Vines	O
&	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modem	B-Application
to	O
support	O
remote	O
dial-in	O
,	O
a	O
Virtual	O
Modem	B-Application
such	O
as	O
NetSerial	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
NetFoss	B-Protocol
telnet	B-Protocol
FOSSIL	B-Protocol
for	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Needs	O
80386	B-General_Concept
CPU	O
or	O
higher	O
since	O
code	O
is	O
written	O
using	O
80386	B-General_Concept
instructions	O
for	O
maximum	O
speed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
commercial	O
PPEs	O
were	O
also	O
developed	O
,	O
mostly	O
under	O
shareware	B-License
licensing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
release	O
groups	O
who	O
were	O
specialized	O
in	O
PPE	O
and	O
other	O
PCB/BBS	O
tool	O
developments	O
were	O
formed	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
French	O
group	O
Aegis	O
Corp	O
,	O
the	O
Russian	O
group	O
Brutal	O
PPE/PCE/PRO	O
Coders	O
(	O
BPC	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
German	O
groups	O
Peanuts	O
(	O
PNS	O
)	O
and	O
Paranoia	O
(	O
PNA	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warez	B-Application
groups	O
Such	O
as	O
PWA	B-Application
and	O
DOD	B-Application
released	O
several	O
PPEs	O
which	O
were	O
used	O
by	O
many	O
sysops	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
PWA	B-Application
"	O
NewScan	O
"	O
PPE	O
,	O
the	O
PWA	B-Application
"	O
Files-Reverse	O
"	O
PPE	O
and	O
the	O
DOD	B-Application
"	O
LARS	O
Upload	O
Processor	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lone	O
Runner	O
also	O
wrote	O
the	O
Aegis	O
PPL	O
compiler	O
,	O
which	O
produced	O
smaller	O
and	O
faster	O
code	O
than	O
Clark	B-Protocol
Development	I-Protocol
's	O
original	O
PPL	O
compiler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metaworlds	O
was	O
an	O
attempt	O
by	O
CDC	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
BBS-like	O
environment	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
basically	O
a	O
closed	O
mailbox	O
in	O
HTML	O
format	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metaworlds	O
supported	O
the	O
parallel	O
operation	O
with	O
the	O
standard	O
ANSI	O
based	O
PCBoard	B-Protocol
BBS	B-Application
software	O
and	O
used	O
Microsoft	B-Application
SQL	I-Application
Server	I-Application
as	O
underlying	O
database	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
runtime-version	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
SQL	I-Application
Server	I-Application
came	O
with	O
the	O
Metaworlds	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Metaworlds	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
CDC	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
transition	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
when	O
the	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
BBS	B-Application
became	O
apparent	O
.	O
</s>
