[contraction of ‘bulletin board’]

1. Any electronic bulletin board; esp. used of BBS systems running on personal micros, less frequently of a Usenet newsgroup (in fact, use of this term for a newsgroup generally marks one either as a newbie fresh in from the BBS world or as a real old-timer predating Usenet).

2. At CMU and other colleges with similar facilities, refers to campus-wide electronic bulletin boards.

3. The term physical bboard is sometimes used to refer to an old-fashioned, non-electronic cork-and-thumbtack memo board. At CMU, it refers to a particular one outside the CS Lounge.

In either of senses 1 or 2, the term is usually prefixed by the name of the intended board (‘the Moonlight Casino bboard’ or ‘market bboard’); however, if the context is clear, the better-read bboards may be referred to by name alone, as in (at CMU) “Don't post for-sale ads on general”.