Bulletin board - Wikipedia Bulletin board For other uses, see Bulletin board ( disambiguation ) and Pinboard ( website ). For noticeboards on Wikipedia, see WP : Noticeboards. Look up bulletin board or notice board in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Well - used bulletin board on the Infinite Corridor at MIT, November 2004. Cork, a common bulletin board material A bulletin board ( pinboard, pin board, noticeboard, or notice board in British English ) is a surface intended for the posting of public messages, for example, to advertise items wanted or for sale, announce events, or provide information. Bulletin boards are often made of a material such as cork to facilitate addition and removal of messages, as well as a writing surface such as blackboard or whiteboard. A bulletin board which combines a pinboard ( corkboard ) and writing surface is known as a combination bulletin board. Bulletin boards can also be entirely in the digital domain and placed on computer networks so people can leave and erase messages for other people to read and see, as in a bulletin board system. Bulletin boards are particularly prevalent at universities. They are used by many sports groups and extracurricular groups and anything from local shops to official notices. Dormitory corridors, well - trafficked hallways, lobbies, and freestanding kiosks often have cork boards attached to facilitate the posting of notices. At some universities, lampposts, bollards, trees, and walls often become impromptu posting sites in areas where official boards are sparse in number. Internet forums are a replacement for traditional bulletin boards. Online bulletin boards are sometimes referred to as message boards. The terms bulletin board, message board and even Internet forum are interchangeable, although often one bulletin board or message board can contain a number of Internet forums or discussion groups. An online board can serve the same purpose as a physical bulletin board. Magnet boards, or magnetic bulletin boards, are a popular substitute for cork boards because they lack the problem of board deterioration from the insertion and removal of pins over time. History 1801 : James Pillans, headmaster and geography teacher at the Old High School in Edinburgh, Scotland, is credited with inventing the first modern blackboard. 1924 : George Brooks of Topeka, Kansas is issued a patent for the use of corkboard as a bulletin board which you could stick tacks into. The patent for George Brooks ' invention, which would become a mainstay in homes and offices around the world, expired in 1941, which then allowed anyone to create and market their own versions of the product. 1940 : George E. Fox, received a patent for a foam rubber pinboard with cardboard backing 1949 : W.F. Lewis is issued a patent for a combined chalkboard and bulletin board. 1976 : The concept of the bulletin board entered the information age when software developers Ward Christensen and Randy Suess launched the first public dialup Bulletin board system. 2010 : Digital signage displays started to replace bulletin boards as a means to reduce clutter and provide real - time information. 2010 : Pinterest, a content and photo - sharing website meant to serve as online personal bulletin boards, is founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp. See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bulletin board. Community bulletin board Digital signage References Jump up ^ http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/reference-material/the-history-of-the-classroom-blackboard/ Jump up ^ http://www.google.com/patents/US1494583 Jump up ^ https://www.google.com/patents/US2195985 Jump up ^ http://www.google.com/patents/US2881538 Jump up ^ https://www.wired.com/2010/02/0216cbbs-first-bbs-bulletin-board/ Jump up ^ Grant, August E. ; Meadows, Jennifer H. ( June 25, 2010 ). Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals. Focal Press ; 12 edition. p. 165. ISBN 978 - 0240814759. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bulletin_board&oldid=784641237 '' Categories : Office equipment Media technology Academia Talk About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Português Русский Slovenčina Svenska Українська 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 9 June 2017, at 10 : 39. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the purpose of bulletin board display
Answer: posting of public messages