Event Horizons BBS was a popular and perhaps the most financially successful Bulletin Board System (BBS). It was founded in 1983 by Jim Maxey, a self-taught scientist,[1] who was President and CEO and ran his company out of Lake Oswego, Oregon.[2] By 1993, the BBS was grossing over $3.2 million annually.[3] In 1994, the BBS had 128 phone lines and over 34,000 members, and eighteen employees.[1][4] The organization also offered mail-ordered copies of content for those that did not want to download said via modem.[5] Event Horizons in later years ran on the TBBS system.[6] In 1996, Maxey closed the BBS.

Event Horizons BBS originally offered online forums, games, and astronomy images[1][7] for paying customers to download. Maxey first charged $1/hr which grew over the years to $24/hr. The BBS later offered softcore adult images and movies which helped to secure its fame as the most profitable BBS.[8] A team of programmers working for the BBS created an interactive, graphical game called Voyager III that allowed the players to explore space.[1][7]

In 1992, Playboy Enterprises sued Event Horizons for copyright infringement. Maxey reportedly paid Playboy a half million dollars to settle the case out of court in 1993.[9][10] The BBS complied with copyright law in the wake of the settlement.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fran Gardner (February 10, 1994). "Entrepreneur hits bulletin board bull's eye". The Oregonian.
  2. ↑ Jack Rickard (April 1, 1993). "Home-grown BB$". WIRED Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ Chris Skinner (2018). Digital Human: The Fourth Revolution of Humanity Includes Everyone. UNKNO. p. 38. ISBN 978-9814794374.
  4. ↑ David Fox (1994). Love Bytes: The Online Dating Handbook. Waite Group. ISBN 1878739883.
  5. ↑ Phillip Robertson (1993). The Joy of CyberSex: An Underground Guide to Electronic Erotica. Brady Games. p. 127. ISBN 1566861071.
  6. ↑ "World's Most Expensive BBS". PC Magazine. June 28, 1994. p. 389.
  7. 1 2 "Event Horizons' Voyager III Multimedia Tour of Solar System". Boardwatch Magazine. February 1994.
  8. ↑ Frederick S. Lane (1999). Obscene Profits: Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age. Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 978-0415920964.
  9. ↑ Wendy Lehnert (2002). Web Wizard's Guide to HTML. Addison-Wesley. p. 160. ISBN 0201741725.
  10. ↑ Georgina Voss (2015). Stigma and the Shaping of the Pornography Industry. Routledge. p. 33. ISBN 978-0415821179.
  11. ↑ Gary Wolf (1995). Aether Madness: An Offbeat Guide to the Online World. Peachpit. p. 97. ISBN 9781566090209.
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