CoSy
Encyclopedia
CoSy was an early computer conferencing system developed by the University of Guelph
in 1983 and 1984. CoSy was selected by Byte Magazine to launch their BIX
system in 1985
In addition to BIX, it was used to implement a similar British system named CIX
, as well as numerous other installations such as CompuLink Network
. CoSy was also chosen for The Open University's
"electronic campus".
Some rights to the software were later acquired by the British Columbia company SoftWords, who developed it into CoSy400 and added a simple web interface, before losing interest.
When the BIX system closed down, several former "bixen" approached University of Guelph and SoftWords and obtained the right to release the original version of CoSy under the GPL. It is now developed as an open source project, and is the basis of the BIX-like NLZero (Noise Level Zero) conferencing service.
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
in 1983 and 1984. CoSy was selected by Byte Magazine to launch their BIX
Byte Information Exchange
Byte Information eXchange was an online service created around 1985 by Byte magazine. It was a text-only Bulletin Board System-style site running the CoSy conferencing software running originally on an Arete multiprocessor system based on Motorola 68000s. When that didn't scale well, it was...
system in 1985
In addition to BIX, it was used to implement a similar British system named CIX
CIX
CIX was one of the earliest British Internet service providers. Founded in 1983 by Frank and Sylvia Thornley, it began as a FidoNet bulletin board system, but in 1987 was relaunched commercially as CIX...
, as well as numerous other installations such as CompuLink Network
Compupress
Compupress is a Greek publishing company formed in 1982. Originally the company was formed in order to publish computer magazines and books. Following the decline of the computer magazine market, the company expanded to publish fantasy and science fiction, comic books and graphic novels, manga and...
. CoSy was also chosen for The Open University's
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
"electronic campus".
Some rights to the software were later acquired by the British Columbia company SoftWords, who developed it into CoSy400 and added a simple web interface, before losing interest.
When the BIX system closed down, several former "bixen" approached University of Guelph and SoftWords and obtained the right to release the original version of CoSy under the GPL. It is now developed as an open source project, and is the basis of the BIX-like NLZero (Noise Level Zero) conferencing service.