30-Second Overview
In 1995, Ethan Tu, a student in the Department of Computer Science at National Taiwan University (NTU), set up a BBS station in his dormitory using a 486 PC, naming it "PTT Bulletin Board System." Thirty years later, this forum—which insists on using a telnet-based plain-text interface—has accumulated over 1.5 million registered accounts, with peak concurrent users exceeding 150,000. It birthed the "netizen" (xiangmin) culture, transformed Taiwan's media ecosystem, and played a pivotal role during the Sunflower Student Movement—only to face the reality of an aging user base following the rise of Dcard and Threads.
The Beginning on a 486 PC
In September 1995, Ethan Tu, then a sophomore in NTU's Computer Science Department, launched PTT from his dormitory in Male Dormitory 8 using a 48．86 PC running Slackware Linux. At the time, university campuses across Taiwan were dotted with various BBS stations—such as NSYSU BBS at National Sun Yat-sen University and BS2 at National Chiao Tung University—but most were managed by university computing centers, and their content was subject to a certain degree of institutional control.
Ethan Tu made a decision that seemed unremarkable at the time but would later change everything: PTT would be student-governed, non-profit, and would not accept commercial advertising. This principle has endured for thirty years.
By January 1997, PTT had only 581 registered users. However, as broadband internet became widespread in Taiwan during the 2000s, PTT's user base began to experience explosive growth.
Push, Boo, and Arrow: A Unique Rating System
PTT's most recognizable feature is its "Push/Boo" system. Every user can respond to a post in three ways: "Push" (positive, displayed in red), "Boo" (negative, displayed in blue), and "Arrow" (neutral, a gray arrow). These ratings appear directly below the post, creating real-time crowd-sourced evaluations.
This system was one of the earliest implementations in Chinese-language BBS, predating Reddit's upvote/downvote mechanism. Unlike Reddit, PTT's pushes and boos are tied to specific IDs; everyone can see who "booed" a post, and if you "boo" incorrectly or maliciously, you may face a "counter-boo." This identity-linked system turns the rating process itself into another layer of discussion—sometimes the comments are more exciting than the original post.
Gossiping Board: The Thermometer of Contemporary Taiwanese Public Opinion
Established in 1999, the Gossiping board (八卦板) originally focused on celebrity gossip but later evolved into PTT's largest and most active board. Even during off-peak hours, it maintains over 5,000 concurrent users, with numbers exceeding 10,000 during major events.
The importance of the Gossiping board lies in its long-standing role as a "real-time reaction center for Taiwanese public opinion." Within minutes of a news event occurring, the board features first-hand reports, laorenbao (summary digests), and clashes of diverse perspectives. Journalists use the board as a source for stories, while political aides treat it as a barometer of public sentiment. For a long time, the phrase "checking PTT to see which way the wind is blowing" was a daily reflex for Taiwanese people.
PTT hosts over 20,000 boards, covering almost every imaginable topic—from Stock, NBA, LoL, and Baseball to Boy-Girl (relationships), marvel (the paranormal), and joke. Each board has its own moderators, rules, and culture—some are as strict as the military (such as the "spoiler" rules on C_Chat), while others are as chaotic as a wet market.
How PTT Changed the Taiwanese Language
PTT's most lasting impact on Taiwan may be linguistic. A vast amount of PTT terminology has permeated daily conversation, even being used naturally by those who never use PHD:
"Xiangmin (鄉民)" — The self-designation for PTT users, derived from a line in Stephen Chow's film Hail the Judge: "I am just a villager (xiangmin) here to watch the fun." In 2004, the PTT sysop called on the board, "Please, villagers watching the fun, move behind the yellow line." Since then, the term shifted from mockery to a badge of identity. "Fifth Floor (五樓)" — Referring to the fifth comment in a thread; because early "fifth floor" comments often contained legendary replies, it evolved into memes like "the fifth floor is right" or "fifth floor, please speak." "+1" — An expression of agreement, signifying a "push." "Leading the wind/direction (帶風向)" — Referring to the organized creation of a specific public opinion trend on forums; this transitioned from PTT slang to a common term in Taiwanese society.
Terms like "Tianlongren" (天龍人, referring to those living in Taipei with a sense of superiority), "Yepi" (業配, short for business cooperation/sponsored content), and "Laorenbao" (懶人包, summarizing complex issues into an easy-to-read format) have long since outgrown the boundaries of PTT itself.
The Sunflower Movement, Elections, and Fake News
During the 2014 Sunflower Student Movement, PTT became the most vital information hub and mobilization center for protesters. Real-time movement updates, supply needs, and legal consultations were all disseminated via PLL. That event demonstrated to the world how much power a BBS station from 1995 could wield in a social movement.
During every election, the Gossiping board and the HatePolitics board become battlegrounds for political maneuvering. Supporters of various camps clash through pushes and boos, political PR firms are accused of using "sockpuppet" accounts to "lead the wind," and moderators struggle with reports and "buckets" (temporary bans). Political discussion on PTT is vibrant, yet often fraught with conflict.
In 2018, PTT announced a suspension of new account approvals, partly due to the large-scale involvement of fake accounts in spreading fake news during election periods. While this decision effectively controlled the quality of new accounts, it also effectively closed the gates, leaving a new generation of young users on the outside.
A Love-Hate Relationship with the Media
The relationship between the Taiwanese media and PTT is contradictory. On one hand, journalists extensively mine PTT for news material; "PTT netizens are discussing hotly" has become a universal formula for news headlines. On the other hand, PTT users loathe this practice, mockingly labeling journalists who directly copy PTT posts as "keyboard journalists."
This cycle creates a peculiar media ecosystem: discussions on PTT are amplified by news reports, which then flow back to PTT to be criticized by netizens, forming a self-reinforcing loop of public opinion. Some events become news solely because they "appeared on PTT," while some news stories lose credibility because "PTT netizens don't buy it."
The Reality Facing a Thirty-Year-Old BBS
PTT is aging. Between the 2018 registration restrictions, the 2023 email verification cleanup (which locked many accounts not linked to verified emails), and the shift of younger demographics toward Dcard (an anonymous university forum) and Threads (which exploded in popularity in Taiwan starting in 2023), PTT's active user base continues to decline.
The plain-text interface was once PTT's pride—fast loading speeds, censorship resistance, and freedom from algorithmic manipulation—but for a generation raised on smartphones, a forum without images and videos feels like an alien world. Although mobile apps like MoPTT and PiTT provide mobile gateways, the core experience remains text-centric.
The rise of Threads in Taiwan has been particularly impactful to PTT. As noted in various Threads posts, when news breaks, the first reaction of Taiwanese netizens has shifted from "checking PTT to see the wind" to "checking Threads to see what everyone is saying."
But PTT Remains
Despite declining activity, PTT still holds an irreplaceable position. The Stock board remains incredibly popular during Taiwan stock market trading hours, and the Baseball board sees a massive influx of fans during CPBL and WBC seasons. During elections, the Gossiping and HatePolitics boards remain the core battlegrounds for political discourse.
What is truly irreplaceable about PTT is its thirty-year accumulated database of discussions. Want to check the first-hand civilian reaction to a social event from five years ago? Want to see the authentic reviews of a product from ten years ago? PTT's historical archives are one of the most complete records of Taiwan's online collective memory.
Ethan Tu left Microsoft in 2017 to return to Taiwan and found Taiwan AI Labs, but PTT continues to be maintained by student volunteers from NTU; it remains non-profit, and it still does not sell advertising. In an era where every platform is chasing traffic and monetization, the fact that a thirty-year-old BBS can still adhere to these principles is, in itself, something worth recording.
References
- PTT Bulletin Board System Official Website
- PTT — Wikipedia (zh)
- PTT Bulletin Board System — Wikipedia
- The Establishment of PTT — PTT Netizen Encyclopedia (zh)
- Gossiping Board — PTT Netizen Encyclopedia (zh)
- PTT refuses new users after fake news incident — Taipei Times (2018)
- PTT's Legendary "Villager Culture" — Taiwan Panorama