Boardwatch began as an important publication for the online Bulletin Board Systems of the 1980s and 1990s and ultimately evolved into the primary trade magazine of the ISP industry in the late 1990s. Late in the magazine's run, it was renamed to ISPWatch when the BBS-themed name was no longer relevant. Previously, it was jokingly suggested that the name be changed to "Boredwatch" to underscore the sharp drop-off in popularity of BBSes. The magazine included advertisements for BBSes, BBS software and hardware, and editorial pieces about the BBS scene. Either alone or in conjunction with Computer Shopper magazine, in the late 1980s and early 90s before the Internet became a commercially available entity, Boardwatch would conduct an annual on-line poll of the most popular BBSes in the United States and publish the results in the magazine.
The founder and original editor of Boardwatch was Jack Rickard. Rickard was famed for his fiery editorials and "love/hate" relationship with many of the ISP industry's major players (including a controversial 1997 magazine cover about peering disputes which depicted John Sidgmore of UUNet attempting to blow up MAE-East in a scene reminiscent of the Oklahoma City Bombing). Boardwatch spawned an important ISP industry tradeshow, ISPcon and published a yearly directory of Internet Service Providers. The magazine was later purchased by Penton Media and spun off an online content site, ISPworld.com. The magazine ceased publication in 2002 and its assets were later purchased by online telecom publication Light Reading.
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