AdeptXBBS was a BBS originally written explicitly for the OS/2 operating system in 1994. At that time the BBS sub-culture was at its height, and the Internet was emerging. As a result, the authors wrote this system to compete with the many DOS based BBS systems available in commercial markets; however, AdeptXBBS boasted built-in internet gateways, built-in FidoNet capability, and native modern operating system support as differentiating features. John Lawlor co-founded EmailChannel.com, an early ESP (Email Service Provider), in 1995.