The system operator of a BBS; in charge of setting up and maintaining the software, the user database, the file bases, the message bases, the echomail setup, and everything else on the BBS.

(Someone who prefers a BBS to having children. a symbiont, half of the bizarre user/sysop entity that turns Intermail in to a bizarre hypnotic drug. A BBS is a powerful emotional experience.)

The term sysop is used almost exclusively to denote the operator of a BBS; you may find it occasionally used to mean the operator of a network, though these generally prefer the term SysAdmin, or the operator of a web-based board, though these generally go by moderator or just plain admin.