FirstClass is a client–server groupware, email, online conferencing, voice and fax services, and bulletin-board system for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Various LAN e-mail systems existed; those on the Mac had reasonable GUIs, but they tended to have poor modem support and few offered forums.

However, it was run on a mainframe for Apple Computer and couldn't be purchased, so the team offered to build a system under contract for $85,000.

FCP could run on several different physical layers, starting with modems and AppleTalk, and later adding Novell's IPX and TCP/IP.

After renaming the product to the more generic FirstClass, they started demonstrating early versions to Toronto-area Mac BBSes.

[citation needed] Due to the multithreaded nature of the FirstClass client software, the user could open multiple messages at the same time, while uploading and downloading in the background.

During this time, some FirstClass BBS systems mushroomed to thousands of users, including the Boston Computer Society (BCS), which was the largest computer club of that era; the Virginia-based DigitalNation, which had hoped to become an AOL competitor; the Berkeley Macintosh Users Group's Planet BMUG; the BendNet BBS in Bend, Oregon; and Virtual Valley services operated by Silicon Valley's Metro Newspapers group.

Apple employee Scott Converse formed the first and probably the most extensive network of FirstClass-based sites in the world, known as OneNet.

[8] By the mid-1990s, FirstClass had evolved into a small-to-medium-sized internal e-mail system,[9] but its BBS continued to receive attention.

[citation needed] The Mac market simultaneously declined through the mid to late 1990s, eroding the product's primary customer base.

Nevertheless, FirstClass was recognized as a notable (though not top) vendor of worldwide integrated collaborative environments by International Data Corporation in 2004.

The feature, commonly known as unified messaging, allowed users to receive voice, fax and e-mail in their mailbox.

In 2007 with the release of version 9, FirstClass redesigned its interface and introduced an automatic server-based and policy-driven archiving service for legal compliance purposes, and full Unicode support.

[17] OpenText was developing a suite of online collaboration products through a series of mergers, and FirstClass's educational background seemed to fit particularly well with some of their other offerings.

Among those departing were the UX designers behind FirstClass' rebirth as OpenText Social Media: one for Research In Motion, the other to start his own company.