I've been interested in the [Blackboard pattern](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_system) for years (especially back when I was studying AI), however I still haven't been able to find a good implementation of it outside of academia, although it seems a very useful pattern for the current trends in software development, I can't think of any big framework built around the pattern.

Does anyone here know of success or failure stories related to this pattern?

**Note:** Other links

* [external link 1](http://www.vico.org/pages/PatronsDisseny/Pattern%20Blackboard/)
* [external link 2](http://chat.carleton.ca/~narthorn/project/patterns/BlackboardPattern-display.html)

**Edit:** Now I'm wondering if the pattern might have use as a pattern for a mashup-able ecosystem or something like that

**Edit:** After investigating some more I found an interesting [paper](http://www.hillside.net/plop/2008/papers/PLoP2008_09_Ortega-Arjona+Fernandez.pdf) which proposes stuff like Wikipedia is a Blackboard however it depends on Humans as agents. That just led me to realize StackOverflow is pretty much a Blackboard system, with us as agents, sharing our expert knowledge about the undetermined problems set on the board... anyways its some food for thought.