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Internet Nostalgia

by I.M.Retired
19 replies
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I've been online since 1998. Seems like an eternity.

I am in the process of downsizing, upgrading, rethinking and well, retiring. I no longer have the thrill and excitement that inspired me when the 'net' was in its infancy, or at least to me, its infancy, as I know it was around long before I discovered it.

Yesterday I posted a question asking about .midi files and why some of my favorite sequencers seemed to have vanished. I was basically informed the midi was fast becoming obsolete - or something to that effect.

Plus, I was clearing out some old files last night when I found a notice to one of my customers that I would no longer be accepting payments via 'Billpoint.'

My email was xxx@eudoramail.com/ I remember getting messages from 'Major Domo.' Haven't heard from him in ages

I even have a signed (well, a print of his signature) certificate from Pierre Omidyar congratulating me on my eBay membership and sales. And some old copies of the long defunct 'eBay Magazine.'

It started to dawn on me. I'm getting old. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

But I was wondering who else remembers 'the good old days' on the Internet?

Perhaps we should start an Oltimer's Club? Young pups and whiz kids not allowed!
#history #internet #nostalgia #old times
  • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
    Val, you can find your website on 'the way back machine' and see how it looked in years gone by. The 1998 version of my site brings back memories of me dealing with a webdesigner who thought that you had to use every crayon in the box, and his box had all 64 crayons.

    That, and the spinning monkeys...

    ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    Originally Posted by Val.S. View Post

    I've been online since 1998. Seems like an eternity.

    I am in the process of downsizing, upgrading, rethinking and well, retiring. I no longer have the thrill and excitement that inspired me when the 'net' was in its infancy, or at least to me, its infancy, as I know it was around long before I discovered it.

    Yesterday I posted a question asking about .midi files and why some of my favorite sequencers seemed to have vanished. I was basically informed the midi was fast becoming obsolete - or something to that effect.

    Plus, I was clearing out some old files last night when I found a notice to one of my customers that I would no longer be accepting payments via 'Billpoint.'

    My email was xxx@eudoramail.com/ I remember getting messages from 'Major Domo.' Haven't heard from him in ages

    I even have a signed (well, a print of his signature) certificate from Pierre Omidyar congratulating me on my eBay membership and sales. And some old copies of the long defunct 'eBay Magazine.'

    It started to dawn on me. I'm getting old. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

    But I was wondering who else remembers 'the good old days' on the Internet?

    Perhaps we should start an Oltimer's Club? Young pups and whiz kids not allowed!


    Hey thats not fair...discrimination!!!


    My ealiest memory of the internet was those free AOL hours and really slow dial ups. Was fascinated with the internet since a young pup (of course young is relative here) but never started monetizing until the last few years.


    I would think there is just as much opportunity online now as in the past. Yes, there are more people trying to monetize online, but there are also more people online and growing rapidly.


    Congrats on your retirement!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    <blink>Bring back the blink tag!</blink>

    (maybe not)
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    • Profile picture of the author KathyK
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      <blink>Bring back the blink tag!</blink>

      (maybe not)
      Definitely not! :rolleyes:

      <big><blink>NO!!!</blink></big>

      Then again - remember the days BEFORE pop-up ads? Remember the days before Flash ads?

      Heck - I remember the Mosaic browser. And telnet, Archie, Veronica... I did Fidonet though, not USENET. (Gets out shawl and rocking chair.)
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  • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
    Ah, you've made me (almost) nostalgic for the click-buzz-whirr-beep sound of dialling in to the internet.

    And who else had a GeoCities website?
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  • Profile picture of the author jacktackett
    Who remembers Gopher, Veronica, or Archie?
    I sent my first email in 1985. my first IM in 1986 (talk and phone). Posted my first usenet news post in 1988. and can honestly not remember when I first used a listserv - but it was before 1989. My first file xfer I had to use uucp and the address had a lot of '!'s in it. Now those were the days.....
    --Jack
    (And we LIKED it.)
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    • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
      Originally Posted by jacktackett View Post

      Who remembers Gopher, Veronica, or Archie?
      I do. I moved from the BBS world to the 'Net in 1992. Archie to find files, command line FTP to get them. Gopher changed the world, suddenly a directory listing "stuff". Awesome.

      You left out "Jughead", I knew a member of the development team. Too bad it was too late to the party. Around then PPP replaced the awful Slip connections and Netscape replaced Mosaic. Suddenly the brand new "World Wide Web" became (graphically) usable. No more Lynx!

      When I closed my UNIX shell account and opened a PPP account at a new ISP they gave me two 3.5" floppies. Those two floppies contained Netscape, Eudora, an FTP client (can't remember) and a couple other utilities.

      How times have changed.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Maschke
    Originally Posted by Val.S. View Post

    Young pups and whiz kids not allowed!
    Anyone remember the show called "Whiz Kids" back in the 80's?
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    I

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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    One word (or two) Prodigy & Compuserve.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      Originally Posted by KimW View Post

      One word (or two) Prodigy & Compuserve.
      When I first got online I had both of those and GNN (Global Network Navigator) and one other that escapes me right now. (Yes, I had 4 services I was experimenting with).

      GNN was my favorite until AOL bought them and turned them to crap.

      ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    I discovered the Net at university in the early 90s, and I remember Gopher, Veronica, Archie, Telnet and learning how to use them from "The Big Dummy's Guide To The Internet".

    At about that time, I went to my department head and asked if I could have an e-mail address. He said "You're the third person who's asked me that question". So that's what all of the people asking got: one e-mail account -- shared between all of the people who asked. :rolleyes: The ensuing chaos guaranteed that very soon, we all got our own e-mail address.

    And at about that time, the web was born. It looked like this....

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    • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
      Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

      And at about that time, the web was born. It looked like this....
      Holy Crap! You just posted the very beginning of my career as a system administrator. This "nostalgia" is making me freaking dizzy! If I stand up, I'll fall down...
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      • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
        Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

        Holy Crap! You just posted the very beginning of my career as a system administrator. This "nostalgia" is making me freaking dizzy! If I stand up, I'll fall down...
        Sorry Lawrh! Is this one a bit easier on your neurons?

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        • Profile picture of the author Lawrh
          Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

          Sorry Lawrh! Is this one a bit easier on your neurons?
          Much, but only because I didn't like or use Yahoo. Still don't.

          Your other post slammed me because I got my start as a Novell CNE back in the early mid nineties. I spent a lot of time at that site and all of the later versions. Massive flood of memories of total immersion in my career. Hit me like a ton of bricks.

          Uptime was the only important thing in the entire world. All in the past now. Thank goodness.
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  • Profile picture of the author I.M.Retired
    Hey that's not fair...discrimination!!!
    Kenster: Yes it is - it has to be. You 'young uns' are way to computer savvy to belong to the group.

    Kurt & Kathy: Hey <blink> was 'kewl!' So was the ubiquitous peeing scottie dog and flapping, twirling and/or spinning maibox/envelope animated gifs!

    But - on the other hand, how many of you can drive a standard transmission car? Stick shift on the steering wheel shaft at that? Or for that matter, remember the amazing push button transmission on the 1960-1962 Dodge Dart? I think that any Whiz Kid who has any idea as to what I'm talking about will be granted honorary membership in this club!

    Bill: The first domain name I purchased was webmode dot com in 1997. Now someone in Korea owns it but my first site was posted June 1st, 1997. My second site was canadianantiques dot com was posted on Feb. 06, 1998. I still own that domain but just have it parked until I decide what t'eck to do with it. Most of the marvelous graphics are missing from my old archived sites. I spend hours working on those sites - coding them all by hand in Word Pad. Then I discovered the editor in Netscape Navigator - I was in business!!! I've made and sold many sites since those early days.

    I joined eBay on August 13, 1997. Never got involved with half.com

    I also joined Carnaby when it first started - it was a wonderful site and had so much potential. Also had accounts on Blujay, iOffer, Old and Sold and TIAS - the Internet Antique Shop in the olden days.

    When I sold my first domain (canadianclassifieds dot com) I got $1000 for it way back in the late nineties. It cost $35 in those days to register a domain, and when I sold it I had to take the papers to a Lawyer or Notary Public and have my identity verified. So did the buyer. I got paid by cheque. A long, complicated, drawn-out process!

    I also remember deciding that I would become more 'avant garde' by attending a local BB workshop. Bulletin Boards were all the rage and quite complicated to use. My husband came with me - curious to find out more about all this 'new fangled nonsense.' He fell asleep half way through the meeting and let out a loud SNORK that scared the daylights out of the group. I was half asleep myself - didn't understand one word of what they were on about. We slunk out rather furtively after the meeting ended!

    Jack: I don't remember Gopher, Veronica, or Archie but I do remember Mosaic! It was magic! I took my first MS DOS and PC DOS course in 1985. It was sponsored by the company I was working for. I never did become proficient in DOS.

    The company had a special employee plan where you could buy a computer for just $5000.00. Modem not included! Some people thought that was such an amazing deal that they bought two!

    I learned word processing on an old AES machine. You had to load two floppies every time you started the thing. The daisy wheel printer was amazing.

    Okay, I'm really feeling O.L.D. now!
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  • Profile picture of the author mbaplease
    I'm relatively young (<21) and I still have fond memories of noisy modems and extremely slow dial-up. It's terrible how much my generation takes these things for granted. I remember having my mother sign up a eBay account for me at age 16, and I became a PowerSeller a year and a half later. Wonderful, wonderful times. So much has changed, yet the goals still stay the same.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by mbaplease View Post

      I'm relatively young (<21) and I still have fond memories of noisy modems and extremely slow dial-up. It's terrible how much my generation takes these things for granted. I remember having my mother sign up a eBay account for me at age 16, and I became a PowerSeller a year and a half later. Wonderful, wonderful times. So much has changed, yet the goals still stay the same.
      OK, you say <21, so they couldn't have been THAT slow! I remember being HAPPY to use the "fast" 300 baud modem! THEN, FINALLY, there was the 1200, which cost about as much. You had to WATCH it because the 202 standard varied from the 212, but BOTH were called 1200 baud. Anyway, EVENTUALLY we got a 2400, 4800, 9600, and finally a 19200 baud modem. WOW! I MYSELF have probably spent 2-3K on modems for ONE system! My FIRST modem cost about $300, and it COULD do 1200(202). I needed 212!!!! 8-( It had 600 baud, but who supports that? It EVEN had a 45.x baud(supposedly for hearing impaired communications). BUT, by 1989, I think most of that was history.

      Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
      Originally Posted by Lawrh View Post

      Your other post slammed me because I got my start as a Novell CNE back in the early mid nineties. I spent a lot of time at that site and all of the later versions. Massive flood of memories of total immersion in my career. Hit me like a ton of bricks.
      Wow, I think that's called a "blast from the past". I only used that pic after googling "Mosaic Browser" and finding that as the only Win 3.1 screengrab. The others were all Win95.

      Originally Posted by Val.S. View Post

      When I sold my first domain (canadianclassifieds dot com) I got $1000 for it way back in the late nineties.
      I wonder what THAT would be worth now!

      Originally Posted by mbaplease View Post

      I'm relatively young (<21)...
      So let's assume that you're now 20...
      Originally Posted by mbaplease View Post

      I remember having my mother sign up a eBay account for me at age 16, and I became a PowerSeller a year and a half later.
      ...so that would be two and a half years ago....
      Originally Posted by mbaplease View Post

      Wonderful, wonderful times. So much has changed, yet the goals still stay the same.
      Dude, you're talking about 2008! You make it sound like the Summer of Love!
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    "I still have fond memories of noisy modems and extremely slow dial-up."

    I have memories of them too, but I wouldn't call them fond.
    When we went from 14.4 to 28.8 to 56K we were flying.Man, it couldn't get any faster!

    Course, the first modem I can remember using was a 300 baud.
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