Did you use pre-internet online services like CompuServe or Quantum Link? How was your experience? (programming.dev)

submitted 5 months ago by connect@programming.dev to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

49 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Was it fascinating? Did it feel like the amazing future? Were you all too aware of the mounting cost relative to what you were actually doing?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I first got online with CompuServe when I was just 7 (first online in 1992, just 1 year after the start of the World Wide Web going public) I was a weird kid that loved reading, and I had been reading my parents encyclopedia Britannica collection and found the entry for "the internet" and was instantly enamored with the idea and begged my dad to get it. I spent a lot of time in chat rooms, but I also played the Neverwinter Nights MUD.

It was great, to me being a kid. I'm sure it wasn't so great for my dad who had to pay for it. That shit was expensive back in the day! You had to pay the subscription itself and per minute on the phone, and the NWN game was a separate subscription! I was fucking spoiled when I look back at what I had and how much my parents had to have been paying for it all. 😭

I am still very much in love with the internet. Especially when it comes to chatting and gaming 😎

[-] connect@programming.dev 1 points 5 months ago

Was your family reasonably well-to-do?

I was half-expecting you to say they got the first bill and hit the roof because no one had really grasped what was going on.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 3 points 5 months ago

My dad was a software engineer at a silicon wafer manufacturing company back then.

this post was submitted on 31 May 2024

84 points (94.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26858 readers

1432 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.