I started chatting on the net in late 1995, when things were very different from now. Does anyone remember Webchat, the first comprehensive web chat site I used regularly - no graphics, no frames, no possibility of sending pics? Or Firefly Chat, with online marriages performed by the Reverend Fly? Or Absolutechat, an old UK site? Chat Hotel, Chat Park? I came late to chat - I don't remember it before 1999. What are your earliest memories of online chatting?
Mike.
suppose I'm a newbie - its been on and off for about 5 years.
The worst chatroom experience has to be on the Dreamcast - nightmare-cast more like
About 1989/90 we used to use the University system for chatting. Not really sure how it works - still don't all magic to me. But you used to be able to chat to folk in other Uni's all over the world. Right upto the day we got hauled before the director of computing and had our I'd cancelled - apparently the system was supposed to be for sending one off messages not chatting and it was costing the Uni real money!
Then never went near a PC again until March 2004.
Too bloody long elsewhere, and not long enough here!
Venusxxx
I was first online in 1990. Chatting was with "write" (or if you were real fancy, "talk"), but neither was used much. No mice, no graphics: just an 80x25 text screen. There was also the option of telnetting into a MUD. They were technically games, but most people I know mostly used them as a social forum.
Communication with people you knew was with email (I used elm). With people you didn't know it was usenet (nn). I still have that account, although it's changed hardware and OS a few times. And I still use elm and nn on it. If it ain't broke...!
I think my first experience was the autumn of 96 when I started college. I still can't believe how slow it was back then. It would take about a minute to download a 100k image. How things have changed.....
um, i seem to remember properly discovering chatting and stuff when i was in year 10. so.... 1999 i think!!!
been online for around 12 years green screens and acorn or bbc computers those were the days lol! gone from a sinclair zx spectum (rubber keys, Size of a place mat) through to spectrum +3 to commadore amiga- through variouse consoles (which i have to say The Dreamcast was a breakthrough before its time Marya, if only broadband could have been a few years sooner!) then struggled with the ball ache of PC's and up grades and virus problems and still Chatting strong on my super sexy imac that seldome pisses me off like PC's used to.
About 10 years here .... initially on internet forums and then about 7 years ago found IRC and been a regular on there both chatting, oping and room owning ever since although I stopped chatting there 7 months or so ish (suddenly discovered life was passing me by). I have all the usual stand alone chat programmes and that's plenty.
bulleting boards were the way to chat as i recall. Could only chat live with a select group of schoolfriend until chat came about. Then bill gates came along and pissed off every programmer out there to the extent that they are now hell bent on disrupting all his creations! Ever noticed how the majority of virus's only effect windows machines? I'll stick to my mac thanks Bill! lol
Oi you two, stop hijacking my thread!
Mike.
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