Originally Posted By: Mystic
I remember the internet being a much nicer place then it is today. For the first several years I just had dialup internet, but there were a lot of interesting websites to check out and there seemed to be a lot less danger on the internet. I bought my first computer in 1995.
I don't remember there being a lot of trolls back in those days like there are today. People who hang around websites and try to harass other people. I came across some interesting websites that people had created for the sake of creativity alone. But there was no bobistheoilguy.com!
And I remember this one ISP I had. They had their servers in this old historic building in a nearby city. They actually had a party for all of their users. I went to the party and it was fun!
I remember sitting at home in front of my Mac computer and everything just worked. Dialup internet was good enough. My dedicated film scanner worked and my photo printer worked. And I thought the good times would last forever.
And then somehow it all changed. The internet became faster but it also became meaner. A person had to worry about their security. You could be attacked online in your own home. Strange trolls would hang out at websites and harass people. In various ways the internet became better but it also became darker.
Yeah, I remember the early days. And now it is all just water flowing down the river to the sea.
I came along after it picked up steam ('95 or 96 or thereabouts). I have to wonder if it is because "everyone" can get online now. Used to be it was limited to geeks who managed to have free access, or enough money when not at school. As the cost of internet went down, well... Cost in money terms and in terms of understanding how to interface with the computer and the internet.
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I think I remember getting a 14.4k modem, and IIRC it was a big jump in speed. Sometimes I wonder about some of the sites I go to, all the fancy graphics and ads, and I wonder if we really have progressed or not.