The Internet: 1990 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Rickenbacker · 12-15-2003, 08:09 AM

Remember when the internet was young? *Really* young. I can recall hearing bits on the news & on tv shows that we'd soon have access to an "Information Super Highway" & not having a clue what that meant. It was just another catch phrase as far as I was concerned. Then suddenly, around '94 or so, friends & people I knew started getting..."e-mail addresses". One by one. I still didn't think much of it though...yet.

Then finally, I saw the internet firsthand at a friend's house. It was AOL. I saw a "chat room". I was SO fascinated! Live people on the little screen all talking to each other! Some of em talkin *dirty* too! Wow!
I just sat & read these conversations.

Then I started seeing tv commercials flashing website urls at the bottom of the screen at the end of each ad. (which, funny enough, I don't see as often anymore)
It was amazing how fast it took off.

Then finally, I got my *own* e-mail address. It was Hotmail. I remember around '97/'98, Hotmail used to have background options for e-mails. Checkerboard, "wooden", various colors, steel, etc etc. E-mail is cool, but I think the novelty has long worn off for most. It was *supposed* to make staying in touch easier, but I'm actually hearing from fewer people with less snail mail.
Ironic.

I guess the internet wasn't a big deal for the younger people here. They pretty much grew up w/ it. But it's wild to think where it'll be in another 20 years...

Remember your 1st encounter w/ the internet?

The Modfather · 12-15-2003, 08:14 AM

The first time I used a computer was when I was like 5-6. I wrote my grandmother a letter on it

My first encounter with internet was when I was 8. Only site I went to for the first...year I guess was a Simpsons site.

PZelda · 12-15-2003, 01:59 PM

Ohhh yeah. I've been using a computer in some form since 1988.

My parents got their first home computer in 1991, and we had Prodigy. My oldest sib, my brother, was 11 at the time so they had Prodigy for my brother to use, mainly. I remember being fascinated that that he was on that, and I tried to figure out how to get on Prodigy, but I couldn't.

I remember when we had a dot-matrix printer (I THINK it was...I'm not sure anymore) and connected paper for it. We'd frequently print out homemade banners for people with this awesome program we had. I miss it. Those were the days, when computer desks came with a separate tray/table thing for their printers, because they were so huge back then, and they had to have a slit in the top of the table thing so we could feed paper thru it.

I think my school got connected to the 'net in '94 or so. I can remember when AOL still came on floppy disks and not CD-ROMs!

I also remember Netscape Navigator 1.0 and the earlier versions of IE. It wasn't until the third week in 1997 that I got my own email address - it was a school one. Then in late 97, both parents got connected to the internet at home (again). It wasn't til early 98 that I found out about Hotmail...Haha, I still remember it. Hotmail was so primitive-looking back then, and you were considered cool at school if you had the internet at home AND a Hotmail address to boot, so if you had a computer class, you could check Hotmail during class (that was the pre-internet filter days).

It scares me sometimes when I realize how long I've been online.

I no longer have my first email address anymore, but I managed to get all my old emails on a CD...

Funny stuff.

webuster · 12-15-2003, 03:10 PM

I was like the first person in my class to start using computers a lot- when I was like 6 or 7. Then the teachers got computers and kept asking me to type stuff- which was weird- I was an unpaid secretary. Then when I was like 9 i got the internet and it was at pokemon time so all I went on was pokemon and the simpsons- I remember hearing about chatrooms but didn't go on them. Then I started going onto sites for shows like 'Friends' and stuff, then it took off really- when everyone started going online and we needed it to do schoolwork. I can't imagine 20 years from now- they'll probably be making fun of the stuff we consider 'hi-tech'.

pandora_spocks · 12-15-2003, 03:58 PM

My first computer experience was when I was 7. I remember my dad had a bunch of computers with DOS and such. Mine wasn't really a good computer because it was an Epson, but it was fun to play games on. I actually miss those old DOS games like Pharaoh's Tomb, Commander Keen, and Star Quake just to name a few. I remember I had this word program called Works-I think. I'd spend a lot of time writing stories (which I have no idea where they are now) on it. That was my favorite word program too.

Hmm..I think I first got on the internet when I was 11. I don't recall the first site I ever went to though. Perhaps, it was a Mary Tyler Moore site thats long gone now or a Bewitched site, or perhaps even Geocities-when it didn't suck so much. The first website I had was my Mary Tyler Moore site, which is also gone because I got tired of it.

Our first internet provider was either PulsarNet which was a local dialup company, which no longer exists either. Either that or AOL could've been first or something called WoW!, which was like AOL, but didn't last very long.

Since, I practically grew up on computers (well you could say that) and became so fascinated by the internet and web designing in 8th grade I got the chance to teach people how to use the computer. No, I didn't get paid but it was a fullfilling moment in my life. I also helped set up computers and networked them through our school as well. If something would go wrong with one of them I'd get pulled out of class to go help with the technical issues. I also started our first school website, which looks like crap now by the way. At graduation I received an award for being "technologically gifted," which I still have too.

Yep, thats about it. I never did anything in high school with computers so it all went downhill there. I'm sure ya'll are bored from my story, but it was probably the only time I felt good in my life. I was being looked up to because I was the only one in my school that knew anything about these fine instruments we call computers. The end.

Hollow · 12-15-2003, 06:27 PM

I took computer classes at school when i was 5 and i really hated it because i thought computers were hard to use and i never knew what to do. we did things like play pinball and use this program called kid writer. but damn i hated it cause it was so confusing.

When i was 11 i used computers more to type papers at school, so i knew a little more about them, at least enough to get by ok. then for christmas we got a computer and about a month later we got the internet. i just went to search engines and looked up stuff i liked. i found a link to the facts of life page on this site and joined the boards, that was on january 28, 2001. i still remember my first visit here. lol.

And now im just a computer geek. one of my guilty pleasures. i need to get that computer dork pin from erstwhile delight fed-up buttons.

TheBert · 12-15-2003, 07:07 PM

when i was 6 or 7 I got my own Commodore Amiga Computer (really nice thing) and then in 1996 we got our first family PC. it was a notebook and we got AOL with it so I made my first online experiences. a few weeks before we got the internet a friend of mine moved to the us so with aol i got the chance to talk to him online. first we talked one day a week only but soon we talked more and more and now i have 2 pcs and i'm addicted to those stupid machines

LucyCompanyPhan · 12-15-2003, 07:23 PM

I remember getting my computer. I was in 5th grade and it was my birthday and my grandparents put a picture of it in my card and i flipped out. I was in total shock. I was never so surprised in my life.

I remember trying to figure out how to use my email. i remember talking to my friend Rachel on the phone for hours trying to email eachother.

Kay Scarpetta · 12-15-2003, 08:21 PM

I remember using AOL like... 2.0 when I was 7. Memories.

PZelda · 12-15-2003, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kaffeine Kay
I remember using AOL like... 2.0 when I was 7. Memories.

Like I mentinoned before, I remember when AOL came on floppy disks, not CD's. I still have the AOL 1.5 and 2.0 disks and they are sooooo old...from like 10 or so years ago.

musicradio77 · 12-15-2003, 10:48 PM

I remember since I first came on the internet back when I was a youngster was AOL 2.0 and 3.0.

Hollow · 12-16-2003, 07:21 PM

My, how human culture has changed since i was last on earth! GO YOU!!!!!

Fleet · 12-16-2003, 10:59 PM

First Internet experience? 1998 at the age of only 37.

Brian · 12-16-2003, 11:04 PM

I first started using the computer I think in 1989/1990. I first started using the Internet in 1996 or 1997. It's weird how the first computers are obsolete by today's standards. But like that lady sings in that Queer Eye For the Straight Guy theme song, "Things just keep getting better."

dandelion wine · 12-16-2003, 11:51 PM

I've been online since '95, and I could not believe the amount of information there was right at my fingertips. You couldn't get me off the computer for the first 2 weeks or so. I was fascinated to say the least. One of the first things I looked up was The Incredible Hulk. Never thought I'd find so many fansites dedicated to the show, or Bill Bixby! Sending emails took a while to figure out, but I got it. Hanging out in chatrooms was....interesting. My favorites folder filled up in no time because I couldn't stop looking for this or that, and anything that caught my attention I saved so I could go back again and again.

Anyway, the novelty has worn off now, but I'll never forget the first time I got online.

12-15-2003, 08:09 AM	#1
Rickenbacker Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 15, 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 507	The Internet: 1990 Remember when the internet was young? Really young. I can recall hearing bits on the news & on tv shows that we'd soon have access to an "Information Super Highway" & not having a clue what that meant. It was just another catch phrase as far as I was concerned. Then suddenly, around '94 or so, friends & people I knew started getting..."e-mail addresses". One by one. I still didn't think much of it though...yet. Then finally, I saw the internet firsthand at a friend's house. It was AOL. I saw a "chat room". I was SO fascinated! Live people on the little screen all talking to each other! Some of em talkin dirty too! Wow! I just sat & read these conversations. Then I started seeing tv commercials flashing website urls at the bottom of the screen at the end of each ad. (which, funny enough, I don't see as often anymore) It was amazing how fast it took off. Then finally, I got my own e-mail address. It was Hotmail. I remember around '97/'98, Hotmail used to have background options for e-mails. Checkerboard, "wooden", various colors, steel, etc etc. E-mail is cool, but I think the novelty has long worn off for most. It was supposed to make staying in touch easier, but I'm actually hearing from fewer people with less snail mail. Ironic. I guess the internet wasn't a big deal for the younger people here. They pretty much grew up w/ it. But it's wild to think where it'll be in another 20 years... Remember your 1st encounter w/ the internet?

12-15-2003, 01:59 PM	#3
PZelda Two Valeries! <3 Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 15, 2002 Location: I'm STILL missing NYC. :( Posts: 78,223	Ohhh yeah. I've been using a computer in some form since 1988. My parents got their first home computer in 1991, and we had Prodigy. My oldest sib, my brother, was 11 at the time so they had Prodigy for my brother to use, mainly. I remember being fascinated that that he was on that, and I tried to figure out how to get on Prodigy, but I couldn't. I remember when we had a dot-matrix printer (I THINK it was...I'm not sure anymore) and connected paper for it. We'd frequently print out homemade banners for people with this awesome program we had. I miss it. Those were the days, when computer desks came with a separate tray/table thing for their printers, because they were so huge back then, and they had to have a slit in the top of the table thing so we could feed paper thru it. I think my school got connected to the 'net in '94 or so. I can remember when AOL still came on floppy disks and not CD-ROMs! I also remember Netscape Navigator 1.0 and the earlier versions of IE. It wasn't until the third week in 1997 that I got my own email address - it was a school one. Then in late 97, both parents got connected to the internet at home (again). It wasn't til early 98 that I found out about Hotmail...Haha, I still remember it. Hotmail was so primitive-looking back then, and you were considered cool at school if you had the internet at home AND a Hotmail address to boot, so if you had a computer class, you could check Hotmail during class (that was the pre-internet filter days). It scares me sometimes when I realize how long I've been online. I no longer have my first email address anymore, but I managed to get all my old emails on a CD... Funny stuff.
	__________________ Cheers behind the couch!

12-15-2003, 07:07 PM	#7
TheBert Three's Company Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 15, 2003 Location: Germany Posts: 187	when i was 6 or 7 I got my own Commodore Amiga Computer (really nice thing) and then in 1996 we got our first family PC. it was a notebook and we got AOL with it so I made my first online experiences. a few weeks before we got the internet a friend of mine moved to the us so with aol i got the chance to talk to him online. first we talked one day a week only but soon we talked more and more and now i have 2 pcs and i'm addicted to those stupid machines
	__________________ John Ritter 1948 - 2003

12-15-2003, 07:23 PM	#8
LucyCompanyPhan Hollywood Senior Member Join Date: Sep 25, 2001 Location: a far away place in sitcomville Posts: 2,254	I remember getting my computer. I was in 5th grade and it was my birthday and my grandparents put a picture of it in my card and i flipped out. I was in total shock. I was never so surprised in my life. I remember trying to figure out how to use my email. i remember talking to my friend Rachel on the phone for hours trying to email eachother.
	__________________ "Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness -- give me truth.”

12-15-2003, 08:21 PM	#9
Kay Scarpetta Defy Gravity 8.26.05 Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 04, 2001 Location: La Vie Boheme Posts: 28,013	I remember using AOL like... 2.0 when I was 7. Memories.
	__________________ The people who think they know everything about Broadway make me laugh. They've never seen a Broadway play in their life. "oh mi godddd RENT's a mooovie! lyke 525600 minuuuuuuutes!" No. To be a Broadway Freak, you must live, eat, sleep, study, devout, think, obsess, dream, believe Broadway. You must know original & revival casts, soundtracks, performance runs, dates, theatres, numbers, how many Tony Awards A Chorus Line won. You must be Broadway. That's right bitches. I AM Broadway.

12-15-2003, 08:14 AM	#2
The Modfather It Sure Does Moderator Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jul 12, 2003 Location: canada Posts: 21,149	The first time I used a computer was when I was like 5-6. I wrote my grandmother a letter on it My first encounter with internet was when I was 8. Only site I went to for the first...year I guess was a Simpsons site.

12-15-2003, 03:10 PM	#4
webuster Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 26, 2002 Posts: 2,150	I was like the first person in my class to start using computers a lot- when I was like 6 or 7. Then the teachers got computers and kept asking me to type stuff- which was weird- I was an unpaid secretary. Then when I was like 9 i got the internet and it was at pokemon time so all I went on was pokemon and the simpsons- I remember hearing about chatrooms but didn't go on them. Then I started going onto sites for shows like 'Friends' and stuff, then it took off really- when everyone started going online and we needed it to do schoolwork. I can't imagine 20 years from now- they'll probably be making fun of the stuff we consider 'hi-tech'.

12-15-2003, 03:58 PM	#5
pandora_spocks Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Nov 30, 2002 Posts: 21,532	My first computer experience was when I was 7. I remember my dad had a bunch of computers with DOS and such. Mine wasn't really a good computer because it was an Epson, but it was fun to play games on. I actually miss those old DOS games like Pharaoh's Tomb, Commander Keen, and Star Quake just to name a few. I remember I had this word program called Works-I think. I'd spend a lot of time writing stories (which I have no idea where they are now) on it. That was my favorite word program too. Hmm..I think I first got on the internet when I was 11. I don't recall the first site I ever went to though. Perhaps, it was a Mary Tyler Moore site thats long gone now or a Bewitched site, or perhaps even Geocities-when it didn't suck so much. The first website I had was my Mary Tyler Moore site, which is also gone because I got tired of it. Our first internet provider was either PulsarNet which was a local dialup company, which no longer exists either. Either that or AOL could've been first or something called WoW!, which was like AOL, but didn't last very long. Since, I practically grew up on computers (well you could say that) and became so fascinated by the internet and web designing in 8th grade I got the chance to teach people how to use the computer. No, I didn't get paid but it was a fullfilling moment in my life. I also helped set up computers and networked them through our school as well. If something would go wrong with one of them I'd get pulled out of class to go help with the technical issues. I also started our first school website, which looks like crap now by the way. At graduation I received an award for being "technologically gifted," which I still have too. Yep, thats about it. I never did anything in high school with computers so it all went downhill there. I'm sure ya'll are bored from my story, but it was probably the only time I felt good in my life. I was being looked up to because I was the only one in my school that knew anything about these fine instruments we call computers. The end.

12-15-2003, 06:27 PM	#6
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	I took computer classes at school when i was 5 and i really hated it because i thought computers were hard to use and i never knew what to do. we did things like play pinball and use this program called kid writer. but damn i hated it cause it was so confusing. When i was 11 i used computers more to type papers at school, so i knew a little more about them, at least enough to get by ok. then for christmas we got a computer and about a month later we got the internet. i just went to search engines and looked up stuff i liked. i found a link to the facts of life page on this site and joined the boards, that was on january 28, 2001. i still remember my first visit here. lol. And now im just a computer geek. one of my guilty pleasures. i need to get that computer dork pin from erstwhile delight fed-up buttons.

12-15-2003, 10:48 PM	#11
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	I remember since I first came on the internet back when I was a youngster was AOL 2.0 and 3.0.
	__________________ Musicradio77 Productions

12-16-2003, 07:21 PM	#12
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	My, how human culture has changed since i was last on earth! GO YOU!!!!!

12-16-2003, 10:59 PM	#13
Fleet Mansions, limousines & H-ween Forum Star Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: Northridge/Porter Ranch, California Posts: 15,625	First Internet experience? 1998 at the age of only 37.

12-16-2003, 11:04 PM	#14
Brian Member Forum Celebrity Join Date: Jun 23, 2001 Posts: 20,451	I first started using the computer I think in 1989/1990. I first started using the Internet in 1996 or 1997. It's weird how the first computers are obsolete by today's standards. But like that lady sings in that Queer Eye For the Straight Guy theme song, "Things just keep getting better."

12-16-2003, 11:51 PM	#15
dandelion wine ~ Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 20, 2003 Location: Behind the Couch Posts: 34,967	I've been online since '95, and I could not believe the amount of information there was right at my fingertips. You couldn't get me off the computer for the first 2 weeks or so. I was fascinated to say the least. One of the first things I looked up was The Incredible Hulk. Never thought I'd find so many fansites dedicated to the show, or Bill Bixby! Sending emails took a while to figure out, but I got it. Hanging out in chatrooms was....interesting. My favorites folder filled up in no time because I couldn't stop looking for this or that, and anything that caught my attention I saved so I could go back again and again. Anyway, the novelty has worn off now, but I'll never forget the first time I got online.
	__________________ Fans of Jon-Erik Hexum Merry Christmas!