It is the second post on that node, by author whizkid. It challenges

the conventional wisdom that the decline of the BBS in the late 90s was

directly attributable to the proliferation of cheap dialup internet
access around the same period.

That's a common observation. I'll go as far as to agree that cheap Internet killed *dialup* BBS's, for sure. This one was attached to the Internet in 1996, after which we had some of the busiest years ever.

I believe that the biggest blow to "real" online communities was dealt by Facebook. A lot of people eventually decided that Facebook was the only "BBS" they needed, because "everyone" was there. Building on your echomail observation -- when long distance phone calls were no longer an issue, and every BBS on the Internet was multiuser, you no longer needed to find one "near you". So it reduced the number of sites that were needed. Facebook then further reduced it to "only one".

So it has come to pass that sites like this one are populated by people who are not enamored by the brainless roar of mainstream big tech sites.

by Facebook. A lot of people eventually decided that Facebook was the

only "BBS" they needed, because "everyone" was there. Building on your

I know you're right but this is just a reminder that something is wrong with me. I was actually the intended target demographic when facebook launched: college freshman looking looking to stay in contact with high school pals. I was on Facebook for about a month, and then when I realized "everyone" was there I said nope to that shit and never looked back.

Naah. In the early 00's it was the heyday of people exploring the open Internet; sites like this one were always busy with people wandering in and out around the clock. By the end of the 00's they were all just going to Fecesbook and staying there. And they became worse people after too much exposure to it.
FB does that.

2022-10-04 22:32 from zelgomer

by Facebook. A lot of people eventually decided that Facebook was

the

only "BBS" they needed, because "everyone" was there. Building on

your


I know you're right but this is just a reminder that something is
wrong with me. I was actually the intended target demographic when
facebook launched: college freshman looking looking to stay in contact

with high school pals. I was on Facebook for about a month, and then

when I realized "everyone" was there I said nope to that shit and never

looked back.

That is not a sign of something being wrong with you. That is a sign of something being right with you.

I remember managing a business account in Facebook. It was a timesink that barely gave any returns. Facebook has this reputation of being the place you need to be in if you want to talk to people or make money, but my experience is that such thing is far from true.

2022-10-19 22:10 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>
LoL  sort of what a lot of IRC was about back in the early 90s:
Everyone in their mid-late 20s going to drinking parties and getting
laid.

Honest question. Who the hell was getting laid with irc? I legitimately have encountered maybe 10 females in my entire time on the internet, and most have those were on AOL. And they have typically been completely unapproachable because there are 20 other dudes trying to internet date them.

2022-10-20 21:11 from zelgomer

2022-10-19 22:10 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>

LoL sort of what a lot of IRC was about back in the early 90s:

Everyone in their mid-late 20s going to drinking parties and getting

laid.

Honest question. Who the hell was getting laid with irc? I
legitimately have encountered maybe 10 females in my entire time on the

internet, and most have those were on AOL. And they have typically been

completely unapproachable because there are 20 other dudes trying to

internet date them.

I was thinking something similar. The whole deal of Internet dating is too far fetched on regular sites already, so I can't imagine how unrealistic it might be on an underground platform such as IRC.

Stupid as it sounds, I once fell in love with an IRC gal. The main problem was, however, than in a place such as IRC it is impossible to tell if that gal was actually a fat guy called Ivan who worked for the FSB.

2022-10-21 21:22 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>
In the mid 90s, everyone, at least around here. Current wife came
from there actually.   

 

It was not a "internet dating thing" . We all just went to parties
and met each other in person that way. And once we all became real
life friends, well, things happen and everyone was running in the
same circles so stuff happened..  

The internet dating remark was meant as more of an accusatory description of the behavior of the other guys. But my point is that you must have been on a different internet than I was in the 90s. I was a sausage fest. In fact, that pretty much describes most of my life. There were very few girls at my university, and where I work. Where the hell are all of the chicks in my age group? Probably baristas or on TikTok, I guess.

must have been on a different internet than I was in the 90s. I was a

sausage fest. In fact, that pretty much describes most of my life.

IT. IT was a sausage fest, not "I". I've only got the one. It may be just slighty below average, but it's mine, and so it's my favorite one.

I was in college 1988-1993 and had a female friend who loved to go to the computer lab to chat with random people on IRC. She absolutely loved it.
But the chances of anyone she met being within meetup range were slim to none.

There's some nostalgia for you. Computer labs. Do they still have those at university campuses, when everyone has a laptop?

2022-10-21 21:48 from zelgomer

2022-10-21 21:22 from Nurb432 <nurb432@uncensored.citadel.org>

In the mid 90s, everyone, at least around here. Current wife came

from there actually.



It was not a "internet dating thing" . We all just went to parties

and met each other in person that way. And once we all became real

life friends, well, things happen and everyone was running in the

same circles so stuff happened..

The internet dating remark was meant as more of an accusatory
description of the behavior of the other guys. But my point is that you

must have been on a different internet than I was in the 90s. I was a

sausage fest. In fact, that pretty much describes most of my life.
There were very few girls at my university, and where

I work. Where the

hell are all of the chicks in my age group? Probably baristas or on

TikTok, I guess.

I learnt to cook, therefore rendering women obsolete. I have not bothered looking for gals ever since.

My set of hobbies and jobs is pretty much for sausage bearers only, but I am sure as heck I am not switching hobbies to get a girl. If you want to feel loved, get a horse.

2022-10-22 11:49 from IGnatius T Foobar
I was in college 1988-1993 and had a female friend who loved to go to

the computer lab to chat with random people on IRC. She absolutely

loved it.
But the chances of anyone she met being within meetup range were slim

to none.

There's some nostalgia for you. Computer labs. Do they still have

those at university campuses, when everyone has a laptop?

Yes, usually when the professor needs to provide a standard platform for the students and trying to get the students to run a set of application in their own gear is more troublesome than having a computer lab.

Kids today cannot install QT Creator. They cannot install a container image or virtual machine image with a QT Creator pre-arranged for them either. Not to mention many departments cannot set a ready for deployment image to begin with. Getting a bunch of used computers and installing junk on them is just easier and probably more cost effective than trying to herd the students and teachers.

Then we all wonder why the West is dying \o/