[ih] Chat room and forum archives

[Ofer Inbar]

On Thu, Sep 01, 2022 at 12:41:26PM +0300,
Olivier MJ Cr?pin-Leblond via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> As a worldwide chat system I'd recommend IRC, which was really
> "huge" (in its own world) back then. Again, historically interesting

IRC use was really disjoint from the world of GEnie/CompuServe/AOL,
BBSes, etc.  In 1992 IRC had hundreds of people.  By 1995 it was much
bigger, but nearly all of those new people were ones who went to
college or worked for computer companies in the early 90s, and were
introduced to the TCP/IP Internet through their school or work
accounts.  It does not sound like this character fits that mold.

Until ~1995, most of the "online" public (who were still a minority)
were either unaware of or only dimly aware of the TCP/IP Internet,
which is where IRC was.  And those who discovered the Internet through
the web boom of the mid to late 90s, rather than by already having had
their own Internet account at work or school before that, mostly did
not use IRC.  An overwhelming majority of them weren't even aware of
IRC, and weren't even really aware of a distinction between email,
the web, and "the Internet" - they mostly thought of it as the same
vague thing, and signed up for ISPs with live Internet access so they
could get to the web.

If he did go to college in the early 90s, then yes, he might very well
have been at a university with an Internet connection.  Not all of
them gave accounts with Internet access to all undegrads in those
years, but at those who did, many undegrads found IRC.
  -- Cos