[ih] Chat room and forum archives

[Bob Purvy]

Yes, thanks, Ofer.

Len starts out on the right end of the spectrum, which runs from:

eater teenager --> college student --> post-college professional -->
clueless AOL / Prodigy / CompuServe user

So I don't think he'd start on IRC. Remember Len is retired.

On Thu, Sep 1, 2022 at 7:15 AM Ofer Inbar <cos at aaaaa.org> wrote:

> 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
>