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473

I remember when I started using the Internet in 2000 or 2001, I had a Pentium 3 800MHz with 128 memory, 30GB disk, terrible performance for the time due to the integrated SiS igpu.

At that time, it was very difficult to download games and music on websites, you got these things in P2P programs like Kazaa and eMule, it was slow to download, but you got everything or almost everything you wanted, it was very easy and simple to use, you searched something, just chose one and download, some P2P programs came with IRC, chat rooms, integrated video players, you did everything right there, it was like a free road, you had everything in a single place.

Also, at that time, you could not comment on any website, only in forums or chats, you could not buy and share files, and uploading videos, images and texts, or create blogs and websites for free was impossible at the time, these concepts did not exist at the time, today people are complaining a lot.

But it was very cool, it was clean, only people who understood something used computers and internet, today any irritating and degenerate idiot is online and is speaking foolishness, but at that time there was much more respect between each other, in reality it was all calm and clean, peaceful, you don't even talked too much with each other, not even by email.

So I think if something happens and if they block, censure or limit everything, this may turn out to be a good thing, imagine all the human garbage staying on Reddit, Facebook and YouTube, Twitter, etc., then you could be forced to escape, so this can force the P2P appear again as the only solution.

That's decentralization, and we had it in 2000, so I think this should come back, the notion of website is very "centralized", websites are mounted on servers and name registrars, which can censor and block you, P2P is much better, and I remember that some P2P networks were even shared between different software.

The actual "Internet" and websites are dead, in the place we are locked on Intranets like YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, etc, so P2P is the thing, hypothetically, I think you can run P2P clients on a website, or still use IRC for chat, and use temporary files transfer websites, so you create a room like "PSX ISO", and share your download link, or via Bittorrent.

Politics, media, celebrities had taken the mainstream Internet or Intranets, so I think it's good, I hope the smart people goes back to the underground Internet again.

I remember when I started using the Internet in 2000 or 2001, I had a Pentium 3 800MHz with 128 memory, 30GB disk, terrible performance for the time due to the integrated SiS igpu. At that time, it was very difficult to download games and music on websites, you got these things in P2P programs like Kazaa and eMule, it was slow to download, but you got everything or almost everything you wanted, it was very easy and simple to use, you searched something, just chose one and download, some P2P programs came with IRC, chat rooms, integrated video players, you did everything right there, it was like a free road, you had everything in a single place. Also, at that time, you could not comment on any website, only in forums or chats, you could not buy and share files, and uploading videos, images and texts, or create blogs and websites for free was impossible at the time, these concepts did not exist at the time, today people are complaining a lot. But it was very cool, it was clean, only people who understood something used computers and internet, today any irritating and degenerate idiot is online and is speaking foolishness, but at that time there was much more respect between each other, in reality it was all calm and clean, peaceful, you don't even talked too much with each other, not even by email. So I think if something happens and if they block, censure or limit everything, this may turn out to be a good thing, imagine all the human garbage staying on Reddit, Facebook and YouTube, Twitter, etc., then you could be forced to escape, so this can force the P2P appear again as the only solution. That's decentralization, and we had it in 2000, so I think this should come back, the notion of website is very "centralized", websites are mounted on servers and name registrars, which can censor and block you, P2P is much better, and I remember that some P2P networks were even shared between different software. The actual "Internet" and websites are dead, in the place we are locked on Intranets like YouTube, Facebook, Gmail, etc, so P2P is the thing, hypothetically, I think you can run P2P clients on a website, or still use IRC for chat, and use temporary files transfer websites, so you create a room like "PSX ISO", and share your download link, or via Bittorrent. Politics, media, celebrities had taken the mainstream Internet or Intranets, so I think it's good, I hope the smart people goes back to the underground Internet again.

(post is archived)

[–] • 5 pts

when I started using the Internet in 2000 or 2001

Good lord, I'm an old man.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

When did you start?

[–] • 2 pts

I got my first computer in 1977, if I remember correctly; a TRS-80. I followed that with an Apple II.
Way before the World Wide Web made things easy.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

POKE &HFFD7,0

[–] • 1 pt

My first computer was a 286 that ran at 12MHz (on turbo), had 2MB of RAM and a 20MB HDD. I didn't have a modem, so no BBS access. We used to swap software and files on floppy disks.

Moved on to Pentium 166, then many other computers over the years.

I remember downloading stuff off IRC chat boards. I once downloaded Unreal Tournament as a set of 1.44MB multi disk spanning zip files, but once I was done, there was a CRC error on one of the files. Took me fucking ages to download them all, there were hundreds.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

Everyone should answer this one, great question btw.

For me it was Windows 95 and paid 39.95 at Staples for Netscape Navigator with a Sears Wishbook size manual to go with it. It came with Navicator, Communicator, and a bunch of shit to create a web page but not WYSIWYG but you had to really code and see wtf showed up.

Yeah that 38.8k modem I installed with a blistering 3.5kbps on a good day and crashed every 20 minutes sometimes would open again clicking icon but one out of 3 times ended up rebooting the computer.

Had to learn that if it said use irq3 it was pin 4 and irq4 was pin 3 so the modem was a major pain in the ass to setup for a total newb not a computer lesson in any school.

Had a SIS motherboard with a 75mhz cpu that only could do stable 66mhz and 32mb of ram and a 1.2gb harddrive and a 13 inch crt monitor all used for $600. Now I have a 6 core amd , 64gb ddr4, and around 14 gb on 3 drives of storage, and a 4gb nvidia 1650 card.

[–] • 1 pt

Don't sweat it.

60 is the new 40. Not kidding. Especially since people don't smoke anymore.

[–] • 0 pt

Especially since people don't smoke anymore.

I never smoked. I've cut back on my drinking dramatically, too!

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

I'm piling on here.

Hey remember Jumbo.com or CNET when it didn't have fake links or how someone could use the entire 16 colors of that palette on a single home page.

Sorry but I was there to so I feel your long term memory creaking away and waiting for the fucking page to load after 2 minutes it was over 1/2 done.

[–] • 2 pts

Waiting for images to download was like watching paint dry.

[–] [deleted] • 2 pts

yeah I remember, is that chick with huge boobs worth the 100k download and is there room on the hard drive also since I had 1.2gb after windows there was around just over a gb left to work with.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

Really? I was online in the early 80s chatting with people before IRC was invented....

[–] • 2 pts

BBS access at 300 baud for the win!

[–] • 1 pt

Yeah, someone gave me a 2400 modem in high school and that ruined me. Up late at night on local BBS systems downloading software, connecting with other people in town. Makes me realize how central message boards/comment sections are to what the internet provides.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

I loved chatting at 300 baud because you had to slow down so the modem could keep up.

[–] • 2 pts

Smartphones becoming mainstream was when all the real idiots got online.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

Probably a misquote: We've gone from smart people in front of dumb terminals to dumb people in front of smart terminals

[–] • 1 pt

I got on in 1996 or so. There was USENET, and you could make your own web pages by writing HTML. Good barriers to entry. And a 60 KB web page took a while to load.

[–] [deleted] • 1 pt

The "underground" internet never went away. How do you surf the internet? Cell phone?

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

So the millennials are becoming boomers.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

All true. I got my first computer back in July, 1999 and discovered Napster in August. I love music and had already been downloading Real Media RM mono files. But Napster allowed near CD Stereo quality via proprietary MP3 format. Sweet!

My first download in Stereo was Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. Second was Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. Good times!

Used AltaVista. Before Google by a long shot.

[–] • 0 pt

Exactly why crypto is cool as fuck right now. Only smart fuckers for the most part. If you are stupid you end up broke as fuck. Crypto is pretty much a nigger free zone. It's amazing.

[–] • 0 pt

2000

... uploading videos, images and texts, or create blogs and websites for free was impossible at the time, these concepts did not exist at the time,

The fuck? I was 100% using and visiting angelfire and geocites in the late 90s, there was a lot of low res images involved.

[–] • 0 pt

Bbs's should be making a comeback.

Also Usenet is still good.

If I have to tell you more then you aren't smart enough to be there.

[–] • 0 pt

I am just realizing from reading the comments that poal may be filled with very high age bracketts.

No wonder it has such common sense. Not corrupted youth.

Its distressing though bexuasr it means there isn't as much common sense among youth as I thought poal indicated.

[–] • 0 pt

Common sense was destroyed along with common culture. The remnants of it are slowly put together by the intelligent, and sometimes the cussedly belligerent. This is why it is more common in older men.