This brings back some memories. The first time I ever signed onto any BBS was 1986 or so, when I was in fifth grade. I don’t even remember its name anymore.

I do remember thinking it was about the coolest thing in the universe. Because I lived in a rural area, I could only rarely sign onto the really good BBSes, which were all in Gainesville, Florida, as the long distance rates were prohibitive.

The first time I saw the internet, which was about that time, I was utterly unimpressed. It had very little, it seemed to me, to compare to a great BBS.

Amusingly, one of my classmates at the time ran a BBS, and he asked me not to sign onto it so much, as he’d prefer one our classmates he liked better than me be able to use it more.

Who knew then that we were presaging, and helping to build, the future? To me at the time, it just seemed cool, freeing — but I guess that is the bricks and mortar from which the future is constructed.

No Comments »