Ooh, Australia, I have a question. Was PalTalk a big thing over there? Obviously way after what you described. I remember my father having an old classmate over from Australia and he introduced us to “The Internet”, and how instant messaging was possible a cross borders through PalTalk. Even though I never heard anyone using it in Europe, even years past that encounter.
Comment on I was on social media before web browsers existed. I am Legion.
SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 2 days ago
ICQ? Listen here, young blood.
I grew up in outback Australia, in the before times. My first time online was a 1200-baud modem on a BBC Electron, piggybacking on the HF radio network used for School of the Air.
doctor0710@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 2 days ago
No, not that I know of. We use to have local / oz only IRC channels, because overseas calls were expensive. So, you would dial into your ISP and then have access to city/state wide IRCs like AusNet.
doctor0710@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Damn, I’ve been lied to 27 years ago! Thanks for sharing your experiences
BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 2 days ago
I had to telnet into chat rooms. We had no browsers. I was old before you were born.
SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Telnet. An elegant tool for a more civilized time.
I see you, graybeard. And I pay respect.
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 2 days ago
Doesn’t telnet have in-band signaling? I would hardly call that elegant.