Ever Google yourself?

Amen brutha...

Happens to rec.autos.driving too. Every so often we get idiots from those groups. It's become a running joke that when a fatal collision occurs some grieving family member will start posting from some obscure web based forum. So far it is believed they are mostly fakes.

For mustangs, I am sure it does.

Most people who think the internet started in 1995 don't know of usenet. Usenet being as unfamiliar to them as 'gopher'. For those that don't know what gopher was, gopher was made obsolete by the web. Gopher was a way to search out information/files on various anon ftp sites. It was pretty painful by current standards.

Of course google will push people to their web-based usenet interface ;)

I am still reading and posting to usenet the old fashioned way, from a terminal based newsreader run from a unix shell.

I first started reading newsgroups as an AOL'er in, ahem, around 1995 ('96 I think actually though). I didn't really know what it was, but I knew how to get there via AOL's interface. Then I went to freewwweb and got my internet for free, but used the AOL for those with external access. Then I dumped AOL. Freewwweb eventually dried up and I went to peoplepc.com (which is where it "appears" I'm posting from now). That was while I was on dialup. I figured out how to use Outlook Express to get usenet groups. Then I went to Earthlink through dialup and then through DSL (where I am now). But I just don't feel like firing up Outlook Express for usenet since I don't use it for email. And I don't use usenet enough to bother downloading another program specifically for it. So I just access it using Google Groups and my old peoplepc address (which I haven't had for over 5 years).

Of course when I google myself, I usually find stuff relative to Buicks, Fingerprints, or being a preacher in the Sydney, Australia area. 2 of the 3 are likely actually me though. It's amazing how many sites mirror the content of others. My wife got a promotion that was listed in the local business section. It shows up on sites that have nothing to do with this area, her job, or the original poster of the information. It's strange.

Steve E.

I've found messages that were archived off Bulletin Board Systems before there was much of anything going on publicly in the Internet.

When I first ventured out here, I was amazed at how many loonies had access to computers. As cynical as I am, I still gave too many people the benefit of the doubt. I'm pretty much WYSIWYG (or, as some would have it, I'm too old to remember the lies I tell, so I stick to the truth), but I was always impressed with the personalities some folks invent and the depth of the portrayal. Some really get into the Virtual Self aspect of the internet, and it's both sad and entertaining at the same time. It's just not for me...

Old farts... pfeh. I was part of the initial explosion, I think, just before the web started up. When I was an old hand at this (6 months in), I remember joking every Christmas that we'd have another million newbies to break in (still being a newbie, myself). But there was email, newsgroups, ftp, and little else (as far as us publics were concerned). The emerging web, with its shops, strip malls and megamalls (AOL) brought in fresh meat by the millions, and always a few would stumble upon newsgroups and the freedom to be complete a-holes that anonymity brings.

Of course, the technology of the day probably didn't help Gophering at all. There's not much to be accomplished with a 2400-baud dialup (although we were all mightily impressed back then). And uploading a megabyte file to ftp was an all-day event. Ironically, I understand that the weak link in my chain today is my cable connection! These off-the-rack computers are now so fast, so powerful, that they can easily handle much more thoughput. So, what's next? If cable isn't cutting it, what do I invest in for the next "next big thing"?

Okay, that's just sick. That would be like foregoing all of the latest advances and technological marvels in the evolution of automobiles and sticking with an old, ailing 1993 Mustang or something...

dwight

I was with you at about the same time. AOL was a fledgling startup when I joined, with "only" 3,000,000 members at that point. There really wasn't much going on, and newsgroups was still a major part of the internet. (See my retrospective, "Old Farts and Dinosaurs") I do remember, at some point after the web took hold, AOL "hid" newsgroup access - moved it off the front page (if you will) and buried it in, like, Member Services or some such. Just like the web-based forums (forae?) today, AOL didn't want its customers wandering outside the gated community that was AOL. From a marketing standpoint, it made perfect sense.

Your history is about the same as my own. I started up with NetZero (still maintain a free grandfathered email account), but it took me a few more years to wean my wife and (especially) daughter off of AOL. I admit, AOL had a certain sense of security that was hard to give up.

I remember installing peoplepc, then uninstalling it. I also tried out juno (free access), and a couple of others that I can't remember. I really wanted something reliable and consistent (and FREE) to replace AOL, but until that happened, neither of my girls was willing to give up their home.

The day I saw the Comcast van coming through my neighborhood, I called and set up cable internet immediately, and we all moved over to Comcast. It was just a no-brainer.

My only complaint with Comcast is that they allow up to (7) accounts, but each account is allowed only 26MB of online storage space. My little website was sprawled across (4) different subaccounts (with 4 different URLs), and I was still running out of room. I just signed on for a web server that gives me 5GB of room (and 50 email addresses, but who really cares), so now I don't have to worry about uploading a new photo.

So now I'm paying a little bit more each month, over and above the overpriced Comcast access fees. Google has no problem giving me 2GB for NOTHING, but for $50/month I get 26MB from Comcast... Eh.

It must be done with robots. Bots don't have to think, they just gather and re-spew.

dwight

Heh, everytime I drive the Mustang I end up pressing cruise control buttons trying to adjust the radio.

What do you use for email? Any mail app should do news also unless you're scraping by on web mail, which to me leaves you open to all sorts of privacy violations by your ISP.

Not at all. I find GUI newsreaders to be slow and/or annoying for the most part. But the real advatange is the remote access where I don't have to depend on what's installed on any machine I happen to be using. I also have the advantage of not needing to weed through the same articles multiple times since I only read/post from one machine no matter where I roam.

I think I was paying something like $7.95/mo for peeoplepc. When I moved in with my fiance' at the time, we had her hooked up with Earthlink. Not long after that, we got DSL so that the phone wouldn't be tied up. And then there was wireless...

You're right, there's a safety factor that goes along with staying put, but it isn't that big of a deal. I've got several online email addresses that various people associate me with. With all the different forums and online shopping, I had to start relying on them to keep from getting spammed at home.

I haven't done a website since I was on AOL, so I don't have to worry about that. I've found that I'm not nearly as interesting as I thought I was I guess.

Exactly. I administer a small phpBB board and we've been fighting bots like crazy. Neither myself nor the owner of the board are hardcore computer guys, so we take advantage of the built-in protection, and he installed one mod to help us out. It's amazing how quickly the bots go through everything.

Steve E.

I use Outlook. On my last computer, I had usenet set up. But when you clicked the newsgroups link from outlook, it would open express. I didn't feel like bothering with it. So I'm just doing it via Google Groups right now. I don't use it enough to get another program to do it.

Steve E.

Ugh poor analogy as I calm down my 1988 Mustang, he didnt mean it dear. lol... Both the 88 and 93 can still do speeds present day vehicles are limited too. Perhaps a better comparison would be a horse and carriage to present day transportation. I know I love these cars to much.

Nick :)

On second thought, I say websites are more than welcome to mirror all of my postings to rec.autos.makers.ford.mustang.

In checking my site stats, I see that quite a few visitors are coming from these so-called "discussion boards" on certain websites. Well, keep 'em comin'! If this keeps up, I can start selling banner ads.

dwight