Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
62Kviews
30 Weird Things About The Early Internet You May Have Forgotten Shared By People On Reddit
The internet has come a long way. A really, really, really long way. Though since I don't remember much of the early internet, I often forget about the fact that it used to be a lot different than what we have today. After all, I'm only 22—I haven't been around for that long.
Despite that—or, perhaps, because of that—it was always quite interesting for me to hear stories and learn new facts about the old-school interwebs. That's why this particular Reddit thread was just right up my alley. A few weeks ago, a Reddit user @DevilYouKnow posted on the site asking fellow users to name the weirdest things they remember about the early days of the internet. As per usual, redditors delivered. In addition, while looking through the users' answers, I happened to learn quite a few new things that I had no idea about. For instance, I didn't know that back in the day, people weren't able to simultaneously use the internet and the phone!
Without further ado, Bored Panda invites you to look through some of the weirdest things people remember about the early internet. As always, feel free to add your own in the comment section!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I dunno. But, I really miss the way recipes used to be shared online. No scrolling through a giant website of background story of the recipe and countless ads. It was literally just the text of the recipe, with comments under of how to tweak that recipe. We were so spoiled by the simplicity and immediacy of ingredient lists back then and we didn’t even know it.
RELATED:
#2
Starting a download before you went to bed so it would be done when you got up the next morning.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Only to find out that someone disconnected you from the internet and your download failed.
#3
Telling people not to use the phone because you were on the internet.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And that download that stopped at 99% because your mother had to call aunt Betty.
#4
I miss the independence and creativity of the early web. You could surf it for interesting topics developed by people as a hobby for hours and not ever run into anything corporate. That has completely reversed now, sadly.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
The days that Google was your friendly search-engine. That has completely reversed now, sadly.
#5
Who here remembers Netscape Navigator being the best browser?
#6
"BADGER, BADGER, BADGER MUSHROOM MUSHROOM!"
Robert Thornburrow 4 years ago
I only have to see the picture and the song starts playing in my head. Thanks BP, back into therapy for another six months now!
#7
I remember entire websites dedicated to customizing your cursor
#8
The early days of CSS & HTML with cursor effects, far too many different fonts, visitor counters on every website, inexplicable scrolling text, animated gifs everywhere, etc.
It was an assault on the senses, but it was also glorious!
#9
Amazon was still a bookstore.
Avery S Alberico 4 years ago
Amazon was a bookstore? That makes a little sense because of their logoś meaning...
#10
The always present 'under construction' sign as well.
The early internet was awash in black background with dayglo fonts and it was glorious. And they were all connected in little rings.
Tiny Dancer 4 years ago
Ah, yes, I recall the Web Ring thing fondly. I had a VERY popular X-Files site back when, for example, and (once you passed the audition and someone approved) you could join a group of other X-Files sites in a ring. At the bottom of your page, you'd display the group's ring graphic and it linked to the next site on the list. Funny to remember that one of the reasons your site would not be approved is if you had too much advertising or commercial links. How refreshing would that be today, eh?
#11
Dial up that would charge you by the minute. People today don't know how good they have it.
#12
I remember my friend showing me some flaming text on his school intranet page and I thought it was the absolute f****** future
#13
I must be older than anyone here, because the "early days" of the internet was back when years still started with 19. And there were NO RULES. There was no online tracking, no ad-bots, just no enforcement of any kind. Essentially the internet then was what the dark net is now. Anything could be found, but only if you knew where to look. Search engines were all but useless and nothing was protected for s***. A few hours in a dumpster full of paper could get you access to nearly anything. That was the early days of the internet.
ArtistinResidence 4 years ago
The early Internet was arcnet, used by the military. The fact that nothing was protected meant that creepers could freely pass along things like child porn without getting caught. Oh the good old days. Yes, that’s sarcasm.
#14
The fact that muting your computer didn't get rid of the dial up noise.
#16
It your computer had a virus, you knew. Nowadays, aside from ransomware, viruses are a bunch of uncreative sneaky bois that steal passwords or slow your computer down for a botnet.
Jade Lynn - Panda's Brat 4 years ago
My old computer had this weird worm virus that would give a countdown to when it would shut my computer off randomly. I would be chatting on MSN or Yahoo! and I'd have to tell everyone "worm attack, brb"
#18
Aol chat rooms. I do miss those tho.
Tiny Dancer 4 years ago
Newsgroups filled the chat hole for me. I'm still friends with people I met on the alt.culture.us.1970s group from some 25 years ago.
#19
This just gave me flashbacks. This is why I think a lot of GenX/early Millenials are pretty tech saavy. There were no GUIs for software, no pretty websites on the internet, nothing to "Google" for help. You had to be so damned persistent but it made you really understand things. Now I teach GenZ students and although they mostly have superior social media skills, they really struggle to understand how parts of a computer function together. I've spent hours trying to explain the difference between a local and remote drive, browsers and enabling extensions, clearing a cache, using suites of apps like Google Apps or Office, etc. Especially with so much college learning shifted to a remote format this year, it really showed some of the holes in our childrens' education in using technology.
#20
My friend's mom's reaction when I replaced AOL's "you've got mail" with "you've got porn"
#21
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t see anyone mentioning the dancing baby??? He was so creepy! My mom was stunned that technology could create something “so lifelike” and was obsesssssed. I miss the program I had to create ‘storybooks’, it let you edit the stickers and recolor everything, clicking tiny little pixel boxes for hours Clickclickclick
#22
Never needing to pay for AOL. Free discs were everywhere. I used them as frisbee.
#23
All the random s*** on Limewire under completely different titles
#24
Trying not to blow your load waiting 30-50 seconds for a picture to load fully from top to bottom
#25
Every software you download was a toolbar on internet explorer
#26
How AOL didn't use URLs. Every "website" had a keyword, meaning that every topic literally only had one website. I remember when Nickelodeon would constantly promote themselves on TV and said "Log on to AOL keyword 'Nick!'" meaning that that was literally the only place you could see Nickelodeon content.
Banjo Peppers 4 years ago
AOL definitely did have urls, the aol keywords were just like using a search engine
#27
An email costing 5p. Every minute of being online costing 1p. Having to manually write http://www. Otherwise the website wouldn't load. Trying multiple times to log on using a dial up modem. Some days it just wouldn't work. The fact that you couldn't be online if someone in your household was on the phone. The agony when after logging on after 10 attempts someone in the household would pick up the phone which would instantly drop the connection.
#28
Waiting 5 minutes to load one email page (AOL)...You've got mail.
#29
The idea that websites with psychedelic colors was a thing
#30
Mp3 sites where you'd click a link, and be transferred to a similar site... in which you should click and repeat the process, only to find nothing in the end. Some had names like "illegal-mp3s.com" or something.
What do you think ?
Mal 4 years ago
Windows Themes customs. Where you'd download a theme and it would change icons, cursors, color, text, sounds, Everything! Now it's just backgrounds. booo
Astrid Nineor 4 years ago
I'd forgotten about that. There is a dark theme. Not the same, I know, but it is nice when you enter "cave mode" during winter and just want to sit in the dark.
Load More Replies...
CuttlefishRule 4 years ago
I have my mom's old computer from when she was just out of college and teaching(late 1990's i think). There is no wifi, but there is a Crossword app and several games. oh, and a really basic text editor. That's it, but it's kinda fun to play on! (i'm 13)
Mal 4 years ago
Windows Themes customs. Where you'd download a theme and it would change icons, cursors, color, text, sounds, Everything! Now it's just backgrounds. booo
Astrid Nineor 4 years ago
I'd forgotten about that. There is a dark theme. Not the same, I know, but it is nice when you enter "cave mode" during winter and just want to sit in the dark.
Load More Replies... CuttlefishRule 4 years ago
I have my mom's old computer from when she was just out of college and teaching(late 1990's i think). There is no wifi, but there is a Crossword app and several games. oh, and a really basic text editor. That's it, but it's kinda fun to play on! (i'm 13)
Related on Bored Panda
