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Paolo Amoroso

I've seen new Mastodon users compare the vibe of the Fediverse with the excitement and experimentation of the early days of the web.

If you missed those days or want to learn more I recommend The History of the Web project. It's available as a low-traffic newsletter:

thehistoryoftheweb.com

or blog:

thehistoryoftheweb.com/archive

Every issue delivers fascinating stories backed with solid research. I did live through those days, yet I discover a lot of events or projects I didn't know about.

#web

6 Nov 2022 at 13:18 | Open on fosstodon.org
21 comments
SMMarenco

@amoroso In fact, I am experiencing an atmosphere very similar to what it was like in the early 2000s, where we were in small groups, focused on interests, where respect was at the centre of every interaction, where we had netiquette and woe betide if we broke it.
As a former moderator I am really enjoying the atmosphere here

6 Nov 2022 at 13:40 | Open on mastodon.art
Paolo Amoroso

@SMMarenco Glad the Fediverse is bringing back great memories.

6 Nov 2022 at 13:47 | Open on fosstodon.org
Jason Evangelho

@amoroso I'm one of them. Thanks for the content recommendation.

6 Nov 2022 at 13:49 | Open on layer8.space
Blobfrog9000 ๐Ÿธโ„๏ธโ˜ฏ๏ธ๐ŸŒ‘

@amoroso Yeah, browsing around the new digital world on early Netscape releases on a 25 MHz Mac, patiently waiting for non-text content to load.

And of course on the BBSs where there was indeed an expectation of decorum which all new users were schooled in.

6 Nov 2022 at 13:56 | Open on mstdn.io
PawelK
R๐ŸŽ…๐ŸผB ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ RMiddleton.Art

@amoroso I have been saying that to everyone everywhere! I even checked to see if you were following me, lol. I was fortunate enough to have been at university when the web began and from Mosaic & Lynx to now I have loved to potential for connecting on the human level. Fediverse bringing it back! ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿผ

6 Nov 2022 at 14:00 | Open on mastodon.art
Paolo Amoroso

@RMiddleton Lynx? Too advanced. Maybe you also tried telnetting to info.cern.ch

6 Nov 2022 at 14:02 | Open on fosstodon.org
R๐ŸŽ…๐ŸผB ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ RMiddleton.Art

@amoroso Haha! Well, see, the beauty is that Iโ€™m โ€œnot a nerdโ€! I am, of course, but Iโ€™ve never studied computer science (or any other science beyond requirements). Iโ€™m a loose, artist type. The only technical things that I learn are what I need to do get my creative expressions out. I did hand html when it was the way to share.
All of which to say: If Iโ€™m into something I think itโ€™s mainstream accessible. The fact Iโ€™m loving Mastodon is a good indicator that anyone can get into it

6 Nov 2022 at 14:10 | Open on mastodon.art
Paolo Amoroso

@RMiddleton The History of the Internet I shared is interesting as it also documents a lot of early we-based digital art projects, be sure to check the archive.

6 Nov 2022 at 14:15 | Open on fosstodon.org
Atrapado๐ŸŒด๐Ÿซ
Walter Bogers

@amoroso Thanks for sharing these links! I also lived through those days with all the excitement and frustration accompanied with it. Great times.

6 Nov 2022 at 14:50 | Open on fosstodon.org
David Grace
TILvids

@amoroso

Those times were so amazing. I remember the joy of finding a website for a community I was interested in, finding the webring they were attached to, and having access to so much new information.

Or when it was near impossible to talk to someone online and then ICQ changed everything.

I remember the excitement of finding RealPlayer copies of South Park or 128Kbps MP3 files of songs I hadn't heard in years.

Now we have Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Let's take back the Internet.

6 Nov 2022 at 15:21 | Open on mstdn.social
TILvids

@amoroso

Love your timeline, btw. Do you have any videos? If so, you should share them on our PeerTube instance at tilvids.com If not...maybe we should collaborate sometime and make some. I've been meaning for a long time to do a "What if..." series revolving around what "the Internet" might have looked like if different protocols besides html/www became the dominant players (Gopher, Usenet, IRC, etc)

6 Nov 2022 at 15:24 | Open on mstdn.social
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