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HopeHoops

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21. This goes back a bit, but pre-html, I used gopher primarily and was shocked by what's out there.

Wed Jul 18, 2012, 07:48 AM

Jul 2012

Frankly, in many ways, gopher was far easier to run searches on than Google currently is. Part of that was because there was only a small fraction of what's currently available and almost all of it was academic, humor, or porn. It takes a lot of creativity to narrow down a search now, especially when what you are looking for is a common term.

Still, I was seriously shocked by the academic material I could access from my computer room. A lot of those sites are still out there. One of my favorite (not sure this particular one was back then, but it's been around a long time) is News and Newspapers Online... http://library.uncg.edu/news/ - best launching point I know of for domestic and world news.

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What was your FIRST internet "WTF" [View all] lillypaddle Jul 2012 OP

Way, way back before USENET self-destructed rocktivity Jul 2012 #1

Damn lillypaddle Jul 2012 #2

You're welcome. rug Jul 2012 #3

First trolling experience on Prodigy. nolabear Jul 2012 #4

Don't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was something on Geocities. Bucky Jul 2012 #5

When you had 20 minutes maybe. Optimally you had 20 minutes. turtlerescue1 Jul 2012 #6

I used to go to Delphi Forums too. femmocrat Jul 2012 #27

meatspin.com was my first WTF JesterCS Jul 2012 #7

1999, Legend of Zelda fan-fic. Odin2005 Jul 2012 #8

1998. Somehow ran into an erotic A-Team fanfic... TheMightyFavog Jul 2012 #24

"When a 12yo boy thinks you need to get a life, you are messed up." Bertha Venation Jul 2012 #25

Glad you laughed. Odin2005 Jul 2012 #28

Sex groups on usenet. Gidney N Cloyd Jul 2012 #9

private message sent ;) loli phabay Jul 2012 #10

didn't get a pm lillypaddle Jul 2012 #35

oops was playing off your op and the pic you were sent loli phabay Jul 2012 #36

LOL lillypaddle Jul 2012 #38

well trust me go look up goatse lol loli phabay Jul 2012 #40

I'm not quite that desperate lillypaddle Jul 2012 #41

Furries first time in my life i dont understand something. loli phabay Jul 2012 #11

Finding the Library of Macau on the Interlibrary loan system circa 1983 csziggy Jul 2012 #12

even though I've been on-line since the 80s OriginalGeek Jul 2012 #13

goatse fizzgig Jul 2012 #14

I don't know what that is turtlerescue1 Jul 2012 #29

Okay turtlerescue1 Jul 2012 #30

i hope to gods you didn't fizzgig Jul 2012 #31

lol cant believe i have not seen that before loli phabay Jul 2012 #37

Scrotum self-repair pokerfan Jul 2012 #15

rofl, the internet is really just one big playpen for epic fails, puke inducing stuff and porn loli phabay Jul 2012 #16

"The left testis had been avulsed and was missing." pokerfan Jul 2012 #17

rofl, as ive said before its amazing what humans will do to each other or themselves for fun loli phabay Jul 2012 #18

Mine predated any GUI web browser Duer 157099 Jul 2012 #19

the first time I saw chat appear on my screen...... grasswire Jul 2012 #20

This goes back a bit, but pre-html, I used gopher primarily and was shocked by what's out there. HopeHoops Jul 2012 #21

I guess it takes a fair bit to impress or phase me, but... harmonicon Jul 2012 #22

rofl i see your clever plan now you are free as uou passed it to me loli phabay Jul 2012 #39

A friend of mine referred to this sort of thing as "real life Videodrome." harmonicon Jul 2012 #42

1992 lovemydog Jul 2012 #23

Well my first discussion board was a place called The Globe. zeemike Jul 2012 #26

Seeing slash my girlfriend wrote plagiarized... again, and again, and again. hunter Jul 2012 #32

the "cup holder" aka cd drive opening itself up IcyPeas Jul 2012 #33

tudelft.nl had a daily download of porn TrogL Jul 2012 #34