Discussion Noob on the Internet

I'll sound like an old fart, but the internet kinda became a thing (where I lived) when I was in middle school. Things like chatting (mIRC) and later fanfics (fanfiction.net) became my addiction, as well as whatever manga I could find and download page by page on my disquettes (I had a ton). My parents bought a home computer when I was 16, but no Internet, cause that was evil and I was gonna waste all my time on it (well, can't say they didn't know me well). So I'd burn my breakfast money on Internet clubs and basically save fanfics and manga on disquettes to bring home, and spend the rest of the time chatting with strangers.

English was my second language. I didn't know any slang or new lingo, but I assumed I knew what it meant by seeing it in practice. So I'd write asl (age/sex/location) as I initiated any chat and knew what to expect as an answer, but I had absolutely no idea what the abbreviation really meant. It was like it's own word with its own meaning. I would lie to random strangers that I'm from Canada or that I'm a hacker, then I'd run to the cafe manager to ask how to hack or for a simple hacking example, and just assumed she was a specialist since she worked there... I thought she didn't want to tell me her secrets when she was dodging my questions and telling me that I'd have to study programming to know.

We'd get on forum wars with my sister and we'd take turns writing posts on the same computer. A frequent critique we got was: "Those posters agreeing with each other and posting mere seconds after each other are the same person." We got so defensive tho.

Then I started writing my crappy fanfics about DBZ and I saw somewhere someone saying that PWP meant plot without plot, and since I wrote the silliest random stuff, I thought it perfectly explained my fanfics. So I'd write in the description PWP, then wonder at the flaming reviews I got. The hit count was good tho.

Anyway, I heard people get melancholic and nostalgic around the new year. Guess it's true for me. Do you remember being a noob on the Internet?

 

Well, something like that.

 

Could guess that you're 30-ish...

 

Got a problem with that ? Damn, old guys like me can't keep up with the youths anymore.. *sigh*

 

....back when I was a noob? yeah sure . right now. to this day I still dont get how to fully use this forum

 

Did the disquettes give me away?

 

Worry not, we are from the same generation. When I was a kid, I didn't even knew what was a computer.

 

Discovered Internet at 9 y/o. Played games. Mostly flash games. Then myspace tho that didn't last long. Facebook. Runescape. Other free online games. MMOs mostly. Later on I found steam. Didn't do much with it tho cuz no cash. Ffw a few years. 15 y/o realised what anime was. Down the rabbit hole of weebdom. Now I'm just here rotting, reading novels. Tried writing at 16 tho that didn't last long. Realised I'm more of a reader than a writer. Sometimes I'll play some games, buy new ones if they're on sale.

Welp, that's it ig.

 

To be fair, I remember when I thought 30 was super duper old and was always surprised to find such old people on the internet. I believed everyone was 14-16 around there.

 

When you used telephone internet or played the Space pinball

 

I didn't have a clue what internet was until I was 17 or something. My friend told me I could read the latest of latest manga on the net. Ah the excitement...

 

most memorable thing i can remember would be gamesages vs gamesage. just one little typo and, before you know it... well, those weren't the tips you were lookin for. the scare tactic redirects/ads/pop-ups locking up the window or things that spam opened new windows to sites nobody should ever go have also left a scar of sorts in the deep recesses of my mind. especially the ones that'd show your desktop/files and threaten to report you. those were truly dark days...

also, this @#&%er...

 

for me it was when I was 14 or so that I realized wonders on the internet

 

Same for me.

 

I remember the days of using cheats for dragonfable and adventurequest. The only 2 websites I knew.

Good times.

 

What kind of wonders are we talking about here? (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

I still am one. It never ends.

 

Friendster...

 

30 seems young. Maybe if you were somewhere along 50 or 60+, then you're officially old.

 

Well, I am 27, but still close to 30. And yes, its young, but depends of the point of view. If some kid 14-17 years old see this, aren't they gonna think something like, *He can almost be my father* ?