Comments on: rec.bicycles

By: Noah

Noah — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:57:05 +0000

I still use USENET (via google groups, now) to participate in genuine old-school newsgroups. Although I had dial-up access to an old AT&T UNIX server back in ’86 or ’87, all I did was putz around on gopher and tinkered with anonymous FTP a bit. Between FTP and bulletin boards, I got “text files” to read. I became an avid usenet READER in 1991 or so, but come mid and late 90′s I was starting to actively participate. From ’86-’97 I spent a lot more time on local bulletin boards posting in forums there. FIDOnet and WorldLink gave me access to people around the world.

I miss those days, sometimes.

By: enrique

enrique — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:26:29 +0000

I practically spent my college years surfing usenet (the www didn’t have nearly as much content). Thanks to Google Groups, you can still access usenet because all of those discussion groups are aggregated there.

By: SuperCommuter

SuperCommuter — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:08:18 +0000

I was also 8 in 1989…..my ex-bf and I loved to play the “When I was 8, you were 18″ game (ten years older than me….maybe that’s why he’s my ex….)

But yeah – everyone thinks I am crazy to bike through busy thoroughfares…..I flat out feel rebellious when I am cycling – FIGHT THE MAN!!!!!

By: Chris Baskind

Chris Baskind — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:04:01 +0000

Yup! And, before that, dial-up BBS systems.

Forgive the self-serving plug, but I couldn’t resist name-dropping rec.bicycles.marketplace in this recent article:

http://lighterfootstep.com/how-to-buy-a-great-used-bicycle.html

Usenet forever!

By: BSR

BSR — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 04:40:32 +0000

…or sidewalk vs. street debates.

Come to think of it, they might still be going….

By: Mark Wood

Mark Wood — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:15:54 +0000

I think I stumbled on it around 1993 while taking my first computer programming course. I remember constantly refreshing the newsfeed after the first time I posted to rec.bicycles, waiting for someone to respond. Felt fun and now seems a bit sad Who can forget the endless helmet debates?

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:20:33 +0000

ahh, those were the days, before AOL, before http.

Archie and Gopher FTW!!

By: Tim Grahl

Tim Grahl — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:15:21 +0000

1989?

I was 8

By: James Fellrath

James Fellrath — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:01:34 +0000

I wasn’t into cycling way back then, I was much more of a geek and was into more sci-fi and horror and such. So I read lots of alt.horror, rec.comics, things like that. I was a regular on alt.horror.cthulhu for a couple years when I was going through my HP Lovecraft kick.

Usenet was internet dicussion at its finest. And I remember vividly the end of it all: when AOL opened up the internet to their users. I still shiver when someone says “Me too”…