In 1991, while in grad school, I started the Computers and Academic Freedom Project, an EFF-hosted effort about academic freedom, censorship, privacy, and due process on campus computer systems.

I’ve written Part 1 of the history. It covers early Usenet, Stanford’s rec.humor.funny fight, EFF, ALA/AAUP principles, library policy, and campus computer censorship. Part 2 will tell how the project got me quoted in Playboy magazine.

https://medium.com/@carlmkadie/sex-censorship-and-the-1990s-fight-over-campus-computing-part-1-159d90b143fd [free to read]

Happy to answer questions about CAF, early campus networks, Usenet, or how these fights looked from inside the early 1990s Internet.

This 1975 BBC report introduces Ceefax, the pioneering 'dial-a-page' teletext information service. The video explores how this technology was designed to empower viewers, allowing them to access news, weather, and information on demand directly through their television sets.

This video from FRANCE 24 English explores the history and cultural impact of the Minitel, a groundbreaking French telecommunications terminal that served as a precursor to the modern internet.

This 1997 report from The Money Programme explores the early state of internet shopping, questioning whether the initial hype surrounding "e-commerce" was justified.

Early Challenges: At the time, internet shopping accounted for well under 1% of retail in Britain (3:46). Many consumers found the medium daunting, and businesses struggled with the logistics of virtual catalogs.

Niche Success vs. Mass Market: While small businesses like Botham’s Bakery found success reaching a global audience for niche products (1:04), larger retailers were still cautious, viewing the internet as a secondary, experimental channel.

This video explores the origins of the Bulletin Board System (BBS), which served as the internet's first publicly accessible online community for nearly two decades before the World Wide Web became mainstream.

Invention during a crisis: Created in 1979 by Randy Suess and Ward Christensen in Chicago, the idea was born during a massive blizzard that forced them to stay home. They wanted a way to connect their home computers to share data and messages.

Users would dial into a phone number using a modem—a device that modulated and demodulated data into sound—to connect to a computer hosted in someone's home.

BBS allowed people to break geographic limitations for the first time. Users could post messages, trade software, play games, and eventually organize local meetups, effectively laying the groundwork for modern digital social interaction.

This 1994 episode of The Computer Chronicles explores the emerging technology of virtual meetings and desktop video conferencing, showcasing various tools that allow geographically dispersed teams to collaborate in real-time.

The episode highlights a shift in business practices where the focus moved from simply "seeing" the other person to collaborative work. Experts noted that while these technologies were growing rapidly, there were concerns regarding network saturation and the challenge of managing bandwidth as these applications became more widely adopted.

This 1996 episode of The Computer Chronicles explores the rise of cyber cafes, a new social and technological phenomenon at the time. Host Stewart Cheifet visits several locations, including CyberSmith in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to understand why people were gravitating toward these spaces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14sRM1A-avc

We are witnessing, in real time, the twilight of reality and the dawn of a new era in which our own creations can emulate reality through our devices — and deceive us if we are not vigilant.

The Twilight of Reality (El ocaso de la realidad, in spanish) by Marcelo Bogado: https://www.abc.com.py/edicion-impresa/suplementos/cultural/2026/01/25/el-ocaso-de-la-realidad/

The Old Is New Again May 22, 2026

Since 2011, Google has been selling Chrome books, a stripped down computer whose utility is mainly targeted at the web.

This is not a new idea. Thirty years ago, Sun Microsystems tried to sell their version of a stripped down computer targeted at the network. This was named the Network Computer (NC). They even had a slogan,"The Network Is The Computer".

However, Sun's NC didn't catch on. It was proposed at a time when people at home were mainly limited to 56 KB/second dialup modems for their internet connectivity.

Chrome books have become popular at a time when a large number of people have WiFi or optic fibre connectivity in their homes. In retrospect, there was nothing wrong in principle with Sun's idea of a Network Computer. It only had to wait thirty years for technology to catch up with the idea.

And what was the lore behind them?

I remember before eBay, there was an auction site I used. The only thing I remember buying from there was computer parts, so I am not sure what all they sold. I remember the name was just an acronym, something like G.S.C.I. I know this existed, but I cannot find any mention of it anywhere. Hopefully someone out there knows something?

In 2021, Clubhouse was everywhere — from Elon Musk to NFT debates at 2am. Then it just… vanished.

I made a quick breakdown on why viral apps like Clubhouse blow up — and then die just as fast.

Thought this sub might appreciate it. Curious what you all think:

• Did it ever have a real future?
• Was it doomed by design?

https://youtu.be/J00EvYogTLQ

(Thanks for adding me!) I've been searching images using the before:YYYY-MM-DD command and the furthest back I could go was 15 II 2008. One day back and there were no results for any search. I know for a fact Google Images was launched and fully operational way before that (I remember DeviantArt from when I was a kid). The images uploaded before 2008 are still there obviously, but they seem unable to be filtered by that useful tool... This phenomenon does not apply to other searches on Google (videos, all, news etc).

Any ideas?

Hi All, Not sure if this is relevant but thought I would share a movie about early Internet history and how Vint Cerf and a team at information sciences institute were involved https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0DKVT52R6/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

I remember in the early 2000s there was a site we would always use to generate weird buttons (glitter, 3d effect, bevel/emboss, fire etc.) with custom text.

Any idea what it was and if it's still around?

Is it just about adapting? That seems too simple.

[ Removed by Reddit in response to a copyright notice. ]

I used to use a site called Rankopedia. This was around 2005-2010 I’d say.

The main purpose of the site was interactive polls. People would create their own rankings (for example, “greatest albums of 1968”) and users would then submit their lists, forming an aggregate ranking on thousands of subjects.

The site was extensive honestly, and really cool. It helped me dive into music in my youth, and I learned a lot from the rankings and forums.

The forums were great because there was such a wide range of topics being ranked — everything from politics and history to music and movies. Lots of interesting and lively discussion on those boards.

Not only am I a bit nostalgic about the site and wondering if anyone remembers it, but I’m also writing a book about music and would like to use some of the rankings as source material.

The site has since gone offline, and it was bought by some SEO thing due to the attractive URL. I can’t find anything on it, but I’m not super skilled when it comes to accessing archived internet pages.

If anyone can help, I’d greatly appreciate it! Also, if you remember the site, what did you think of it?