[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Sue Spence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> > >> mike <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > >> > >> > On Mon, Mar 11, 2002 at 09:09:55PM +0000, Nicholas Clark wrote: > >> >> On Mon, Mar 11, 2002 at 05:00:10PM +0000, Rob Partington wrote: > >> >> > When did checking facts become unfashionable? :( > >> >> > >> >> When AOL starting providing Usenet access? > >> > > >> > AOL just started the perpetual September. There was plenty of > >> > cluelessness on Usenet before AOL. > >> > >> Nope, September was already up and running by the time AOL came > >> along. I can't now remember who the original offenders were; Delphi is > >> springing to mind. > >> > > > > I think the key word in his post was "perpetual". > > > > Crap history of usenet: > > > > Stage 1: Usenet is useful & fun and generally quiet. People check to see > > if new articles have arrived (in any newsgroup) every few hours or so if > > they become bored at work, and it is actually possible that there might > > not be any. September is September. Most students who continue > > participating generally become potty-trained by Christmas. Cluelessness > > exists but in small amounts due to a small & highly-selective user base. > > > > Stage 2: The first public access BBSes offer 'net access to the public. > > September comes in small waves as each BBS starts up. The FIDO/usenet > > gateway makes a bigger splash (collision of two very distinct & strong > > user bases), but eventually the shouting dies down. People tend to judge > > other posters, at least on first encounter, by their Reply-To: address, > > and public access is on the bottom of the pecking order. Cluelessness > > index rises. Before this point, you had to be stable enough to stay in > > school or be gainfully employed in order to get on the 'net. > > > > Stage 3: There is an explosion of hype as the media etc notice the new > > www thing. AOHELL blankets the USA with diskettes and later CDs. > > September is now continuous. Cluelessness is now rife along with spam > > and everyone just gets used to it/works around it. > > The phrase 'September that never ended' was already in live use before
Yes, I agree. I was classing that as the typical 'net moan/exaggeration until... > AOL gave Usenet access. I can't now remember whether the Jargon File > entry cites Prodigy or Delphi as the original offenders, but trust me > on this, AOL were latecomers. > AOL weren't any later than Prodigy et al except in name. I first started getting disks from them in ~1989, but they were around before that under another name. The emergence of Prodigy et al sparked their rebranding & relentless drive towards truly mass marketing the 'net. That's why I'll always think of them as the ones who worked hardest and were most successful at making the phrase come true. > I was there. A lot of us were. It wasn't that long ago, was it? (wince)
