this.

There was so much more excitement all around. The technology was arcane compared to what's possible today, but most of the bad stuff was missing. People were looking for ways to use, not abuse the internet.

There were barely any lawyers, marketers or managers who felt the need to interfere. Things were driven by sysadmins and their curiosity, just governed by gentlemen's agreements and common sense.

You could go on irc (with mIRC) and talk to strangers who where thrilled about talking to people around the globe. Like chatroulette or whatever but without the dicks and trolling.