"I have usernames older than you."

[takiro@meow.social]

@Natasha_Jay
They think the internet was invented yesteryear by vibe coders, while we were already creating ugly websites with stolen GIFs in notepad in 2000 and earlier.

[nafithebear@snaggletooth.life]

@Natasha_Jay I still remember my ICQ UIN as well. it will probably the last 9 numbers I say before my death and no one will understand it.

[glamazon@cyberpunk.lol]

@Natasha_Jay I'm so cyber I piss neon and spit chrome. I cut my teeth in a time when you would swap floppies and underground zines. I would try to learn every machine I touched, from the C64 at my friends house because his dad was an enthusiast, to the Tandy I inherited from a dead grandfather I had never met. No modem, no wifi, no youtube tutorial, no money. Just technology that was facinating to someone who just prior had been living on a mountain reading outdated encyclopedias by kerosene lamp, and only listening to the radio for 15 minutes a day because batteries were hard to get.

A computer was science fiction still, something from the movies. The ICU message notification still can set my brain on fire with anticipation. I keep my notifications off now, because no amount of push messages or advertising will ever compare to the sound that meant the person who I could actually be myself with had arrived online.

[dertseha@dice.camp]

@Natasha_Jay
As I like to phrase it: Younger ones grew up in the internet. I grew up /with/ the internet.

And, since we're showing off ICQ numbers: UIN 516801 here

[noondlyt@hellions.cloud]

@Natasha_Jay

Amen

[lmorchard@masto.hackers.town]

@Natasha_Jay icq 492905 uhoh

[bnys@lasersword.club]

@Natasha_Jay these ipad babies need to stfu

[staceycornelius@zeroes.ca]

@Natasha_Jay This dude planning to vaporize at 40? If not, I have some bad news.

[elbeetoots@mastodon.nl]

@lobingera @Natasha_Jay "...until you start posting memes from 2006..."

[ethicalprofessor@mstdn.social]

@Natasha_Jay

I expect thriller_instinct is busy crying to mommy now.

[crowbriarhexe@tech.lgbt]

@Glamazon @Natasha_Jay oh I FEEL that last part especially

[ireneista@adhd.irenes.space]

@Natasha_Jay oh. that ICQ number is significantly smaller than ours. impressive.

[ktims@nonexistent.ca]

@Natasha_Jay I have domains older than you.

[foone@digipres.club]

@Natasha_Jay I had a fun moment recently where someone was asking if I was old enough to be marked 18+ on a discord server, and my girlfriend pointed out I have /released software/ that's old enough to look at porn.

[lordtaku@mastodon.social]

@Natasha_Jay I have socks older than half the internet user base

[redsad@ohai.social]

@Natasha_Jay tell that kid to get off my lawn!

[ilka4you@mastodon.social]

@Natasha_Jay cute little troll baby of course has Dr. House as profile pic.

[deadinside@but.still.drinkin.coffee]

@Natasha_Jay What a young whippersnapper. Mine is 2682000. I had(!) my real name on gmail, without numbers. Our email wasn't even going over TCP/IP.... *insert lengthy 'back in my day' rant*

[ilka4you@mastodon.social]

@dertseha up to 1 minute ago I totally forgot about ICQ. Not sure if I can ever retrieve my handle. @Natasha_Jay

[groupnebula563@mastodon.social]

@Natasha_Jay I love how this thread has just devolved into everyone sharing their six digit UINs

just going to put this here, don’t mind me:

Just a moment...

(crosstalk.im)