A . for CompuServe
December 2, 2017 12:30 PM Subscribe
CompuServe's forums -- which still exist -- will be shutting down
There was a CompuServe forum for everything from PC hardware to comic books, the signal-to-noise ratio was generally high, and if you had a question chances were that a fellow member would answer it–just to be helpful.Kinda sounds like AskMe, tbh.
This is definitely a case of 'I thought they were dead a long time ago.'
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posted by Splunge at 1:05 PM on December 2, 2017 [9 favorites]
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posted by Splunge at 1:05 PM on December 2, 2017 [9 favorites]
Archiveteam is downloading it all, coming up on 4 million pages since mid-november, with 3 million to go.
posted by joeyh at 1:06 PM on December 2, 2017 [25 favorites]
posted by joeyh at 1:06 PM on December 2, 2017 [25 favorites]
I've heard that a remarkably large percentage of the CompuServe starter kits at Radio Shack had the Secret Key envelope "missing"...
Now what was my octal address again? 7something,something?
( That's why I was on Delphi -- as mikelieman@delphi.com, then they got in bed with Rupert Murdoch, and that fun ended, so I went with a local shell account provider ( they were around the corner on Central Ave -- we terminated in the same telco central office ) , and Matt made me an alias for the msl login so I could get email at mikelieman@albany.net.)
Rereading this, I realize I'm not a very imaginative person.
posted by mikelieman at 1:09 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
Now what was my octal address again? 7something,something?
( That's why I was on Delphi -- as mikelieman@delphi.com, then they got in bed with Rupert Murdoch, and that fun ended, so I went with a local shell account provider ( they were around the corner on Central Ave -- we terminated in the same telco central office ) , and Matt made me an alias for the msl login so I could get email at mikelieman@albany.net.)
Rereading this, I realize I'm not a very imaginative person.
posted by mikelieman at 1:09 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
That reminds me; I need to check my Prodigy acccount!
posted by TedW at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by TedW at 1:15 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
The tech support forums I used were on Compuserve, I think.
I remember a $12 per hour connection charge. I would connect via dialup modem, download the new messages, and hang up to read them offline.
posted by jjj606 at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2017
I remember a $12 per hour connection charge. I would connect via dialup modem, download the new messages, and hang up to read them offline.
posted by jjj606 at 1:22 PM on December 2, 2017
From what I can see the web interface only has posts going back to 2004, so that'll be what gets archived. The earlier compuserve forums were probably in a different system.
posted by joeyh at 1:25 PM on December 2, 2017
posted by joeyh at 1:25 PM on December 2, 2017
Aw man. I was on CompuServe back in the late '80s.
GO HOM-9
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posted by tzikeh at 1:30 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
GO HOM-9
.
posted by tzikeh at 1:30 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'm guessing the less active forums were already purged, since this seems like a very random assortment of topics.
And some of the descriptions are definitely frozen from another time
> Are you related to Pocahontas? Let members and sysops help trace your family roots back in time.
> Sumo or sushi, kanji or karaoke, Japan forum members are eager to share their knowledge and anxious to learn yours.
> Your one-stop shop for Home and Personal versions of Windows Vista, XP, Me & 98.
posted by smelendez at 1:30 PM on December 2, 2017
And some of the descriptions are definitely frozen from another time
> Are you related to Pocahontas? Let members and sysops help trace your family roots back in time.
> Sumo or sushi, kanji or karaoke, Japan forum members are eager to share their knowledge and anxious to learn yours.
> Your one-stop shop for Home and Personal versions of Windows Vista, XP, Me & 98.
posted by smelendez at 1:30 PM on December 2, 2017
Damn it, you people need to set up safety rails around the Wikipedia holes this kind of thing makes me fall into. I just went CompuServe -> Delphi -> Borland Delphi -> Turbo Pascal -> Turbo C -> Turbo C++ in a huge chain of nostalgia. If I hadn't stopped myself, I'd have taken a side trip into OS/2 Warp.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:42 PM on December 2, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:42 PM on December 2, 2017 [10 favorites]
For those of you suffering from Compuserve nostalgia, perhaps the excellent classic text adventure Cosmoserve, with its simulated Compuserve interface, will help? I put a tip in my profile if you have trouble getting started.
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:52 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:52 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
OS/2 Warp.
You had to remind me. I lent all of my OS/2 Warp materials (disks, manuals) to one of my college profs. He never gave them back. Now I'm pissed again.
posted by Splunge at 2:02 PM on December 2, 2017 [8 favorites]
You had to remind me. I lent all of my OS/2 Warp materials (disks, manuals) to one of my college profs. He never gave them back. Now I'm pissed again.
posted by Splunge at 2:02 PM on December 2, 2017 [8 favorites]
OS/2! Man, I remember how much *better* it was than the Windows of the time (it had multitasking for applications!) but a combination of shenanigans and bad marketing from IBM killed it.
Anyway, back in the pre-Internet days when I was in high school, I didn't have an account myself but friends used their parent's business account to download all sorts of fun stuff for us to play with.
posted by tavella at 2:04 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
Anyway, back in the pre-Internet days when I was in high school, I didn't have an account myself but friends used their parent's business account to download all sorts of fun stuff for us to play with.
posted by tavella at 2:04 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
If you're feeling really nostalgic, you can download a copy of Oracle's VirtualBox and an installation image of OS/2 Warp (both 3 and 4).
That site also has downloads for a whole slew of operating systems, all the way back to the CP/M era. Check it out.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:20 PM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
That site also has downloads for a whole slew of operating systems, all the way back to the CP/M era. Check it out.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 2:20 PM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
I became a CISOP for the NetWare tech support forums, learned a BCSc degree's worth of stuff in my first 10000 hours and went from $10 an hour to $70k salaried IT pro in six months.
TAPCIS for the win!
posted by goinWhereTheClimateSuitsMyClothes at 2:33 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
TAPCIS for the win!
posted by goinWhereTheClimateSuitsMyClothes at 2:33 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
I remember the de facto computer columnist at The Atlantic, James Fallows, went all in on OS/2. Also something called Lotus Agenda, which he used as like a research note tracking + mind mapping solution. This was still in the era when PC enthusiasts dealt mostly in what to do on their own computer, not what would happen if they connected to a network. Good times.........
posted by thelonius at 3:30 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thelonius at 3:30 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I highly recommend Jimmy Maher's fun and dishy history of pre-web online communities: A Net Before the Web. Parts 1-5 are up but the series is continuing. Part 2 covers the CompuServe Forums in detail.
posted by nev at 3:35 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by nev at 3:35 PM on December 2, 2017 [4 favorites]
CompuServe -> Delphi -> Borland Delphi -> Turbo Pascal -> Turbo C -> Turbo C++ in a huge chain of nostalgia. If I hadn't stopped myself, I'd have taken a side trip into OS/2 Warp
Borland's IDE and compilers were truly great. I was in it from Turbo Pascal through Object Pascal for Windows and the Object Window Library. I think I have a TP box set with manuals around here somewhere. And Paradox too.
posted by mikelieman at 4:31 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
Borland's IDE and compilers were truly great. I was in it from Turbo Pascal through Object Pascal for Windows and the Object Window Library. I think I have a TP box set with manuals around here somewhere. And Paradox too.
posted by mikelieman at 4:31 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was a beta tester for OS/2. They hired me because I had a DOS/*nix background with zero GUI experience. I was completely lost most of the time but apparently that was somehow informative...
posted by jim in austin at 4:34 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by jim in austin at 4:34 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
They hired me because I had a DOS/*nix background with zero GUI experience.
It's ok. We now have a support group for Xenix survivors... ( hugs )
posted by mikelieman at 4:39 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's ok. We now have a support group for Xenix survivors... ( hugs )
posted by mikelieman at 4:39 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
74757,775 here
posted by dmd at 5:12 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by dmd at 5:12 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm wracking my brain trying to remember my user #. I was so excited when Compuserve added Web access, not just its own content.
obligatory lawn reference
posted by theora55 at 6:01 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
obligatory lawn reference
posted by theora55 at 6:01 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I, too, remember the endless September.
D,NA
posted by But tomorrow is another day... at 6:18 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
D,NA
posted by But tomorrow is another day... at 6:18 PM on December 2, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's ok. We now have a support group for Xenix survivors... ( hugs )
Does it include sedatives?
posted by jim in austin at 8:36 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Does it include sedatives?
posted by jim in austin at 8:36 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
I was still getting paid to develop in Delphi in like, 2013? Still an awesome IDE. Not for web stuff, but.
posted by Windopaene at 9:06 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 9:06 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
My dad yells random words in an enthusiastic tone of voice when playing with the dog. Often swear words. Sometimes "CompuServe".
posted by aws17576 at 9:08 PM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by aws17576 at 9:08 PM on December 2, 2017 [6 favorites]
I'm still in touch with friends I made in the 80s in the Macintosh Gaming Forum, Section 13: Flight Simulators. Our virtual squadron was VFA-13, led by a retired F-4 pilot. In addition to standalone flight sims, we played Air Warrior, a multi-player air combat sim with separate theaters for WWI, WW2, Korea and probably others, I forget.
Wireframe graphics over dialup sounds deadly dull, but the world was highly responsive and the aircraft flight models were fantastically accurate. Occasionally there would be massive games in a special theater with players assigned to different teams and an overall objective specified. I spent many evenings in that world, and it gave me a visceral appreciation of the impressive capabilities of the Supermarine Spitfire.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:27 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
Wireframe graphics over dialup sounds deadly dull, but the world was highly responsive and the aircraft flight models were fantastically accurate. Occasionally there would be massive games in a special theater with players assigned to different teams and an overall objective specified. I spent many evenings in that world, and it gave me a visceral appreciation of the impressive capabilities of the Supermarine Spitfire.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:27 PM on December 2, 2017 [3 favorites]
71044,3355
posted by MrGuilt at 9:35 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by MrGuilt at 9:35 PM on December 2, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hey, here's one of the contenders for the squadron patch.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:37 PM on December 2, 2017
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:37 PM on December 2, 2017
I used to be on CompuServe before I went to work overseas in the 90s. I called to cancel my account, had assurances that it was all taken care of, and moved out of the country a couple of weeks later.
A year on, I get a forwarded demand for payment from a collections agency. CompuServe, it seems, had not actually cancelled my account. It had continued - as had the monthly billing - for a few months in my absence.
Called them repeatedly from overseas, back when it was hella expensive to be put on hold for 45 minutes at a time. They never admitted their error, having “no record of the cancellation.” Credit rating ruined, I finally paid the collection agency for the months I hadn’t even been in the country to use CS’s service, plus interest.
It took seven years for my credit rating to get clean again, but 20 years has not remotely diminished my loathing for the CompuServe brand. Everything associated with it can go die in a fire.
posted by darkstar at 10:15 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
A year on, I get a forwarded demand for payment from a collections agency. CompuServe, it seems, had not actually cancelled my account. It had continued - as had the monthly billing - for a few months in my absence.
Called them repeatedly from overseas, back when it was hella expensive to be put on hold for 45 minutes at a time. They never admitted their error, having “no record of the cancellation.” Credit rating ruined, I finally paid the collection agency for the months I hadn’t even been in the country to use CS’s service, plus interest.
It took seven years for my credit rating to get clean again, but 20 years has not remotely diminished my loathing for the CompuServe brand. Everything associated with it can go die in a fire.
posted by darkstar at 10:15 PM on December 2, 2017 [5 favorites]
Aw man. I was on CompuServe back in the late '80s.
GO HOM-9
.
Me too. HOM-9 got me through graduate school. I feel as if I have heard that an old friend is dying.
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posted by Peach at 4:30 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
GO HOM-9
.
Me too. HOM-9 got me through graduate school. I feel as if I have heard that an old friend is dying.
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posted by Peach at 4:30 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
71706,1313. I wrote a program for the Radio Shack Model 100 that could read the cassette player and automatically make a directory of the files stored on a tape. Seemed like such an impressive feat at the time.
posted by Stig at 7:38 AM on December 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Stig at 7:38 AM on December 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
It's been a long time, but I think I first used CompuServe in 1981. I had a VIC-20, and bought a 300 baud VICMODEM that came with a few free hours of time on CompuServe. So I logged in (the modem came with a terminal program on floppy, and its user guide included a tiny BASIC terminal app) and ended up using CompuServe heavily for several years.
The CB Simulator was a big draw at first (wow, I didn't realize it was "the first dedicated online chat service that was widely available to the public"). I dabbled in MegaWars, but Island of Kesmai is what really got me. A multiplayer roguelike, precursor to MMORPGs, I found it amazing. Exploring dungeons at (by this time) 1200 baud on my C64, memorizing spell words, casting fireballs or throwing bottles of naphtha in small dungeon rooms, dying constantly. I kept careful tabs on my CompuServe balance, but while in high school, I accidentally ran up a $300 phone bill (to call the other side of town) playing Kesmai. It felt like the beginnings of the story I read in Dragon magazine around that time, Catacaomb, about a virtual reality RPG.
In grad school I remember mostly reading a forum where we discussed Falcon 3.0 forum, trading tips on writing third party add-ons.
posted by jjwiseman at 9:31 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
The CB Simulator was a big draw at first (wow, I didn't realize it was "the first dedicated online chat service that was widely available to the public"). I dabbled in MegaWars, but Island of Kesmai is what really got me. A multiplayer roguelike, precursor to MMORPGs, I found it amazing. Exploring dungeons at (by this time) 1200 baud on my C64, memorizing spell words, casting fireballs or throwing bottles of naphtha in small dungeon rooms, dying constantly. I kept careful tabs on my CompuServe balance, but while in high school, I accidentally ran up a $300 phone bill (to call the other side of town) playing Kesmai. It felt like the beginnings of the story I read in Dragon magazine around that time, Catacaomb, about a virtual reality RPG.
In grad school I remember mostly reading a forum where we discussed Falcon 3.0 forum, trading tips on writing third party add-ons.
posted by jjwiseman at 9:31 AM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I'd be delighted to learn that metafilter is available via Gopher. Please tell me this is true (or make it so).
posted by srboisvert at 2:00 PM on December 3, 2017
posted by srboisvert at 2:00 PM on December 3, 2017
Direct your gopher client to gopher://gopher.metafilter.com
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:04 PM on December 3, 2017
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:04 PM on December 3, 2017
74726,3333
As well as the forums, I also spent a fair bit of time in "You Guessed It", which was a real-time multiuser game (with mechanics along the lines of Family Feud, I believe). You could probably build a slick app around the same game and make a fortune.
posted by toxic at 2:08 PM on December 3, 2017
As well as the forums, I also spent a fair bit of time in "You Guessed It", which was a real-time multiuser game (with mechanics along the lines of Family Feud, I believe). You could probably build a slick app around the same game and make a fortune.
posted by toxic at 2:08 PM on December 3, 2017
I am so impressed that people remember their octal ID's. I worked for CompuServe Network Services for 2.5 years while in college and I don't have the faintest clue what my ID was.
posted by mmascolino at 9:00 PM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by mmascolino at 9:00 PM on December 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
"CompuServe" sounds very very familiar to me (耳熟 familiar, not actual familiar), but I can't figure out why. I don't think I was on these forums or used any kind of kit. The earliest internet I remember is those AOL internet trials; this should be before my time. So why is it ringing such a bell?
posted by inconstant at 8:28 AM on December 4, 2017
posted by inconstant at 8:28 AM on December 4, 2017
all the way back to the CP/M era
If I want CP/M goodness I can just fire up my Commodore 128. That's right, 128.
posted by Splunge at 4:14 PM on December 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
If I want CP/M goodness I can just fire up my Commodore 128. That's right, 128.
posted by Splunge at 4:14 PM on December 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
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