'90s Web Activities and the Kids Who Loved Them

I've been revisiting a lot of old websites lately. I'm sure this because I am a) obsessed with the internet, b) almost 21 and I want to stay a kid forever dammit, and c) willing to do anything to procrastinate. Oh, and it's awesome to experience things I used to love without having to deal with dial-up. Remember that? Remember dial-up? BEEEPBOPBEEPBOPBOOP! EEEEEuuuuEEEUUUUEEEuuEEEE! So somewhere between feeding my Neopets and dressing my Gaia avatar, I got the bright idea to nostalgia all over you guys for a minute and discuss some of my favorite blast-from-the-past-type interwebz hot spots. You cool with that? Well, I hope you are, 'cause I'm doing it whether you want me to or not na-na-nana-na.

AOL Chat Rooms

Before there were sites like Omegle, people spent eternities trying to choose an awesome screen name to lure in their fellow chatters. Remember xoHawtBabee1875xo? Or SexyBoi28? Or BriansGurl4Eva (classic)? The most creative screen naming minds in the world sat at their computers for hours, mostly too scared to say anything, waiting for someone to send an IM their way. And you know how that conversation would start: a/s/l.

Harry Potter Websites

I played the absolute crap out of this particular Keeper training game and never beat it. Seriously harder than you think.

Neopets

Guys, I have 4. A Lupe, a Gelert, a Bori, and a Moehog, two of which are named after old jazz songs because I thought I was sophisticated. The thing about Neopets is that you can't really stop playing, because once you stop feeding your pets, they get sad. Oh no, they never die. They just get sad. And they're cute. You have to start playing again because you have to feed those adorable little ragamuffins. I remember playing Meerca Chase like it was my job, submitting (unsuccessfully) to the Neopian Times, and trying to get my timing exactly right at Coltzan's Shrine. And don't even get me started on the Battledome. If you have Neopets, be my neo-friend, pretty please.

Gaia Online

I'm putting it out there that this is the only super-kawaii Hello Kitty OMGZ ANIME O.O thing I did as a teenager. My best friend was super into the site, and eventually got me to join. I never got rich, or popular, or had the coolest *ahem* avvie, but it was super addictive. I mean, you mostly just shop for your avatar, and I already love shopping in real life. I also used to hang around in the poetry writing forum in hopes of becoming popular. And that's where I learned that if you want to be considered cool on the internet, you have to be a sarcastic dickface to everyone around you.

Live Journal/Xanga/My Dear Diary

My Dear Diary was my blog when I didn't even know what a blog was. I would sit up late at night and tearfully write about the boys that didn't like me, and how I was so going to write that book someday, and how I hated how I looked, and people gave me a bit of pity and friendship in return (I still talk to a couple of my old readers-- hi, Jules and Alex!) I've thought about going back and reading those old entries in honor of this post, just to see some of the hilariously bad things I said, but I honestly don't want to relive all the teenage angst. I have notebooks full of bad poetry for that, thanks.


What was your favorite thing to do on the internet back in the 90s?