4 ms·

My personal take. AOL died when private rooms stopped being private and the personal filing cabinet (unlimited storage) was discontinued. AOL easily had the bi

My personal take. AOL died when private rooms stopped being private and the personal filing cabinet (unlimited storage) was discontinued. AOL easily had the biggest warez scene, once that was over and nobody could share files they went elsewhere.

silisili 5y ago
I think it started when broadband started rolling out nationally in the late 90s. My whole neighborhood for example was on dialup, everyone used AOL(for the most part), and just like that, it was gone once @home rolled fiber optics. AOL didn't seem to have any plan for that. Our family actually wanted to keep AOL, but they still wanted their 24.99 or whatever for the privilege, and well, few people found it worth it.
- andrewmcwatters 5y ago
  Yep. Basically this. Everything else is silly speculation. Download speeds went from agonizing, even for the time!, to eye watering fast. I remember downloading 300MB in roughly 30 minutes to an hour back then. To me that was absolutely incredible. And it was! For the time. Whatever AOL was doing back then was irrelevant. Warez moved from place to place. People knew this and responded to the changes over the years as things naturally evolved.
  - silisili 5y ago
    Yeah, it completely changed how the internet and computers in general were used. Early advertising was 'look how quick it is, youll save so much time.' But that turned into 'hey this doesn't suck, I'll spend more time online!' The biggest change for me, personally, was going from an HPB to an LPB. That brings back old memories. Does that terminology even exist anymore?
    - andrewmcwatters 5y ago
      We've lost a lot of cool acronyms and initialisms over the years, and I've seen others paired down, but I think we lost HPB and LPB for sure.
emerged 5y ago
Man proggies were so fun. The other day I was remembering the way proggies had their own unique skins which made them fun to use and collect. Then it hit me, music production plugins are basically the modern equivalent. They have all sorts of custom art and unique interactivity / features.
- silisili 5y ago
  Someone named Len(I think) had been archiving them, but I saw that site no longer exists sadly(lenshell.com). Fear not, someone apparently made an archive of the archive! http://lenshellprogarchive.com/hell.html http://lenshellprogarchive.com/hell.html

silisili 5y ago

I think it started when broadband started rolling out nationally in the late 90s. My whole neighborhood for example was on dialup, everyone used AOL(for the most part), and just like that, it was gone once @home rolled fiber optics. AOL didn't seem to have any plan for that. Our family actually wanted to keep AOL, but they still wanted their 24.99 or whatever for the privilege, and well, few people found it worth it.

andrewmcwatters 5y ago
Yep. Basically this. Everything else is silly speculation. Download speeds went from agonizing, even for the time!, to eye watering fast. I remember downloading 300MB in roughly 30 minutes to an hour back then. To me that was absolutely incredible. And it was! For the time. Whatever AOL was doing back then was irrelevant. Warez moved from place to place. People knew this and responded to the changes over the years as things naturally evolved.
- silisili 5y ago
  Yeah, it completely changed how the internet and computers in general were used. Early advertising was 'look how quick it is, youll save so much time.' But that turned into 'hey this doesn't suck, I'll spend more time online!' The biggest change for me, personally, was going from an HPB to an LPB. That brings back old memories. Does that terminology even exist anymore?
  - andrewmcwatters 5y ago
    We've lost a lot of cool acronyms and initialisms over the years, and I've seen others paired down, but I think we lost HPB and LPB for sure.

emerged 5y ago

Man proggies were so fun. The other day I was remembering the way proggies had their own unique skins which made them fun to use and collect. Then it hit me, music production plugins are basically the modern equivalent. They have all sorts of custom art and unique interactivity / features.

silisili 5y ago
Someone named Len(I think) had been archiving them, but I saw that site no longer exists sadly(lenshell.com). Fear not, someone apparently made an archive of the archive! http://lenshellprogarchive.com/hell.html http://lenshellprogarchive.com/hell.html