I was there and was very welcomed. Local computer clubs, BBSes, and more. It was way more welcoming than the internet now. The salty gatekeeping as I recall was

I was there and was very welcomed. Local computer clubs, BBSes, and more. It was way more welcoming than the internet now. The salty gatekeeping as I recall was against corporatised versions of the internet (AOL), but in the end that battle was lost. People were welcoming, but much like a company that hires too fast, the culture was swamped by all the new people (who weren’t bad intentioned, but were definitely way more open to walled gardens and being consumers over creators.)