I grew up during that time. In the late 80's, early 90's teenage BBS world, 286's were considered lame. You could understand someone being stuck on a 8086/8088:

I grew up during that time. In the late 80's, early 90's teenage BBS world, 286's were considered lame. You could understand someone being stuck on a 8086/8088: they couldn't afford to upgrade. But for a few more bucks, you could get a 386SX instead of a 286 and do way cooler stuff.