I'm probably, like you, part of the "older grognards" compared to the piece's author, but I would venture the idea that 2000 is still "pre-web" for the general

I'm probably, like you, part of the "older grognards" compared to the piece's author, but I would venture the idea that 2000 is still "pre-web" for the general public. I think most of the general public don't remember a web pre-YouTube (2006) or pre-Facebook (2008-2009). So I think for most, "pre-internet" is not "right when Google came out as Yahoo's search partner" but closer to "right when I created my first public online profile".