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Did it have any interesting features that are not available in today's products?

by esafak 2y ago

kennywinker 2y ago
I’d say it’s main feature was linking file sharing to community. Napster and the clones that followed it were efficient ways to move files around, but you didn’t get to (or have to) chat with people about their music collections while you did it - if i recall right, often servers were run as take a file leave a file, so if you had something good to exchange that was social capital
- esafak 2y ago
  Thanks for sharing. Such rules (ul/dl ratios) have existed since the BBS era.
- Mainsail 2y ago
  I may be making this up, but I seem to recall a chat feature on one of Napster, Limewire, or Kazaa.
  - ghotli 2y ago
    Soulseek is likely the one you're remembering. I remember talking to people with similar collections of music. Hotline was my primary passion for quite some time but soulseek had a longer run of utility in my childhood on the nascent web.
- bradly 2y ago
  > if i recall right, often servers were run as take a file leave a file, so if you had something good to exchange that was social capital Often there was a requests directory in the top level with you would need to upload a requested album/program in order to get access to the entire server. There was also banner clicking to get a password, but that never worked tbh.
- informal007 2y ago
  It's like local Google Drive.
yoshamano 2y ago
Kind of. It was kind of like a community in a box. The server and client software were dead simple to use and could be run off of a potato. You would get a message board, live chat, and file sharing all in one package. Servers could be advertised on a Tracker that could be queried from within the client. I was a Windows and BeOS user at the time and spent a fair amount of time bumming around anime and music themed servers. Also ran into one or two servers with big "Coast To Coast AM" vibes. Fun times.
- iwontberude 2y ago
  It was a BBS with a GUI
amatecha 2y ago
It was very much a "TCP/IP BBS". One unique feature was the "tracker", on which you could list your server. You could browse the servers, hop onto one (as long as guest access was on, or they'd have a login/pass in the server description), and there would be a user list, a chat window, a Files window, and a News window. Usually there would be people actively in discussion in the Chat. Indeed, many places require that you upload one of the "requests" to get an account with download privs. Others allowed guest download, but that became more rare over time. Each server had its own vibe/community. There was an easter egg where you could press Ctrl-F12 and type in a "command" into the text entry box. These would unlock some special hidden functionality like changing your icon to one only available via that command (presumably for the devs of the software so they could have an exclusive user icon), or encipher your chat messages with a basic offset-substitution cipher. There were others that would restrict your chat to only saying "oink!" and turning your icon into a pig -- this was used as a prank to use on people "Hey dude if you press Ctrl-F12 and type fuelharp you'll get secret admin access!" (only to have them turn into a pig) :) Another Ctrl-F12 command would report your upload/download ratio into the chat - either a fun way to brag about your good ratio, or a good one to bait perennial leeches into typing so they'd inadvertantly reveal their pesky leeching ways! Anyway, all in all a really fun place for a few years where it was "the" online destination for Mac users. I spent an ungodly amount of hours on there (and still hop on pretty often). :)
- esafak 2y ago
  I wonder if that's how oink's pink palace got its name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oink%27s_Pink_Palace https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oink%27s_Pink_Palace
tonymet 2y ago
Vibes. Mac culture in the 90s was reactionary and distinct from PC culture. Remember the “I’m a Mac – I’m a PC “ commercials? Those were downstream of the Mac user culture.

Did it have any interesting features that are not available in today's products?

by esafak 2y ago

Did it have any interesting features that are not available in today's products?

I’d say it’s main feature was linking file sharing to community. Napster and the clones that followed it were efficient ways to move files around, but you didn’t get to (or have to) chat with people about their music collections while you did it - if i recall right, often servers were run as take a file leave a file, so if you had something good to exchange that was social capital

esafak 2y ago
Thanks for sharing. Such rules (ul/dl ratios) have existed since the BBS era.
Mainsail 2y ago
I may be making this up, but I seem to recall a chat feature on one of Napster, Limewire, or Kazaa.
- ghotli 2y ago
  Soulseek is likely the one you're remembering. I remember talking to people with similar collections of music. Hotline was my primary passion for quite some time but soulseek had a longer run of utility in my childhood on the nascent web.
bradly 2y ago
> if i recall right, often servers were run as take a file leave a file, so if you had something good to exchange that was social capital Often there was a requests directory in the top level with you would need to upload a requested album/program in order to get access to the entire server. There was also banner clicking to get a password, but that never worked tbh.
informal007 2y ago
It's like local Google Drive.

yoshamano 2y ago

Kind of. It was kind of like a community in a box. The server and client software were dead simple to use and could be run off of a potato. You would get a message board, live chat, and file sharing all in one package. Servers could be advertised on a Tracker that could be queried from within the client. I was a Windows and BeOS user at the time and spent a fair amount of time bumming around anime and music themed servers. Also ran into one or two servers with big "Coast To Coast AM" vibes. Fun times.

iwontberude 2y ago
It was a BBS with a GUI

amatecha 2y ago

It was very much a "TCP/IP BBS". One unique feature was the "tracker", on which you could list your server. You could browse the servers, hop onto one (as long as guest access was on, or they'd have a login/pass in the server description), and there would be a user list, a chat window, a Files window, and a News window. Usually there would be people actively in discussion in the Chat. Indeed, many places require that you upload one of the "requests" to get an account with download privs. Others allowed guest download, but that became more rare over time. Each server had its own vibe/community. There was an easter egg where you could press Ctrl-F12 and type in a "command" into the text entry box. These would unlock some special hidden functionality like changing your icon to one only available via that command (presumably for the devs of the software so they could have an exclusive user icon), or encipher your chat messages with a basic offset-substitution cipher. There were others that would restrict your chat to only saying "oink!" and turning your icon into a pig -- this was used as a prank to use on people "Hey dude if you press Ctrl-F12 and type fuelharp you'll get secret admin access!" (only to have them turn into a pig) :) Another Ctrl-F12 command would report your upload/download ratio into the chat - either a fun way to brag about your good ratio, or a good one to bait perennial leeches into typing so they'd inadvertantly reveal their pesky leeching ways! Anyway, all in all a really fun place for a few years where it was "the" online destination for Mac users. I spent an ungodly amount of hours on there (and still hop on pretty often). :)

esafak 2y ago
I wonder if that's how oink's pink palace got its name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oink%27s_Pink_Palace https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oink%27s_Pink_Palace

tonymet 2y ago

Vibes. Mac culture in the 90s was reactionary and distinct from PC culture. Remember the “I’m a Mac – I’m a PC “ commercials? Those were downstream of the Mac user culture.