Fidonet: Technology, Use, Tools, and History

An old write-up about FidoNet — a giant pre-web message and mail network built on home phone lines — has sent commenters straight into full nostalgia mode. The article itself is a history lesson: back in the 1980s and early 1990s, thousands of hobbyists used computers and modems to swap messages overnight, with each machine passing mail along like a digital relay race. It was cheap, scrappy, global, and somehow held together by regular people paying their own phone bills. Honestly? The comments are treating it less like a document and more like a time machine.

The strongest reaction is pure "kids today will never know" energy. One former hub admin practically sighed into the thread about the glory days of bulletin board systems, while another commenter proudly declared, "This is how I grew up." But there’s also a deliciously stern old-school flex running through the discussion: getting onto FidoNet, one user said, meant earning it. You had to set things up yourself, prove you were ready, and only then get a number — no easy signup button, no hand-holding, no mercy. That vibe alone sparked the biggest unspoken culture clash in the room: was old tech better because it was harder, or are people just romanticizing suffering with a modem soundtrack?

And then came the funniest mic-drop of all: one commenter simply posted "(1993)" like a deadpan reminder that yes, this whole thing is vintage enough to need emotional support. Plot twist: another user says FidoNet and related communities are still alive, which turns the whole thread from retro scrapbook into surprise sequel.