I’m just a wee baby compared to that, but there are four things I distinctly remember from my dial-up period (2000 to 2004):
- My modems only connecting at 42kbps due to my crappy telephone line.
- My first modem randomly disconnecting because it was an unreliable piece of ****.
- Having lists of “call-by-call” dial-up providers and selecting the cheapest among them depending on what time of day it was.
- My parents complaining when they wanted to use the phone.
Good times.
I had my own phone line around 17 I think. That would be 1987-1988. That pretty much eliminated any conflict with calling out and allowed me to run my BBS 24/7. Of course, I lived in the boonies so it didn't see a lot of calls…and I only had one line.
That said, because of it, I got to know four high school kids in 1992 (I would have been 21) that collectively we started a gaming group (AD&D at first) that lasted for three years.
I made a hand-written list of favorite BBS numbers. A lot of them advertised either in computer magazines or on the BBSes I called in to.
In high school I had a Hayes 1200 which was one of the top of the line modems you could get at the time. Paid $100 for it in $10 monthly installments to another SysOp who was selling it (because he had gotten US Robotics 14.4k modems).
1984 to around 1998 was a great time period for me. No major bills, not a lot of responsibility, my own transportation and pocket money. Then I got married, moved out and had to pay my own bills, LOL!