@elrainia@lemmy.world describes working on internet infrastructure back in the 1990s. This was on one of those "drive by" AskLemmys where a new user posts a juicy question, then after a couple hours they delete the topic and their account. However, those posts and comments are still visible in Piefed, ex: https://piefed.social/post/1733969#comment_9969293
I was playing with several local BBSs back in the early 90s (Fidonet!!) but got on the internet around '93. It was a much more fun place to be. Definitely not corporate. For me, I'd say the inflection point was when AOL let its users loose with web access. The never ending fall. There was a natural selection typ filter in getting on-line before then - you have to have technical know-how or be in a university where access was provided. Usenet and IRC were awesome. I seriously miss the feel of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
Kinda like the Fediverse, huh?