MetaFilter

What's the deal with your nickname? How did you get it? If your nickname is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started using the internet, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this isn't just a place for freaks after all?" Was it a website? Was it an email from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it.

I remember hearing about Mosaic, and thinking, "that sounds boring, like something for businesses to sell with." Then a friend who worked in IT showed me Netscape and I was like "oh, that is so cool!" All this access. I think the thing that got me going was the idea of libraries, universities (or anyone devoted to something), laying text and images out for people to investigate. Because that's what it's about, right? Investigation. I think people still learn via the web, following their curiosity.That isn't the only way to learn, certainly, but it's a powerful one and one that the web has done a lot to support.