The footnote on a notice board of a decaying tin Chapel prompted this post. It led me down a path of remembering a time when the internet felt like a relatively wholesome and fun place to hang out. A place where people generally respected each other and there was a sense of ‘community’, rather than the ‘angry mobs’ that seem to roam the digital wastelands today.

Ahhh… I love the smell of nostalgia.

Eternal September. I’m unearthing some ancient (internet) history here, right back to 1993.

Before September 1993 the internet was somewhere for IT professionals and enthusiastic amateurs. To join in you had to put in some effort and know what you were doing to get the rewards.

People would gather around specific topics through discussion groups and message boards. Have a look at this Reddit thread to get a sense of how things once were.

The ‘September’ problem related to an issue where every September (prior to 1993) a new cohort of people would gain access to the internet and cause disruption. These were typically people entering university, who didn’t know the protocols, etiquette or generally how to behave on line.

Things mentioned (in the historical record) detail the quality of posts on message boards deteriorating and poor behaviour such as ‘flaming’. Saying derogatory or inflammatory things. We might call that ‘trolling’ nowadays, something that has become common and widespread behaviour.

Anyway, the good news is that the newbies were in the minority. Through a process of education, influence and moderation they learnt how to behave properly and follow etiquette.

However, everything changed in September 1993 when the main internet access provider AOL (America On Line) opened up access to everyone. And everything changed forever. It was Eternal September, an internet of lots of people who didn’t know how to behave properly.

There are obviously different viewpoints on this, but to get the gist have a look at the Wikipedia Eternal September entry, and follow a few of the links.

Remembering Mount Zion English Baptist Church 1923 -2009. You might be aware that one of my interests is photographing the corrugated metal buildings that used to be common in Wales? A bit niche, but I’ve tried to justify my interest in this Tin Sheds post, with the pictures.

Anyway, I was taking pictures of Carmel (English Congregational Church) Tin Tabernacle this week when the “remembering Mount Zion” epitaph grabbed my attention. You can’t say that and not expect someone (like me) to ask what? and why?

I was about to delve into a search of historic maps of the area (thank you National Library of Scotland maps – one of the truly great things on the internet).

However, a quick search turned up a reference on geograph. This is a website where people post their pictures of something that is ‘representative’ of every 1km grid square of Great Britain and Ireland. It’s been going since 2005 and is still very much active. People share pictures under a creative commons licence, which feels like how the ‘old’ internet used to be.

Keeping the internet fun. It’s a while since I looked at the geograph site. The experience reminded me of how things used to be, how they might be and how much enjoyment (and fun) is possible.

I think where this is going is that I need to be more conscious in my choices around how I interact with things online. If you take the view that the internet is a ‘common resource’, it’s up to us as users of the ‘common’ to treat it with respect and behave responsibly.

But how we might do that is a huge question that lots of people smarter than me are thinking about. I’ll just stick to the things I can control and do, for the moment. Like taking pictures of vulnerable tin sheds and posting them on my blog. Oh, and having sensible, well behaved conversations with anyone who want’s to engage in the comments section.

So, What’s the PONT?

1. Things always change, and the internet probably changes faster that most. So my nostalgia is fairly pointless.
2. But, not all change is for the good. Eternal September ushered in a change in behaviour that has amplified bad behaviours and pushed polarization to the point where it feels like an internet of ‘angry mobs’.
3. It’s all a choice though. So, I’ve decided to chose carefully what I interact with and where I hang out online.

Here’s some more Tin Tabernacle pictures of Carmel in Trebanog, while it’s still standing!