this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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Eternal September or the September that never ended is Usenet slang for a period beginning around 1993 when Internet service providers began offering Usenet access to many new users. The flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms. AOL followed with their Usenet gateway service in March 1994, leading to a constant stream of new users. Hence, from the early Usenet point of view, the influx of new users in September 1993 never ended.

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[–] Treczoks@kbin.social 36 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

In case you young whippersnappers have no clue what is so special about September:

Back then, the internet (and usenet, bitnet, talk) community had been nearly 100% academic. No idiots, no stupid loudmouths, no antivax moms, no politicians. Each September was an inflow of new students accessing the net for the first time, and it was up to the existing population to educate the newbies on things like netiquette and overall good behavior. People learned to use free and open services without abusing them. Back then, those newbies were usually quick to learn, so any problem arising from people who might cause issues usually was over within a few weeks.

Then, The Flood came. The Eternal September began. The time where AOL disks were so common that people used them as coasters. The Internet and all the services on it never were the same again. The existing netizens were no longer capable to educate new users on proper, civilized behavior, and usenet posts solely consisting of text like "me too" became common. It went downhill from there. Formerly open services closed up because of unmitigated abuse. One day, even lawyers invaded the net, ~~people~~ despicable things like Sanford Wallace, for example. You newbies today cannot imagine a time like it was before criminals like him invaded this space.

[–] MajorHavoc@lemmy.world 8 points 2 years ago

As part of the eternal September myself, we didn't just use AOL disks as coasters, we used them for awesome pranks like filling eachother's cars to the brim with them. It was truly astonishing how many of those disks were around.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Plenty of us here weren’t born yet when it started

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 11 points 2 years ago

Sometimes the downvotes are just baffling 🤷‍♂️

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The flood of new users overwhelmed the existing culture for online forums and the ability to enforce existing norms.

That's not really true, in hindsight.

The real problem was that the tools for enforcing existing norms and protecting forum culture didn't exist yet. Look around today, though, and you can certainly find forums and boards and other online spaces where a distinct culture exists and its norms are enforced.

[–] Bizarroland@kbin.social 3 points 2 years ago

I mean but it is also true in hindsight simply because it is human nature to become eventually disgruntled with change.

Even people who truly enjoy change would hate it if change stopped happening.

It's okay to let people have their nostalgia.

[–] not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Never was a cloudy day.

[–] samus12345@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I first started coming online in mid-1994, so I never experienced pre-Eternal September.

[–] doubletwist@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

It was difficult, but awesome.