I Miss Chat Rooms
Strong_Shield_27137522The turn of the millennium saw the emergence of the first widely available chatroom services. For many, the idea of talking to strangers on the creation of chatrooms was a scary idea. But for others, the idea of being able to engage in conversations from the comfort of their own homes revolutionized the way in which people communicate with each other. It was during this time that the three major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – AOL, CIS, and Prodigy – launched their own chatroom services.
Each of the three ISPs had its own unique take on the chatroom experience. AOL, the undisputed market leader, offered a wide variety of chatrooms with topics ranging from sports to politics to entertainment. They also offered an Instant Messenger (AIM) service to make communicatin even easier. Though they had a user base in the millions, they faced stiff competition from their rivals.
CompuServe (CIS) and Prodigy were two smaller ISPs that also offered their own chatroom services. CompuServe had several thousands of chatrooms and also allowed access to various bulletin boards and forums. Prodigy was much smaller – only offering a few dozen chatrooms – but their main selling point was that their rooms were always kept clean and moderated well.
Today, all three of these icons of the early internet have either gone out of business or been taken over by other companies. The prevalence of social media sites and apps coupled with the advent of broadband internet effectively killed the market for the big three ISPs’ chatroom services. For many loyal users, the disappearance of these chatrooms has been a great loss.
For many people, the chatrooms offered by AOL, CIS, and Prodigy served as places to find people who shared their interests and to engage in thought-provoking conversations. It was a way to form connections with people all over the world and to bring a sense of community to those who did not have any.
In the modern day and age, many people still miss the good old days when chatrooms were a pervasive part of the internet landscape. Though there are still chatrooms available today, they lack the character and charm of the services provided by the big three ISPs. Many of the users of those services have moved on to other, more modern chatroom platforms, but they all still have fond memories of the times spent in their beloved chatrooms, and nostalgia for the simpler days when all we had were our words and our imaginations to create the conversations of the future.