Millennials - can you remember this?

[Creu]

I was watching a TikTok earlier where someone was talking about chat rooms in the early noughties. I'd completely forgotten about the amount of time I spent on these pre-MSN messenger & The Sims.

I'm trying to remember the name of a specific one and I can't and it's really bothering me!

Every time someone logged in they could chose a new name. I think it had a black screen and you chose your font and font colour. There was a main board that people got kicked out for 'flooding' (posting too many messages in a row). The names of everyone in the chat room were on the right hand side of the screen and you clicked on their name to message them. I think swearing was banned.

Something like worldwidechat?

Yes I remember those. I think Discord has basically replaced the old style chatrooms.

They were all a bit like that. There was IRC which felt a bit like something hackers would use as it was all very basic format, and had loads of spin off channels. You had to download the programme to use it.

This was distinctly a website rather than something which needed to be downloaded.

It felt a bit more like something online groomers would use than hackers!

MSN Messenger was my first. I remember being completely wowed that I could type instant messages on a computer to friends I'd just been with in real life 😆

Gosh, I’d forgotten about chat rooms!

A/S/L? 😁

Don't remember the name of the chat boards but I remember all the a/s/l as a young teenager in private chats and lots of pop up porn ads - so so dodgy looking back!

MSN messenger

Unfortunately, there were lots of paedophile on it and it was shut down.

OP I so remember this with black background and coloured font! No idea of the website though. Pre MSN messenger days I think (just)

I'm sure there was one called twenty chat and remember some very dodgy chats!

Haha! Followed swiftly by “bra size?” They were a perverts paradise.

I met my first boyfriend on one of those chat rooms, the e ones that could get past the school filters! I seem to remember it was called the Irish pub chat room or something?!?

Paltalk used to be like this!

Chat roulette
Fun times!

mIRC

Icq?

Anybody remember the Lycos chat rooms? They had that rat and the shop? And there was a room where you could swear and insult the rat.

AOL ones?

I’m at the upper age end for a millennial (borderline Gen X) and I was on a very early chat room in about 1996. One run by Compuserve if anyone remembers that. There weren’t that many people who had the internet and it was all at dial up speed so it wasn’t very busy 😂

Yes MSN messenger was rife with sexual predators. I was about 13 when I was using it and looking back now some of the messages were horrific. I had men telling me to get on the bus to London to meet them. I used to just think they were funny and laugh with my friends at the disgusting things they talked about doing but now I can see how dangerous it was.

Penis roulette 99% of the time!

Anyone remember Face Party?

Ahhh! What was it called though?!

Oh! Yes, I remember that one (I think).

I remember Lycos chat rooms, they were themed like 'the swab deck'

These places were rife with nutters!

A/S/L???!!!! ROFLCOPTERBBQIIRC

Chat Roulette was quite a bit later, like 2007-8 wasn’t it? Basically a roulette of tiny cocks and teenagers getting pissed up.