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Original poster

Millennials - can you remember this?

172 replies

Creu · 21/02/2024 20:16

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?

OP posts:
Etherealcelestialbeing · 21/02/2024 22:00

Oh god what a blast from the past Grin

Habbo hotel was great! Anyone remember Club Penguin which I seem to remember was similar?!

I have to thank MSN messenger for allowing me to stay in contact with my first uni boyfriend over summer break. He's now my DH.

LollipopViolet · 21/02/2024 22:01

Oh lord, the AOL chat rooms! I was about 11 when they were big and they had them grouped by age, so I think it was 10-11, 12-15, 15-17 and 18+. I was always supervised but...

The thought of that now is utterly terrifying!

Irisrosedaisy · 21/02/2024 22:01

Oh yes

ASL
Wat u wearing
Bra size

Lovely 😂

BarberellaWife · 21/02/2024 22:02

Bebo!

monicagellerbing · 21/02/2024 22:05

I met my now husband in an MSN chat room using good old dial up internet! 23 years ago!

spirol · 21/02/2024 22:06

I used to go on one called ‘cafe chat’ in the late 90s/ early 2000s.

Original poster
Creu · 21/02/2024 22:06

I'm impressed so many people met their DH's in these cesspit chat rooms. I didn't realise while I was getting groomed others were meeting the loves of their life! 🤣

OP posts:
eandz13 · 21/02/2024 22:06

@Etherealcelestialbeing I remember Club Penguin!

monicagellerbing · 21/02/2024 22:08

@Creu I was 17 when I first started in the chat rooms so far too old for the paedos!

queenmeadhbh · 21/02/2024 22:12

I remember one nearly exactly like this and it was a Napster chat room. Download illegal music and chat to some strangers who were probably child abusers, ah, those were the days! 🥴

thenightsky · 21/02/2024 22:13

I remember one called Breathe, but I think there were different sub sections within that. This was back in dial up days.

Woodyandbuzz1 · 21/02/2024 22:13

Rantypanties · 21/02/2024 20:30

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?!?

I remember the Irish pub one!!

Original poster
Creu · 21/02/2024 22:14

@monicagellerbing ah, makes sense. I was about 12.

OP posts:
Original poster
Creu · 21/02/2024 22:16

thenightsky · 21/02/2024 22:13

I remember one called Breathe, but I think there were different sub sections within that. This was back in dial up days.

This chat room was definitely in the dial up days. I think it was 2000-2002 (ish)

OP posts:
itshappened · 21/02/2024 22:19

BertieBotts · 21/02/2024 21:50

We used to go on the Yahoo adult chat rooms at about 13 😬😬😬

I was convinced it was just horny teenage boys on there who were also 13 and pretending to be adults but they were probably all adult pervy men weren't they 🙈 My friend used to do this fake husky voice on mic for them. We thought it was hysterical.

The weirdest thing is that my friend whose computer we used to do this on did it on her own too and ended up having quite a long lasting relationship with one of the blokes, at first online and then they used to meet up. She was 15 and he was 25. He was quite socially awkward, not actually predatory (apart from the age gap) and probably genuinely didn't get on with women his own age but we thought it was totally creepy and wrong. I am still really shocked her mum was fine with him coming over and let him stay in her room etc.

I also had a friend who at 15 met a very unattractive 25 year old bloke in a chat room. They actually went out for years but I thought the age gap was disgusting and was also shocked her mum let him stay in her room!

twobluechickens · 21/02/2024 22:26

I vaguely recall Lycos but I used to spend hours sexting a fling on MSN Messenger when I should have been working 😬

That would have been around 2001 or so. Makes me feel ancient! I was also on UK-Dance but I think that was a mailing list rather than a chat room, at least early on.

BertieBotts · 21/02/2024 22:26

I wonder if we knew the same person or if it happened more often than I was aware of!

Thinking about it I got chatting with now DH who I knew from school on MSN messenger too. He had dropped out of uni and was working nights in a hotel, while I was up with a small child who thought sleep was for the hours of 3am-10am only.

mondayfun · 21/02/2024 22:29

Creu · 21/02/2024 20:16

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?

UKChatterbox you picked a name every time

Supanet also had a decent form too

Chocochoo · 21/02/2024 22:37

KindleGirlie · 21/02/2024 21:48

Okay but who remembers Girland?

YEEEEEEEES! Spent hours and hours on Girland.

mondayfun · 21/02/2024 22:40

Yes I remember 'flooding' it was automatic 🥾 boot! When in general it would say MONDAYFun removed for flooding ha! And mods would warn you when you logged back in

WimbyAce · 21/02/2024 22:42

I used to go on AOL chat rooms and then Love at Lycos 😅 Those were the days 😆

elm26 · 21/02/2024 22:44

Oh my god I lived for MSN, limewire, bebo and habbo hotel I think it was called!

I was born in 93, so this must have been like 2004/2005 I was using these!

elm26 · 21/02/2024 22:46

BertieBotts · 21/02/2024 21:52

What about Habbo Hotel? I was desperate to get credits on there to buy stupid pixelated furniture and post-it notes??? My mum sensibly wouldn't let me. Friend of the yahoo chat room fame got credits on their fairly regularly and I was so jealous. It had a built in swear filter so all swear words got replaced with "bobba" so you'd constantly have pervs asking you "Wanna bobba? Private room?"

Oh my god yes! And they'd have rooms like fashion shows you could enter etc! Loved it!

YukoandHiro · 21/02/2024 22:47

I spent hours on the AOL punk and ska chatroom. Amazing.

YukoandHiro · 21/02/2024 22:49

minipie · 21/02/2024 20:36

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 😂

Compuserve!

There's a word I haven't heard in a very long time

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