My first introduction to the Internet was circa 1998, by way of an Acer Aspire very similar (if not identical, it’s been 25 years and the memory has faded) to this: https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-a1x7hg2jgk/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/22921/129379/acer-aspire-7121-pentium-2-400mhz-256-mb-8.6gb-cd-rw-desktop-com-1.27__54621.1490192556.jpg?c=2
When I first got to spend time on that machine (it was shared with the rest of the family, so time was limited) I was immediately drawn to the open web and how I could (in my own small way) be a part of something very new and incredibly big.
I created a website, hosted on members.xoom.com (I don’t remember why not geocities, I just remember that there was a reason at the time). I met (and made friends) with people in countries around the world, and I was fascinated that in any direction I turned to look for anything, there seemed to be a niche community fervently dedicated to that special interest and each other.
It felt like one huge counter-culture. I’ve watched documentaries of the 60’s and I inherently get what people were saying in terms of one needing to have been there, then.