# Anyone here do website design?



## Mommylisa (Jun 3, 2002)

I am a license private investigator specializing in genealogy research. I need a simple but professional website. Is anyone here interested in helping me or know of someone that would be?

Thanks


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## Leviathan (Dec 18, 2008)

I will check with my wife and see if she might be interested. She doesn't have official training, but is self-taught in HTML and has built a few websites for us on various endeavors. They always turned out clean and professional. When we have the money, we are going to enroll her in a degree program for web-design since the stuff we showed to the Art Institute of Pittsburg had them interested enough that the head of the program was calling her regularly to see how things were going for us. No promises though, she may not be feeling up to designing things right now.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

My son, David, does website design. You can visit his website to see examples of his work and then contact him if you wish. He is articulate, friendly and has reasonable rates.

http://www.midnightcoder.ca/


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

I also do web design.
So, looks like you have several to choose from! 
Feel free to PM me.


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## Mommylisa (Jun 3, 2002)

I have sent serveral PMs to those who have posted here.


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## gottahaveagoat (Jun 5, 2006)

This is a very good questions, I hope lots of people reply. I'm just starting up my own Travel Agency and I'm really needing a good resonable rate web page. I've done my own free one but would like some better choices.


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## Raynewolfe (Jan 6, 2009)

I have the skills and training. Been doing Pro sites since back in 97. Feel free to check out esitefolio.com for samples, prices and specials. Prices starting as low as $100/year. Always glad to offer advice too and your welcome to get ideas from the samples just please do not copy my work. I specialize in small business, farm & home and freelance entrepreneurs. I have done sites for Process servers, tattoo artists, church's, photographers, horse trainers, riding stables, dog kennels, mounted search and rescue and more. Good luck all!


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Raynewolfe said:


> I have the skills and training. *Been doing Pro **sites since back in 97*. Feel free to check out esitefolio.com for samples, prices and specials. Prices starting as low as $100/year. Always glad to offer advice too and your welcome to get ideas from the samples just please do not copy my work. I specialize in small business, farm & home and freelance entrepreneurs. I have done sites for Process servers, tattoo artists, church's, photographers, horse trainers, riding stables, dog kennels, mounted search and rescue and more. Good luck all!


This is interesting... you post as a 22 year old, and 2009 - 1997, is 12 years from a 22 year old.
A 10 year old doing Pro Sites. Very interesting.
Angie


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## Watcher48 (Aug 30, 2007)

AngieM2 said:


> This is interesting... you post as a 22 year old, and 2009 - 1997, is 12 years from a 22 year old.
> A 10 year old doing Pro Sites. Very interesting.
> Angie


The site doesn't come up either


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Mommylisa said:


> I am a license private investigator specializing in genealogy research. I need a simple but professional website. Is anyone here interested in helping me or know of someone that would be?
> 
> Thanks


You know, building a web site isn't rocket science. It's a good thing to know too. Every web site is really a work in progress, and if you know how to edit your own site you can help it evolve with time. Besides, where's your homesteader spirit? LOL

Start with a template. That's a pre-made website designed with the idea of allowing you to easily customize it to your specific needs. Most are inexpensive, and some are free. Just search at Google for web templates. You'll find lots.

I recently did web site for a local western folk singer. He wanted a country or western theme, but he didn't want it to look like the Hee-Haw TV show. He was looking for a dignified theme. I found this template for $2.95.

http://www.countrymanordesigns.com/lonesomecowboy.htm

Here is what it looked like after I customized to the singer's needs.

http://desertbreezenv.com/

The idea is to take advantage of the programming skills and artistic talents of professional web site builders at a modest price, while saving yourself a mountain of work.

There are also great open source applications for HTML editing and image editing. You'll need both to build a web page. I would recommend Kompozer for your HTML editor, and GimpShop for your image editor. Both are free for downloading.

If you need help, post your question in the computer forum. I check there a few times each day.


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## cc-rider (Jul 29, 2003)

You can even just design your own site using Microsoft Word!!! Save it as html, and then upload it to a hosting site. You can buy a domain name and get free hosting for as little as $10 a YEAR from places such as GoDaddy. For uploading, I use a free-ware version of WS-FTP (google it to download your own copy). Check out our band site for an example of this.... www.OldTimeDuo.com

So, for $10 a year, you can have your own domain name, website, and hosting!

CC


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

cc-rider said:


> You can even just design your own site using Microsoft Word!!! Save it as html, and then upload it to a hosting site.


I've tried that, and it works, but the HTML is extremely inefficient. The same font and carriage-control characters are repeated over and over. The HTML files become huge, for no really good reason. The editing view is also not what you actually see with IE or FireFox. While it will work, you are better off designing your web pages with Kompozer than with Word.



cc-rider said:


> For uploading, I use a free-ware version of WS-FTP (google it to download your own copy).


That's WS_FTP95LE. It works, and it has all the advanced features anyone would want, but it's not particularly stable with XP. There are other free FTP clients that are more friendly and stable. However, I still keep my old version of WS_FTP installed because I'm so familiar with it. But I wouldn't recommend starting with WS_FTP95LE in this day and age, since there are better free FTP solutions available.

For basic needs, someone who just wants to transfer files and won't be installing cgi scripts (that's most people), FTP Commander is a great free solution. It's very simple to operate.

If you are an advanced user, who needs to set UNIX file permissions for cgi scripts occasionally, FileZilla is the free FTP client you should be using.


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

Nevada, thanks for the hints! I like to "roll my own" and keep control, not depend on someone else to do it when and if they get time. Little typos not getting fixed drive me crazy. 

We are using JodoHost on the advice of a pro/friend. However I want to be able to move everything if necessary. 

Yes, everything is backed up multiple places and I did the domain name for five years.


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## Marie04 (Mar 3, 2008)

Microsoft Office worked great for the group I did it for... I'd highly recommend it.
http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/

(you can even sell from the site if you want to, for a fee)


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Personally, I prefer fireftp which is a Mozilla add on. Works beautifully, whether I am moving html, php or any other file I have zero problems. And it is very very simple to set up. Right now I can access all my websites and customers websites with 2 clicks. 
Highly recommend it!

Also, Dreamweaver is an awesome program to build websites in. I know it is pricey, but to get a professional product, don't skimp. If you build a brick and morter store, you wouldn't want someone to build it free, so why ask for a free website? 

It is hard to start a business, especially online. But you need to set your best foot forward and start with a professional, clean website (especially if it is e-commerce) and not start with something that has adds and freebie paraphernalia on it.
Please don't be offended if you have a freebie, I just hope to pass on how important it is to be professional. After all, if you want folks to pay for your product, you need to give them assurance and comfort that they can trust you. 
Also, don't be confused about the domain name vs the website building. Two different things. I recently had to help a friend who "bought her website" only to discover that she paid $65 for a domain name and cookie cutter website at $60 per month after that, and couldn't even edit the files.

Domain names are your *www.mysitename.com* Always always always be sure your domain name is registered in YOUR name, not the name of the person that registered it for you. (my first lesson was loosing a very important domain name that way!)
Web hosting is what someone does for you on their server so your *.com* has a place to exist in cyberspace. 
They can be rolled into one service, or each done on their own.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

mamajohnson said:


> Also, Dreamweaver is an awesome program to build websites in. I know it is pricey, but to get a professional product, don't skimp. If you build a brick and morter store, you wouldn't want someone to build it free, so why ask for a free website?


I started building web pages with the free Mozilla editor that came with Netscape, then migrated to Microsoft FrontPage. I prefer FrontPage to the Mozilla editor for a lot of reasons. I've also tried Dreamweaver, but I find it to be convoluted (all Adobe products seem convoluted to me). I suppose it's all in what you're accustomed to using.

Microsoft discontinued FrontPage in 2007. Office 2007 didn't ship with FrontPage, it shipped with Expression Web in its place. It's basically the same thing, and I have it installed, but I keep opening FrontPage for editing instead. Again, it's what I'm accustomed to using.

Kompozer looks and works very much like FrontPage. Even the advanced features, such as the split-screen view and FrontPage-style live publishing, are in Kompozer and work the same way. I'll tell you this for sure, if I didn't happen to have FrontPage & Expression Web in my machine from Office, I would be using Kompozer. I think it's terrific software.


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## PNP Katahdins (Oct 28, 2008)

Nevada, so far I've used Notepad, CoolPage, and took a DreamWeaver class years ago. Didn't like the last two. We had FrontPage at work but not on my machine so stayed with Notepad. I'm checking Kompozer out as we speak. Thanks!

Peg


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

PNP Katahdins said:


> Nevada, so far I've used Notepad, CoolPage, and took a DreamWeaver class years ago. Didn't like the last two. We had FrontPage at work but not on my machine so stayed with Notepad. I'm checking Kompozer out as we speak. Thanks!
> 
> Peg


Really, Notepad is fine for small code changes, but you can't see your layout as you create the page. A graphic html editor with an integral code editor is the only way to go.

With Kompozer, note the tabs at the bottom. that's how you switch to the different view modes.


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## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

I learned to code in notepad first, before ever using a program. 
I think it helped me learn more about how the coding builds pages.
In fact, I am teaching one of my Ds's to build webpages, and I made him start the same way. It is really good to help you understand _how_ things work, and why if you leave a_ >_ out that table is all messed up.


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## CustomDesign (Jan 9, 2009)

I've been using gEdit for creating webpages(Linux  ).
Sure, it may not be as easy as Dreamweaver, but it's free, and it works.
As far as domain names go, I recommend using namecheap. I got one for $8.81 from them that included free whoisprivacy and also included a free SSL(good for shopping sites).
You will also need webhosting(unless you want to host it yourself). The cost of this varies, but you can find it for < $10.

I'm willing to do your site for free, as before I really start my business I'd like to have 3 sites in my portfolio. If you want a domain name, I can help you with setting it up and give you the coupon I used to get mine at $8.81. I also offer webhosting at $7 a month with your first month free.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

CustomDesign said:


> I'm willing to do your site for free, as before I really start my business I'd like to have 3 sites in my portfolio.


You're going to go into the web page building business and you don't have 3 web sites for your portfolio?


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## CustomDesign (Jan 9, 2009)

Nevada said:


> You're going to go into the web page building business and you don't have 3 web sites for your portfolio?


Everyone has to start somewhere.


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## Raynewolfe (Jan 6, 2009)

AngieM2 said:


> This is interesting... you post as a 22 year old, and 2009 - 1997, is 12 years from a 22 year old.
> A 10 year old doing Pro Sites. Very interesting.
> Angie





Watcher48 said:


> The site doesn't come up either


Yup, I am one of the modern generation wiz kids. There are a lot of us. I went to elementary, middle and highschools for math, science and technology from the get go. In junior high I was taking Junior and senior highschool science and computer classes and in highschool I was earning college credits. My parents bought me my first top of the line computer the week they came out to use with my classes and I hit the ground running ever sense. It is hard to believe at first but thats why I have the references that dont mind answering phone calls on my behalf. My first jobs were for the schools I attended and being paid is the requirement for a job to be considered pro. My first paid website (though only $75) was when I was almost 11. Back then I used programs and my own design skills for most of the work. Now the majority of my work is nearly all hand coded. I also work with PHP and e commerce. I proffer to do simple designs these days that will load for people still on dialup and be easy to navigate. The website again should be http://www.esitefolio.biz/ Thanks.

Here are a few fully functioning sites that I created and maintain also. Again they are copy written so please using for ideas are fine but no copying. Thanks.

Brindle Horse Registry: http://www.americanbrindleequineassociation.com/

Potosi MO Masonic Lodge: http://www.mofreemason.com/potosi131/

Silversmith/Leathersmith's Portfolio: http://www.gnomeworks.biz/


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## Raynewolfe (Jan 6, 2009)

Sorry again for the typo everyone. I am so used to .com lately... my portfolio is http://www.esitefolio.biz/ not .com. Thanks.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

CustomDesign said:


> Everyone has to start somewhere.


That's fine, and I wish you all the luck in the world. Really! 

It just kinda reminded me of a newsgroup concerning search engine optimization (SEO) that I used to be a regular contributor to. One day I guy showed up in the newsgroup and announced that he was thinking of starting his own SEO consulting firm. His question was; how do you optimize web pages for search engines? 

:stars:


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## Kim_NC (Sep 5, 2007)

My portfolio page:
EyerStation, Inc - web design

I do graphics design and write HTML, DHTML, Javascript, Cold Fusion, and SQL. My program of choice is Dreamweaver. Of course, I write in Notepad as well.

DH & I sell online, as do several of our website clients.

I'm not looking for any work right now. Just wanted to share....and to agree with Mama Johnson about recommending Dreamweaver.


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## CustomDesign (Jan 9, 2009)

Nevada said:


> That's fine, and I wish you all the luck in the world. Really!
> 
> It just kinda reminded me of a newsgroup concerning search engine optimization (SEO) that I used to be a regular contributor to. One day I guy showed up in the newsgroup and announced that he was thinking of starting his own SEO consulting firm. His question was; how do you optimize web pages for search engines?
> 
> :stars:


Thanks. By the way have any of you tried python for online programming?


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## mustangsmiley (Dec 28, 2007)

This is our website
www.bluemoonspanishmustangs.com
My friend Kim is a webmaster and does a great job. If you are interested in seeing some more of her work please let me know. I can put you in touch wiht her.
She is a great person and does a fantastic job and is very professional and very reasonable.


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## Raynewolfe (Jan 6, 2009)

Dreamweaver is a great tool as many have suggested, however it can be a challenge for those without experience. You should be able to download a free trial copy from http://www.downloads.com before you commit to buy. You may also want to consider building in http://www.freewebs.com as it is free and has fill in the blank type templates. For a small amount of cash you can buy your own domain name and not have banners on your site. Just a thought.


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## lharvey (Jul 1, 2003)

I use python all the time for a couple of Intranet sites I maintain and I have a couple of customers who host on my servers that use python.

Lee


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## catrel (Dec 8, 2008)

Mommylisa said:


> I am a license private investigator specializing in genealogy research. I need a simple but professional website. Is anyone here interested in helping me or know of someone that would be?
> 
> Thanks


Hello Lisa,
I am Kim, mentioned below by Mustangsmiley. I have been a registered member but unable to post much, altho I do read the posts. I built and maintain their Blue Moon site, as well as a couple other sites currently. I also have experience in genealogy research, having researched mine for 10+ years. Please see my site at White Wolf Enterprises. Please contact me privately for more details or information.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

AngieM2 said:


> This is interesting... you post as a 22 year old, and 2009 - 1997, is 12 years from a 22 year old.
> A 10 year old doing Pro Sites. Very interesting.
> Angie


My kid brother started at 14. That was in '92, so the web was still _very_ young. If it had been a few years older, I have no doubt he would have started younger...

He's an administrator for Google these days...


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

ErinP said:


> My kid brother started at 14. That was in '92, so the web was still _very_ young. If it had been a few years older, I have no doubt he would have started younger...
> 
> He's an administrator for Google these days...


While there were a few introductory web browsers around in the early 1990s (such a Mosaic) Netscape wasn't released until 1994, and the first IE wasn't around until 1995. Prior to Netscape & IE, nobody really looked at web pages.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Nope. 
But web design was already beginning. 
(And I remember being online before browsers, but I can't remember what we _used_!)

I vividly remember the day he showed me this "new world wide web" thing, though. I was home from college my freshman year (in the fall of '92). 

"Check out what i can do with it!" 
Our highschool (where he was tech support) was one of the first in Nebraska to have a web page. lol


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

ErinP said:


> Nope.
> But web design was already beginning.
> (And I remember being online before browsers, but I can't remember what we _used_!)
> 
> ...


The Internet did exist, but around 1992 was the first most of us could get access to it. In the 1980s a lot of us were members of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Those were command-line based systems (text only) using modem terminal software. You could email and chat with other members of the BBS, and they normally had a library of downloadable software.

Eventually the BBSs were able to intercommunicate email with each other, using a system called FidoNet, although they weren't connected to FidoNet persistently. They would connect, send & receive mail, then hang up. That allowed members of one BBS to send email to a member of another BBS. In the later years of BBSs we could send email to any Internet email address.

The only graphics we would see were images made by using ASCII characters. Something like this was not uncommon.










The problem with the BBS days was that most people weren't going to fool with it unless it was graphic and point & click. Therefore, BBSs weren't a good way to communicate with anyone except computer hobbyists. Also, due to the intermittent connection capabilities of FidoNet, it normally took a day or two for email to reach another BBS.

Here's a clip with people talking about the old BBS days.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A85RJMhB8_s[/ame]


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Nevada - I remember those days. The dial up BBS Prodigy, and a boat anchor computer that was given to me.

at work went from sys admin Unix classes and a big deal of connection to a weather map, and a terminal server to the first Internet uses in business, to Netscape and beyond. 

Now, I wonder how work got done without email, heck faxes are use seldom in the work world around me.

Angie


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

AngieM2 said:


> Nevada - I remember those days. The dial up BBS Prodigy, and a boat anchor computer that was given to me.


I really got into it in 1986 when I got my IBM-XT. With 640K of memory, a color monitor, and a 30 mb hard drive, I was ready to take on the world. I thought I was really hot with my 1200 baud modem. But back in those days we were completely confined to the BBS. There was no intercommunication to other systems.

There were practical uses for BBS software though. Computer hardware manufacturers often used BBS server software as a repository for downloadable software drivers.


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## Birchbark (Apr 3, 2008)

WOW good thing Al Gore came along and invented the Internet. What a good idea. Someone should give that man a prize.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Birchbark said:


> WOW good thing Al Gore came along and invented the Internet. What a good idea. Someone should give that man a prize.


Actually, Gore said he saved the Internet, not invented it.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I belonged to several college-based BBSs. Mine, of course, was too small to have one of its own, though.
My brother was a SysOp for a couple. One was Rutgers, and the other somewhere in Missouri(?) I can't recall that one...
My handle was itsMeFred. lol 
(I'm still itsMeFred in some communites...)


Boy, you're really bringing the stuff back, Nevada. 

BTW: _I_ only frequented BBSs until the fall of '93 (when I got a boyfriend and suddenly had better things to do than hang out in the lab.)


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## Birchbark (Apr 3, 2008)

Wolf Blitzer CNNs' Late Edition March 1999 "During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."

Sorry, my bad, he "created" the internet. Guess we were both wrong. 

and i was jokeing of course


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## wvstuck (Sep 19, 2008)

WOW! Trip down memory lane... Anyone ever loose a gopher? And I still use Usenet just about everyday. Man I can remember what I felt the first time I saw a "real" picture on a Website, That was the day I decided to become a website designer (or builder I think we called it then) I played with some HTML and decided I would go to college and learn this stuff for real... After being laughed at by every college and university within a reasonable distance to me (Get a real job, the Internet is not a job, I think that's what they all told me...LOL) The the chat programs like FREETEL and eventually AOL came along (AOL$9.95 dialup a month for 2 hours of access)

Anyway I became a master of HTML and amazed my friends, eventually moving to graphic design and later SQL, finally landing on PHP and MySQL with some CSS, HTML and a few other acronyms.... Then I burned out and left the business 10 years later.

Thanks for the memories from the past, the non-commercial Internet was a blast while it lasted


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## clovis (May 13, 2002)

Nevada said:


> The Internet did exist, but around 1992 was the first most of us could get access to it. In the 1980s a lot of us were members of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Those were command-line based systems (text only) using modem terminal software. You could email and chat with other members of the BBS, and they normally had a library of downloadable software.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A85RJMhB8_s


It is kind of funny you bring this up.

Really, it makes me sad when I think about it.

I think sometime in early '93, I met a gal who took me to a party. We got there, and the husband of the hostess was talking about a service that he could get on his computer.

I cannot, for the life of me, remember what he refered to it as. The internet? Information Superhighway?

Anyway, he talked about a 'bulletin board' where you read what other people had written. I was dumbfounded, and to be honest, just plain dumb about the whole thing.

"Why would you ever want to sit and read what someone had written?" I kept asking myself. And my simple brain could not wrap around the idea that the bulletin board was virtual, and not physical. "And this information comes through your phone line???" Unconcievable to me at that time. 

He actually invited me back to experience it first hand, but since I had just met him, and was 60 miles away, and long distance(!), I never took him up on his offer.

I look back now and realize that when a few of my college friends insisted "this is going to be HUGE if Congress ever lets it happen", I know they were right.

How is that for an "early internet days" story?

Clove


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