Well, it's the end of the school year and I feel like looking back on my Internet life. Most of you people out there probably won't care, but I just felt like doing this.

The Beginning: It started back when my dad brought home some internet package and popped it into the computer. We only had one phoneline, so my time was really limited. The only thing I used was Netscape...I wandered around the web, always amazed at how much was out there. Then I discovered Webchat, and needed a second phone line. I became a 'regular' on the Webchat main hallway (there was only one back then), and I was happy for a while. Then I started to hear little conversations about something called "IRC". IRC was a wonderful place where you could just type something, press enter, and it showed up to everyone in the channel. I wished I could have this "IRC", but I had no idea how. As Webchat got more and more crowded and I realized how slow it was, I did some research and downloaded something called "WSIRC".

The Middle: I said bye to my friends on Webchat and migrated to IRC. I wandered channels, and never really got to know anybody. Eventually I wandered into #doom and hung out there for a while, until all the hype about Quake caused all the #doom people to move to #quake. I made #quake my home for a while, but still never really got to know anyone. #quake is kind like The Bad Part Of Town...lots of swearing and lying...most of the people weren't that friendly, but it was still a fun place and I called it Home for a while. It was also during this time that I downloaded a bunch of other chat things such as Worlds Chat, PowWow, and Internet Phone. I had many fun adventures during this time. I met famous people like John Romero of Id Software, Brian Raffel of Raven Software, The Barenaked Ladies, 13 Engines, and more.

The Homepage (part 1): While hanging out at various chat things, I came across a place called "geocities" where they let you build a personal homepage....for free. I gave it a shot and built a small, one paged homepage. More on the homepage later.

Westwood Chat: I saw a game called Command and Conquer in a store display. It had lots of violence, so naturally I liked it. A friend of mine bought it, and we played over the modem a few times. It was a great game, so I did a little research and came across the homepage of the people who made it, Westwood. They had a little thing called "Westwood Chat" available for downloading, so I did. I poked around a bit on it, then put it aside and went back to IRC. A few months later, me and my friends were bored so we decided to go and bug people on Wchat (short for Westwood Chat). We went on as "Nothing" and started messing people up. Nothing really bad, just causing confusion with witty humour (ie: sending private messages that lead people to believe Scott was a girl). When we got kicked, we came back as "Notmuch", then "Quiteabit", then "Something" (Scott and DlotS (Caretaker) may remember that fateful day). I noticed that the people there were nice...they all seemed to know each other, and it had a friendly atmosphere. I came back later as my own nick name (That's Phronk if you don't know) and they accepted me. I had found a new home base.

The Homepage (part 2): During my time at Wchat, I came to know a person named "JaGuAr". He was from London Ontario too, and we got into a conversation about my crappy little homepage. I happened to mention that I got it for free, so he made one too. It grew quickly, and it was soon surpassing mine. I couldn't let that happen, so I learned how to upload stuff (the secret to a good geocities homepage) and made 3 sections based on my interests: Music, Movies, and Games. I told everyone about my homepage, and of course everyone wanted to have one too. A chain reaction was started, and it still hasn't stopped. Nearly everyone on Wchat has a homepage now, and it's all my fault.

The Present: Westwood Chat is my "home" on the internet now. It is the only place I've been where I've met people I can call friends (on the net that is). My homepage has gotten much bigger, and I plan to add even more. I still visit IRC once in a while, and I use PowWow a lot too. I've gone from just wandering to having a home base (wchat) and a home page, and it's far from over.

Well thanks for reading all that, even thought it wasn't that exciting. If you read this you probably know me, so Hello to you. : )

Later,
-Phronk

Phronk.com was created in 1995 by Phronk. The opinions expressed here may not reflect actual opinions of any person, living or dead. So don't take anything here seriously. If you have any technical or moral problems, please e-mail me.