I think it was 1996, or maybe 1997, when I first got online. We had had one previous computer, but that was a basic one, without a modem. At the time we had a rent-to-buy a computer, which meant that it was easy to upgrade, and so we did, swapping that first computer for one with a modem installed. We were so green! At the time, there was no broadband and the few isps in the UK charged a fortune. We got a deal with Compuserve; a good one we thought, until we were suddenly charged £80 for what was supposed to have been a "free introductory month". Sadly, my husband said that we had to give that one up. I liked Compuserve though, they had some good member-only forums and I had spent a lot of time in some of them.

But all was not lost as the first cheap-rate isps had begun. They were free to join and then you paid for your time online through the 'phone bill. I did my best to stick to surfing at off-peak hours, but the costs still mounted up. We had joined Demon Internet and I used the free space we got from them to start my first website. Our username was ribbon, so I named my first site, "Ribbon". It was a very basic, generic "my first site" and none the worse for that. I enjoyed putting it together and learning a few things along the way. Then the isps changed again, to charging a low flat rate and offering a free number with which to access the internet. That was what I had been waiting for. I was off and running as the saying goes! We joined Freeserve and looked set to stay with them for a long time.

By now I had graduated from the isp space to getting a Geocities site. I'm probably old-fashioned, but I think that Geocities as it was then was far better than it was at the end. It was genuinely run by the people for the people. To begin with, when you signed up, you chose a "residence" in an area geared to your main interest. Each neighbourhood was then split into streets and the individual sites, called homesteads, had house numbers. It was fun choosing a number that meant something. In fact, I had the first site I got there until Geocities closed: http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/3770/*. I chose it because I was 37 years old at the time; so that would have been in 1998. After a while, I got a site in Athens and really enjoyed my time there. So much so that I was asked to be a Neighbourhood Guide, a role I took very seriously. The Guides' duties were to look after a given stretch of websites, to make sure that the content was acceptable, no porn or sites that could incite unpleasantness. We had to report back to our leader regularly with the results and we were encouraged to offer help if a homesteader was obviously having problems. We had a forum where we had weekly meetings to chat and discuss the running of Geocities. We were rewarded by extra space, but it was more for the pride of being able to help that drove us. We were genuine people, trying to make a difference.

I had also got myself a site at Fortunecity, which was a UK version of Geocities, with named areas, streets and house numbers. My first site there was in Ballykissangel and I became so involved that again, I was asked to be a volunteer helper. The duties were much the same as in Geocities with the same structure of taking care of a certain number of sites and reporting back. After a while, I was even asked to lead the Bally team. I had to build a website to promote our area and organise activities. It was great fun as well as a big responsibility. And Fortunecity were generous to their team leaders, sending us Fortunecity mouse mats, notebooks, mugs etc. I was sent a card on my birthday from them as well.

In the end, money took over and Geocities scaled their neighbourhood guide scheme to a minimum. The changes were too much and most of us left voluntarily before we were asked to go. The senior people did their best, but the people behind Geocities did not want us there anymore. Sadly, Fortunecity eventually followed. Both sites became just a mass of adverts. And of course, Fortunecity and Geocities have both gone. I know that it was important that the people who owned the companies made some money. But in the process, they took the heart out and forgot to replace it. There were lots of other free webspace companies opening up, and yet Geocities and Fortunecity took away the only things that made them different and worthwhile.

In 1999 my sister bought me a domain for my birthday. I began by pointing it to my Geocities site until I discovered how cheaply I could buy hosting for it instead. No ads, no hassle; it was a real eye-opener. After dabbling with .co.uk domains, I discovered paypal and how to use it to buy com/net/org/eu/ws/nu domains as well. I spend a lot of time online as I don't work and have always tended to live a solitary life, due to circumstances and my health. The 'net is as the well-worm saying goes, a window on the world. It has introduced me to people from all over and led me to take up the hobby of making graphics and websites. It has been an amazing time in my life and I'm hoping that the next years will teach me even more.

* As Geocities has now closed of course, my site there has gone. It has been moved to wellesley3770.