No idea what my username was...
...but I still remember (and still use for some disposable accounts!) the password which Compuserve assigned to me, made up of two dictionary words separated by a "+" sign. In terms of password security they were somewhat ahead of their time, by using multiple dictionary words and not requiring mixed case or numerics - hopefully somebody somewhere was given the password "correct+horse" and someone else had "battery+staple". (I can't remember whether I was allowed to change my password or not - but if I was, I never did.)
And if all the forum archives are lost, I really think that's a shame, as they would contain a lot of interesting data about what people were thinking and how they were interacting in early online chat systems (AKA social networking). I remember being slightly fascinated by the cultural difference in tone between Brits and Merkins in discussion groups, with the former being noticeably more polite and less inclined to robust language. (Being a Brit, I found the Merkin frankness quite refreshing.)
Careful study of these archives might even have enabled us to discover precisely when and how the rot set in, which might be handy if we ever invent a time machine.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
