So here I am again. I've been wondering how to give back to a community that's done so much for me over the years. The internet in general has been quite a ride during my time on it.

It makes me wonder, in fact, what were my bad experiences with computers? I know enough about them where the most that's happened to me is utilizing it to grapple with my fog lately-- I'm here, aren't I? I think one of my earliest negative experiences with the internet has to have been those times Mom tried blocking porn on me. I just kept getting around it enough that the websites I used eventually crashed the computer itself! I don't think we have that dinosaur any longer, but it makes you wonder at what point is all the data of the past just not worth the time, even if salvageable.

I did have that time my phone's bookmarks disappeared on me in an eerie and irretrievable way, boy that was a blast. Then there are the people who've blocked me for whatever reason from time to time. Then of course, the people I blocked. I remember this one girl, the whole point is that I never met her in person, as close as I got to doing so, despite us sharing a real life friend circle. I've also had less than ideal fallout and argument, much of which was fun to be honest.

So what about when the internet came back to bite me in real life? This one time a guy went to fight me and I showed up after days of him texting nonsense about it, and when I go he bails on me. Absolute waste of an afternoon if you ask me. I still don't really know how I feel about that one, even though the guy and I made up later on and all that. Just was a strange situation in my opinion, but that's the type of stuff the internet does.

I've seen a nasty comment thread or two in my day as well. I think some of my earliest memories of the internet have to be the days of the first memes and chatrooms. Maybe not IRC chatrooms, but like AIM and, my personal favorite, Yahoo! Messenger. In fact one friend I met on there back then came overseas to visit me, twice!

All in all, the internet is quite a doozy, isn't it? I've done my research (ironically I did the research online) regarding the internet, it can be a dark and scary place. Yet, it is also fun and lively. Just like life itself, no?

-Russly