Requests in Dragon Letters column to go online/disk *in the 80s*

[Wik]

You know, I remember years ago, before my family had internet (but when the school did) I'd go online during my lunch and print off DRAGON articles. I'm pretty sure it was legal, too - I think I did it from the DRAGON website. I have a binder of 'em kicking around somewhere.

 

[tylerthehobo]

Yeah, I remember AOL Keyword "TSR" - they'd post a few articles, and you could download them. For a while, users could upload content, too.

But yeah - they kept printing the magazines, too.

 

[RFisher]

Ha! Oh, nice. I've got a vague feeling that I remember reading that years ago, but I can't for the life of me imagine what my reaction to it must have been at the time.

This snapshot of 20th-century information tech blows my mind, though. A half hour of time on the system per day! Systems operators with libraries of disks, because hard drive space is expensive! Freaking mailing disks to people! I do not I know how I survived through such a grim and primitive age.

I remember getting software on a casette tape with a magazine instead of a disk. Disk drives were expensive, but we'd had the casette deck longer than the computer.

I think the author of that letter had poor knowledge of the day's non-consumer computer systems, BTW.

 

[Henry]

The price of paper used to be a lot cheaper then, too. I remember buying a Dragon Magazine for $2.95 an issue? and a 300-page paperback novel for about the same price.

 

[tylerthehobo]

It is interesting... The thought re: this in the late 80s was less about environmentalism and more about taking advantage of a burgeoning medium. Our thoughts now are more about the burgeoning medium, with environmentalism and nostalgia as conflicting secondary thoughts. (Not all of us - just taking in some of the other posts on the boards...)

 

[Brown Jenkin]

It is interesting... The thought re: this in the late 80s was less about environmentalism and more about taking advantage of a burgeoning medium. Our thoughts now are more about the burgeoning medium, with environmentalism and nostalgia as conflicting secondary thoughts. (Not all of us - just taking in some of the other posts on the boards...)

There's an idea they should consider spinning. They cancelled the magazines to help save the enviornment.