It's easy to forget that BBSes were not at all populated by a representative sample of all people. The communities you experienced were the norm there but are a

It's easy to forget that BBSes were not at all populated by a representative sample of all people. The communities you experienced were the norm there but are a vanishingly small part of the modern internet. If you were raised now you might never have found your way to one before your psychological development was co-opted and sent in a very different direction by today's social media offerings.