╨╧рб▒с>■  24■   1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ье┴7 Ё┐№ bjbjUU ",7|7|№      lXXXXXXXl"""" .lQ╢NNNNNNNN╨ ╥ ╥ ╥ ╥ ╥ ╥ $ 'Ў XNNNNNЎ XXNN N^XNXN╨ N╨ ┤╨ XX╨ NB А╡aMd─l╢"м ╨ ╨ !0Q╨ =╢f=╨ llXXXX┘Refuge for the Nerds: Memories of MadisonТs First Chat Line Becky Meyer Pourchot 6758 Ramsey Rd Middleton, WI 53562 (608) 836-0137 becky@pourchot.com The modem buzzed and grumbled as the two computers successfully connected through the ether. My Apple IIGS flickered warmly with its green glow as it prompted me with a request for a name and password. УWelcome to the Bee LineФ reveals the words on my screen. I am welcomed with hellos from a list of familiar computer handles. I type an exuberant УHi guys!!!Ф and situate myself to chat. The year was 1988, and at age fifteen, I had dived into to the new world of chat lining, on MadisonТs first chat group УThe Bee LineФ. Created in Madison almost twenty years ago, by seventeen-year-old Craig УBeeФ Weinohld, the Bee Line was an intricate assemblage of wires, modems and a large computer, all arranged in CraigТs parentТs basement. The main computer ran a custom program that allowed incoming callers to connect in a virtual room. Callers had a choice of talking in the main room or using the УprivФ function that allowed individuals to chat privately. The Bee LineТs computer ran twenty-four hours a day, and hosted hundreds of callers daily. The Bee Line was a novel concept in its time. In the late Eighties home computers were still new, and modems were not widely used. Few people had home computers and even less understood the concept of a modem. For myself, who was new to the modem, the thought of being able to talk to others through the computer was both novel and exhilarating. I discovered the Bee Line over fifteen years ago, as a shy and introverted teenager. I found an article printed in my high school newspaper that discussed the virtues of the chat line. In the piece, the student author talked of the significant role that the chat line played in his life. At the end was a list of numbers for computer bulletin boards as well as the Bee Line. Although I knew that moving into something of this nature was a purely nerdy endeavor, I couldnТt resist my curiosity. I was thrilled by my discovery of the Bee Line and was pleased at the ease in which I met people. Because the computer world was predominately male at the time, the ratio of men to women was close to 10:1. I had never received so much attention. The Bee Line was a place where we could talk in relative anonymity. It was a refreshing change from high school where judgments were passed quickly. 0n the Bee Line, rather than being critiqued for oneТs clothing style, or choice of friends, one was judged for their wit, and ability to keep up with the on-line conversations. People who were awkward with face-to-face settings were able to bloom in an environment where they could situate themselves comfortably behind a computer screen. I found ironically that I could be much more myself on-line than I could be in person, simply because face-to-face interactions were eliminated. Because the Bee Line was based in Madison and all of its users were local, there was ample opportunity to move beyond the computer and hook up with friends in Уreal lifeФ. We held weekly gatherings at local parks or late night at PerkinТs restaurant. Unlike todayТs Internet chat groups there were a finite number of users, which allowed for closer contacts between callers. Because of these factors Bee Liners were able to form strong friendships. In retrospect, we must have been a curious group. We were a mixture of black-leathered УfreaksФ, college bound high schoolers, and twenty-something professionals. Our ages and interests varied but we shared a common desire to socialize in a unique, computer based setting. Computer users on the whole tend to be a bit more introverted, and yes, nerdier. Because the Bee Line attracted people who werenТt always comfortable in social settings, its users tended to look at the world from an outside perspective. A typical Bee Liner was a bit cynical about society and carried a dark sense of humor. My first experience with Bee Line eccentricity occurred at my sixteenth birthday party. I decided to invite my high school friends as well as some of the new Bee Line crew, whom I had never met in person. On a snowy night in early March, my Dad drove myself, and three of my three overachieving girlfriends out to ShakeyТs Pizza to meet the boys. At the end of a long table, sat four scraggly young men all in black. УMaverickФ, the twenty-two-year-old dressed in a concert t-shirt and a long dark overcoat, quietly walked over and gave me a dubbed tape of Pink Floyd. I was thrilled. My friends were not impressed. As more women became involved in the Bee Line, on-line conversations drifted from computers and music towards dating and flirting. Some people moved from the main chat room into private rooms, where couples could talk alone. In this anonymous environment, people were able to open up quickly. Flirting abounded, and relationships quickly accelerated. Being a community with only one hundred regular callers, and a proportionately smaller group of females, the Bee Line became rather incestuous. Women generally had their pick of men, creating a unique dynamic for the group as a whole. Women and men alike would have agreed that the Bee Line had a strange draw to it. Users often claimed to be addicted, calling multiple times a day, and sitting on-line for hours at a time. The chat line drew us in because it was an instant source for socializing. With a push of a button we were instantly hooked into our own Уelectronic street cornerФ, where flirting, teasing, and general socializing were commonplace. The Bee Line endured a natural evolution over the almost twenty years that it ran. Many of the original callers grew up and moved on, while new users replaced them. As the free Internet gained popularity, the Bee LineТs subscription fees became less appealing. Bee, the chat lineТs founder became less interested in his venture and the Bee LineТs plug was pulled. Some users continued the project in the form of an IRC over the Internet. However it lost the feel of the old line and many stopped calling. Several months ago, Bee breathed life into the Bee Line once again. The word of a new Internet message board passed quickly and soon former Bee Liners flocked to the site. Old handles from years past popped up and the discussions began. УCyllianФ was in California. УEclipseФ was in Japan. New baby pictures were posted and congratulations were sent out. Old friends connected and playful teasing from years passed filled the line again. Soon a reunion date was set. People whom I hadnТt seen in fifteen years showed up with their spouses, their dogs, and their grills. The Bee Liners had grown up. The once quirky outcasts and computer obsessed nerds, were simply adults with regular jobs and stable families. Our conversations still lingered over Lord of the Rings and the current buzz in technology, but we were no longer the awkward, pimply-faced group we once were. Towards the end of the evening our attention was drawn towards УNighthawkФ, who stood himself precariously on a picnic table. He gestured towards УBeeФ, and thanked him publicly for the Bee Line, which we all devoted so much our time to. УIf it wasnТt for Bee,Ф he said, УweТd all have lives.Ф We all laughed, knowing ironically that perhaps the opposite was true. <S∙ √ № №№5Б\Б<=>SbvЕШЩЪлм╕║     ЕЖMNbcЎЇЇЇяяяящчщщщщщщщщщщщщщщщщД╨`Д╨$a$$Д`Дa$№ ¤cйкgh╙╘ЙК√ № ∙∙∙∙∙ў∙∙∙∙∙її∙∙∙∙Д╨`Д╨ 1Рh░╨/ ░р=!░"░#Ра$Ра%░ i8@ё 8 NormalCJ_HaJmH sH tH :@: Heading 1$Д╨@&`Д╨5Б\Б8@8 Heading 2$$@&a$5Б\Б<A@Є б< Default Paragraph Font<C@Є< Body Text Indent Д╨`Д╨№,    <=>SbvЕШЩЪлм╕║   Е Ж M N bcйкgh╙╘ЙК√■0АА0АА0АА0ААШ0А<Ш0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0А<Ш0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0ААШ0АА№ c№ № /3·"&n v ─ ═ хэ■■;ЧЩЩфы~ЕРСС23CCDJrsik▒╢5Kfnrs╩╙туQ n v Б тфшhФжн==ЁЄ∙∙√■   fC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of bLine article.asd KC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\bLine article.doc KC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\bLine article.doc KC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\bLine article.doc fC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\AutoRecovery save of bLine article.asd KC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\bLine article.doc KC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\bLine article.doc RC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\Refuge for the Nerds.doc RC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\Refuge for the Nerds.doc RC:\Documents and Settings\Becky\Desktop\Freelance Writing\Refuge for the Nerds.doc @А33:K3№@@  Unknown            GРЗz А Times New Roman5РАSymbol3&Р Зz А Arial"qИЁ╨h8;ЗfH;Зf1ц 2╤Ёа┤┤ББr0dY<2ГQЁ▄@  tThe crowd of forty, slightly intoxicated reunion goers huddle together as the man with the tripod yells  group photo  ■ рЕЯЄ∙OhлС+'│┘0╨РШ$0<HX dp М Ш д░╕└╚фuThe crowd of forty, slightly intoxicated reunion goers huddle together as the man with the tripod yells Уgroup photoohe  e e e Normalw rm4rmMicrosoft Word 9.0 @ъV·@8]йKd─@АДVMd─1ц■ ╒═╒Ь.УЧ+,∙о0\ hp|ДМФ Ьдм┤ ╝ =ф r2 Yа uThe crowd of forty, slightly intoxicated reunion goers huddle together as the man with the tripod yells Уgroup photo Title ■    ■   "#$%&'(■   *+,-./0■   ¤   3■   ■   ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Root Entry         └F`~aMd─5А1Table            =WordDocument        ",SummaryInformation(    !DocumentSummaryInformation8            )CompObj    jObjectPool            `~aMd─`~aMd─            ■                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           ■       └FMicrosoft Word Document MSWordDocWord.Document.8Ї9▓q