1996 chat room simulator connected to Win95 and System 7 web desktops

henrychannel

A zero-account browser chat room mimicking mid-90s online services. The state runs on Upstash Redis and is shared across three different frontends (React/Vite deployed on Vercel): * The standalone chat interface ( https://lolchat.rip ) * A Windows 95 simulator ( https://56k.rip ) * A Mac System 7 simulator ( https://dialup.rip ) Users dialing in from the Mac desktop and users on the Win95 machine end up in the exact same rooms talking to each other.

orionblastar

Looks good, reminds me of the 1990s.

JojoFatsani

Damn I had this idea but you beat me to it

katzenq

Vibe-coded garbage full of nonsense LLM text.

Feathercrown

AI prose everywhere. Disappointing for something that should be a labor of love.

1-6

Dialup isn't supposed to be this smooth.

ajackfox

Satisfyingly nostalgic. Thanks.

hammycheesy

This makes me very nostalgic, but in a slightly sad way, where I remember how much better the real chat experience was back in the day. This look-alike client struggles to show me messages in real-time. It looks like they only get pulled down in big chunks every few seconds. It also fails to scroll the new messages into view. I don't remember these sort of problems in IRC clients or IM programs of the 90s (though there were many other problems). In a way I guess it paints the irony of modern computing, where we have several orders of magnitude more in computing power and resources, but that has only enabled us to keep rushing out perpetually unpolished, unfinished products. It's still a bunch of fun to see a bunch of strangers talking completely unfiltered nonsense in a rudimentary chat room, though!

alexkkoo93

thanks for all the friends I made as MY_NAMES_JEV389. Twas fun

mproud

The System 7 version leaves a lot to be desired. So many UI elements are absolutely WRONG. (For reference: https://infinitemac.org )

marten31

This takes me right back to IRC and Netscape Navigator. The sound of a modem connecting would complete the experience!

GalaxyNova

I am very confused if I am speaking to real people or to LLMs

haul_up

Oh man, the nostalgia hit is real. Takes me straight back to my first IRC client and fumbling with Dial-up.

Aeolun

This was fun until I realized I was talking to bots :/ If you want to talk to people I got https://superchat.win/ which has a browser version and connects to humans.

stldev

Neat! Reminds me of circa 92-94 Prodigy/CompuServe days. By '96 I recall having moved on to local dial-up ISPs. The longer handshake was well worth it for 56k versus the 300-2400 many of us came from.

empressplay

A D-Dial recreation with no bots and a number of regulars: https://www.magviz.ca

danielvaughn

I was 12 in 96 when I got my first computer - wow does this bring back memories.

thefourthchime

The first thing I did with computers that had any success was a WWIV BBS in the LA area called Altered States. I think I ran it on a 386 under MS‑DOS. At some point I was getting about forty calls a day and the line was busy a lot. I would drop into sysop mode and talk to people sometimes. One of those times was actually a girl in real life. She ended up being my girlfriend for a couple of years -- fun times....

sage981

That System 7 desktop brings back memories of trying to get IRC working on a PowerBook. Amazing dedication!