[valiant-comma]

CompuServe of course used the XXXXX,XXXX octal usernames, and you could append @compuserve.com for a valid email address, but later we could choose a vanity email (first come, first served), e.g., [e-mail]. Then later they offered @csi.com addresses. POP3 access to your CS mailbox was eventually an option, as well.

For a long time (maybe still?) you could access a terminal version of the CS interface over telnet. Basically all the same features as the GUI application, just in text.

There was also the original Microsoft Network (later shortened to MSN), which included a bunch of communities and boards. It was a Windows 95 application, and went through a semi-public beta then eventual release in parallel with the OS. You could connect through dial up or over the Internet, if I recall. I remember being impressed I could open two boards at the same time, unlike CS.

[mikecoles]

I could be misremembering, I think the , had to be converted to a . in the email address. I still recall my ID, the box the binder for the manual came in, and the joy of exploring, wishing I could try out SABRE. That was out of my childhood budget though.