[hollerith]

You are confusing the internet, which became operational in 1969, with the web, introduced in 1990.

The US Government (specifically DARPA) started funding research into packet-switched networks in 1960, and funding by the USG for the internet continued uninterrupted until it was clear that the internet no longer needed outside funding in 1992 or 1993. Internet email dates back to 1972. Multiplayer online games began on the internet in 1979 (but they were text-only). Richard Stallman started using the internet to distribute free software in 1984.

Just to defend myself from the pedants out there: it was not called the internet till 1983. Before then the name alternated between ARPAnet and DARPAnet, but the userbase remained mostly the same across the transition to the name "Internet", and email, multiplayer games and other services (FTP, telnet) continued with only minor interruptions.