This story has become a monstrously long history of my (mostly early) involvement with the internet. I am sorry for the length... If anyone actually reads it, I'd be happy for feedback, especially from people who remember the early internet and those who have done collaborative web projects without funding or official backing. I am not one of those people who says everything was better in the old days, but I am nostalgic for the early noncommercial internet which was so interesting sociologically, and I am curious to hear other people's stories of the Good Old Days!

My name is Millie Niss. I am a freelance poet and web artist. My personal web art/literary site is www.sporkworld.org . My web art (interactive multimedia) has been published on The Iowa Review Web, trAce (UK), Rhizomes/hyperrhiz, bannerarts.org, wordcircuits.com, The Museum of the Essential and Beyond That (Brazil), thirdplacegallery.org (Scandinavia), and many others. My poetry and prose has also been widely published online (and some in print). I studied mathematics (undergrad degree and some grad school), writing (an aborted MFA program), and have worked as a computer programmer, in mental health services and advocacy, and in math (and briefly experimental 3D-visualization in a medical setting) research, as well as at some very terrible part-time temp jobs.