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A series · 2 Field Notes Kingsport, TN / Tri-Cities

Tri-Cities Tech History

The region's technology story, built from registries, nodelists, archives, and the people who were there. Every source credited.

The series, part by part

2 Field Notes, in order.

Every Field Note

  1. Who Was Online First in the Tri-Cities: The Fifteen Oldest Domains, Verified

    I pulled the registration date of every domain I could tie to a Tri-Cities organization and sorted the list. The oldest belongs to a Kingsport graphics shop in February 1993. Eastman was second. The third belongs to a teenager’s bulletin board. Updated in October with accounts from the people who built the first ISPs.

    Part 1 · The domains

    Updated

  2. Before the Web: The Tri-Cities Called Each Other First

    Before anyone here sold internet access, the Tri-Cities was already online. It just wasn’t the internet. It was home computers in bedrooms across Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol, answering the phone for each other. I pulled every weekly FidoNet list from 1988 to 1998, and then the sysops started writing in. The first board was on an Atari in 1983. The last one hung on until 2004.

    Part 2 · The boards

    Updated

  3. The dial-up ISPs

    Were you there? Corrections and memories welcome.

    Part 3

    In progress

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