Post the earliest e-mail message you received!!!

[canabiz]

Let's see who still keeps his/her old messages and how old that message really is Also a good read on when you first opened your first email account! Something fun to do i guess. Please put **** for email address for security issues and bold the date!!!

I first opened a Hotmail account in fall of 97


This one is from a friend of mine in Seattle, WA, unfortunately we no longer keep in touch

From : Thanh Hien Nguyen <xxxx@xxxx.com>
Sent : November 27, 1997 12:20:19 AM
To : xxxx@hotmail.com
Subject : Happy Thanksgiving

| | | Inbox


Hi,
Do you like my Turkey? Please say yes! Thank You very much.






,+*^^*+___+++_
,*^^^^ )
_+* ^**+_
+^ _ _++*+_+++_, )
_+^^*+_ ( ,+*^ ^ \+_ )
{ ) ( ,( ,_+--+--, ^) ^\
{ (@) } f ,( ,+-^ __*_*_ ^^\_ ^\ )
{:;-/ (_+*-+^^^^^+*+*<_ _++_)_ ) ) /
( / ( ( ,___ ^*+_+* ) < < \
U _/ ) *--< ) ^\-----++__) ) ) )
( ) _(^)^^)) ) )\^^^^^))^*+/ / /
( / (_))_^)) ) ) ))^^^^^))^^^)__/ +^^
( ,/ (^))^)) ) ) ))^^^^^^^))^^) _)
*+__+* (_))^) ) ) ))^^^^^^))^^^^^)____*^
\ \_)^)_)) ))^^^^^^^^^^))^^^^)
(_ ^\__^^^^^^^^^^^^))^^^^^^^)
^\___ ^\__^^^^^^))^^^^^^^^)\\
^^^^^\uuu/^^\uuu/^^^^\^\^\^\^\^\^\^\
___) >____) >___ ^\_\_\_\_\_\_\)
^^^//\\_^^//\\_^ ^(\_\_\_\)
^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^

Wishing you have a great Thanksgiving!!!
===

[Carnage]

I can't go back that far.

My first hotmail account has long been dead(closed it due to spam).

Though I can remember my first e-mails. Think they were from some chat room people.

Although I did manage to find a guest book note that I left back in 97 via the power of google.

[NDman]

I didn't archive my first e-mail, or a whole lot of other e-mails for that matter. I'm surprised you actually did. Mine was in 1995. I first got into the whole internet thing in my first year of university. A personal e-mail with essentially no substance to it. I sent out a whole bunch of "I have your e-mail address, just testing. Please reply.". and received a whole bunch of "yup. Got it". "Cool". etc etc.

And back in the days, those ASCII arts were big, trend-wise and physical size-wise.

[canabiz]

I have the habits of keeping the first message that I received in my email account

I think i opened an Excite.com email account before Hotmail but Excite mail has disappeared after so this is pretty much what i'm left with

I don't usually archive messages, the important ones (actually they will become obsolete after a while no matter how important they are LOL) i usually dump into a folder named Misc or Files or whatever and it's kinda fun going thru them later on.

Here's the first message in my Yahoo mailbox welcoming me into the Yahooland, party like 1999 baby!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 08:36:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Yahoo!" <mailbot@yahoo.com>
Subject: Welcome to Yahoo! Mail
To: xxxx@yahoo.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Yahoo! Mail
Your email address, xxxx@yahoo.com, is now active and you can send and receive messages immediately!

Below are some helpful tips to get you going and remember that if you e ver have any questions, help is only a click away.

[Amourek]

It went something like this...

"Hi, I am Nigerian royalty, and I need your money..."

[gman]

The earliest email that I still keep in my mailbox was at:

Thu Sep 27 11:33:52 1990

It was an office memo.

[Wildfire]

I tend to delete my messages and/or change email accounts so this is the earliest I have from an existing account.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From wang qin
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2001 01:17:05 +0100
From: "wang qin" <xxxxxxxxxx@web.de>
To: xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
Subject: Att:ASSISTANCE


MR. Wang Qin.
HANG SENG BANK LTD,
DES VOEUX RD.BRANCH
CENTRAL HONG KONG
HONG Kong

.
I am Mr. Wang Qin, credit officer of Hang Seng Bank Ltd,I have an
urgent and very confidential business proposition for you.I honestly
apologize and hope I do not cause you much embarrassment by contacting
you through this means for a transaction of this magnitude , but this is
due to confidentiality and prompt access reposed on this medium,sorry my
English is not very good.
Furthermore,due to this issue on my hands now,it became necesary for me
to seek your assistance, and it is imperative for me to know your
opinion.On sept. 6,2000, an American Oil consultant/contractor with the
chinese Solid Minerals Corporation, Mr. Richard Nault made a numbered
time (Fixed) Deposit for twelve calendar months, valued at US$30,000,000.00
(Thirty Million Dollars only) in my branch.Upon maturity,I sent a routine
notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month,
we sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers,
the Hong Kong Solid Minerals Corporation that Mr. Richard Nault died from
an automobile accident. On further investigation, I found out that he died
without making a WILL, and all attempts to trace his next of kin was fruitless.
I therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Richard
Nault did not declare any kin or relations in all his official documents,
including his Bank Deposit paperwork in my Bank. This sum of US$30,000,000.00
is still sitting in my Bank and the interest is being rolled over with the
principal sum at the end of each year.No one will ever come forward to claim it.
According to Laws of Hong Kong, at the expiration of 5(five) years,the money will
revert to the ownership of the Hong Kong Government if nobody applies to claim the
fund.Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner to stand in
as the next of kin to Mr. Richard Nault so that the fruits of this old man's labor
will not get into the hands of some corrupt government officials.This is simple,
I will like you to provide immediately your full names and address so that the attorney
will prepare the necessary documents and affidavits that will put you in place as the
next of kin.We shall employ the services of an attorney for drafting and
otarization of the WILL and to obtain the necessary documents and letter of
probate/administration in your favor for the transfer.The money will be
paid into your account for us to share in the ratio of 70% for me and 25%
for you and 5% for Expenses Incurred in the course of the transaction.
There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will
be done by the attorney, and with my position as the credit officer
guarantees the successful execution of this transaction.If you are interested , please
reply immediately.You may reply to my email box,wangqin_co@myway.comUpon your response.
I shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that will help you
understand the transaction.Please send me your confidential telephone and fax numbers
for easy communication. You should observe utmost confidentiality, and be rest assured
that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I shall require
your assistance to invest my share in your country.
Awaiting your urgent reply.

Thanks and regard,
Mr. Wang Qin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I still haven't replied yet, 4 yrs later, I wonder if anyone "claimed" it yet?
haha.

[HowEver]

I was into my my second decade of email usage when I received the following:

> CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE NET CENSORSHIP LEGISLATION IN CONGRESS
> On Tuesday December 12, 1995, Join With Hundreds of Thousands
> Of Your Fellow Internet Users In
> A NATIONAL INTERNET DAY OF PROTEST
> PLEASE WIDELY REDISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT WITH THIS BANNER INTACT
> REDISTRIBUTE ONLY UNTIL December 20, 1995_
>CONTENTS
> Internet Day of Protest: Tuesday December 12, 1995
> What You Must Do On Tuesday December 12, 1995
> List of Participating Organizations
>Where Can I Learn More?
>
>INTERNET DAY OF PROTEST: TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 1995
>Outrageous proposals to censor the Internet demand that the Internet
>Community take swift and immediate action. We must stand up and let
>Congress know that we will not tolerate their attempts to destroy this
>medium! Please join hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens in a
>National Day of Protest on Tuesday December 12, 1995.
>
>As you know, on Wednesday December 6, 1995, the House Conference
>Committee on Telecommunications Reform voted to impose far reaching and
>unconstitutional "indecency" restrictions on the Internet and other
>interactive media, including large commercial online services (such as
>America Online, Compuserve, and Prodigy) and smaller Internet Service
>Providers such as Panix, the Well, Echo, and Mindvox.
>
>These restrictions threaten the very existence of the Internet and
>interactive media as a viable medium for free expression, education,
>commerce. If enacted, the Internet as we know it will never be the
>same.
>
>Libraries will not be able to put any books online that might
>offend a child somewhere. No "Catcher in the Rye" or "Ulysses" on the net.
>Internet Service Providers could face criminal penalties for allowing
>children to subscribe to their Internet Services, forcing many small
>companies to simply refuse to sell their services to anyone under 18. Worst
>of all, everything you say and publish on the net will have to be "dumbed
>down" to that which is acceptable to a child.
>
>As Internet users, we simply must not allow this assault against the
>Internet and our most basic freedoms to go unchallenged.
>
>On Tuesday December 12, the organizations below are urging you to
>join us in a NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST. The goal is to flood key members of
>the House and Senate with phone calls, faxes and email with the message
>that the Internet community WILL NOT TOLERATE Congressional attempts to
>destroy the Internet, limit our freedoms and trample on our rights.
>
>Below are the phone, fax, and email address of several key members of
>Congress on this issue and instructions on what you can do to join the
>National Day of Protest to save the Net.
>
>WHAT YOU MUST DO ON TUESDAY DECEMBER 12, 1995
>1. Throughout the day Tuesday December 12, please contact as many
> members of Congress on the list below as you can. If you are only
> able to make one call, contact House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Finally,
> if the Senator or Representative from your state is on the list
> below, be sure to contact him or her also.
>2. Urge each Member of Congress to "stop the madness". Tell them that
> they are about to pass legislation that will destroy the Internet as
> an educational and commercial medium. If you are at a loss for
> words, try the following sample communique:
>
> Sample phone call:
> Both the House and Senate bills designed to protect children
> from objectionable material on the Internet will actually
> destroy the Internet as an medium for education, commerce, and
> political discourse. There are other, less restrictive ways to
> address this issue.
> I urge you to oppose both measures being proposed in the
> conference committee. This is an important election issue to
> me.
> Sample letter (fax or email):
> The Senate conferees are considering ways to protect children
> from inappropriate material on the Internet. A vote for either
> the House or Senate proposals will result in the destruction of
> the Internet as a viable medium for free expression, education,
> commerce. Libraries will not be able to put their entire book
> collections online. Everyday people like me will risk massive
> fines and prison sentences for public discussions someone s
> somewhere might consider "indecent".
>
> There are other, less restrictive ways to protect children from
> objectionable material online. This is an important election
> issue to me.
>3. If you're in San Francisco, or near enough to get there, go to
> the Rally Against Censorship from Ground Zero of the Digital Revolution:
> WHEN: Monday, December 11, 1995 12:00 - 1:00 PM
> WHERE: South Park (between 2nd and 3rd, Bryant and Brannon) San Francisco.
> SPEAKERS: To be announced
> BRING: Attention-grabbing posters, signs, and banners that demonstrate
> your committment to free speech and expression, and your feelings
> about Congress.
> FOR UPDATED INFORMATION (including rain info):
> http://www.hotwired.com/staff/digaman/
>## THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT ##
>4. Mail a note to protest@vtw.org to let us know you did your part.
> Although you will not receive a reply due to the number of
> anticipated responses, we'll be counting up the number of people that
> participated in the day of protest.
>
> P ST Name and Address Phone Fax
> R AK Stevens, Ted 1-202-224-3004 1-202-224-1044
> R AZ McCain, John 1-202-224-2235 1-602-952-8702
> senator_mccain@mccain.senate.gov
> D HI Inouye, Daniel K. 1-202-224-3934 1-202-224-6747
> R KS Dole, Robert 1-202-224-6521 1-202-228-1245
> D KY Ford, Wen<a href=../autolink/redirectpage.php?linkid=167 target=_blank>dell</a> H. 1-202-224-4343 1-202-224-0046
> wendell_ford@ford.senate.gov
> R MS Lott, Trent 1-202-224-6253 1-202-224-2262
> R MT Burns, Conrad R. 1-202-224-2644 1-202-224-8594
> conrad_burns@burns.senate.gov
> D NE Exon, J. J. 1-202-224-4224 1-202-224-5213
> D SC Hollings, Ernest F. 1-202-224-6121 1-202-224-4293
> senator@hollings.senate.gov
> R SD Pressler, Larry 1-202-224-5842 1-202-224-1259
> larry_pressler@pressler.senate.gov
> R WA Gorton, Slade 1-202-224-3441 1-202-224-9393
> senator_gorton@gorton.senate.gov
> D WV Rockefeller, John D. 1-202-224-6472 n.a.
> senator@rockefeller.senate.gov
>
> Dist ST Name, Address, and Party Phone Fax
> 6 GA Gingrich, Newt (R) 1-202-225-4501 1-202-225-4656
> 2428 RHOB georgia6@hr.house.gov
> 14 MI Conyers Jr., John (D) 1-202-225-5126 1-202-225-0072
> 2426 RHOB jconyers@hr.house.gov
> 1 CO Schroeder, Patricia (D) 1-202-225-4431 1-202-225-5842
> 2307 RHOB
> 18 TX Jackson-Lee, Sheila (D) 1-202-225-3816 1-202-225-3317
> 1520 LHOB
> 6 TN Gordon, Bart (D) 1-202-225-4231 1-202-225-6887
> 2201 RHOB

>4. Forward this alert to all of your wired friends.
>WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE?
>At this moment, there are several organizations with WWW sites that now
>have, or will have, information about the net censorship legislation and
>the National Day Of Protest:
>
>American Civil Liberties Union (ftp://ftp.aclu.org/aclu/)
>Center for Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org/)
>Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org/)
>Electronic Privacy Information Center (http://www.epic.org/)
>Wired Magazine (http://www.hotwired.com/special/indecent/)
>Voters Telecommunications Watch (http://www.vtw.org/)
>
>LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
>In order to use the net more effectively, several organizations have
>joined forces on a single Congressional net campaign to stop the
>Communications Decency Act.

>American Civil Liberties Union * American Communication Association *
>American Council for the Arts * Arts & Technology Society * Association
>of Alternative Newsweeklies * biancaTroll productions * Boston
>Coalition for Freedom of Expression * Californians Against Censorship
>Together * Center For Democracy And Technology * Centre for Democratic
>Communications * Center for Public Representation * Citizen's Voice -
>New Zealand * Cloud 9 Internet *Computer Communicators Association *
>Computel Network Services * Computer Professionals for Social
>Responsibility * Cross Connection * Cyber-Rights Campaign * CyberQueer
>Lounge * Dorsai Embassy * Dutch Digital Citizens' Movement * ECHO
>Communications Group, Inc. * Electronic Frontier Canada * Electronic
>Frontier Foundation * Electronic Frontier Foundation - Austin *
>Electronic Frontiers Australia * Electronic Frontiers Houston *
>Electronic Frontiers New Hampshire * Electronic Privacy Information
>Center * Feminists For Free Expression * First Amendment Teach-In *
>Florida Coalition Against Censorship * FranceCom, Inc. Web Advertising
>Services * Friendly Anti-Censorship Taskforce for Students * Hands
>Off! The Net * Inland Book Company * Inner Circle Technologies, Inc. *
>Inst. for Global Communications * Internet On-Ramp, Inc. * Internet
>Users Consortium * Joint Artists' and Music Promotions Political Action
>Committee * The Libertarian Party * Marijuana Policy Project *
>Metropolitan Data Networks Ltd. * MindVox * MN Grassroots Party *
>National Bicycle Greenway * National Campaign for Freedom of Expression
>* National Coalition Against Censorship * National Gay and Lesbian Task
>Force * National Public Telecomputing Network * National Writers Union
>* Oregon Coast RISC * Panix Public Access Internet * People for the
>American Way * Republican Liberty Caucus * Rock Out Censorship *
>Society for Electronic Access * The Thing International BBS Network *
>The WELL * Voters Telecommunications Watch
> End Alert

[MoreMiles]

BBS with 2400 baud modem, chatting with the sysop... then sending an email on Fidonet with another board, getting there a couple of days later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FidoNet

[user01]

SUPERPET Online‏
From: Brad Hamilton (bhamilton@superpet.com)
Sent: June 18, 1999 3:40:40 AM
To: XXXXX@hotmail.com

Thank you for your interest in our web site.

The numbers down the left represent the temperature in Fahrenheit, and the numbers on the right are Celsius.

Yours truly,



Brad Hamilton
SUPERPET Online

[tritium4ever]

I still have a copy of one of my dad's emails from 1995. It contained cheat codes for various PC games of the day. First started using the internet in 1993 though, with a 14.4k modem and going through the cryptic Windows 3.1 dial-up scripts.

[Rembrandt100]

I have the habits of keeping the first message that I received in my email account

I think i opened an Excite.com email account before Hotmail but Excite mail has disappeared after so this is pretty much what i'm left with

I don't usually archive messages, the important ones (actually they will become obsolete after a while no matter how important they are LOL) i usually dump into a folder named Misc or Files or whatever and it's kinda fun going thru them later on.

Here's the first message in my Yahoo mailbox welcoming me into the Yahooland, party like 1999 baby!


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 08:36:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Yahoo!" <mailbot@yahoo.com>
Subject: Welcome to Yahoo! Mail
To: xxxx@yahoo.com


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to Yahoo! Mail
Your email address, xxxx@yahoo.com, is now active and you can send and receive messages immediately!

Below are some helpful tips to get you going and remember that if you e ver have any questions, help is only a click away.

Just as a point of interest Excite is still operating and I have a mail account there.


Dave

[mightylobo]

Your size does matter‏
From: HealthWatch (Wendy@hiicjneuroman345.net)
You may not know this sender.Mark as safe|Mark as junk
Sent: Mon 3/21/05 8:31 AM
To: black_cat24@hotmail.com

[pitz]

I never bothered to scoop my old stuff off the VAX that handled it at the local university. But basically been doing Internet (tcp/ip SMTP-based) email since 1989.

And yeah, 2400 baud (0.3 kb/sec) was considered fairly modern 'back then'. 9600 baud (~1.2kb/sec) modems were over $1000 a piece back then too.

[gman]

The earliest? The one I used 300baud modem? I did not put that in a 5.25" floppy.

EDIT: Damn! I did not even notice I replied to this thread 4 years ago already.