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      I was never on PLATO, but a college friend of mine was on it in the late 80s at Illinois Math and Science Academy. A chat board from there migrated to the Usenet alt hierarchy in the early 90s, Facebook in the mid 2000s, and Discourse in the 2010s. I’m still on a Matrix chat with someone I met on that board.

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        Wow that is amazing longevity. Do you mind telling us the name of the group?

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          I could tell you, but it probably wouldn’t mean anything, and everything post-Usenet was private. It was basically the group chat/bulletin board for an IMSA friend group, and some people they knew from college.

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            That’s so great. One of my friends was in an online auto enthusiast group that persisted from the 80s to the present. It would be great to know how common it is for a community to last so long.

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      If you’re interested in PLATO, The Friendly Orange Glow is a great book to read, although I felt like it was a bit more rosy eyed than technical. It’s definitely an incredibly interesting and capable system.

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        In my opinion this is a must-read for anyone interested in computer history.

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      Man, I miss PLATO. I was on the scene in Chicago via the community colleges in the 80’s. Good times!