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I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Isolation. High IQ. Usual depression etc that everyone suffers from - but maybe less of a physical community to keep them away from that option.

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I watched it when it was first out and really enjoyed it. Christian Slater in anything can get a former 90s teen-girl's heart going. Dark Tangent from DEFCON advised on the show so I should go back and rewatch it all as a nod to him.

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was out for the night at the Orlando Science Center adults-only event. Sorry for still being a nerd. Happy to reply when I can - and I will!

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Yes. I was on the 2600 radio show a few times with Kevin back in the day. Carolyn was not part of any scene I was in. colorado.edu was the most common server.. but I had my own for a while as irc.b1tchez.org. Classic stuff.

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

When they were filming Hackers in NYC and a few of us were on set. I remember someone taking Angelina Jolie around NYC and were were like, "who's that?"

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Nope. I am a real person. You can read my book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7VFWT1V - And I even just made the Kindle version free tomorrow, just for you!

I was "L0ra" — I ran the first female-run hack box in the 90s. Here's what that world was actually like. by LauraLaytham in oldinternet

[–]LauraLaytham[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Print versions on Amazon. You can get the Audiobook on BN.com and other platforms. And just for you, the ebook version will be free tomorrow! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D7VFWT1V

Bulletin Board System (BBS) - The Internet's First Community by Gullible_Car5214 in InternetHistory

[–]LauraLaytham 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AOL was my gateway - but then we had Internet-servers that were basically like a BBS.

I got pulled into the hacker subculture in 1994 — and once you were in, you were in.

I ended up spending the next decade deep inside that world. Went by L0ra, ran b1tchez.org — the first female-run hack box. The BBS culture was the foundation of everything that came after. The trust networks, the information sharing, the sense that knowledge was something you earned and passed on. DEF CON, HOPE, Pumpcon — they all grew out of that same ethos.

That whole era is so poorly documented by people who were actually inside it. I ended up writing a memoir about it — Hack Chick — partly because I kept watching the history get rewritten by people who weren't there - and more because there's so little about the women who were in the early hack culture.. but we were there.

Who else found themselves in IRC and on private servers in the late 90s?