Wow! I also used to use that system, for many years my primary email was kevstev@cyberspace.org. I never used the actual shell for much, but I did use it for email until gmail came along.

Interesting, that is a blast from the past I had nearly forgotten about.

Not my first experience, but I still have a fond if faint memory of prairienet. Out of UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IIRC.

Back when connecting the world was viewed as (and often experienced as) a good thing.