My first internet was AOL in 1996. I didn't own my own computer; it was my best friend and roommate's computer but I was the one to get us online (it needed a modem upgrade but we didn't know that. Talking to AOL tech help, I was writing code and shit and every time it didn't work, I called back and listed off what other techs had had me try. By the end, I was getting, "Damn, I don't even know how to do half of what you just said." Finally I was griping to a geeky friend who said, it's the hardware. So we got a 14.4 modem and viola! Internet! Don't ask me how none of the AOL people who had me writing code didn't understand "It's a 1993 Packard Bell" and think, hey, it probably needs a new modem! LOL).
I built a webpage on GeoCities and learned a little html from the "I found a cheat sheet and that's good enough we're gonna fuck with it until it's pretty" method. 😂