Overview
Compunet hosted a wide range of content, and users were permitted to create their own sections within which they could upload their own graphics, articles and software. A custom editor existed in which the "frames" that made up the pages could be created either offline or when connected to the service. The editor's cache allowed users to quickly download a set of pages, then disconnect from the service in order to read them, thus saving on telephone costs.
The user interface used a horizontally scrolling menu system, known as the "duck shoot", and navigation was essentially "select and click" with the ability to jump directly to pages with the use of keywords. Content could be voted upon by the users.
The service had many features which were considerably ahead of its time, especially when compared to the Internet of today:
- Pricing of content (Optional. Users could price their own content).
- Voting on content quality.
- "Upload anywhere" of content: programs, graphics and text (Unless a section was protected).
- Software could be dongle protected (the custom modem doubled as the dongle in this instance).
- WYSIWYG editing of content.
- Chat room (known as Partyline), which allowed users to create their own rooms (similar principles have been shown in IRC).
The server hosted Multi-User Dungeon (MUD) (by Richard Bartle), Federation II, and Realm. The first two of these games continue to run on the Internet today.
Games creator Jeff Minter and musician Rob Hubbard, along with various members of the demo scene, had a presence on the network.
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