So does anyone know of forums that pre-dated T'net ?
In '95 from my end, it was all about news groups, and there were a number then devoted to metal detecting. The web was just blossoming, and Netscape was king. So, TreasureNet is, and was, a pioneer.
Yahoo mail launched in '97, and I joined then. Hotmail came very shortly after that, but I saw no need for it then. Later I picked up a Hotmail account so I'd have alternatives. About a year ago, Hotmail sent me a congratulations for 15 years as a member. Yahoo didn't send me anything like that.
And back in the mid-90's, internet services came and went. Thus we were constantly changing e-mail addresses. I still change services, don't take no crap. But those Yahoo and Hotmail accounts remain.
I first joined CompuServe in March of '83. Mom had been on since '80 when it was called "The Well". Per my location, back then they were always long distance calls on 300 baud modems. Was expensive both directions, so times were on-line were limited. By '91, 14.4 baud modems were ruling, and I spent a great deal of time on Rusty & Edies. I was in college for my bachelor's in '90, and at school we had the Internet. From there I learned the ways to get in from home - though still a bit expensive measured by the minute through portals. By '92, I was on adventures through Russian servers re-directing me all over the place. Just randomly searching thru Gopher, FTP. Telnet and whatever I could connect to, I actually found my design drawing for a paint system I'd done for Harley-Davidson in Kansas City - and this was from a Russian server re-direct.
We don't have all that complication these days. But the servers are no longer wide open = unprotected.
Life was so simple then.
To sum this up, TNet was a very early development in the history of the Internet today. Prior to about '94 when I got my first true Internet connection, it was all very obscure. TNet was an early adopter of the future, and remains as such.
My congratulations to TNet!