Don’t see mention of Q-Link (a C-64 specific large scale discussion service) much anymore, so had to comment. It was cutting edge to be part of something like that, and yes, it could be expensive - 5 cents a minute for some functions which could add up since it was all dialup. Anyone now looking back would see it as crude and basic, but it was a huge step up from the local BBSes. Chat rooms for all sorts of things, real time direct messaging with friends you made online, even file transfers while you chatted. Later years even played with 2d avatars that could walk around from place to place. Only years later after being an AOL user did I learn than a lot of AOL’s infrastructure was built upon the old Q-Link system.

As a a side note, it was mind blowing to be exploring the deeper parts of AOL and find the the door to the REAL internet. AOL wanted users to stay within AOL for all their needs and not as a portal to everything else.