Yes it was during the xp era that i switched from dial up to cable. Before cable I remembering setting a dozen song up to download on Napster before going to bed and hoping they would be completed loading by morning. Chat programs like pow wow and even yahoo. Not a whole lot of political garbage on forums. Friends wanted to hit you up they would send you a message on one of the chat programs or just email you. Long before facebook or twitter. Chatrooms were a blast. Imesh or Kazaa peer to peer sharing. I wanted to watch some porn I would go to IRC and trade with others.
I deleted my twitter and facebook a couple years back. Just don't care for seeing and hearing every fart my friends have cut. I still grab a torrent of a movie now and then and the speed is nice. But for the most part there was way less pop ups, commercials and shit like that back then. I guess I miss the old days of the internet.