Eternal September 1993: why the internet changed forever

There are two versions of the internet: the one before September 1993 and the one after it. In 2026, some users of that earlier internet still feel nostalgic and speak of “Eternal September”.

If you belong to Generation Z or Generation Y, you almost certainly did not use the internet as it existed before the start of 1993’s “Eternal September”. However, you may already have come across the term in a blog post, a forum comment or a post on X. Some people do indeed look back fondly on that era, while others liken the changes AI is bringing to the digital world to the upheaval of 1993. So what exactly does it mean?

Put simply, the internet before 1993 was different because it was a tool limited to a small circle: academics and enthusiasts conversing through the Usenet forum network. But the internet began reaching the wider public in the United States in September 1993, before expanding to other countries. From that point onwards, everything changed.

Why is it called “Eternal September”?

Before consumer internet services arrived, users generally followed a code of conduct known as “netiquette”. “The first rule that was enforced was never to behave online, especially behind the shield of anonymity, differently from how you would behave in real life,” one internet user explains on the social network X. In their view, today’s internet is a “wilder” version of the real world.

September was the only exception, as new first-year students who did not know the community’s rules would arrive that month. Even so, these newcomers would eventually adapt by learning the internet’s conventions. From 1993 onwards, however, there was a continual influx of new internet users. For people accustomed to the earlier internet, it was as though September 1993 never ended. This is where the idea of “Eternal September” comes from.

A utopian world

In a recent interview on David Senra’s podcast, businessman Marc Andreessen, Netscape’s co-founder, says that people who experienced that period often describe the pre-1993 internet in utopian terms. “It was literally as if we had brought together the millions of smartest people in the world within a network, with no commercial activity or advertising whatsoever,” he says.

“Usenet discussions were simply spectacular. It was incredible,” adds the businessman, who compares this “pure, clean and intellectual” space to Athens in 500 BC. Marc Andreessen nevertheless stresses that, in his view, making the internet available to the public was still a positive development. “I’m glad it happened,” he says, while explaining the difference between the two versions of the internet.

What we think: we are experiencing another major shift

In any case, the changes artificial intelligence is now bringing to the web evoke the idea of Eternal September. For instance, Ashley Wolf, GitHub’s director of open-source programmes - GitHub is a platform for developers - refers to a new “Eternal September” in the open-source software world, as AI makes it easier to produce code and contribute.

AI’s arrival is also changing internet publishing and discussion. More and more articles, blog posts and comments now appear to have been written by AI.