Good old 14.4k modems
It could have been awful. And my elderly relation might have gone to the grave ten years earlier. But at that bitrate, any choice was an illusion. My hand was forced (as it were), I chose text over images, and with my hand resting casually precisely, in my lap, to the observer I may as well have been perusing... well, I've no idea what alternatives might have been available, not being one to rack up a conspicuous phone bill. Doubtless, detailed deconstruction of the Dwarf's continuity cockups could have flowed from my fevered fingertips using usenet, but perchance this particular pensioner's peepers did discern smut from smegups, either optical obfuscation or cerebral self-censorship avoided the antiquarian's appalling awareness of artful auto-arousal.

I'm awfully anxious about "artistic" ascii accelerating away aesthetically and avoidably. Well, why wank wearily wishing wepwoductions of witless white women would want your weaselly willy while wily writers warp weality into wapturous ewotic wisions which wifey would warely wecognise as

[Aaaaaah! My mum just caught me alliterating!]
(bagpuss606, Thu 3 Jun 2010, 17:32, Reply)