I remember seeing those addresses starting with http and not knowing what to do with them. Telnet would not accept them. Later I discovered I could telnet somewhere at cern.ch and they provided access to lynx (the old lynx, with numbered links in square brackets). FIBS had some obscure address somewhere under chalmers.se, there was a chess server too, some IRC servers also accessible via telnet, and not much else. So yes, the archie + ftp combo was for me about the only way to find and download anything useful.
(Score: 1) by Barnaby on Wednesday April 29 2015, @05:03PM
I remember seeing those addresses starting with http and not knowing what to do with them. Telnet would not accept them. Later I discovered I could telnet somewhere at cern.ch and they provided access to lynx (the old lynx, with numbered links in square brackets). FIBS had some obscure address somewhere under chalmers.se, there was a chess server too, some IRC servers also accessible via telnet, and not much else. So yes, the archie + ftp combo was for me about the only way to find and download anything useful.