Throbnet, 1995

One of the characteristics of PC Magazine in the mid-1990's was its adult classified section. This went on for many pages; many, many offensive pages. Remember, this was a magazine that many of us read in our professional capacity, since it was the main way to get information about new products and trends. PC Magazine was the primary source of hardware and software reviews; their special printer issue was the place to go before buying a printer. But unfortunately, it also came with these pages.

This is a fairly mild example. I don't remember my rationale but I probably didn't feel comfortable showing the raunchier ads to my audiences, so I used this one. There were more explicit examples like the ads for Throbnet (a name that is still used in online porn).

But the real clincher for me was when I went to my first computer show. My memory has it that it was a MacWorld, but I can't be sure of that. It was in San Francisco, around 1995. Included among the exhibitors were some of the porn vendors who advertised in these pages. Their draw was that they had the actresses there in the booth. I distinctly remember the line of guys waiting to have their copy of "Anal ROM" signed. It was a very uncomfortable place for a woman working in the computer field.