A few years ago I remembered the name of the MUD I played in college. Found it was still online. Couldn&#x27;t remember my old pw so I created a new character and &#x27;finger&#x27;-ed my old character, the one who almost caused me to flunk a semester, and there she was. Still had the same .plan file. Seemed like the correct level and titles too. &quot;Last logged in: 19 years ago&quot;. I did the same for my old friends. The most recent was 17 years ago.<p>I don&#x27;t get nostalgic often or easily, but I felt this amazing sadness for a minute. All those people who were so close to me. All gone half a lifetime ago but they&#x27;re still here in a way. Memorialized as bits on a German university server which very few still visit.