Squidding: Hanging Out on the Internet Waaaaay Too Much in the Nineties

Michelle calls from Peoria, Illinois, about a slang term that she and her friend Liz often heard when they were students at Bradley University in the mid-1990s. In those days before modern social media, to squid or to engage in squidding referred to largely non-productive activity at one’s computer — emailing for entertainment rather than work, participating in chat boards and Usenet groups, and the like. Bradley’s student newspaper, The Scout, defined squid and squidding in similar terms. They may have been unique to that particular university, perhaps referring to a custom software used there before more standardized programs arose. This is part of a complete episode.