‘I met my wife on LiveJournal’: stories of love, friendship and joy from the web’s early days

From Neopets to Habbo Hotel and AIM, the early internet was a friendlier place. Readers recall the online spaces they've loved and lost

Thirty years ago this month, Tim Berners-Lee submitted his proposal for what would become the world wide web. Today's internet is so dominated by a few tech companies and toxic debate, it can be hard to remember that it was once a friendlier place of previously unfathomable discovery and connection, especially when many of those online communities no longer exist. We asked readers and writers to share their favourite stories of the internet as it once was. Tell us yours in the comments.