There is an interesting discussion going on in a mailing list inside Microsoft. As an aside a number of people have stated how long they have been on the Internet (including USENET). The earliest so far in 1983. That happens to be about the time I first got on USENET. I still think of myself as a newby though. Lots of people I worked with used the Internet (actually mostly called the ARPAnet back then) before and more often than I did. It was the early 1990's while I was working on my Master's degree that I really used the Internet for more than just email on a regular basis. Before that it was occasional reading on USENET News and email only.

I was late to the world wide web as well. It was at least 6 months old before I installed a web browser and started looking around. My how things have changed. I am probably not thought of as a newby any more.