My first exposure to the internet was via Edmonton FreeNet. You'd dial in, using a terminal program like a BBS, and it would dump you into Lynx.

They had a menu where you could access email (Pine), manage your small amount of file space (downloads went here, then you'd go to the file manager to transfer them to your computer via ZModem), change your password, etc.

I have fond memories of Lynx, but I haven't used it since I switched to a provider that gave me a "real" connection.