It was a digital turf war. You had to find "dead" keys—keys that were generated, used once, and then abandoned. Or, you had to wait until 3:00 AM when the "other guy" with your same key went to bed. This is where the magic happened. At a LAN party with CS 1.1, you couldn't hide behind a unique ID.
CS 1.1 Key: 5RP2E-EPH3K-BR3LG-KMGTE-FN8PY cd key cs 1.1
So, the next time you open Steam and click "Play" on CS2 in two seconds, take a moment to mourn the lost era. The era of the scratched CD, the screaming modem, and the little white sticker on your beige tower that said: It was a digital turf war
Then, the dreaded red text: "Cannot connect to server. CD Key already in use." You would scream at the monitor. "WHO IS USING 1234-56789?! I GENERATED THAT LAST WEEK!" This is where the magic happened