I don't see this opinion very often, so I might just be insane, but I firmly believe that the fun was removed from the internet with the invention of NAT.
Without the ability to receive connections on your home computer, the list of "fun" things you can build is hugely reduced.
Many if not most home router/firewalls have some provision to allow you to resolve thru NAT to a server at home.
Please note that this -may- violate TOS with your ISP; most officially don't allow servers, but some turn a blind eye to it as long as you aren't hosting something nefarious or popular (and if you are hosting something popular, it's better to just bite the bullet and get actual server hosting somewhere, given how cheap and easy it is today).
Without the ability to receive connections on your home computer, the list of "fun" things you can build is hugely reduced.