I was a demo guitarist for Ed (got hooked up with his crew by Kimbo Davis who was close with Hartley and who'd reached out on behalf of Ed's business manager Barbara Page). That ended getting me hooked into working (this was all on the side, I was/am a fund manager IRL) on the brand new VH website on the "Equipment" section. I wrote up Ed's equipment history, and would interview people critical to that history. Wayne Charvel, Lynn Ellsworth, Steve Blucher, etc. Anyway, I got the idea to interview someone but (I won't share the details) was concerned about some situations therein. I emailed the guy running the website sharing my concerns and asking whether it was worth pursuing, but Val got hold of it and tore me a new one. That was fun.
Anyway, I was on the inside of the camp (at least as "inside" as I could be from Dallas, TX) and got to know a ton of folks. Scotty, the old tour manager, was great in particular.
No, Ed was never ever online back then. But he eventually grew to hate the "History" section I'd authored (it was too distracting from the new merch) and had it axed. He was very nice though, and even after getting let go invited me backstage the next time they came through. Invited me out to 5150 to jam (seriously) but I was in the middle of getting married at the time and it just didn't work out. I am not a "starstruck" kind of guy so maybe that's why they all trusted me, but it also meant kinda blowing that opportunity.
It was interesting being there when the Sammy thing blew up, the Dave thing happened, and the Cherone thing came together.
And honestly, I harbor zero ill will with VAVH (her old email prefix).
PS When I occasionally share details of old equipment stuff, I might know what I'm talking about