I would set it back to the early to mid-90s, when I first experienced it…
Am I one of those old fart trying to say it was better in the good old times? Yes, and no.
Back then the Internet was limited, it was hacked together and there was no professionally designed website with pretty animations, security was… not much, there was no mobile web and, as a matter of fact, no ‘app’ at all since smartphones were not yet a thing. There was not even script languages like Javascript or PHP to develop all those shit… amazing dynamic features we’re now surrounded with. So, yeah, it was limited. But…
There also was also no social media, no monetizing, no tracking, no corporate mafia-like CEOs trying to took us hostage or to milk us to death, and hands in hands with their politicians friends, trying their worst at transforming our free societies into some fascist dystopia that if they succeed (and it looks like they could) will make look all the XX century monstrosities mere child-play.
There were already evil corporations and assholes politicians back then, sure, but for the most part the Internet was people, not businesses. And it was not populated by those armies of braindead, tantrum-obsessed and hysterical morons we now consider the normal ‘user’.
Trolls were already a thing, obviously, but there were not millions of them waiting to be mobilized through social media like a good army of haters ready to go stampede into oblivion anything nice or daring anyone could be willing to do. It was ok to not be nice, to not be liked, and to take risks.
I mean, it was actual people with their qualities and flaws, people that were willing to share content they were interested in and to discuss it. People that were not expecting to make a fucking cent out of every single fart they would make online. Nor to gain any Likes…
So, yeah it was rougher, so much more limited and a lot less cool. It was also a lot less polite. But it was so much more free and less full of shit.
I would set it back to the early to mid-90s, when I first experienced it…
Am I one of those old fart trying to say it was better in the good old times? Yes, and no.
Back then the Internet was limited, it was hacked together and there was no professionally designed website with pretty animations, security was… not much, there was no mobile web and, as a matter of fact, no ‘app’ at all since smartphones were not yet a thing. There was not even script languages like Javascript or PHP to develop all those shit… amazing dynamic features we’re now surrounded with. So, yeah, it was limited. But…
There also was also no social media, no monetizing, no tracking, no corporate mafia-like CEOs trying to took us hostage or to milk us to death, and hands in hands with their politicians friends, trying their worst at transforming our free societies into some fascist dystopia that if they succeed (and it looks like they could) will make look all the XX century monstrosities mere child-play.
There were already evil corporations and assholes politicians back then, sure, but for the most part the Internet was people, not businesses. And it was not populated by those armies of braindead, tantrum-obsessed and hysterical morons we now consider the normal ‘user’.
Trolls were already a thing, obviously, but there were not millions of them waiting to be mobilized through social media like a good army of haters ready to go stampede into oblivion anything nice or daring anyone could be willing to do. It was ok to not be nice, to not be liked, and to take risks.
I mean, it was actual people with their qualities and flaws, people that were willing to share content they were interested in and to discuss it. People that were not expecting to make a fucking cent out of every single fart they would make online. Nor to gain any Likes…
So, yeah it was rougher, so much more limited and a lot less cool. It was also a lot less polite. But it was so much more free and less full of shit.
(end of that old fart rant, promise)