this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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I'd like it if there was a 3rd web. Not normie web, not dark web, but 90's-2000 web where it felt like anything could happen and you needed some skill and willpower to get online. That way you had to earn it and so did the others, so there was a lot less marketing, propaganda and conspiracy theory on it.
I don't know what the rules or parameters would have to be to re-initiate that now.
PS just like the joining process on Lemmy filters out the lazy people without much initiative to tinker and find new places to hang out before they are cool and streamlined.
Early 2000 web was the best web. Our student flat had just moved from dial up to ASDL so download speed felt incredible. I would StumbleUpon new an fantastic websites all night long. Play Flash games for hours. Or with friends, gross ourselves out on rotten dot com. TPB and Limewire to build my music library, but always seeding above 1 of course because sharing is caring. And not forgetting the chatrooms...
When Jack from Lost said "We have to go back!!", this is what he was talking about.
You had to work for your series, movies and music. You had to know what you want to obtain it. You weren't force-fed content you never asked for. You really think there's no more good music? There is but being bombarded with the commercial sh*t makes you wary of searching more of it.
You had to work for it to get online and have stuff work, so you'd have to show determination. Which would mean you'd understand the value of access to information and communication. Now you're bombarded with contradictory information pretty much constantly without even asking, accessing info isn't the problem anymore, it becomes an effort to keep any focus or quality of information whatsoever. And that's a soft skill.
And lastly, politics and big corporations now live on the internet with us. Their target audiences are those most intellectually defenseless people. But basically the whole internet has become centered around those. Because they can't discern and are basically technologically illiterate and don't understand how easy it is to feed them terrible commercials, propaganda and misinformation.
The internet becomes overregulated because of those users, and we get bombarded with marketing and politics because of them too. It's become a shit show and all you can do is navigate and use it extremely selectively. Remember, these 'normies' are the parents of the 20-30 year Olds who once judged them for spending too much time on their PCs and phones.
So, we need a new internet community, with barriers against "normies", so that only people with tech knowledge or friends of such can get in? Pretty much sounds like we're already here. A few years ago I would've said "try the dark web" but TOR browser's pretty much made that easy. Plus bitcoin's way too volatile to spend now, and the eth rates are ridiculous. But, if you ask for shady, you get shady.
Nowadays, I recommend decentralized networks and self-hosting wherever possible. I personally can't do it due to my living conditions, but as soon as I can break free of this place I will absolutely have the best home setup I can get at a reasonable price, and I'll donate my excess compute time to BOINC.
Neato! I used boinc for a while too :D
Is that the little purple gorilla guy?
People have to feel funded, safe, and comfortable to make stuff for free to share with others, right now everyone feels like they need to make the absolute most money possible.
What will make a more neutral internet is a better world. Our virtual one and our real one are pretty interlinked and one can not be poisoned without it spreading to the other.
So you're saying that the more people we pay well, the more good free resources we get. What a novel idea.
Step one, get rid of the money. You want to host something? Use your own computer and eat the cost. Do not run ads to "offset expenses." If they fall short you'll make them worse and they'll still disappoint you. If you manage to profit then that's what the project becomes about.
Step two, get rid of the Nazis. Your forum does not need iron-clad rules demanding nobody ever swear at anyone else. You do not need to litigate reasons someone is no longer welcome, or gets a month-long time out to consider other hobbies. You know good and goddamn well when one rando is casually sassing another for spouting off some nonsense, and when some bastard troll is seriously and correctly being told where to shove it. If you don't trust yourself to make that distinction, nine times out of ten, in a matter of seconds - do not run a forum. The trolls will woo you and take over before you know what's going on.
There is...
You could just use a network like Retroshare or something like that.