Do you guys ever feel super nostalgic for internet culture of

Fuck no autismoboy.
I need a good speed man! xD

>>34276967
Unfortunately most of people here were born in 1997 or 1998

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>>34276967
>supposed best time on the net
>spent it all playing flash games and binge reading wikipedia article

Why do I always miss the good things

I think the biggest difference was the hesitancy to reveal one's name or personal info.

It was incredibly taboo, and I recall what a big moment it was when a close group of online friends finally divulged their names and locations as opposed to usernames.

Different times.

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Definitely.

You had access to lots of information (generally GOOD information) without all of the stupid fucking tracking and interdependence and extreme commercialization of the internet today. There was also no fucking social media, so meeting someone online and getting to know them through messenger felt very interesting and exciting, instead of getting a prepared dossier of likes/dislikes shoved in your face before you even say hello. No streaming video online was also, in retrospect, a good thing: it meant you had to acquire VHS tapes or DVDs to watch things; same with video games. It slowed life down and made it more manageable and easy to enjoy. Internet was a useful addendum to academia, entertainment, and socialization, instead of the absolute and only viable platform.


Now, everything is blazing fast and centralized: You're being fed commercial, social and political information constantly. Everything is also now supposed to be connected to the internet. Everything is a service, and you are a product yourself. You can't even open a fucking webpage without javascript and XML raping the shit out of your browser because it's trying to connect to 19 different advertising services.

The internet of today is effectively TV 2.0: A platform to sell people more stupid shit. While it turns the instant gratification up to 11, it also ups the horrible nature of nonstop, strategically placed information. The nice little corners are being paved over, and with net neutrality getting fucked soon in the US, you can bet things are just going to get increasingly worse. I shudder at the thought of this "internet of things" that is coming. Smartphones were bad enough.

>>34276967
>that dialup sound
heck yes i do