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frankdenbowyesterday at 11:45 PM2 repliesview on HN

What do you mean exactly by lost so much of the original internet?


Replies

hsuduebc2yesterday at 11:47 PM

To use internet lingo, no normies.

hsuduebc2today at 12:03 AM

But to be more broad I'll present you the romantic version which is at least partly true. I miss that.

It used to feel like the internet was a place you went to explore and learn. It was harder to use and navigate, so most ordinary people did not spend much time there. Back then, a lot of people believed it would make the world better because everyone could access information and educate themselves.

That optimism did not survive contact with reality. Today you can carry essentially all human knowledge in your pocket, yet much of the internet is funneled through a handful of corporations whose business model is advertising and attention. Instead of helping people discover things, the dominant platforms optimize for keeping you scrolling with outrage, dopamine hits, and low value content. Worst thing is of course politics which moved in here.

The joy of exploring is done, but honestly I think that it atleast partly that the og users got older. Hackernews somehow reminding me the "old Internet", somehow alike people with desire to explore and have honest discussion on genuinely interesting topic.

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