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"Ruins the internet"
I happen to remember the forum culture of the mid-late 2000s. It wasn't that great.
I do recall that people were extraordinarily toxic online. Reddit for a few years was a breath of fresh air but then got too big.
It was better though. Wouldn't call it good. But definitely better.
Gotta disagree with that. I remember the rampant elitism and tribalism, the shock-culture, isolation of communities, casual bigotry that would make modern 4chan blush, arbitrary forum rules irregularly enforced, etc etc etc.
For all the modern internet's problems, its communities are much more connected, it's much more accessible and less elitist, that shock-culture died out, the casual bigotry became contentious instead of accepted, and corporate running the show on most of these sites means that appeals and reversals are much easier than when you would rub some mod the wrong way and get permabanned from a forum you were a long-time member of. Never happened to me, but I saw it numerous times.
Yes, but if you didn't like one forum you just move on to the next. Today there are very few active forums left.
It was pretty great, actually. So much creativity, everyone has a normal voice, no YouTube celebrities
So much creativity, everyone has a normal voice,
...
You might be wearing nostalgia goggles.
It started out great. It went to shit.
Wish I could experience it
It had unique pieces, and a lot that I genuinely miss. But... there was also a LOT of bullshit that wouldn't pass muster nowadays.