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That's all true. But US internet culture has changed dramatically in the past few years. And it's not just "eternal September". I miss the early years. There

That's all true. But US internet culture has changed dramatically in the past few years. And it's not just "eternal September". I miss the early years. There are still vestiges left. Some public intellectuals still respond to unsolicited email from strangers.

rootusrootus 5y ago
> Some public intellectuals still respond to unsolicited email from strangers. Fauci is on that list, isn't he? I was kinda surprised to learn that from the email dump. I figured his email would be thoroughly filtered. Of course, whether he actually qualifies as an intellectual seems up for debate these days.
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  Wow, the political partisans are out in force today. I wish HN could be above the fray, but alas...
ska 5y ago
> I miss the early years. Whatever else was true of the early years, when internet use was a niche thing it wasn't representative of broader US culture sort of by definition. Now it is, or at least much more so.
bradleyjg 5y ago
> I miss the early years. People used stable nyms. Mote, beam and all that.
- pton-throw 5y ago
  Your point is well taken, but ephemeral nyms aren't new. I actually like knowing they are out there. You need to evaluate what you read on its own merits. And there's an aspect of rebelling against the logic of accumulation.
  - bradleyjg 5y ago
    They did exist, but a lot of us filtered them out with our newsreaders. I don’t have unlimited time to read comments so I prioritize ones from the patio11, cperciva, and ChuckMcMs of the board. Not because who they are IRL but because a history of posts I found interesting, informative, etc. makes it more likely the next one will be too. If you are on a throwaway because you want to talk about being a functional alcoholic without your colleagues knowing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27363003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27363003 that’s perfectly reasonable. But if you are on a throwaway because you want to attack the concept of reputation, that’s a pretty negative signal.

rootusrootus 5y ago

> Some public intellectuals still respond to unsolicited email from strangers. Fauci is on that list, isn't he? I was kinda surprised to learn that from the email dump. I figured his email would be thoroughly filtered. Of course, whether he actually qualifies as an intellectual seems up for debate these days.

rootusrootus 5y ago
Wow, the political partisans are out in force today. I wish HN could be above the fray, but alas...

ska 5y ago

> I miss the early years. Whatever else was true of the early years, when internet use was a niche thing it wasn't representative of broader US culture sort of by definition. Now it is, or at least much more so.

bradleyjg 5y ago

> I miss the early years. People used stable nyms. Mote, beam and all that.

pton-throw 5y ago
Your point is well taken, but ephemeral nyms aren't new. I actually like knowing they are out there. You need to evaluate what you read on its own merits. And there's an aspect of rebelling against the logic of accumulation.
- bradleyjg 5y ago
  They did exist, but a lot of us filtered them out with our newsreaders. I don’t have unlimited time to read comments so I prioritize ones from the patio11, cperciva, and ChuckMcMs of the board. Not because who they are IRL but because a history of posts I found interesting, informative, etc. makes it more likely the next one will be too. If you are on a throwaway because you want to talk about being a functional alcoholic without your colleagues knowing: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27363003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27363003 that’s perfectly reasonable. But if you are on a throwaway because you want to attack the concept of reputation, that’s a pretty negative signal.