4 ms·

You will NEVER get that experience back. Everything changed. The tech, the people, the culture. If you care about having quality conversations and non monetary

You will NEVER get that experience back. Everything changed. The tech, the people, the culture. If you care about having quality conversations and non monetary value, you can cultivate it yourself. You can still hang out on topic specific forums, participate in webrings, make friends through shared interests.

kevq 5y ago
You're absolutely, 100% right...unfortunately.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
I don't even know where to find people with shared interests anymore who are actually willing to deal with other people as something other than a potential customer, victim, or at best a single-serving friend for the duration of exactly one interaction. Hell, I'm guilty of it a lot of the time too when I'm not paying attention to it. I think I originally enjoyed the internet because it allowed me to find communities of people who shared my interests that no one in real life did. Nowadays I've gravitated back to real life because while no one really shares my interests I at least can, rarely, find people who treat me like a person instead of an NPC, at least when they aren't looking at their phone.
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  Discord is the new IRC, in my experience. I was sceptical, but there are servers for some pretty niche stuff out there. The key here is that each Discord server is walled off from everyone else, and that some servers are invite-only to limit the influx of outsiders. Take note though, it definitely doesn't replace in person interaction - it's almost social junk food.
  - orangepurple 5y ago
    This mirrors my experience. Many Discord servers have strong anti spam measures too.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    I've tried the discord thing and there's a lot that turns me off of the experience. It seems to desire that you always be on it, for one, and of course the whole thing is under the control of one company in particular, the client is closed source and bloated, etc. Not to mention that I certainly haven't had the experience you describe community-wise regardless.
    - selfhoster11 5y ago
      Sounds right to me. The client is too heavy, and I too wish that there was more decentralisation and ability to use alternative clients, but it is what it is. IRC hardly has the user count or the features needed to compete with Discord. The world has upgraded the expectations of what a chat client should be capable of, and IRC hasn't followed suit.
    - throw10920 5y ago
      But you didn't say that you wanted an experience, you said that you wanted "people with shared interests anymore who are actually willing to deal with other people as something other than a potential customer, victim, or at best a single-serving friend for the duration of exactly one interaction." The communities are there - just because the current platform sucks (which I agree, Discord is privacy-invasive, controlling, and dog-slow) doesn't mean that the communities have vanished. And, if there's already people, you can make connections that move to other platforms.
      - selfhoster11 5y ago
        Precisely. That's my approach. I'm willing to compromise on my technical preferences to some extent, if the payoff is worth it.
      - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
        Much like with online dating, while what I want may exist somewhere on that platform, there is only a certain amount of quality of life decrease I am willing to tolerate in an attempt to find it.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

kevq 5y ago

You're absolutely, 100% right...unfortunately.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

I don't even know where to find people with shared interests anymore who are actually willing to deal with other people as something other than a potential customer, victim, or at best a single-serving friend for the duration of exactly one interaction. Hell, I'm guilty of it a lot of the time too when I'm not paying attention to it. I think I originally enjoyed the internet because it allowed me to find communities of people who shared my interests that no one in real life did. Nowadays I've gravitated back to real life because while no one really shares my interests I at least can, rarely, find people who treat me like a person instead of an NPC, at least when they aren't looking at their phone.

selfhoster11 5y ago
Discord is the new IRC, in my experience. I was sceptical, but there are servers for some pretty niche stuff out there. The key here is that each Discord server is walled off from everyone else, and that some servers are invite-only to limit the influx of outsiders. Take note though, it definitely doesn't replace in person interaction - it's almost social junk food.
- orangepurple 5y ago
  This mirrors my experience. Many Discord servers have strong anti spam measures too.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  I've tried the discord thing and there's a lot that turns me off of the experience. It seems to desire that you always be on it, for one, and of course the whole thing is under the control of one company in particular, the client is closed source and bloated, etc. Not to mention that I certainly haven't had the experience you describe community-wise regardless.
  - selfhoster11 5y ago
    Sounds right to me. The client is too heavy, and I too wish that there was more decentralisation and ability to use alternative clients, but it is what it is. IRC hardly has the user count or the features needed to compete with Discord. The world has upgraded the expectations of what a chat client should be capable of, and IRC hasn't followed suit.
  - throw10920 5y ago
    But you didn't say that you wanted an experience, you said that you wanted "people with shared interests anymore who are actually willing to deal with other people as something other than a potential customer, victim, or at best a single-serving friend for the duration of exactly one interaction." The communities are there - just because the current platform sucks (which I agree, Discord is privacy-invasive, controlling, and dog-slow) doesn't mean that the communities have vanished. And, if there's already people, you can make connections that move to other platforms.
    - selfhoster11 5y ago
      Precisely. That's my approach. I'm willing to compromise on my technical preferences to some extent, if the payoff is worth it.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      Much like with online dating, while what I want may exist somewhere on that platform, there is only a certain amount of quality of life decrease I am willing to tolerate in an attempt to find it.

deleted 5y ago

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