I think the author misses the magic feeling of the early internet and is trying to rationalize their feelings, but hasn't quite figured out the real explanation

I think the author misses the magic feeling of the early internet and is trying to rationalize their feelings, but hasn't quite figured out the real explanation. I really doubt that their inability to find old news is the source of their troubles; in fact, I doubt that they've struggled to find old news at all. It's not very hard to find. More likely, the author is facing the same issue as everyone else; it's harder to find or create something on the internet that feels really special, because everyone's already seen it all.