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This happened because a few corporations were able to capture most of the internet due to a mix of laziness on the part of users and also the death of independe

This happened because a few corporations were able to capture most of the internet due to a mix of laziness on the part of users and also the death of independent blogs and fan sites. I suspect that the independent internet died for pretty much the same reason why many people won't post anything interesting or authentic on social media anymore: Being active online can lead indirectly to real world harm to yourself or your family. Evil people use the internet to harass other people and to attack their livelihood or put the safety of their family at risk. Many employers now discriminate against employees or even just people applying for jobs who openly express opinions on the internet. And even posting pseudonymously isn't completely safe because it is usually possible to deanonymize posters if an attacker is obsessed enough. The sad reality is that many people do inauthentic things for the sake of career advancement (think of all the college students who do extracurriculars or projects for the sole purpose of "resume padding") and refuse to do things they actually believe in for the sake of their career. When creating quality online content becomes a risk to career advancement, people are going to stop doing it. In the long term, that means a siloed internet full of corporate propaganda, SEO optimized blogspam and clearly inauthentic posts. In short, I believe Google search is getting worse because the internet is getting worse. And the internet is getting worse because our society permits employers to have a chilling effect on the online speech of their employees and those who might be their employees someday. And because the independent internet has shrunk dramatically, the handful of corporations that control almost the entire internet can now get away with siloing it off so that's what they're doing.

tommica 3y ago
Most people just don't have anything interesting to say
pseudalopex 3y ago
> I suspect that the independent internet died for pretty much the same reason why many people won't post anything interesting or authentic on social media anymore: Being active online can lead indirectly to real world harm to yourself or your family. Evil people use the internet to harass other people and to attack their livelihood or put the safety of their family at risk. Many employers now discriminate against employees or even just people applying for jobs who openly express opinions on the internet. And even posting pseudonymously isn't completely safe because it is usually possible to deanonymize posters if an attacker is obsessed enough. Discussions moved from independent forums to Facebook groups and Reddit. Discord later. Facebook and Reddit are not more anonymous than independent forums.
- suddenclarity 3y ago
  Reddit do have a sense of being more anonymous since you can edit and soft delete your content. This is very rare for forums and most of the things I wrote 20 years ago still show up on Google. All my comments on Reddit are "gone". The decision to limit the API might therefore actually be a good for the average user if it stops archives such as ceddit and unreddit to show your posts after you've edit or removed them. Most people probably don't know about them though and believe their content is gone just because they click delete. Facebook and Discord groups have been private since as long as I can remember. Sure, someone might leak if you invite the wrong people but compare it with Twitter where you can find all posts from user X including keyword Y. Or even do it through Google cache. It takes minutes to find something to use against anyone if you really want to. Based on the last election in my country, it can be something as simple as listening to the wrong artist when you're 14.
pjc50 3y ago
Possibly, but when I think of "old internet" I think of people posting under pseudonymous handles for basically this reason. > our society permits employers to have a chilling effect on the online speech of their employees More generally than that. Dylan Mulvaney made one beer advert while being trans and got death threats. She would be counted as a "contractor" rather than an employee.

tommica 3y ago

Most people just don't have anything interesting to say

pseudalopex 3y ago

> I suspect that the independent internet died for pretty much the same reason why many people won't post anything interesting or authentic on social media anymore: Being active online can lead indirectly to real world harm to yourself or your family. Evil people use the internet to harass other people and to attack their livelihood or put the safety of their family at risk. Many employers now discriminate against employees or even just people applying for jobs who openly express opinions on the internet. And even posting pseudonymously isn't completely safe because it is usually possible to deanonymize posters if an attacker is obsessed enough. Discussions moved from independent forums to Facebook groups and Reddit. Discord later. Facebook and Reddit are not more anonymous than independent forums.

suddenclarity 3y ago
Reddit do have a sense of being more anonymous since you can edit and soft delete your content. This is very rare for forums and most of the things I wrote 20 years ago still show up on Google. All my comments on Reddit are "gone". The decision to limit the API might therefore actually be a good for the average user if it stops archives such as ceddit and unreddit to show your posts after you've edit or removed them. Most people probably don't know about them though and believe their content is gone just because they click delete. Facebook and Discord groups have been private since as long as I can remember. Sure, someone might leak if you invite the wrong people but compare it with Twitter where you can find all posts from user X including keyword Y. Or even do it through Google cache. It takes minutes to find something to use against anyone if you really want to. Based on the last election in my country, it can be something as simple as listening to the wrong artist when you're 14.

pjc50 3y ago

Possibly, but when I think of "old internet" I think of people posting under pseudonymous handles for basically this reason. > our society permits employers to have a chilling effect on the online speech of their employees More generally than that. Dylan Mulvaney made one beer advert while being trans and got death threats. She would be counted as a "contractor" rather than an employee.