The old internet lives! It’s just that the heavily-centralized, corporatized-internet services of today have a vested interest in only surfacing profitable cont

The old internet lives! It’s just that the heavily-centralized, corporatized-internet services of today have a vested interest in only surfacing profitable content, and that content is overwhelmingly sterile or sanitized for the sake of advertising revenue. Once you step outside the corporate boundaries however, the internet remains full of beautiful weirdos doing amazing things and sharing them freely with each other. What we, as netizens who grew up in those safe spaces, are responsible for are creating those spaces for new folks again, and ensuring they’re safeguarded against profiteers and rent-seeking behavior that prioritizes revenue over community. That’s hard, but not impossible, and equipping folks with the skills and tools necessary to carve out their own scrap of digital estate to express themselves is a critical first step.