[rhplus]

Worth remembering that the "Eternal September" [1] was in 1993, which is over 30 years ago.

The internet has been "ruined" by bots, noobs and marketers for as long as anyone here can remember. All those AOL CDs you received in the mid-90s weren't from some grass-roots community organizer, they were from one growth-oriented corporation trying to connect as many users as possible to as many paid advertisers as possible.

Just like pop music, the "good old days" of the internet undoubtedly line up perfectly with the period when you first invested yourself in it, most likely from the ages of 15-25. That was when the communities you explored were humming with life and content was fresh and original. The fact this OP was in /r/millennials kinda hammers home that point. Millennials are no longer in that optimistic 15-25 age group, and the communities they once participated in have faded away and been replaced with new ones.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

[scoofy]

The distinction I always see is the consumption internet vs the creation internet.

The first question I ask people is whether or not they edit Wikipedia. That should be the shibboleth. If you don’t participate in the greatest product of the internet, you probably think the internet exists to entertain you, rather than the internet existing to help connect people to do great things together.

The internet is a success, it’s just not the success these types of people want.