[gnulinux]

> However, by now I think we've found our places where the internet is still fun. There's still some forums and chat rooms that keep things interesting without the constant barrage of advertising.

I haven't. Internet is nothing more than an addiction for me. Internet is dead and misanthropic nowadays. It's soulless and corporate. It used to be fun, artistic, creative, and educational. Now it's neither of those, with extremely few exceptions like Wikipedia.

> This site is one of them, but there are a bunch of federated platforms out there now too that are fun to explore.

I read reddit and HN constantly because I seem to have an unhealthy compulsion to keep up with the news, politics, tech, and the world, but other than that I wouldn't say I like either site, or that they're fun.

[NalNezumi]

>I haven't. Internet is nothing more than an addiction for me. Internet is dead and misanthropic nowadays. It's soulless and corporate. It used to be fun, artistic, creative, and educational. Now it's neither of those, with extremely few exceptions like Wikipedia.

I feel like the reality is that every recommendation algorithm have been cranked up to 11 to throw garbage at you. The "good old internet" is not completely gone, all the thing you mentioned, fun, artistic, creative & educational are still there.

I'd even say that when it come to educational it have actually massively gotten better, and still is, *but it is getting harder and harder to find it*.

Google search is garbage, Youtube throw you shorts clickbaity shit, so does twitter, and Facebook is a wasteland. Yet the interesting blogs are still there, the youtube content creators are still producing educational content, artists are still producing stuff.

*Search* has gotten worse. So you simply won't find as much as you used to, and your old channel is getting filled with SEO garbage and clickbait recommendation system preferences.

[CuriouslyC]

Yup. I have so many fond memories of the late 90s/early 00s web, but a feeling of being bored with the internet set in around 2014/2015 and now I'm just a current events junkie.

[rnd0]

I feel the same way. I don't see it so much as an addiction as much as that the internet cratered everything around it -all the social is largely online, or was. Reading, entertainment -again, largely reliant on the internet in various ways.

Part of it, for me, is age and locale. If I was in LA or a large city I might feel like there's worthwhile things to do offline -but I'm not, and largely there isn't; not if you're single and older, at least.

So I hover around reddit, hn and various discords because what else am I going to do? Go clubbing? There's no clubs, and I'm too old beside.

[01HNNWZ0MV43FF]

I read Reddit and HN because they're there, but Reddit hellbans any account I try to make with no email, so I can't comment, and I'm gradually moving to Mastodon.

[IncreasePosts]

So many subs hellban young accounts to deal with spam. The only real way to get around it is create an account 6 months before you want to comment.

[kaycebasques]

https://nekoweb.org

[soulofmischief]

What are some places you miss which you feel allowed you to be creative or learn without advancing some corporate agenda?

[gnulinux]

Random one off forums. They were alive.