[jmathai]

Not every was around when the web was obscure. It's hard to explain how magical that time was. The pinnacle of the web for me was Audio Galaxy. A website where you could find new music to download and even push music to your friend's computer (using the Audio Galaxy Satellite app) [1].

I spent so much time in IRC rooms and discussion forums. It wasn't doom scrolling. No one was trying to manipulate me for my time or money. Perhaps you can think of it like going down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia articles. But there were so many people sharing so many unique perspectives - some I became friends with and many of those remain today.

I felt something like neocities might recapture that feeling. I haven't put in enough time to see if that's the case. I do hope that for a future generation that they get to experience something like the very early web ... it truly was remarkable.

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

[TechDebtDevin]

I imagine people will have the same nostalgia for doom scrolling one day ;)

[unethical_ban]

We'll have the same nostalgia for being able to travel anywhere without our location and emotions catalogued by government databases analyzing us for threats to order.

[smb06]

Or assigning a national security threat score if we like too many Chinese tik tok videos

[qingcharles]

In 2025 you get a lot more doom for your scroll. It certainly cuts down on wear and tear.

[oliwarner]

I fear to dream what's next. Push media?

[RGamma]

Or nostalgia for better nostalgia.

[oliwarner]

The version of doom scrolling then was refreshing threads on your common-interest forum. Or staring blankly at the screen waiting for the next chat message.

Chat obviously still exists but… I don't know. Discord et al don't feel like the IRC channels of yesteryear, but I don't know why. Not having to battle nickserv? Too much external media?

Perhaps speed is part of this. On a 56k, with 30kbps down, you couldn't rush around. Everything in the process came with load times. Forced meditation.

I miss it.