[jfengel]

There was also .001% of the content there is now. The Internet of 2000 was microscopic.

Now everyone can create content, without any of the friction of hosting it. The vast majority of it is crap, but that was always the case.

The main difference between now and 30 years ago is that the Internet is vastly more diverse. It isn't just other CS majors any more. Now everyone gets to wade in the vast crap pool looking for the smidge of things that appeal to them. Meanwhile the CS majors still host their own stuff, because they can, and you find out about it via the same word of mouth.

[inigyou]

The .001% was the top .001% of today's content. The other 99.999% we gained was spam aimed at getting money while providing minimal value and taking minimal effort.

[UqWBcuFx6NV4r]

can’t wait to hear about how some 9/11 truther blog was the cream of the crop. I’m surprised you can see anything through those rose coloured glasses.

the most charitable interpretation is that the internet used to more exclusively cater to your interests specifically, which i’m sure is true.

try asking most women about the internet then vs now. there are still scumbags, and one could reasonably argue that they’ve gotten worse, but at least theres more to do now.

[pwdisswordfishq]

> can’t wait to hear about how some 9/11 truther blog was the cream of the crop

Compared to the torrent of AI slop today, it was.

[inigyou]

This is true.

[tombert]

> It isn't just other CS majors any more.

Hey, that's not fair! It also had nine year olds who bought a book about HTML and made shitty sites on Geocities!

[modriano]

Those were just CS majors before they majored in CS.

[KPGv2]

Jokes on you, I majored in pure mathematics.

[fl4regun]

i don't think it's fair to say it was just CS majors, I'm a 90s baby and i was on the web in the 2000s when i was in middle school, I still remember reading web comics and forums, messaging people on MSN and playing MMOs with online friends, looking up gameFAQs to get past sticking points. This could just be me, but it felt more social and personal.

[0xDEAFBEAD]

Yeah it feels like people aren't making friends online as much nowadays. Everyone is chasing clout, and if you get a rando who sends you a friendly message, it's quite likely a pig butchering scam.

[bandrami]

In the early aughts the web was largely anonymous (MySpace and Friendster were just starting out and Facebook was still a Ivy league only thing). We thought we wanted to be able to find and be found by specific people, but in retrospect I definitely regret that change. It was better when I was just a randomish string of characters.

[gmadsen]

The 90s were very different from the 2000s

[fl4regun]

the commenter was talking about the internet in the 2000s, as am I. I was only born in the 90s.

[JKCalhoun]

Yeah, that was fine. It meant I got out riding my bike more often.

[docjay]

It sounds like you agreed with them from the other direction. “The internet of yesteryear felt more special.” - “Nah, there wasn’t as much slop back then and now it’s a crap pool that anyone can wade into and look for scraps.”