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posted by n1 on Monday May 18 2015, @12:53PM   Printer-friendly
from the 4-da-lulz-and-$$$ dept.

I go back on the 'net to the days of Mosaic, and earlier on Usenet and BBSs. I'm feeling pretty nostalgic, but also saddened. Between the crooks, the government, and fun loving pranksters it seems that there is no corner of the 'net that can be considered truly secure. I now routinely assume that nothing I do is safe.

I remember when the 'net was 90% thoughtful discussion, it was about web pages, pure HTML, and the content that they served up.

Now it seems as if no forum is safe from endless idiotic, threatening, and increasingly offensive trolls and bullies. Many good smart people just refuse to participate. In its early days the whole idea behind the 'net was the free sharing of information. Now you find things behind paywalls, registration pages, or removed after threats from lawyers.

Each week seems to bring another attempt by government or business to regulate the 'net, both what you can put on-line, and what you can look at. Add to that the many geographic blocks and other restrictions that keep out some of the people, some of the time. We rely on multiple layers of flash and java and other technology, each requiring some special software to make it work on your computer. Inevitably stuff breaks.

It was only a decade or so back that the very idea of marketing on the 'net was considered ridiculous. Now we're buried alive with ads, pop-ups, and stupid YouTube ads in front of every video - unless you want to pay them to remove them.

Increasingly using the 'net feels like more of a chore than a pleasure, and I can't see it improving. Is the Internet broken beyond repair?

 
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  • (Score: 2) by snick on Monday May 18 2015, @02:11PM

    by snick (1408) on Monday May 18 2015, @02:11PM (#184539)

    This.

    I was going to write much the same. Thanks for saving me the trouble. Anyone who thinks that there was ever a time when "the 'net was 90% thoughtful discussion" obviously wasn't there.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @07:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @07:55PM (#184762)

    It was somewhere between '92 and '94, when I emailed researcher (who I did not know) at Lawrence Livermore national lab, and got help building a home wind turbine. That shit could never happen today.

    It was a different place. There was etiquette. People were helpful with strangers.

    And, yes, I was there. Things went to hell in the mid-90s.

    I imagine if ad blocking becomes ubiquitous, the commercial Internet will fail, and we may end up there again.

    • (Score: 2) by jimshatt on Monday May 18 2015, @09:52PM

      by jimshatt (978) on Monday May 18 2015, @09:52PM (#184834) Journal

      That shit could never happen today.

      Have you tried? There are still nice people on the web. I'm pretty sure that if you personally e-mail a researcher relevant questions, you'll get an answer. Very often, at least.