Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

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?

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 18 2015, @07:30PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Monday May 18 2015, @07:30PM (#184746) Journal

    You can make it hard for the mainstream by putting up minimum demands. In the beginning, the internet required technical skills and a appreciation for text and other less stimulating input. Not to talk about being curious enough to figure out that it even existed.

    Perhaps this can serve as a hint on how to put a "mainstreams end here, step up or stay out" ;-)

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:54PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:54PM (#184806)

    On the other hand, the mainstream brings lots of benefits.

    For example, lamborghini has a reputation for being maintenance nightmares, while toyota corollas are rock solid. When you are young tweaking code and working around bugs is fun. I'm willing to bet most soybeans are well past that point and just want shit to work without a lot of fucking around.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2015, @09:34AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2015, @09:34AM (#184991)

      For example, lamborghini has a reputation for being maintenance nightmares, while toyota corollas are rock solid. When you are young tweaking code and working around bugs is fun. I'm willing to bet most soybeans are well past that point and just want shit to work without a lot of fucking around.

      But why should "shit [just working] without a lot of fucking around" be synonymous with "no forum ... safe from endless idiotic, threatening, and increasingly offensive trolls and bullies", finding "things behind paywalls, registration pages, or removed after threats from lawyers", "geographic blocks and other restrictions that keep out some of the people, some of the time" and being "buried alive with ads, pop-ups, and stupid YouTube ads in front of every video - unless you want to pay them to remove them"?

      Do we _really_ need to go back spending more time getting things working than actually getting stuff done? Or will going to web 5.1, which only works on 300 baud dialup, do the trick?