What happened to the internet?

[Gaexion Ramza Beoulve]

Like, don't be an asshole online?

Is that so hard?

Hey fuck you buddy.

[avitush]

what happened was draenei starting posting nudes of themselves on the internet and it all went downhill from there @Celista.

If draenei nudes are wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[Gaexion Ramza Beoulve]

The internet is not some grand parlor where distinguished gentlemen sip fancy teas.

It's a truck stop bathroom, and it's forums are a gloryhole where dicks go in and bad ideas come out.

What kind of fantasy world are you living in?

[kail]

Owners want to keep the platform in their image and politicians want to make the Internet in their image as well. It's all about control. Some of it is warranted, others not so much.

[Aucald]

Nothing happened to the Internet, as it is for the most part only the amplified well of the people who use it. Something has happened to the people in question, but the Internet as a platform is largely still as it was - perhaps a bit more commercialized and monetized, but that is always the general arc of things.

[KOUNTERPARTS]

The Internet didn't change.

People changed.

People who have access to the Internet, as time went by, changed.

[Martymark]

Authoritarian tyrants will always try to take over any free space.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

[Demasiados]

Nothing happened to the Internet, as it is for the most part only the amplified well of the people who use it. Something has happened to the people in question, but the Internet as a platform is largely still as it was - perhaps a bit more commercialized and monetized, but that is always the general arc of things.

Social media happend. Pin your real name and personal stuff about you and done. Governments started picking up on it as did corporations, see todays hiring practices and compare it with the pre internet era.

[Gorsameth]

I don't believe this. I tend to find it depends on which part of the internet you are in. There are some forums / boards / discords that are quite pleasant.

Yes, and I will bet these pleasant places are regulated by mods and not a lawless free for all.

[Demasiados]

The Internet didn't change.

People changed.

People who have access to the Internet, as time went by, changed.

Wrong, people didnt change. The number of peope on internet chnaged (increased).

Before the dawn of social media there werent that many people utilizing it, just for work and videogames largely. It used to be nerdy, now its mainstream.

[ZazuuPriest]

How did we get to where we are now? A world were there is a strong push towards real-id systems where it is getting harder and harder to just have fun.

You want to banter in a video game? The company will stalk you on twitter and facebook and ban you like overwatch.
You want to share a controversial opinion? In Germany they arrest you.
You want to jerk off? Need a license for that in the UK.
You commit "hate speech" a nebulous term no two people can agree on what exactly it means? Your bank cuts you off from your accounts...

Just what the hell happened? Is this just a case of thousand cuts over a long period of time that no one really noticed? Is there anyway to reverse this trend especially since it seems major finical institutions seem to pull services from sights that allow things they find offensive.

How did we get here and more importantly is there anyway to return the internet to its glory days?

European governments have always succumbed to fascism under the guise of protecting its citizens.

[NED funded]

I don't really know if it is driven by mass culture but rather by gate keepers. Upstart sites that offer the same services without censorship do extremely well for a short period of time until banks and credit cards refuse to do business with them.

Internet culture didn't want to change it was happy the way it was but it seems like the rest of the world can not tolerate a vacuum of power and seek to control it.

- - - Updated - - -



I don't know if the extreme right is any better they just hate slightly different things from my perspective.

Free speech alternatives like Voat? It is funny that the only people complaining about free speach/less restricted are doing it because they want to say horribly racist stuff.

[Demasiados]

Yes, and I will bet these pleasant places are regulated by mods and not a lawless free for all.

Well, theres is content that isnt allowed even under freedom of speech.
Though strictness of moderation tends to be proportionate to the size of given forum.

[nToxik]

The Internet was a mistake.

[oplawlz]

The extreme left happened, that's what

Yes, the PC movement has been hugely detrimental, but to be fair the far right is just as bad with their religious flounderings. The difference is for some reason people smart enough to say it's not cool for someone elses religion to dictate how you live can't understand that it's not cool for someone elses feelings to dictate how you live either.

[Demasiados]

Free speech alternatives like Voat? It is funny that the only people complaining about free speach/less restricted are doing it because they want to say horribly racist stuff.

The people who are being denied platform bitch about being denied platform. "Imagine my shock".

Also, who are you to decide whom i am allowed to listen to?
People should have the right to block what they dont want to hear, not someone else deciding for them.

[D3thray]

Yes, the PC movement has been hugely detrimental, but to be fair the far right is just as bad with their religious flounderings. The difference is for some reason people smart enough to say it's not cool for someone elses religion to dictate how you live can't understand that it's not cool for someone elses feelings to dictate how you live either.

At least with the religious right there was real pushback in pop culture. It was more balanced then. Now the far left has all the cards in the culture wars and right is the counter culture. Its so bizarre.

[zenkai]

Yes, the PC movement has been hugely detrimental, but to be fair the far right is just as bad with their religious flounderings. The difference is for some reason people smart enough to say it's not cool for someone elses religion to dictate how you live can't understand that it's not cool for someone elses feelings to dictate how you live either.

"You know what happens when you go far left or far right? You've gone too far" - The Late Richard Jeni

[Weeps]

Before the internet we heavily relied on scholars, people who actually knew their shit not people with Google PhDs.

These ignorant people use the wrong, incredible sources that they find on google (basically shit that's on page 2 and on in the search engine).

These sources are Brietbart, Stormfront, etc. Rightwingers in general are much more paranoid and hostile so they are easier to manipulate. Liberals are easily swayed by facts that are interpreted in their favor.

[Aucald]

Social media happend. Pin your real name and personal stuff about you and done. Governments started picking up on it as did corporations, see todays hiring practices and compare it with the pre internet era.

I can't speak for all companies, but social media presence was never that big a factor for my company - it didn't come up when I was hired, and it hasn't been a factor for any of my co-workers hired during my career (currently 15 years with the same company). A basic background check will tell you a good deal more about a potential hire than stalking through their social media, the majority of which is an idyllic misrepresentation of someone's life in which highlights are openly shared and the dark stuff is generally disguised or simply goes unmentioned. About as useful as a CV or resume, really.