I feel like Tony Soprano in the pilot episode

[0T-A.I.]

Im a 20 yr old that was born in 02', and grew up in what feels like the end of an era I only got a taste of. And what I mean by that is... the closest thing that i was involved in regarding the mid to late 2000s wild west internet culture was playing cartoonnetwor.com games on the family Windows 95' computer and talking about them with other kids irl and/or chatting on whatever chatrooms they had on those websites. Then again, I dont definitively remember if those websites even really had chatrooms or I just found a random forum somehow. But I definitely feel as though "I came in at the end, the best is over". I only got a taste before I was sucked into early Instagram, newly corporatized youtube and vine era. And while I am truly grateful for experiencing the best of a new beginning: (before it went to shit of course); I am a bit sad that I didnt get to fully experience a time that feels like more my speed. Which would explain why I am here. reliving a past that I never fully knew but came in at the end of... idk. what do yall think?
Hope everyone is having a good one. ^~^

 

[NW_Cryptid]

Im a 20 yr old that was born in 02', and grew up in what feels like the end of an era I only got a taste of. And what I mean by that is... the closest thing that i was involved in regarding the mid to late 2000s wild west internet culture was playing cartoonnetwor.com games on the family Windows 95' computer and talking about them with other kids irl and/or chatting on whatever chatrooms they had on those websites. Then again, I dont definitively remember if those websites even really had chatrooms or I just found a random forum somehow. But I definitely feel as though "I came in at the end, the best is over". I only got a taste before I was sucked into early Instagram, newly corporatized youtube and vine era. And while I am truly grateful for experiencing the best of a new beginning: (before it went to shit of course); I am a bit sad that I didnt get to fully experience a time that feels like more my speed. Which would explain why I am here. reliving a past that I never fully knew but came in at the end of... idk. what do yall think?
Hope everyone is having a good one. ^~^

I have always hated when people tell me "be the change you wish to see in the world" because while I understand the principle behind the words, I'd argue that nine times out of ten doing so accomplishes nothing. Sure we're never going to get that classic wild west back, and no I don't think we'll ever have what we had with youtube in it's early days. I was born just before the internet, and grew up with it; alongside it. It's part of why I enjoy sites like this one, it's why I enjoy vaporwave aesthetics. It reminds me of what we once had, but in a way it reminds me that it's still here. Not out in the open as much as it used to be, but in underground scenes. In this case, I would say be the change you want to see in the world, only because doing so will only lead you to more likeminded individuals; and that will reveal those parts of the internet that are still truly wild and free.

As cringe as it may sound to say, hold onto the memory of the internet we once had and seek it out among the ruins and cracks along the web you travel. If you look carefully it's still there, and no matter how much the corporate overlords try to hide it all away they can't stop us from creating our own wild west here on the internet. No one can control the internet, they've tried several times; and now they're taking a softer less noticeable approach with social media. However, we still survive, we still seek out what we once had, and what was robbed from us. So don't give up just yet. You've still got a long road ahead of you.

Okay sorry for the cringe I'm done now lol

 

[FalseReality]

What happened in the episode I don't know that show.

 

[PraxHeadroom]

I found Sopranos season 1 on VHS at a thrift store once but then never watched it because the box ended up being the perfect size to prop up my bed side lamp so I could reach it better.
But yeah I get what you mean though. I was born in '99 and got the tail end of the old web experience. I miss YTMND.

 

[№56]

Personally, I feel more like Tony Soprano in the final episo

 

[GENOSAD]

 

[manpaint]

Im a 20 yr old that was born in 02', and grew up in what feels like the end of an era I only got a taste of. And what I mean by that is... the closest thing that i was involved in regarding the mid to late 2000s wild west internet culture was playing cartoonnetwor.com games on the family Windows 95' computer and talking about them with other kids irl and/or chatting on whatever chatrooms they had on those websites. Then again, I dont definitively remember if those websites even really had chatrooms or I just found a random forum somehow. But I definitely feel as though "I came in at the end, the best is over". I only got a taste before I was sucked into early Instagram, newly corporatized youtube and vine era. And while I am truly grateful for experiencing the best of a new beginning: (before it went to shit of course); I am a bit sad that I didnt get to fully experience a time that feels like more my speed. Which would explain why I am here. reliving a past that I never fully knew but came in at the end of... idk. what do yall think?
Hope everyone is having a good one. ^~^

People like you saying that "the old internet is gone" was always strange to me. I was born in the year 2000s. Although I did see the "flash game era" I never saw the "wild west" that were geocities, AOL chathroom and stuff like that. What strike me as odd is that people behave as if some singular entity single handedly supressed the concepts of forums and small website.

When I was 15 years old, I vistied a RuneScape forum (not the official one) and a Gbatemp on a regular basis. Although Geocities was long gone, that did not stopped me making 30+ Wordpress sites about Club Penguin. Hell, on RuneScape Wiki, we would goof around with CSS on our user pages and stuff.

The forum I frequented are still up and still active. CSS still exist. I might have missed "the golden era", but still my childhood was still mostly "full of old web". That being said, I did feel a lot of joy when I discovered Neocities.

On a similar note, as a french person the concept of an "indie web" is not a thing from what I have seen. This most likely because there still plenty of "small websites" and that the "soulless corporate site" is not the default. Interesting how this seems to be an uniquely american perspective. Hmm, I wonder if japan has a term for "indie web" or if its really just an american thing.