Retaking the internet

[Vul Lord of the Spiders]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the current status of the internet and perchance wanted to fire off ideas to make it niche and decentralize it for example i was thinking of maybe a website that could host webrings and user made irc's what do u guys think?

Edit since i kinda half assed the topic a bit: I i should clarify that i dont mind a centralized internet however the culture ideas and the general function has to be done away with and we absolutely need to remove these echo chambers and fix the user experiance overall before the internet become actually unusable

 

[manpaint]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the current status of the internet and perchance wanted to fire off ideas to make it niche and decentralize it for example i was thinking of maybe a website that could host webrings and user made irc's what do u guys think?

The current situation exist for a reason. The current centralization of the web is because it is more convenient for most people to simply have an account on one or a few social media sites. Humans likes convenience.

Truth to be told, everyone here likes the old web simply because that is what our brains were first exposed to. In other words, the current state of the web was inevitable for it bring benefits for the common man.

Agora Road and analogue yesterweb site is as good you are gonna get.

 

[alix]

The current situation exist for a reason. The current centralization of the web is because it is more convenient for most people to simply have an account on one or a few social media sites. Humans likes convenience.

Truth to be told, everyone here likes the old web simply because that is what our brains were first exposed to. In other words, the current state of the web was inevitable for it bring benefits for the common man.

Agora Road and analogue yesterweb site is as good you are gonna get.

Spacehey, an attempt to recreate the original MySpace, is full of zoomer alt tiktokers, and Neocities also has some of them. If they did, then more people could become part of this "new old web", as I like to call it. Plus Threads wanting to be part of the Fediverse may make more people know about alternative websites that aren't the big social medias.

 

[manpaint]

Spacehey, an attempt to recreate the original MySpace, is full of zoomer alt tiktokers, and Neocities also has some of them. If they did, then more people could become part of this "new old web", as I like to call it. Plus Threads wanting to be part of the Fediverse may make more people know about alternative websites that aren't the big social medias.

Well, you technically go a point. In absolute theory, it would be possible that a new generation would grow on the indie web an thus expect that. As for the "anomalies" you mentionned, IIRC those people then to have nice interests or being part of a specific culture (lots of gothic girls on SpaceHey for example). There is definitively some younglings in there, but I would not expect the indie web to ever become mainstream unless some giant marketing push happened.

 

[alix]

Well, you technically go a point. In absolute theory, it would be possible that a new generation would grow on the indie web an thus expect that. As for the "anomalies" you mentionned, IIRC those people then to have nice interests or being part of a specific culture (lots of gothic girls on SpaceHey for example). There is definitively some younglings in there, but I would not expect the indie web to ever become mainstream unless some giant marketing push happened.

I dont expect it to become big, but it certainly can get bigger

 

[manpaint]

I dont expect it to become big, but it certainly can get bigger

Oh yeah for sure.

As someone who speaks both french and english, the french actually started doing this way earlier than us (especially in niche communities). Granted most of the sites are forums that did not cared about the shiny new web and just did not go down that path rather than a "oh fuck, we need to remake the past" like the vibe there.

 

[Captain]

If you make a new old web, the new old web will evolve and become the current web before you even realize.

It's like the 35mm film craze the last few years. Everyone had to be retro and shoot film. Then they got sick of spending money on film so first gen CCD "digicams" are the new thing.....exactly like the original history.

Everyone has the desire to move forward and improve, even nostalgic people. It's why nostalgia betrays you.

Old web will never be again and you can't resurrect it. The other component is the people and what stage of life and knowledge they had at the time. It was a different time when we lived in the real world and didn't understand what was to come. All we had was optimism and imagination. Both are gone today.

 

[WKYK]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the current status of the internet and perchance wanted to fire off ideas to make it niche and decentralize it for example i was thinking of maybe a website that could host webrings and user made irc's what do u guys think?

First of all we already kinda have a site that hosts webrings, see Voicedrews agora webring index as well as the ARMC one that's tabbed at the top. If you want to start your own please do, but just know there's a lot here already too.

And about the internet in general, yeah it would be nice if everyone hosted their own site but honestly, normies gonna norm. Like if someone is worth engaging with online, then they will probably naturally create their own site, or be easily convinced if they haven't thought of it already. Even if every normie on the planet rejected SM and created a site, I probably wouldn't care about 99% of them because I really don't care about the stuff they all like. In my opinion, what's worse than social media existing is social media existing on your phone (aka everywhere all the time). My college experience has certainly been different than my parents because everyone at my school is deathly afraid of talking with one another. I mean, why talk to a new person on the first day of the semester when you can just go on instagram reels? It depresses me because I am a naturally very shy person, so I have relied most of my life on extroverted people initiating conversations with me to make friends, but now I can't rely on that anymore. I guess it'll be good to learn how to talk to people, idk.

Spoiler: ironic meme not real in minecraft mashallah

That being said, "Retaking the internet" makes me want to pull a fight club/mr robot move and blow up google servers or something. I would gladly form an extremist group with y'all to kill the antichrist.

 

[dorgon]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the current status of the internet and perchance wanted to fire off ideas to make it niche and decentralize it for example i was thinking of maybe a website that could host webrings and user made irc's what do u guys think?

I agree. Problem is there is a large group of people, which i refer to as "normalfags", who either disagree or don't really give a damn. Thing is, web rings and IRCs still exist and are still used. Sure, they're not as popular as the 2000's but they still exist, and people still use them. The fact that we are on this forum typing more long-winded responses instead of simply posting media or comments on the major social media website shows that we hold different values when it comes to content and how we "consume" it (the term consoomer came to be for a reason, it derived from people who endlessly consume things without the need to think about the products themselves). But I digress. I'd say it's about impossible to convince most of the normalfags that building a website, partaking in a webring, and talking in IRCs are cool. After all, building and maintaing a website is a hobby we have, just as playing football or pool or skateboarding is. Keep in mind back then nerds still built website and all that stuff, it's just that normalfags weren't exposed to the internet. Now they are here, and their desire of convenience over individuality and privacy has led to a more centralized internet.

But that's the rub, isn't it?

Problem is a more centralized internet is a more regulated internet, and we're gonna end up in the rip tides created by regulation. Whether it be by government or massive corporations, the major parts of the internet are one big plaything for them to watch us, and I guess part of that lays in the fault of the normalfag. So I guess a better question is to ask "How to we keep our side of the internet as decentralized and reasonably deregulated?" (no regulations at all will amount to disaster)

sorry for the strange rant. it's 2 am where i am right now and i just spilled my thought into here. cheers

 

[juicy_ricky]

If you make a new old web, the new old web will evolve and become the current web before you even realize.

It's like the 35mm film craze the last few years. Everyone had to be retro and shoot film. Then they got sick of spending money on film so first gen CCD "digicams" are the new thing.....exactly like the original history.

Everyone has the desire to move forward and improve, even nostalgic people. It's why nostalgia betrays you.

Old web will never be again and you can't resurrect it. The other component is the people and what stage of life and knowledge they had at the time. It was a different time when we lived in the real world and didn't understand what was to come. All we had was optimism and imagination. Both are gone today.

I actually have zero desire to "improve". I liked the internet in the 90's/2000's because it wasn't chock full of retards and noise. It was functional and really specific. There was a barrier to entry and that was a good thing imo. Went downhill IMMEDIATELY when social media became a thing. It felt a whole lot like freedom back then on so many different levels, not this homogenized clusterfuck of advertising, algorithm driven "content", and thought control that it is today. The concept of being "cancelled" because you hurt someones feelings would have been ludicrous at the time. That's why people not old enough to have actually BEEN there are nostalgic for it - it actually WAS better...period end of story. I'm not nostalgic...I was there to experience it firsthand. I miss it because all the things I loved about the old web are pretty much all dead now and what replaced it has been total bullshit.

 

[no_chill]

I'm getting increasingly annoyed with the current status of the internet and perchance wanted to fire off ideas to make it niche and decentralize it for example i was thinking of maybe a website that could host webrings and user made irc's what do u guys think?

This will be in vain I'm afraid.

I made a pretty detailed post about a similar topic and came to a similar conclusion, to make your own apps and websites as opposed to using the big tech sites.

It didnt got much interest though, at least some retards (not all) found their way debating absoluting everything I said. So I really fucking wonder why this post is so well received.

 

[Vul Lord of the Spiders]

The current situation exist for a reason. The current centralization of the web is because it is more convenient for most people to simply have an account on one or a few social media sites. Humans likes convenience.

Truth to be told, everyone here likes the old web simply because that is what our brains were first exposed to. In other words, the current state of the web was inevitable for it bring benefits for the common man.

Agora Road and analogue yesterweb site is as good you are gonna get.

honestly i believe that this centralization isnt supposed to happen at all because its against the nature of the internet i believe at this rate the internet will become a literal second life and we should at least try to prevent it im sure we can make the internet convientient without the sacrifice of losing the very essence of the internet because if we confine ourselfs to a centeralized internet we arent really connected we just get put into algorithmic boxes that keep us further from each other and in some cases cause social turmoil

 

[Vul Lord of the Spiders]

I truly believe alot of todays problems steam from the internet in some way wheather it be destroying malls or giving us information that some people dont want us to know the list is vast

 

[alix]

honestly i believe that this centralization isnt supposed to happen at all because its against the nature of the internet i believe at this rate the internet will become a literal second life and we should at least try to prevent it im sure we can make the internet convientient without the sacrifice of losing the very essence of the internet because if we confine ourselfs to a centeralized internet we arent really connected we just get put into algorithmic boxes that keep us further from each other and in some cases cause social turmoil

This is honestly the most important goal. If the Internet becomes a second life or any of that metaverse shit it will be even more centralized, maybe making the indie web even smaller and with even less posibility to grow. It's the worst ending. The metaverse thing has died so there may be still hope.
The second most important goal is removing Corporate Memphis from the face of the Earth

 

[alix]

I truly believe alot of todays problems steam from the internet in some way wheather it be destroying malls or giving us information that some people dont want us to know the list is vast

Malls are still thriving here in Spain and in more countries, I'm honestly surprised by how fast they died in the USA

 

[Captain]

honestly i believe that this centralization isnt supposed to happen at all because its against the nature of the internet i believe at this rate the internet will become a literal second life and we should at least try to prevent it im sure we can make the internet convientient without the sacrifice of losing the very essence of the internet because if we confine ourselfs to a centeralized internet we arent really connected we just get put into algorithmic boxes that keep us further from each other and in some cases cause social turmoil

The internet never accounted for the fact the general population are the dumbest creatures in the universe. They took the potential of the internet and turned it into sharing political memes and an outrage factory. Sadly the internet was lost the first time average Joe Public signed on. I don't think we ever really knew the sad state of our society and it's intelligence level until everyone got on the net.

 

[alix]

The internet never accounted for the fact the general population are the dumbest creatures in the universe. They took the potential of the internet and turned it into sharing political memes and an outrage factory. Sadly the internet was lost the first time average Joe Public signed on. I don't think we ever really knew the sad state of our society and it's intelligence level until everyone got on the net.

The normie internet and the more deep internet are almost different nets. The culture of both is completely opposite. And not just politics: everything that is on the "general" side is completely sanitized, unrecognaizable and almost mass-produced. It's not even neccesary to go to a forum as niche as this one.
I feel that if the status-quo of the web continues we will end up seeing a complete division between this two types, with nothing in common, not even the slightest.

 

[Vul Lord of the Spiders]

Malls are still thriving here in Spain and in more countries, I'm honestly surprised by how fast they died in the USA

the mall thing was kinda an example im sure malls here had a problem that the internet exposed and eventually killed thats my theroy

 

[Vul Lord of the Spiders]

This is honestly the most important goal. If the Internet becomes a second life or any of that metaverse shit it will be even more centralized, maybe making the indie web even smaller and with even less posibility to grow. It's the worst ending. The metaverse thing has died so there may be still hope.
The second most important goal is removing Corporate Memphis from the face of the Earth

im not against it becomeing a second life but im against using algoryithms to not only fuel the culture war via echochambers but also turn us against each other just a theory but i would not be surprised if the dark web becomes the new internet we are used too (and it kinda is already) and as long as something is centeralized like that its only natural for niche people to find a new nich place

 

[alix]

im not against it becomeing a second life but im against using algoryithms to not only fuel the culture war via echochambers but also turn us against each other just a theory but i would not be surprised if the dark web becomes the new internet we are used too (and it kinda is already) and as long as something is centeralized like that its only natural for niche people to find a new nich place

For the "normie public" a forum like this is already the deep web, so you're right