I had an idea. People treat declines in the quality of internet communities as separate events, but maybe they're not. Around 2005-2006 is when every decently large internet community I was on at the time experienced more or less the same perceived decline in quality of posts and membership. At the time, that was pretty much just Totse and the forums at Neopets (I know, fuck off, I was still attached to my old account and shit). Posters at both of these sites, around this time, began to complain more than ever about perceived wrongs by staff, ways they thought the site wasn't being run properly, bitching about commercialization, going on about how the place going downhill, etc. I never went to 4chan much but I was well enough in touch with the culture to catch wind of the same perceptions from there.
Could this indicate a broader pattern? Maybe the real issue is that this generation of internet users grew up and became less blindly enamored to what they once thought was amazing and flawless. Maybe it's confirmation bias and/or nostalgia: they want to believe the past was better, or the past looks better by virtue of more enjoyable things being more memorable.
Thoughts?
Comments
It was like that in 2006 and it's like that now too.
The fucking nigger hated all of us
I tend to just say fuck it, and carry on. So what if a community isn't the same as it was back then? The newer community will always bring a different experience to the table, and it's good.
I think it's just that people don't like change. It's something you have to get used to.
sounds just like real life to me
Back in the day, shit was underground and tight. It had rawness and novelty.
The only way forward is to create a feeder community like this site, then invite all the sick posters to a better place.
>implying zoklet isn't the feeder community