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The internet used to be fun

projects.kwon.nyc

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Re: The internet used to be fun

#51

Post by mistermann »

bbsz wrote: post #40
xnx wrote: post #11

TikTok is where I find fun on the current internet. It's hilarious (Taylor Swift private jet memes), weird (grimace shake), surprising, emotionally moving (hopecore), educational (how to adjust a door closer), and always exposing me to things I've never seen (starting process for a diesel locomotive). It contains ads, but they're pretty easy to identify and very easy to skip.

This wasn't a sarcasm? Honestly, I am undecided. (I don't like TikTok and everything it stands for)

Do you have an accurate model of what TikTok is though? Does anyone?

Re: The internet used to be fun

#52

Post by rchaud »

icedchai wrote: post #19
strict9 wrote: post #7

The internet is still fun. I was on bulletin board systems pre-internet as a kid and spent too much time on the web in the late 90s. I've seen it evolve from java applets and flash to something better. Though I don't like social media much anymore and worry about the effect of screens on kids, I still love the internet and value what it makes possible. I don't buy into these arguments of things used to be better. It'…

I also spent a ton of time on BBSes, pre Internet. A few of these developed into early dialup ISPs. One thing I really miss is the "community" aspect. Local message boards, etc. That is all gone now. The closest thing you can find is maybe a subreddit or Discord, but it's not the same. The community and locality aspect is gone. You can't even meet a weirdo on Craigslist anymore. For many people, the Internet of today…

Local message boards are gone because they end up becoming dominated by weirdos and the people who don't have anything else to do, so end up posting constantly. Think of the comments section of a local newspaper website.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#53

Post by dinkleberg »

I can't help but observe that the majority of these sites linked are very ordinary looking sites. I don't see an abundance of "fun".

In my opinion, if you don't think people are still out there having fun on the internet, you're looking in the wrong places.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#54

Post by rchaud »

sydbarrett74 wrote: post #49
rchaud wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Geocities and Angelfire beg to differ.

I question the aesthetic sensibilities of many content creators on those platforms, but the site content itself was sometimes whimsical and entertaining.

I think both sites required you to write actual HTML, with no WYSIWIG. I salute the efforts of the regular people who tried.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#55

Post by manthedudeguy »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #48
rconti wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am allergic to video content. I don't use the tiktok app or website, and I only ever watch a facebook or instagram reel if someone sends it to me, I never click through the UI to get to them. There's something so infuriating about not knowing how long you're going to be held hostage for, whether it will be worth it, whether the volume will be on or off... I just hate it.

This is a tragic comment because 1) TikTok never holds you hostage, you can flip through all videos (including ads) instantly. 2) TikTok content is an order of magnitude better than what makes its way to reels. 3) TikTok's algorithm customizes itself to your interests based on what you watch so effortlessly and quickly.

[dead]

Re: The internet used to be fun

#56

Post by infinityobject »

bbsz wrote: post #40
xnx wrote: post #11

TikTok is where I find fun on the current internet. It's hilarious (Taylor Swift private jet memes), weird (grimace shake), surprising, emotionally moving (hopecore), educational (how to adjust a door closer), and always exposing me to things I've never seen (starting process for a diesel locomotive). It contains ads, but they're pretty easy to identify and very easy to skip.

This wasn't a sarcasm? Honestly, I am undecided. (I don't like TikTok and everything it stands for)

Leave your bubble occasionally and you may find that many of the creatives who might have populated Geocities or Usenet — were they born 20 years earlier — are carving out niche audiences with 300 views on TikTok.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#57

Post by [deleted] »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #48
rconti wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am allergic to video content. I don't use the tiktok app or website, and I only ever watch a facebook or instagram reel if someone sends it to me, I never click through the UI to get to them. There's something so infuriating about not knowing how long you're going to be held hostage for, whether it will be worth it, whether the volume will be on or off... I just hate it.

This is a tragic comment because 1) TikTok never holds you hostage, you can flip through all videos (including ads) instantly. 2) TikTok content is an order of magnitude better than what makes its way to reels. 3) TikTok's algorithm customizes itself to your interests based on what you watch so effortlessly and quickly.

[deleted]

Re: The internet used to be fun

#58

Post by icedchai »

rchaud wrote: post #52
icedchai wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also spent a ton of time on BBSes, pre Internet. A few of these developed into early dialup ISPs. One thing I really miss is the "community" aspect. Local message boards, etc. That is all gone now. The closest thing you can find is maybe a subreddit or Discord, but it's not the same. The community and locality aspect is gone. You can't even meet a weirdo on Craigslist anymore. For many people, the Internet of today…

Local message boards are gone because they end up becoming dominated by weirdos and the people who don't have anything else to do, so end up posting constantly. Think of the comments section of a local newspaper website.

I don't think this is entirely correct. The same weirdos are now posting on reddit.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#59

Post by doublerabbit »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #48
rconti wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am allergic to video content. I don't use the tiktok app or website, and I only ever watch a facebook or instagram reel if someone sends it to me, I never click through the UI to get to them. There's something so infuriating about not knowing how long you're going to be held hostage for, whether it will be worth it, whether the volume will be on or off... I just hate it.

This is a tragic comment because 1) TikTok never holds you hostage, you can flip through all videos (including ads) instantly. 2) TikTok content is an order of magnitude better than what makes its way to reels. 3) TikTok's algorithm customizes itself to your interests based on what you watch so effortlessly and quickly.

Thanks for the laugh. Next up an cyanide pill that allows you loose weight.

> TikTok never holds you hostage, you can flip through all videos (including ads) instantly.

Dark UI is in play to keep you hostage. The instant gratification is designed to keep your mind hostage.

> TikTok content is an order of magnitude better than what makes its way to reels

It's specifically selected. There is a bar you have to meet if you wish to be on the main screen.

> TikTok's algorithm customizes itself to your interests based on what you watch so effortlessly and quickly.

In comparison this is like offering an alcoholic to try an NIPA when only promising to let them have an single IPA.

Re: The internet used to be fun

#60

Post by doublerabbit »

mistermann wrote: post #51
bbsz wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This wasn't a sarcasm? Honestly, I am undecided. (I don't like TikTok and everything it stands for)

Do you have an accurate model of what TikTok is though? Does anyone?

Surveillance, profit and evil.

We are talking about an app made in one of the most surveillance states of the world, heavily moderated to that where if you don't look pretty your binned and making profit off the data you provide.

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