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Using the internet like it's 1999

joshblais.com

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Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#101

Post by 9dev »

jjbinx007 wrote: post #100
stra1ghtarrow90 wrote: post #97

part of the problem is that most people don't own a pc or personal laptop - they use their phone and apps. None of my friends (35 years +) use laptops other than for work and openly say how much they have regressed technically. Some of these guys grew up with the internet in the early 00's and would be setting up switches for lan partys, using torrents and usenxt, limewire etc. These days they can barely open up micr…

I always find it strange when people refer to twitter and YouTube etc as apps rather than websites.

That's what they are by now, though. The websites of social media sites are crippled and bug-ridden - try using Instagram in a browser, for example. They want to coerce you into using their apps, because that gives them better tracking opportunities.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#102

Post by 9dev »

prawn wrote: post #96
zahirbmirza wrote: post #5

How can we solve this problem, of the current state of the internet, without reverting to the compromises of the past? This has been on my mind for a while. The layer of trash some companies have built over the internet has been ruinous.

A movement where some sites are only accessible by a specific browser or class of browsers, much more simplified than now? Where a site could put an agreeable browser into a no-JS, lo-fi mode?

That is pretty much the definition of Gopher

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#103

Post by mentalgear »

> We took a wrong turn by locking ourselves into content silos and embracing comfort instead of seeking truth, and it will not end well unless we do a hard u-turn to authenticity and sovereignty.

We didn't do that: capitalist interests did.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#104

Post by tommica »

mentalgear wrote: post #103

> We took a wrong turn by locking ourselves into content silos and embracing comfort instead of seeking truth, and it will not end well unless we do a hard u-turn to authenticity and sovereignty. We didn't do that: capitalist interests did.

Pretty sure we still chose the silos. We voted with our wallets.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#105

Post by hdgvhicv »

zabzonk wrote: post #43
abraxas wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, those didn't count either. AOL and compuserve were not even available outside the USA in the late nineties. With AOL I'm quite sure nobody considered them to be a part of the web. Their pages didn't have URLs early on but AOL "keywords" instead. Compuserve also weren't using http I believe. It was some kind of commercial WAN that was pitched as a competitor to the internet, no?

> AOL and compuserve were not even available outside the USA in the late nineties yes, they were, in the UK at least. speaking as a compuserve user.

Ids like 102615,1320, with pay per minute for compuserve and for the phone call

Personally I never used cix but one of the magazines (pc pro?) has columnists on it at least.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#106

Post by xg15 »

stra1ghtarrow90 wrote: post #97

part of the problem is that most people don't own a pc or personal laptop - they use their phone and apps. None of my friends (35 years +) use laptops other than for work and openly say how much they have regressed technically. Some of these guys grew up with the internet in the early 00's and would be setting up switches for lan partys, using torrents and usenxt, limewire etc. These days they can barely open up micr…

Yeah, I don't think the true scale of the "war on general computation" is apparent for many technical people: It's good to think about alternative distribution models for the internet, better use of protocols, etc - but a large and growing number of users literally don't have (administrative) control over their client devices anymore.

The "cognitive control" of tech companies is underpinned by a much more concrete technical control of the devices.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#107

Post by spankibalt »

Having used the internet in 1999, it's mostly cookie cutter stuff mixed with some intellectually lazy generalizations, especially of specialist use cases.

You gotta love the subtle religious hooks leading to Christian apologetics elsewhere on the site; back in '99, and especially these days, that stuff was often enough more overt. But maybe renaming the piece to Using the internet like a Born-Again Worshipper is both more honest and accurate. ;)

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#108

Post by anthk »

NetOpWibby wrote: post #75
joshuablais wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I theorize it is going back to the protocol layer. The "web" for most people is a bunch of social media frontends.

I think the current web is sick and will never get better. I propose building a new stack, without ICANN and friends (Verisign is raising .com prices yet again). I'm planning to build it[1] at some point, just working on other foundational stuff at the moment. Cozy corners, webrings, and Gemini/Gopher is where I see the spirit of the old web alive and well. --- [1]: https://dap.sh

Yggdrasil works like that. No bitcoin, no bullshit, your own tunneled ipv6.

Re: Using the internet like it's 1999

#110

Post by anilakar »

We should also also embrace offline mode more. Disable all network connections until you make a conscious choice to go online. Heck, make a Windows 3.1-esque GUI for it and call it Trombone Winsock just for fun.

If any program complains it needs network connectivity for offline features, it goes into the Recycle Bin.

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