The fun has been optimized out of the Internet • Hacker News Board

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#241

Post by ghaff » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:22 PM UTC

ninth_ant wrote: post #181

joe_mamba wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That and also people weren't paying for Netflix, Disney+, PlayStation online, ChatGPT+, etc Edit: Also people were having more kids back then and earlier in life, so they had less time for hobbies and "finding one's self", they'd be busy with their kids and work. The bored DINKS with free time looking for hobbies is a relatively recent phenomenon in western societies (10-15 years).

> That and also people weren't paying for Netflix, Disney+, PlayStation online, ChatGPT+, etc Its disingenuous to describe those new expenses without considering those that largely have been replaced. It used to be normal to pay for cable TV which was outrageously expensive. They used to go to movie theatres on a regular basis, and collect physical media for movies and music and games and tv. Etc.

And pay $1 a minute for long distance and even not so long distance calls. Not sure how everything balances out inflation and function adjusted but not convinced entertainment is broadly more expensive these days.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#242

Post by pseudalopex » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:24 PM UTC

frozenseven wrote: post #42

Another predictable anti-AI rant. Maybe it is time for an internet divorce. Permanently cut it in half between those who are ok with AI and those who are not. If it were up to me, I'd never want to hear from the latter group again.

They said AI did not kill the Internet; it inherited an Internet with the fun already optimized out of it.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#243

Post by creamynebula » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:27 PM UTC

DarkNova6 wrote: post #91

munificent wrote: post #53

I have a pet theory that much of what we're seeing culturally is that the 90s and early 2000s (at least in the US) was a window of time that offered a sense of safety and surplus. 9/11 was extremely culturally disruptive, but aside from that, for many in the US, it felt like there was "enough to go around". That environment breeds a lot of creativity, innovation, whimsy, and doing things for their own sake. But that…

The whole structure has changed. We are not even in the web 2.0 anymore and regressed to a client-server model where what we see is dictated from central platforms with little interaction between actual users. This was not a natural evolution of the web but the consequence of low-tech people accessing the web passively via a tiny touchscreen.

More like a consequence of capitalism, as big tech companies used their massive capital to instrumentalize and develop knowledge to keep mostly everyone dependent and addicted to their systems. Due to the way capitalism work, when a push back against it through public policies was staged, they bought their way out of regulation of their toxic platforms and were allowed to retain their monopolies.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#244

Post by pseudalopex » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

ButlerianJihad wrote: post #236

pseudalopex wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "globalhomo" (for lack of a better word) (alt-right, anti-LGBTQ slur, Internet slang, 4chan slang, derogatory) The supposed promotion of homosexuality, neoliberal economics, and progressive values coupled with the paternalistic curtailment of freedoms by corporate and political interests. [from 2016] [1] [1] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/globohomo

UrbanDictionary is far more woke to these vulgar definitions, and offers several unique definitions, but NSFW in most cases.

You meant what? Urban Dictionary's definitions were similar mostly.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#245

Post by ghaff » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:31 PM UTC

TFNA wrote: post #221

moffkalast wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The big, bold world outside the internet is arguably far more locked down, enshittified and regulated than the online world. I mean look at cities, removing parks, benches, trying to make it impossible to even stand without paying for existing. The countryside is all bought up, every inch of grass owned and people itching to tell you to get the fuck off their property. Can't do anything anywhere anymore. You'd have t…

> The countryside is all bought up, every inch of grass owned and people itching to tell you to get the fuck off their property. You’re missing out if you think that. People come from all over the world to hike, bikepack, or van-dwell American wilderness. Since Covid there has been a big boom in ”weekender” routes that Americans can do in their own neck of the woods. And if there’s so much reward in the USA, think ab…

I do think there’s been some power law concentration since Covid and you can blame Instagram or whatever but still seems like a real phenomenon in my personal experience.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#246

Post by ruszki » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:43 PM UTC

kelvinjps10 wrote: post #37

Jtarii wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could also just ask current young people how they feel about the internet and compare it to how young people described the internet in ~2005-2010. I guess my feeling is that no one really "likes" the internet in its currnet form. Gen X got to see the birth of the web, millenials got the birth of social media, Gen Z got tiktok and addictive recommendation algorithms, now Gen Alpha gets AI slop. Idk just seems like…

As Ia genz I can say that the internet help me learn english, programming and before that I got an advertisement freelance business that took me out of poverty. What got me into these were videos recommended by youtube or something.

This was true even 30 years ago.

What changed is how the mainstream internet looks like. I could find spaces where there were every kind of people (like my home country’s subreddit) due to their size, and money didn’t drive anything. Now these are even actively manipulated. I haven’t found a single new space in a decade which is generic (different kinds of people from every segments of the populace), it’s content not driven by money, and its topic is not focused, but generic. In other words mainstream spaces without the influence of money.

Nowadays, I can find such spaces only which are very limited in size or reach. And this means that it’s way more difficult to find them.

Also, there was an obvious exodus of smart people from public spaces. Who I followed on Twitter a decade ago, almost nobody left on the public internet. And no, most of them left before Musk. Or they went anonymous, but from my viewpoint it’s the same: there is no way to know what they think, what they know.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#247

Post by joe_mamba » Tue, May 05, 2026, 6:48 PM UTC

moffkalast wrote: post #195

joe_mamba wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do one thing you don't particularly enjoy too much for 8h/day as your job to earn money, then you do your hobby you can afford and enjoy for Rinse and repeat.

And of course the other chores: cooking, shopping, cleaning, etc. come out of the part you don't particularly enjoy right? Right?

You mean part time work, which already exists?

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#248

Post by dd8601fn » Tue, May 05, 2026, 7:06 PM UTC

brightball wrote: post #141

jonhohle wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the fun things “on the internet” are mostly still possible, it’s just the bulk of things we do now are not fun and main companies aren’t quirky risk takers but the oil/train/steel barons of our day. In the past few years I’ve done serveral of the things on your list in earnest and they are all easier to do today (specifically technical things) than they were 25 years ago (except maybe writing with a pen). Edit t…

We need to bring back BBS's over short range radio transmitters. The early dialup and BBS world was magic and it pulls everything completely off of the standard channels.

I was JUST working on this based on the solarpunk forum article that was on Hackaday, yesterday.

I was trying to do Enigma with a captive portal wifi setup and a (heavily stylized) terminal in a browser. Figured a pi zero w2 might do the job on solar.

The idea was occasional fidonet pickup, some door games, and probably disabled file base. I could seed a few on friends and family porches in the neighborhood, and just see if anyone uses them.

It (enigma) was proving to be a real pain though, and I decided to shelve it for a bit.

The Hackaday one: https://hackaday.com/2026/05/04/esp32-hosts-solarpunk-messag...

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#249

Post by AlexandrB » Tue, May 05, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC

nickthegreek wrote: post #203

joe_mamba wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That and also people weren't paying for Netflix, Disney+, PlayStation online, ChatGPT+, etc Edit: Also people were having more kids back then and earlier in life, so they had less time for hobbies and "finding one's self", they'd be busy with their kids and work. The bored DINKS with free time looking for hobbies is a relatively recent phenomenon in western societies (10-15 years).

People were paying $150/mo cable bill.

Don't forget that's $150/month in 90s dollars! It's like having a $300/month subscription to streaming services today.

Re: The fun has been optimized out of the Internet

#250

Post by aaroninsf » Tue, May 05, 2026, 7:11 PM UTC

"Everyone is saying it."

Cory Doctorow's Enshittification for example.

For good reason.

Me, I understand this through the analogy of how drug markets go.

1. Addict people to the product.

2. Profitmaxx by reducing quality at the addicts' expense.

That's it, that's the whole story.