Current Events > sigh... I really do miss pre-2010s internet

(+) Yeah! (+)

Same here.

But as some nostalgia, here is some Grop X to cheer you up.

https://youtu.be/_3Dcjdl-M6Y

https://youtu.be/-XccUMOQ978

And some badgers, badgers, badgers, badgers.

https://youtu.be/EIyixC9NsLI

Jagr_68 posted...

ebaumsworld
ytmnd
newgrounds
cracked

Innocent times.

Don't forget AlbinoBlackSheep!

The wait for Smash Bros Brawl was the last big climb to the peak. I don't know if I'm rose-tinting it a little but I remember it as this incredible time of genuine excitement and optimism, if you were a Nintendo fan like I was then at least. Downhill from there.
That's limited to video games rather than the internet on the whole but it managed to coincide pretty well.

Kalavinka posted...

Modern meme "culture" is an utter pestilence.

Yes. They aren't even memes anymores, just screencaps of texts... or Dikdok
[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


That reminds me:

Weird Al Yankovic "Don't Download This Song"

https://youtu.be/zGM8PT1eAvY

apocalyptic_4 posted...

Is that your take away?

Eh for once he actually posted something on-point.

It's still wild to me that Newgrounds is currently at its height in traffic and popularity due to one game

The barrier of entry is so much lower, so yeah, you're going to get a _lot_ more of the lower common denominator. It sucks ass, but there are more of them than there are of us.

That's not to say that the internet was a haven of inclusivity and wholesome back then, because fuck no it wasn't. Both eras have their issues. The internet is less fun and more utility now, but is way more usable as a result.

FL81 posted...

smartphones are mostly to blame

This is provable and observed

from 2000-2012 the internet was mostly the purview of geeks and freaks

then came the smartphone

and the era of idiocy

Lol, nerds mad that normies invaded their haven.

Laserion posted...

http://realultimatepower.net/

Dayum son, this is incredible 2000s site design.

My main online social interaction pre-2010 was Runescape and people on there (old school runescape specifically) still act the same tbh. they just have better grammar and spelling now and don't use certain slang as much like "W00T and FTW" . Mainly cuz they are all in their 20s-30s now instead of being 12 years old or something lol.

Ratchetrockon posted...

My main online social interaction pre-2010 was Runescape and people on there (old school runescape specifically) still act the same tbh. they just have better grammar and spelling now and don't use certain slang anymore like W00T. mainly cuz they are all in their 20s-30s now instead of being 12 years old or something lol.

Lol yup, if you trace back most people posting style through the years its funny, you notice personalities are more or less set in stone.

God, pre 2010 for me was all about BYOND.

What I wouldn't give for BYOND to kick off again like it was in the early 2000s. Being able to bounce into hundreds of fan-made games at any time. I have so many memories of Dragon Warrior Online, Dragon Warrior Monsters, Dragon Quest Online, Proelium, Mystic Journey, Seika, Raekwon, Lode Wars, GTA Online....

Man, that's literally a time I could never go back to and enjoy it like I once did. And that kills me. So many times I'd go back to BYOND and the only thing alive there is SS13. Hundreds of people play it. Maybe even thousands. But that's all that's left on BYOND.

Edit: Okay, SS13 easily over thousands of players. These poor other games have no chance.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/1/7/AAKLOFAADMAh.jpg

CarbonButtflap posted...

then came the smartphone

and the era of idiocy

Smartphones have nothing to do with making people dumber. Neither is social media; it just means stupid people are more likely to be publicly shown or exposed than before

Hayame Zero posted...

Smartphones have nothing to do with making people dumber. Neither is social media; it just means stupid people are more likely to be publicly shown or exposed than before

It's a feedback loop. People haven't been any smarter or dumber, but there are more dumb people than smart people. Giving dumb people smart technology is like giving a monkey a flamethrower and wondering why your house is on fire.

Something Awful
Homestarrunner

Good times

HylianFox posted...

pandering to the lowest common denominator

Sounds like the internet in general.

Alucard188 posted...

It's a feedback loop. People haven't been any smarter or dumber, but there are more dumb people than smart people. Giving dumb people smart technology is like giving a monkey a flamethrower and wondering why your house is on fire.

Lmao this is so accurate.

Giving people access to smartphones is like giving a monkey a flamethrower - Alucard188

Question for everyone here that finds normies detestable: What specific negative qualities do they possess?

Shadowplay posted...

Question for everyone here that finds normies detestable: What specific negative qualities do they possess?

"They're dumb."

HellsingOrg posted...

Yeah internet died around 2008-2009 and its mostly because of Facebook and all the normies and boomers finally coming all online.

nah, 2012-13 Facebook still fine, normies are still normal.
around 2015 shit's changed tho. right wing loons and conspiracy theorists blows up, internet propaganda are becoming rampant.

I miss flash so much. The games and animations were always a treat

If you'd like to play a RPG that very much hearkens back to this era, check out the Kingdom of Loathing.

https://www.kingdomofloathing.com/

Here's an example of some of the creatures you can fight:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/4/2/AAfQqfAADMFm.jpg

Jagr_68 posted...

Dayum son, this is incredible 2000s site design.

It's actually 199X...

God_Of_Entirety posted...

Lol, nerds mad that normies invaded their haven.

There were quite a few "normies" on the Internet even before the rise of social media in the early/mid-2000s. It's true that serious computer geeks (for lack of a better word) made up a higher percentage of the people who actively used the Internet in those days, but it's not like everyone who was online back then a tech expert or something.

Anyway, the normies aren't the problem. The problem is that the Internet is so centralized, standardized, and boring these days. Google serves up a handful of the biggest sites in their results and then a lot of completely useless trash. True fan sites are just about nonexistent; 99% of the ones you can find now are cookie-cutter fan wikis, and most of them are terrible. The remaining 1% is made up of leftovers from the pre-social media days. Forums are all dead, in decline, or, if they're extremely lucky, stagnant. True Internet communities -- by which I mean smaller fan sites, forums, and IRC channels -- have been replaced by poor substitutes like Discord channels, Facebook groups, and subreddits. Etc., etc., etc.

The only real advantage the current Internet has over the Internet of the late '90s and early/mid-2000s is in video hosting, and even that has been a mixed bag in terms of its effects.

Ebaum's World still exists

internet is better in every way now.

God_Of_Entirety posted...

internet is better in every way now.

Horrible, horrible take.

Bunch of boomers itt

AssassinFox posted...

Horrible, horrible take.

He's an obvious shitposter anyway

DanHaren2022 posted...

Bunch of boomers itt

Right. It's sad imo

Some guys just never learn to adapt with the changing times.

KamenRiderBlade posted...

Social Media is the Internet's greatest mistake.

*humanities greatest mistake

DanHaren2022 posted...

Bunch of boomers itt

Right. It's sad imo

Some guys just never learn to adapt with the changing times.

Sometimes I miss late 90s internet. I first got online in 1995 I think. There was something magical about the internet back then. It was special and exciting. Now it's just an every day thing

VigorouslySwish posted...

*humanities greatest mistake

QFT

DanHaren2022 posted...

Bunch of boomers itt

Boomers are the ones who don't really know what the internet is.The ones who thought the internet superhighway actually had lanes.

This topic is for those that grow up with the internet at the same time the internet first 'grew up' as a entity for civilian use. IE: Gen X and Y. (Maybe Millennials, if Millennial isn't just another way to refer to Gen Y?)

Tom_Joad posted...

Boomers are the ones who don't really know what the internet is.The ones who thought the internet superhighway actually had lanes.

This topic is for those that grow up with the internet at the same time the internet first 'grew up' as a entity for civilian use. IE: Gen X and Y. (Maybe Millennials, if Millennial isn't just another way to refer to Gen Y?)

This was a joke right?

Its too on the nose otherwise, but that seems like waaay too much effort.

Alteres posted...

This was a joke right?

Its too on the nose otherwise, but that seems like waaay too much effort.

No, when the internet was first growing in users, politicians were briefed on it so they could 'understand' it. And many of them actually said in public statements that the internet (or information) superhighway had lanes.

Because they really didn't understand what it was.

Tom_Joad posted...

Boomers are the ones who don't really know what the internet is.The ones who thought the internet superhighway actually had lanes.

This topic is for those that grow up with the internet at the same time the internet first 'grew up' as a entity for civilian use. IE: Gen X and Y. (Maybe Millennials, if Millennial isn't just another way to refer to Gen Y?)

Yeah, Gen Y = Millennials (people born circa 1980-1994). Gen X (born circa 1965-1979) didn't really "grow up with the Internet," but a lot of people in that generation seemed to adapt to it pretty well.

Remember when memes were actually memes?

Pre-FB when memes were things like Bad Luck Brian and Scumbag Steve. Rather than any random picture with words slapped on it...good ole days

SergeantGander posted...

Remember when memes were actually memes?

Pre-FB when memes were things like Bad Luck Brian and Scumbag Steve. Rather than any random picture with words slapped on it...good ole days

The great-granddaddy of internet memes:

All Your Base... Are Belong to Us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano

Tom_Joad posted...

The great-granddaddy of internet memes:

All Your Base... Are Belong to Us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano

Hell yeah. I remember when that was such a huge deal that newspapers reported on it.

SergeantGander posted...

Remember when memes were actually memes?

Pre-FB when memes were things like Bad Luck Brian and Scumbag Steve. Rather than any random picture with words slapped on it...good ole days

My favorite are Rage Face comics. I still get excited when I see one.

I miss strong bad. Do they still make new episodes?