Isn't that what the "tragedy of the commons" describes, with the internet being diluted or poluted by content that doesn't add much value?
I think you can probably find a suitable subset of the internet and it still feels like the old days, but then you have to be happy with a much smaller community.
And fair point to regard money from software as a potential net negative, and I just don't have an answer that is objective. There is a lot of software that highlights the creativity of people, and I like it, and am happy to pay for it, and also happy to get it for free. Like paying for books or borrowing them from the library.
> I think you can probably find a suitable subset of the internet and it still feels like the old days, but then you have to be happy with a much smaller community.
I think most people would be happier with a smaller community. Facebook encourages a large number of low-quality connections, which are actually worse than not being connected at all: I don't want or need to interact with my friend's racist cousin I met at a party three years ago or my ex-roommate's mom who always wants to sell me homeopathy supplies. These people are actively detracting from your life.
Those are extreme examples, but even people I might get along with suck up your time. If I am not connected emotionally/socially with someone enough to get their phone number and send them a text occasionally, I probably don't need to give them even a few seconds of my time on a regular basis.
> And fair point to regard money from software as a potential net negative, and I just don't have an answer that is objective. There is a lot of software that highlights the creativity of people, and I like it, and am happy to pay for it, and also happy to get it for free. Like paying for books or borrowing them from the library.
I'd be happy to pay for good internet too, but unfortunately there are few businesses willing to do this. Ad sellers won the race to the bottom on price (a strange game--the only winning move is not to play) by simply being "free" to users. This works because of short-term thinking: users don't think ahead to how ads will affect their lives, and content providers don't plan to grow a business slowly the way a for-pay business grows.
I think you can probably find a suitable subset of the internet and it still feels like the old days, but then you have to be happy with a much smaller community.
And fair point to regard money from software as a potential net negative, and I just don't have an answer that is objective. There is a lot of software that highlights the creativity of people, and I like it, and am happy to pay for it, and also happy to get it for free. Like paying for books or borrowing them from the library.