> You may be pleased to hear that those kinds of communities are actually alive and well, they just live on places like discord now.
But that is exactly what it wasn't. Discord is a proprietary walled-garden like too many others today. I tried to access a forum there once and it demanded both registration and a phone number. No thanks. That's not the open Internet.
The open communities were defined by the openness. Using standard protocols like SMTP, NNTP, HTTP (on public websites, not walled gardens).
But that is exactly what it wasn't. Discord is a proprietary walled-garden like too many others today. I tried to access a forum there once and it demanded both registration and a phone number. No thanks. That's not the open Internet.
The open communities were defined by the openness. Using standard protocols like SMTP, NNTP, HTTP (on public websites, not walled gardens).