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Here's what I think has happened/is happening:
When the Internet was new, it was mostly the younger, chiller people.
The Internet started going mainstream in the 90s, and now you have all the older people online who are retired and have nothing better to do that shit their racism and misogyny and bile out into a forum where they will get a couple thumbs up and that, to them, is huge validation.
They told us forever that the Internet was a bad and scary place, and when they realized that wasn't true, they showed up to make it one.
Heheh....I hate to break it to you, but it's not just old people who have nothing better to do than shit out racism misogyny and bile.
And I think this is how every new tech goes. I mean, the community here still seems much more civil because we're smaller in number.
In your frame of experience that's probably how you see it, but the early Internet users were all highly educated, technically-savvy employed intellectuals.
Every year would bring a new wave of behavioral morons in the form of young students and that was okay because they were morons but at least they were learning.
It all went to trash when it became available to the commoners.
Umm what? The early Internet was a great place due to highly educated employed users? And the commoners ruined it? Did I miss the /s?
I mean lot's of things follow that trend. Look at drones for example - RC helicopters were around since (and I'm sure before) I was born and were never a huge problematic thing with people flying them in dangerous places above people or near airports (although I'm sure there were very specific cases where those did occur).
But during that time they were both A) expensive and B) required a lot of practice and skill to operate. Anyone that spent the large amount of money and will to put in the time to learn to fly them probably had the common sense to not fly them near people or airports. Bit when anybody can spend $100 on a drone of the convenience aisle at checkout, you start seeing all sorts of problems.