Oh, I love The Oatmeal! My family got their first PC in the end of 1994 or early 1995, a bit before Windows 95 launch. The internet was magical an new feeling, real rough around the edges. The sweet spot was early 2000's, but ever since huge Companies like Facebook, Instagram, etc started being the focus, moving away from personally ran sites, everything started to get shitty. It feels like price of entry to start up something new websites is really high, and you have a huge uphill battle against the Facebooks, Youtubes, and Instagrams of the world.
I think in short, mega tech companies have too much power and control over the internet. It's made the whole thing just shittier. I was reminded of this, because of the time frame I used to check out The Oatmeal all the time, along with Penny Arcade and a few other web comics. I suppose the phrase 'Simpler times" applies here, but really it just feels like I'm banging my cane on my rocker shouting "BACK IN MAH DAY!!!".