I’ve imagined that there may yet be a strange “golden age” of underground, tightly controlled “human internet” using new methods to verify users across a network of sites and forums. It would be small, with some kind of gatekeeping system like a one-time fee you pay just like the glory days of Somethingawful, and maybe some kind of video-chat with administrators to get cleared to participate if you’re a human and an adult who can form coherent sentences. If it works well and people participate and form even a somewhat active community, I could envision such a network becoming an incredibly trendy, underground movement that would feel a lot like the olden days of usenet and IRC and AOL messenger/chat rooms, but with today’s access to technology and communication tools.
I can’t imagine such a thing would last too long. Maybe a few years before someone finds a way to compromise it. Humans are just too good at finding ways to tear things down rather than keep building.
I’ve imagined that there may yet be a strange “golden age” of underground, tightly controlled “human internet” using new methods to verify users across a network of sites and forums. It would be small, with some kind of gatekeeping system like a one-time fee you pay just like the glory days of Somethingawful, and maybe some kind of video-chat with administrators to get cleared to participate if you’re a human and an adult who can form coherent sentences. If it works well and people participate and form even a somewhat active community, I could envision such a network becoming an incredibly trendy, underground movement that would feel a lot like the olden days of usenet and IRC and AOL messenger/chat rooms, but with today’s access to technology and communication tools.
I can’t imagine such a thing would last too long. Maybe a few years before someone finds a way to compromise it. Humans are just too good at finding ways to tear things down rather than keep building.