AIM/MSN/Yahoo chatrooms. GeoCities. Neopets. Limewire, KaZaa, listening to Art Bell on the radio next to you while you search for the latest alien news and read ancient texts. Webrings. Message boards. NSA hadn’t partnered with Microsoft for the first version of PRISM.
It was more decentralized, but even in the centralized parts there weren’t yet entire industries dedicated to stealing every last bit of dopamine from you to sell to the highest bidder.
AIM/MSN/Yahoo chatrooms. GeoCities. Neopets. Limewire, KaZaa, listening to Art Bell on the radio next to you while you search for the latest alien news and read ancient texts. Webrings. Message boards. NSA hadn’t partnered with Microsoft for the first version of PRISM.
It was more decentralized, but even in the centralized parts there weren’t yet entire industries dedicated to stealing every last bit of dopamine from you to sell to the highest bidder.
It was an amazing time. RIP 1985-2010