I can't find any substantiation for the Gates quote "The internet is just a passing fad", which is often dated to 1995, but apparently never cited.
While I get what you're saying, there was also a time and place where you could wonder aloud how to do $technical_thing_x on $platform_y and get a knowledgable, competent response from a skilled professional who had done that thing. Now, we sift through thousands of pages of sloppy copy pasta, of unknown pedigree and unknown efficacy. Was that for the best?
As for the nerds who lost their online paradise? They are now in insane demand, earning eye-watering salaries and company valuations, and rising to the top of the social ladder.
It’s not perfect, but it is bloody good.
What bothers me a lot more though is that the mainstream internet has become a massive dystopian surveillance machine.
