Both. The internet was full of early adopter, tech enthusiast types. You'd certainly pickup on this. Maybe a bit of the magic was your youth, but the tech was new and magical to everyone.
Every article I read back then was written by a real person about something they cared about. Now it feels like every search result is just 100 pages of AI generated, generic content used to drive clicks to the site. And what content is actually written by a real person, it's in service to their brand and it's tuned for engagement and sharing on social media.
A lot of software back then was open and didn't hide too many of the details. Today, all the technical bits are hidden away and user experiences are carefully controlled and tuned for engagement. Think IRC vs Slack or FB messenger. On irc, you can whois, dcc, technical bits everywhere in the UI.
In the 90s, there was a question whether or not you should include ads and banners on your site. Later, it seemed like the ads went away but actually they took over. So much of the internet experience now is about monetization. Even malware is about making money. You gotta jump into the new tech to get that feeling of wonder and possibly.
Great thing about Bitcoin is you don't need to argue. Don't even tell people you're into it. Just buy a little every week if you agree with the philosophy behind it.
I completely agree. When Twitter acts like this, it leaves money on the table for competition. You don't need to give the government more power. The rich will just hook into that power.
Imo, the real story is Parler getting banned just as it was poised to become competition.
I agree testing is important and your historical perspective is illuminating. My question is: What happens if the FDA does a bad job? It has a monopoly. They have an incentive to deny everything. If they deny a new drug and people die, it's hard to blame them. If they approve a drug that's dangerous, they get egg on their face.
There's a guy on YouTube doing diy gene therapy to treat his lactose intolerance so it's not exactly science fiction.