The Internet Slum: is abandoning the Internet the next big thing? (2004)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

How the 2004 Essay Holds Up

  • Commenters say the author correctly foresaw:
    • The internet’s shift from open peer network to commercial content-delivery systems.
    • The decline in average content quality.
    • Growing “balkanization” into gated communities.
  • They note he was wrong that spam and hacking would themselves kill usage; instead, we built filters and adapted.

From Spam to AI “Slop”

  • Classical email spam is mostly mitigated for end-users, but several argue the real modern spam is:
    • AI‑generated “slop” and SEO junk.
    • Engagement-optimized low‑quality content and scammy ads.
  • Others counter they rarely see scams or spam thanks to good filters and careful configuration.

Web vs Internet; Old vs New Web

  • Several distinguish:
    • “The Internet” (BGP/IP, utilities, protocols) vs
    • “The Web” (and especially today’s app‑like, tracking-heavy platforms).
  • Some define a “real web” as static, linkable, human-authored pages with clean URLs—arguing most of that world largely froze pre‑2005.
  • Others say they’re not “abandoning the internet” but retreating to narrow slices: docs, a few communities, YouTube, porn.

Walled Gardens, Slums, and Demographics

  • Walled gardens (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) are viewed as:
    • Popular because they feel safer and more curated than the “open slum.”
    • Yet primarily walled for the owners’ benefit: data lock‑in, scraping prevention, and ad monetization.
  • Some argue early internet felt good partly because access itself was a de facto filter for a narrower, more technical demographic.

Real-Name / eID Social Media Debate

  • One camp wants government‑backed, eID‑based social media to guarantee “real people” and curb bots and abuse.
  • Strong pushback:
    • Real-name systems don’t stop harassment; they chill dissent and enable authoritarian repression, doxxing, and long‑term profiling.
    • Historical and current examples of democracies sliding toward authoritarianism are raised as warnings.
  • Middle-ground ideas include:
    • Cryptographic “proof of personhood” without identity.
    • Anti‑Sybil mechanisms (paid anonymous tokens, webs of trust).

Digital Divide, Usability, and Opting Out

  • Stories of older or less technical people:
    • Falling for scams and deepfakes.
    • Being locked out of basic services (parking, restaurants) due to mandatory apps.
  • Some argue full disengagement is dangerous (you become vulnerable and dependent); others advocate radical minimal use for mental and societal health.

Social Media, Algorithms, and Culture

  • Broad agreement that:
    • Recommendation algorithms and engagement incentives distorted discourse.
    • Social media morphed from helpful community/learning tool into something addictive and polarizing.
  • Some younger users reportedly shift toward small private group chats, self‑hosted media (Plex/Jellyfin), and niche forums as an implicit “abandonment” of mainstream platforms rather than of the internet itself.