I'm turning 41, but I don't feel like celebrating

Anonymity, Trolling, and Early Internet Culture

• One camp argues anonymity “enabled troll culture” and, when industrialized (bot swarms, hidden ownership, automated abuse), has degraded discourse.
• Others counter that anonymity enabled honesty and free expression, especially once monitoring, data aggregation, and bullying subcultures emerged.
• Several note the paradox: anonymity can create high‑trust communities and also make exploitation dramatically easier.
• Some point out that people post extreme content even under real names on mainstream platforms, so trolling isn’t uniquely an anonymity problem.

Was the Old Internet Better?

• Some strongly agree that the pre‑2000s, pre‑social‑media Internet was better: more user control, less surveillance and rent‑seeking, fewer attention hijacks.
• Others call this nostalgia “embarrassing fiction,” saying today’s “megacity” internet is vastly richer, with downsides like distraction and platform power.
• There’s lament over losing direct ownership (e.g., games without DRM platforms) and control over information exposure.

Authoritarian Drift vs. Hate-Speech Regulation

• The tweet’s claims about digital IDs, age checks, and message scanning in Western countries resonate with many, who see a clear move toward authoritarian control of speech and infrastructure (e.g., VPN bans as a potential next step).
• Others push back, especially on Germany and the UK:
  • They say criticism of officials is legal, but insults, slander, hate speech, and Nazi propaganda are not.
  • “Thousands imprisoned for tweets” is widely called false or heavily exaggerated; examples cited usually involve threats or incitement, not mere opinions.
  • Some find Germany’s approach—criminalizing certain online hate while protecting privacy—admirable if well‑implemented; others see it as a dangerous tool for the powerful.

Telegram Founder’s Credibility and Motives

• Many distrust him personally: opaque corporate structures, inconsistent stories about headquarters, links to Russia and later the UAE, and non‑default E2E encryption on his platform.
• Some argue he helped create today’s problems (large troll‑friendly platforms, weak encryption) and now opportunistically attacks Western democracies while downplaying Russia, China, or his host country.
• Others reply that his personal hypocrisy doesn’t invalidate concerns about Western overreach and that formerly “once‑free” states should be held to higher standards than overt dictatorships.

Broader Tech & Surveillance Concerns

• A long tangent blames historical OS security decisions and pervasive device compromise for making genuine privacy nearly impossible today.
• Several commenters feel open, safe speech is dying; others warn that exaggerated doom and cynicism themselves are strategic tools in modern information warfare.