#fantisci is feeling old

[fantisci]

Been a while...must muck out the spambots tomorrow.

I don't know if it's just Old Git Syndrome kicking in, but is anyone else feeling a bit sad about the state of the internet? I don't just mean the Twitter fiasco, but it really struck me that the internet has gone from being a big information playground to just a massive shop window. In ye olden days of the late 90s/early 2000s, I could find umpteen fansites on the most niche of TV series (I still love you, ReBoot, even if it seems I was the only one within a 200 mile radius that did at the time). Every single one would have different sections, different character biographies, different episode guides, different fanfic. All were a labour of love, and you could wander for hours using the ancient magic of Links pages and Webrings.

Now even a massive series like Voltron (in its time), or cult favourites like OFMD or Good Omens, get a Wikipedia page, one fandom wiki and a TV Tropes entry. And even TV Tropes is significantly less fun than it was, with a lot of the humour being cropped out. Social media has poached a lot of the old-school fandom content, but the various apps and sites are such a mess that they can't really do the same job.

Am I missing a trick, and have just been going round in the same circles that have gotten smaller and smaller? To be honest, the only part of the internet that I visit purely for fun are the aforementioned TV Tropes, and AO3. Otherwise...I'm probably shopping.