1) The personal (vs. structural) continuity from SA to Twitter--a lot of the early media-adjacent Twitter community were (to an astounding degree) literally the same people who posted on SA and made it a worthwhile place.
2) The role that piracy/torrenting played in the initial success of SA, which is especially striking in light of the fact that the fracturing streaming landscape has re-incentivized piracy but user literacy has fallen off a cliff.
3) A different model of mod power--while most of the modern venture-funded internet has (grudgingly) accepted moderation as a necessity, it has done so with an opaque veneer of neutrality that inspires frustration and conspiratorial thinking. SA mods banned people capriciously or even vindictively, but did do with transparent authority; it was part of the social contract. In a lot of ways it functioned better than the Facebook/Twitter/reddit approach ever has.
Pablo Gerbaudo describes the group of people you're describing as "disconnected outsiders." I think this group is driving internet culture and now politics, as they merge (which they did more quickly in some other countries), we otherwise lack the language to describe or understand them.
Thanks a great nostalgic read! I wonder if internent 'spaces' just end up being like real world hospitality venues / house parties where they are contsantly popping up and going out of business?
Random thoughts that come to mind:
1) The personal (vs. structural) continuity from SA to Twitter--a lot of the early media-adjacent Twitter community were (to an astounding degree) literally the same people who posted on SA and made it a worthwhile place.
2) The role that piracy/torrenting played in the initial success of SA, which is especially striking in light of the fact that the fracturing streaming landscape has re-incentivized piracy but user literacy has fallen off a cliff.
3) A different model of mod power--while most of the modern venture-funded internet has (grudgingly) accepted moderation as a necessity, it has done so with an opaque veneer of neutrality that inspires frustration and conspiratorial thinking. SA mods banned people capriciously or even vindictively, but did do with transparent authority; it was part of the social contract. In a lot of ways it functioned better than the Facebook/Twitter/reddit approach ever has.
Excellent!
Pablo Gerbaudo describes the group of people you're describing as "disconnected outsiders." I think this group is driving internet culture and now politics, as they merge (which they did more quickly in some other countries), we otherwise lack the language to describe or understand them.
https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745335797/the-digital-party/
As an insufferable and unfunny moron on Something Awful who has found their level, I
Q and the Jan 6th stuff happened mostly on 8chan, not 4chan. But the thread of cause and effect still lines up.
i learned so much! also thank you for reminding me that fark et al existed.
Thanks a great nostalgic read! I wonder if internent 'spaces' just end up being like real world hospitality venues / house parties where they are contsantly popping up and going out of business?
A different kind of social darwinism.
SA didn't spawn YTMND