- Jun 25, 2015
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Am I the only one who misses the old internet? Everything nowadays feels like ads, AI content, and people trying to sell something.
The internet is getting weird now a days
- Thread starter BlackShield
- Start date
The old internet? I don't remember much before the ipod original but my older brother does not miss it. He said he couldn't even use the internet during the day because it would block the phone lines. And he got yelled at by our mom cause our aunt collapsed at the store once and tried to call her as an emergency contact to pick her up but couldn't get through because he was playing games haha. Had to wait until after dark or early in the morning just or go to a library or 'internet cafe' just to use the net. So no doesn't sound like fun. Unless you had a specific period in mind?
Jams Wilson
BANNED
- Oct 7, 2026
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Yeah man
- Jan 10, 2020
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You're definitely not the only one. We were just discussing this with my team the other day. Totally agree.
I know it sounds weird to say about something like the internet, but back before LLMs, it genuinely felt more alive. Hard to find the right word, more "personal", maybe.
- Oct 15, 2026
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i feel the same way organic search result quality has dropped because of mass AI content and heavy ads every niche now feels oversaturated with sales pitches.
slopppyfart
Junior Member
- Jun 13, 2026
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Yes. Early 00s were where I first grew up with the internet. We had dialup before that but it was just too slow to be worth bothering with. Probably started using it regularly around 2000 when I went to live with my dad in the city and could get 512k broadband I think which was seen as incredible speed when I was used to 56k max in the rural area I grew up. MMORPGs 12 hours a day eating beans from a can. Those were the good old days.
Forums were much different too. No social media so forums were the main place people congregated and this era was before all the annoying entitled woke normies flooded the internet. Internet forums were still pretty niche and nerdy.
How times have changed.
I first lurked on BHW probably 2008 era but really started interacting about 2010. I thought even then "it's not like it used to be" in those two short years where before ewhoring was still a subsection and more 'black' in the blackhatworld name. Of course it is now a shadow if its former self and succumbed to societal trends.I do miss the old BHW with legendary members like OldSalt, BTB...and maybe i am the only one who misses the old BHW theme...with stars.
I vaguely remember stars but I liked the negative reputation which would name and shame users who had been banned rather than just wipe out their history which is what is done today.
What happened to user BTB? I wasn't particularly a fan of his (no particular issue, just indifferent one way or the other) but know he was a prolific user.
slopppyfart
Junior Member
- Jun 13, 2026
- 150
- 46
There was still tons of spam since probably even at the start of the internet. It was just 'spun' content in 2010s when I got in to marketing. Now AI just does that instead. Both garbage but I suppose AI is more legible than some of the worse multiple spun articles from back in the day with Article Marketing Robot and friends.
AI content I find just seems more coherent but when you are searching for something genuinely and come across one of these articles and actually read it you see a whole article goes round in circles and just makes vague statements without actually answering the question.
Just before the AI floodgates the other crappy trend was just lazily scraped google suggest question and answers.
- Jun 25, 2015
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Haha fair point! The dial-up days definitely had their own problems. I was thinking more about the early internet feeling less commercial, with fewer ads and less AI-generated content everywhere.
- Jun 25, 2015
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- Jun 25, 2015
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True! The old internet had its charm, but today we have so many possibilities. I guess the best thing would be keeping the creativity and freedom of the old internet while enjoying the technology now
- Jun 25, 2015
- 4,364
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Exactly I miss when people shared things just because they found them useful, not because they wanted to sell something. These days, it's hard to tell whether you're reading a genuine opinion or marketing strategy. Real conversations feel more valuable than ever now.
- Mar 21, 2013
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I do. Every time I see an old site, I get nostalgic. I follow all those "nostalgia pages" on social media. Old sites, old computers, everything was so much more legit and grass roots back then
- Jan 10, 2020
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Yeah, there was plenty of spam back then too, but you could almost always tell it apart from legit content and just scroll right past it.
Nowadays, spam isn't just masquerading as real content, it’s actively replacing and crowding it out.
slopppyfart
Junior Member
- Jun 13, 2026
- 150
- 46
Fake My Journey threads have been a thing for many years of BHW.
I remember it would be like detective work trying to figure out which were genuinely sharing and which the method was a total sham. Still there were some nuggets to be had if you looked hard enough. Not sure about now as not been actively marketing for some years but putting my feet back in the water now.
slopppyfart
Junior Member
- Jun 13, 2026
- 150
- 46
Yea and what I hate is when you go on something like reddit and make a post about this you just get told by some snivelling kid reply "ok boomer" and totally 'gaslight' (as is the trendy term nowadays) that is was not better back then and you are just old. I don't bother posting on such places any more.
SEOForger
Registered Member
- Aug 18, 2026
- 73
- 14
The old internet really felt more personal, with people sharing things because they genuinely enjoyed them, not because they wanted clicks or sales.
Authentic blogs and communities should be there more as they still matter because sometimes you just want to explore the internet without feeling like everyone is trying to sell you something.