The Internet gained steam through hobbyists and is now that corporate shell as described. In my opinion it absolutely was a better place 25 years ago. Today the internet is filled with social engineering everyone's trying to influence something and it's terrible.
New Study: At Least 15% of All Reddit Content is Corporate Trolls Trying to Manipulate Public Opinion ( medium.com )
All my real Americans from US State stand up! ( lemmy.world )