> Nowadays you have a few large companies dominating everything.

We now also have a web where ActiveX, the Windows-only IE browser engine, and Flash+Shockwave binaries are no longer exist as mainstream web technologies. As a Linux user, this is great!

> There are no forums, there's reddit and discord. > The are no private websites, there's uniform Meta Twitter.

Incorrect. I regularly read the VOGONS forum (https://www.vogons.org/) for retro computing related topics. Is the forum for you? Maybe, maybe not. There are plenty of others as well though many are specific to niches. Hacker News is also a kind of forum.

Focus on what you want to get out of a forum rather than a forum for the sake of a forum.

> Google search sucks.

Yeah, modern Google search really sucks. I often find ChatGPT or Claude better at fuzzy-finding than modern search engines. Depends on what I'm looking for.

> Everything is AI.

AI as a concept has existed in marketing for decades. The term has picked up again and todays LLM's will probably seem quite dumb in a decade. They're great fuzzy-finders though - I regularly use Claude for various dev tasks including DOS and embedded development.

> Toxicity is rampant.

I have a childhood memory, early 90's, where the news was on the TV talking about a bombing/attack/similar in the middle east. It's a fuzzy memory, but it continues having a strong impact on my life with regards to negativity in the world. Things have always sucked, will continue to suck, but likewise for the opposite. Focusing on what is in my control and positive has helped me a lot here.

> Pirate sites, the few are full of racists and other assholes.

I can't say I've ever spent enough time on pirate sites to bother with conversation. Plenty of these sites continue to exist and media is still aquireable. I'm amused anytime _someone I know_ finds a 10-year-plus old torrent that still has seeders.

Side note, there's even a modern, open-source keygen for older versions of Windows available on GitHub that has not been taken down (user Endermanch). It even has keygen music!

> You may not speak your mind, including HN, you get censored and/or otherwise canceled.

_Someone I know_ has been a life-long pirate and has always had this problem with regards to pirating things.

> And this whole thing bleeds into real life. People are edgy, dissatisfied, unfriendly, can't take criticism, even if it's constructive.

Some people suck, some don't. I was lightly bullied through my entire childhood so this was kind of the status-quo for me. However, my friends were an exception and they were and still are great! The only recent change I've noticed in my socialsphere is a change in family members for the worst. One side of my family went down the path of becoming pushy Grumpelstiltskin's, so I did have to make a choice to remove them from my life. The keyword for me was pushy, not necessiarily a difference of opinion. It was difficult to cut off contact, but doing so allowed me to spend mental energy on people who have positive impacts on my life.

The internet became less of a place for people like us as the rest of the world embraced it. This does extend beyond the web as even culture is more varied than ever (music, shows, memes, etc). It might take more work to find what fits you, but it's still out there.