>Instant communication
>More globalization
>instant information retrieval
>Getting entertainment without ever leaving my house
Hell no.

You wanted a datasheet. You had to mail some random company, pay $20 and wait for a month.

No thanks.

The internet is shit.

It is vitally important that we all realize this and move on. People (eg Bloggers) go on and on about how wonderful it is. About how much information is out there in cyberspace. About the way that everything is within reach in just a few clicks of their mice.

For instance:

"If I can operate Google, I can find anything... Google, combined with Wi-Fi, is a little bit like God. God is wireless, God is everywhere and God sees and knows everything. Throughout history, people connected to God without wires. Now, for many questions in the world, you ask Google, and increasingly, you can do it without wires, too."

Alan Cohen, V.P. of Airespace, a new Wi-Fi provider, New York Times, 6/29/03

The only reason the internet sucks is they let every single moronic faggot on these days.

It was much better back when not every dumbfuck that could muddle through Windows (OS For Retards) could access the internet.

Take us back to early 90s internet and I'd do it.

I can name 20 people from my old school class who aren't in Google. I can walk into any public library, no matter how tiny and underfunded, and find facts, stories, amazing information I would never touch in a month of webcrawling. I can go into a bar and hear stories Usenet hasn't come close to in its 22 years of waffle. "Oh but what about the stuff you CAN get on the web?" the netheads say. But they're missing the point.

The internet is not the sole basis upon which you can determine existence. It sounds simple but people are starting to forget. If it doesn't have a website, that doesn't make something low quality. If you can't Google your blind date, that doesn't make them a freak. If one website says something about anything, it's more than likely pure invention and shouldn't be taken seriously. Checking your sources does not mean finding another website that says the same. Fiction is self-perpetuating.

>>5932986

What? They sent them for free. Not just datasheets, but complete books. And it usually took just a couple of days.

>>5933035
But then how would you use it?

Let's say it another way. A URL is not a mark of quality. It's not proof of honesty or approval from the FDA. Sure, people say they know this already, that a lot of the internet isn't true and a lot of it isn't interesting, no matter how angst-ridden and attention-seeking its author. But still we praise the internet for everything, from mobilising global protests to creating the latest trends, while disappearing up its backside and discarding anything outside it as 'out of touch'.

While we ascribe every first-world miracle to the electronic age, there's something truly missing that we once had in our grasp: our sense of wonder. Back in 1995, we were surprised, agog when things appeared on the net. People starting going around saying 'wow, this could really become something'. Slowly (very slowly at 16kbps), strange websites, new information, odd diversions and discussions with people around the world appeared in this brave new world. Each time it was met with surprise and delight, even if some of it was deeply obscure and slightly dull. There was no doubting the potential of the medium.

And look what we've done with it. Food wrappers and soap operas now tell us to visit their websites. Money is pumped online by people who can't even spell HTML. All manner of pointless and irritating content is continually poured down the infinite hole of data, unfiltered and over-appreciated. In accepting freedom of speech, we can't hide from its consequences - which in this case is millions of terabytes of unreliable information, badly designed and clumsily written. We have failed our own creation and given birth something truly awful. We're just too busy cooing over the pram to notice.

We need to start again. We need to stop saying how wonderful things are. We need to openly, truthfully and respectfully admit that the internet itself, in almost all of what's been done with it, is shit.

There's no point in undoing what has been done. What we need to do is to change our attitude. The internet isn't new any more. The evangelists have done their job. Everyone's heard of it even if they don't spend their lives logged on. Now its the job of the congregation to revolt. Chant it from the rooftops, spread it across your server, email it to your friends. The internet is shit.

And then what? Then we can move on. If we truly understand that the internet is shit then maybe we'll go back to looking elsewhere to check our information instead of just Google. Maybe journalists will do proper research again. If we remember that the medium isn't the message then maybe we'll stop aimlessly surfing for something amusing when we could actually be doing something fun. And, crucially, if the internet is just seen as occasionally unavoidable, maybe those websites that give us something special will be all the more amazing for it.

Give an infinite number of monkeys typewriters and they'll produce the works of Shakespeare. Unfortunately, I feel like I'm reading all the books where they didn't. I can't wait for the day when the internet makes me rejoice in its possibilities again. But right now, it's shit.

>>5933071
>We need to openly, truthfully and respectfully admit that the human race itself, in almost all of what's been done with it, is shit.
Fix'd

>>5933089
only for you, you misanthrope.

I advocate that you volunteer for genetic experiments, so you can finally let out your fursona and get rid of this mere hull made from flesh, bones and blood you are dwelling in now.

>blah blah blah
>God is internet
>blah blah blah
what the fuck is this shit?

and fucking no, the internet is like an infinite library which is a good thing

SHEESH! I've never seen this level of faggotry.

I say we improve this thread with some DAT ASS y/n?

>>5932972

OP you are absolutely correct on all counts

but I still wouldn't want to do away with internet. If it weren't for the internet, I would literally be a different and probably less worthy human being (although the internet can make most people worthless ie weeaboo faggots on /g/).

I grew up with the net. Because of the net, I DO buy vinyl punk albums, and also because of the net, I am on my way to starting my own record store. The internet allowed me to truly discover music. I doubt that without it, I would ever have become as self actualized as I am now (in contrast to those who use the internet as a distraction).

And there was a time, before the art of trolling was a mainstay of the internet, where you could go to any message board, and get into any idiotic debate you could imagine. Reading and participating in these debates shaped me musically, politically, spiritually (or lack thereof), in ways that our public school system or society in general doesn't allow.

It is all moderation. I still go out to hear new stories, still meet people who aren't ensnared by social networking sites, still go to the adult stores for the thrill of buying smut in person and seeing seedy characters. To me the internet is a tool, and I feel like I have used it to it's fullest potential to get out of life exactly what I demand of it.

>>5933112
I read you comments, I agree, there is ALOT of crap on the internet, but the internet is just a medium, like paper. And in terms of a medium it is far more accessible than printed media. Sure there is a lot of bad, pointless or false information, but there is a lot of useful information which is now much more accessible to the general public. The same is also true of printed media, alot of printed media is untrue and/or pointless. But that doesn't make the media format bad.

tl,dr the internet is a very good content delivery sys, but its mainly used for rubbish.

>>5932972
For the sake of productivity, sometimes I think I would. But I have lots of friends online who I can't contact offline, and goodness knows I don't always *want* to be productive.

>>5933035
>(OS for Retards)
Mac OS is totally for retards. I completely agree.

>>5933181
surely the asscheeks get in the way when fucking a woman from behind?

>>5933181
Lets have hips instead

>>5932972
Anyone who thinks it'd be a good idea to make the internet disappear, because of a few negatives here or there, despite FAR being outweighed by the immense positives is a fucking faggot.

>>5933237

>>5933237
this good?

>The internet was better because shit was harder to find/access before it

That's more like a con really

>>5933237
>>5933255
lol cartoon porn

>>5933255
I lack 'SFW' hips

Yes. It's horseshit feeding upon horseshit.

News aggregators link to bloggers that link to unsourced corporate blogs all of which are praying to generate traffic to generate income from ad space selling shit we don't need and most likely will fuck us or our stuff up.

Wikis spiral downward in an unstoppable maelstrom of self-correcting censorship until nothing is believable.

Online storefronts destroy brick-n-mortal competition further eroding our communities, paving the way for Sinclairian corporate beasts like wal-mart to create corporate towns filled with indentured servants.

tl;dr? Feels good, man.

>>5933265
She has no hips and a saggy ass.

>If you could snap your fingers and make the internet disappear forever would you do it?

No. If it wasn't for the internet, I would be a different person, I would not even exist. I grew up on the internet and met people like me, video gamers like me, anime fans like me. I discovered plenty of stuff when I young on the internet that made me self-aware of how the world really works.

If it was not for the internet I would not even exist because when I was 13-15 I was undergoing severe peer harassment at middle and high school. The internet was an only escape because I was not allowed to drive or own a car or get a job. I was too old for PBS kids programs and what the broadcast networks offered on prime time did not appeal to me.It was my only form of entertainment and escapism.

If it was not for the internet, I would have killed myself at 16 due to the amount of bullying I have suffered.

In a sense, the internet saved my life and gave me something to live for.

>>5933272
As do I.

Someone doesn't like CHANGE in here..

>>5933314
disgusting fat pig

>The internet was better because shit was harder to find/access before it

>>That's more like a con really

Depends on your point of view. I liked it better when things were more mysterious. When subcultures could remain subcultures without having their secrets splayed out on the internet for all to see.

With everything available at ones fingertips, lots of the wonder and adventure in the world is gone.

>>5933336
Disgusting fat american.

>>5932972
Hell no, fuck you man, my whole business is based around the internet.
If there was no internet, i would actually need to WORK, fuck that!

But i semi-agree with the person mentioning how it would have been better if not any old idiot could get on the net.

Internet ruined gaming parties.

for me no internet means no movies, no tv shows, no news, no games

i'd probably be a drunk if there was no internet

>>It was my only form of entertainment and escapism.

There are generations of weirdos, freaks, geeks, dorks, fuck ups and social outcasts who have come before you. People who hated mainstream entertainment and didn't want anything to do with mainstream society. They didn't all commit suicide because the internet didn't exist.

Believe it or not, before the internet, there was a huge underground of self published books, zines, music, etc. It was mostly available through mailorder although most bigger cities had a small handful of "weird" bookstores that would carry that kind of stuff. But for the most part the internet destroyed that entire subculture. And that is sad because the things that came out of the old underground were thousands of times better than the crap that the internet has replaced it with.

>>5933336
idiot anonymous

>>5933419
>And that is sad because the things that came out of the old underground were thousands of times better than the crap that the internet has replaced it with.
Would you kindly provide some examples?

oh ya

get off my lawn

grandpa

>>5932972
i wouldn't get rid if it but i do agree how awesome those things were.

>>Would you kindly provide some examples?

I would love too but as all of this was from before the internet, and because it was small and underground, there isn't anything I can really link you too.

To the left is an example of the type of self published zine that was popular back in the day. There was no internet so they type of person who would nowaday make a website or blog would back then create their own zine.

Because it took way more effort to make a zine, zines tended to be of much higher quality than the average shit myspace page you see today.

Of course there are still people making zines but there is no big culture surrounding it like there used to be.

>>5933503
I think people have this impression because old underground stuff we hear about nowadays are stuff that survived the test of time. Yes, the internet has brought a lot of the underground to the surface, and thus took a lot of its charm away, but there is still genuine creativity if you look through the piles of shit.

http://internetisshit.org/

the internet brought the underground to the surface in much the same way a sewage backup spews from underneath a manhole cover in the middle of the street

No, I'm not a nostalgic moron who remembers the past with a heavy rose tint.

>>5933638

IRONY.

No, I want to maintain access to the largest source of information to ever exist, thank you

If you could snap your fingers and make the television disappear forever would you do it?

I would do it in a second. Life was better before the television.

Okay for this part, just go through all of your posts and replace the "internet" with "television" while retaining proper context. It is the same shit. Nothing but pretty rhetoric all dressed up with no real deeper meaning, good idea or principles.

>>Okay for this part, just go through all of your posts and replace the "internet" with "television" while retaining proper context. It is the same shit.

No it is not. The internet is a medium where people interact. People post on websites, communicate, email, blogs, youtube, flikr, all that shit. People are directly involved in the process of making the internet what it is. With television people are just passive observers. They are 2 very different things.

Any shithead can produce and distribute content for the internet because it's cheap and easy. When that happens, people have to become MORE responsible, not LESS responsible about how they filter and perceive information, but the internet has just made people lazy, leading to the latter.

THE INTERNET MAKES DUMB PEOPLE DUMBER.

>>5933958
>People are directly involved in the process of making the internet what it is.

That is what makes it so great. That is why you are here right now, in fact! That is why your friends are on Facebook. That is why your friends instant messenge each other back and forth. That is why ARPAnet was set up. Communication. You are just one node out of an amazing network in which you have freedom previously unknown to former generations, and you don't like it.

>With television people are just passive observers. They are 2 very different things.

Yes, I take all my information spoonfed to me directly by a talking head. I have no mind with which to make my own mind. Television makes thinking easy.

>>5934014
>people have to become MORE responsible, not LESS responsible about how they filter and perceive information, but the internet has just made people lazy

Surely you jest.

The internet has thousands of different viewpoints and opinions.

The tube only has one. It is you who are lazy if you choose to blindly accept whatever is given to you on MTV rather than go out and seek many different viewpoints and perspectives. The lazy ones do not seek to find information and use it to draw conclusions, they sit on the sofa and have Fox News tell them what the facts are, and they gladly accept it, because believing whatever Fox tells them makes their lives just that much easier.

>>5934014

Right, there used to be a much smaller group of people producing and there was shit and there was good stuff. But the barriers to create were high enough that a person really had to want to create in order to overcome those barriers.

Now any semi-literate fuckwit with a computer and an internet connection can create a myspace page and can splatter forth their verbal diarrhea on any message board or forum that catches their fancy. For all the world to see..

>>Yes, I take all my information spoonfed to me directly by a talking head. I have no mind with which to make my own mind. Television makes thinking easy.

Not a single person in this thread was arguing that television is superior to the internet. You colossal fucking idiot.

>>It is you who are lazy if you choose to blindly accept whatever is given to you on MTV rather than go out and seek many different viewpoints and perspectives.

Right because that is what this thread is about. Having to choose between television and internet. access... You are the perfect example of the type of know-it-all sophomoric douche bag that makes the internet intolerable.

>>5934119
>Right, there used to be a much smaller group of people producing and there was shit and there was good stuff. But the barriers to create were high enough that a person really had to want to create in order to overcome those barriers.

These are the people you are talking about pictured.

Don't get sidetracked on your zaney little "underground" stuff, that is still there, and the internet has made it easier. Places like deviantart give people a canvas to express themselves to anyone who wants to read it. There are all sorts of little niche places on the web. Communication does not belong to a select few (pic related). Communication and free speech is a right for all people in America to have. There is no reason that if Joe the Plumber has something to say, he shouldn't be able to say it. The internet is a great equalizer in giving power back to the people the ability for speech they didn't typically have.

Why don't I get to express my opinion, but a corporate news anchor does? That is who you are referring to when you say "content creator." The talking heads create their content, and you WILL take it whether you like it or not. You are not allowed to have a voice, because I do not like your voice.

Is that America?

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSTRE5790AK20090811

>NEW YORK (Reuters) - After relying on a pacemaker for 20 years, Carol Kasyjanski has become the first American recipient of a wireless pacemaker that allows her doctor to monitor her health from afar -- over the Internet.

Oh yeah, this "internet" things sounds pretty bad, I hate it. What has society comes to when it comes up with major medical breakthroughs that increase the quality of life for the everyday American in so many different ways besides this example.

We get videos of our grandchildren sent to us by email!

It is a great thing that anyone, no matter who they are, can share a great many things with each other. I get up first thing in the morning to check for email from my son to see if he sent me any pictures of my granddaughter.

Does information want to be free, or should communication be controlled by just a select elite who own every news outlet and every word said?

Stewart Brand at a "Hacker's" conference in 1984:

>On the one hand information wants to be expensive, because it's so valuable. The right information in the right place just changes your life. On the other hand, information wants to be free, because the cost of getting it out is getting lower and lower all the time. So you have these two fighting against each other.
http://www.rogerclarke.com/II/IWtbF.html

Should the ordinary person not be allowed information nor have the ability to distribute information just because you don't like how they do it? Why doesn't Nancy the Schoolteacher get to tell the world HER views for once, instead of just receiving what we believe the world as given to us by MTV and just accepting it, because they are the ones who "really want" (read: have the money to) to create content?

Who was the time person of the year for 2006?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

You were. For the first time ever, no matter who you were, you now had a voice.

Do you want to be so quick to extinguish yourself? I am not sure anyone would want to give that up as quickly as you seem to want to.

>>5934653
>You were. For the first time ever, no matter who you were, you now had a voice.

inb4 DMCA notice

>>5934679
You CAN file a DMCA counter notice.

>>5934679

You don't like something I just said?

That is fine, you may disagree.

I don't know about you, but I live right here. Personally, I enjoy living here a lot.

>>5934709

If you have an attorney, otherwise no justice.

>>5934717

Generally speaking,

America is more like a "Speech Free Zone."

The thing I fucking hate about Americans is if you have anything to say against the government then they're all like "LOL JESUS LOVES AMERICA SO YOU CAN GTFO."

It is our patriotic duty to criticize the government and use the power of our voice to fix the government, otherwise the government will fix us.

Not being critical to the government and not being open to it is more like being the citizen of a fascist state where everyone accepts their state as perfect.. even if it does murder 6 million jews.

>>5934679
>inb4 DMCA notice

I've never received one for just being part of the larger internet community, nor do I know anyone who has received one.

I am not sure what you are trying to say here in your three word reply, can you clarify for everyone?

>>5932985
>Getting entertainment without ever leaving my house

That's the most important part!

>>5934807

Entertainment like a hilarious fan video targeted directly at a niche audience of geeks like me. I find this video awesome, but other people might not understand it. It was created by someone who is like me and likes the same kind of stuff I do. Everyone can find their own niche people on the internet to communicate and collaborate with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR45ja_fNzU

That is what we are doing right now.

To those who don't like it, why are you people making posts here? Why don't you follow your own advice, and unplug yourself from the greater whole?

It is because you value your opinion and think it has worth. I agree with you. Your opinion is worth hearing. If you had really thought it wasn't worth hearing, you wouldn't have posted this at all.