I remember cliques and a lack of online monoculture on Usenet and IRC before the World Wide Web even existed; the web exploded things even further, as did the privatization of DNS and takeover of funding by VCs and ad conglomerates. All that had happened by 1998.

Even then there were things that were more or less known in all corners of the Internet. You could mention things like SCP, 'Charlie bit my finger', or My Immortal on any forum and people there would recognize it.

Now it's all fragmented. Someone can mention something that's a massive phenomenon in one part of the platform and no one else on the same platform would recognise it. For example, I only recently heard about backrooms and apparently it has been a thing for half a decade. That's a long time in internet years.

I block content I’m not interested in and it goes away.

I agree with this idea, but unfortunately YT and other engagement social media sites don't want that to happen. For me, I'm almost never shown videos I hate, but when I say "not interested/don't show me this channel" it USUALLY works. Not at the time though. I've definitely gotten channels recommended to me that I already said I don't want to see.

This is especially true for my mom, who is frequently getting upset by the fact that YT keeps showing her Fox News and Asmongold clips in her recommendations. I think changing the VPN to Canada helped to reduce the Fox News recommendations, but the Asmongold clips can't be escaped.

...backrooms?

Yeah people use all sorts of stuff that you don't. Wild, isn't it?

Youtube has just one priority, it wants you to watch as much monetised content as possible. If you watch and engage with those types of videos, it'll suggest them to you.

I don't, and I never see them recommended either - here's my youtube homepage right now.
DIY, electronics, cooking, gaming, science, with some weeb stuff sprinkled in - exactly what I'd expect.

I use new pipe if I heed. It's like a window into a crazy house. You can see what's going on, but you can't have a say.

On Apple: safari + AdGuard

Or: Orion browser

On Apple: safari + AdGuard

Or: Orion browser

People use the youtube app?

When was this?

Asking as someone who’s been on the Internet since 1989.

When was this?

Asking as someone who’s been on the Internet since 1989.

Lol haven't used the app for like at least 7 years? Maybe even 10 years. Haven't used the app as soon as I learned what an adblocker is, using uBlock Origin on Firefox.

I don't "subscribe" to anyone either, I just keep a list of everyone who I wanna watch and check everyone channel like once every 3 days. Takes like 3 minutes to go through the list of like around 20 channels. No accounts, all done over a no-log VPN to a privacy-friendly country.

I've noticed that with Facebook. Facebook will push conflict to my feed excessively hard, to the point that spending not even 30 seconds there will start making me angry. I refuse to use Facebook at all anymore.

When was this?

Asking as someone who’s been on the Internet since 1989.

Tried newpipe when I migrated from reddit. It worked 50% of thw time. Any better now?

No, she absolutely hates right-wing content and is definitely left. Asmongold is a grifter piece of shit human being who attracts alt-right viewers. It's not about her not being interested, she quite literally gets upset at the awful ideas and hate that those channels spread and doesn't want to see them. She never watches their videos on purpose, she's only ever clicked on them by accident, she always either clicks away immediately or dislikes the video, and never comments on them. She has repeatedly tried to block those channels. YT continues to show them.

Really? It feels like theres a lot less diversity of thought on the internet now. I used to be able to jump on stumbleupon and find a website about psilocybin, or someone's insane ramblings about the new world order. Now its all just crap. Used to be the world was too far away, used to be the stars didn't have much to say.