That stuff that you've consumed wasn't free, those hobbyists paid for it out of the pocket. Sure, some can afford to do this to this day, but this doesn't scale. Nowadays internet is too populous and expectations are set too high for this to keep working.

Sure, I was one of the ones that paid for it out of my own pocket.

> Nowadays internet is too populous and expectations are set too high for this to keep working.

I agree with you on both counts, and would like to see a return to a niche web that doesn't work for most people.

EDIT:

P.S. I realise how unlikely that is, so it's not something I'd waste energy on. What I do think is worth thinking about though, is how impossible certain companies are making it for the niche web of the early days to even exist in its own little corner.

> I agree with you on both counts, and would like to see a return to a niche web that doesn't work for most people.

That would be a web without Google, and in fact any search engine at all. Do you really want to go back to 1990 level of functionality?

A thousand times yes, but again, I know that's not something that's possible.

What I'm objecting to is it not being possible for even the old farts like me who want it. Google and co.'s contributions to things like e-mail and websites have made it more and more unfeasible to self-host and manage these services. It's a bit like how you're _technically_ free to farm your own food, only not really because you can't comply with the regulations surrounding growing crops (no I'm not kidding, Google and gasp).

I think expectations are set too low nowadays.