February 16, 1978. Chicago. A blizzard is raging outside, and two computer nerds—Ward Christensen and Randy Suess—are holed up inside, probably eating stale pizza and high-fiving over what they just created: the first-ever Computerized Bulletin Board System, or CBBS. (wired.com) This was the Big Bang of online communication. One person at a time could dial in, leave a message, maybe read a few, and then—get this—LOG OFF.
It was simple. It was functional. It was beautiful. So naturally, we had to ruin it.
The 1980s and ‘90s saw these bulletin board systems multiply like rabbits in a Viagra factory. (en.wikipedia.org) People formed online communities around shared interests—science, gaming, conspiracy theories (back when they were just weird and fun, not a reason to storm government buildings). It was the Wild West, but at least the town had a sheriff. Moderators existed! You got kicked out if you acted like a jackass. There were rules!
Then the internet really took off. Websites! Chat rooms! And oh, dear sweet hell, GeoCities. (en.wikipedia.org) A place where you could make your own web page—animated fire GIFs, neon fonts on black backgrounds, and music that auto-played like an assault on your ears. But at least people were still DOING something. They were building. Contributing. Being part of a community.
And then—then came social media.
Friendster, MySpace, Facebook—each one a little worse than the last. (online.maryville.edu) At first, it was innocent. You posted pictures of your cat. You poked your friends. (Remember that? That was a thing! We poked each other like that wasn’t creepy!) Then suddenly, the whole thing went from a fun way to connect to a goddamn casino run by robots.
Now, social media decides what you see, what you think, and who you hate today. Platforms track your every move, shove outrage down your throat, and turn your uncle into a raving lunatic who suddenly knows EVERYTHING about politics despite failing tenth-grade civics. (wired.com) Meanwhile, the companies behind it all sit back, collecting data on you like you’re a lab rat in an experiment they already know the outcome of.
And let’s talk about moderation—or lack thereof. Remember how BBS had moderators? REAL people keeping things civil? Well, now we’ve got AI doing the job, and it’s about as effective as putting a traffic cone in front of a speeding train. Misinformation spreads like wildfire, trolls run rampant, and if you dare to post a historical fact, you get flagged while the guy spreading chemtrail theories gets 100,000 likes.
So, where does that leave us? We started with a system where one person at a time could leave a message and contribute meaningfully to a discussion. And now? Now, it’s a screaming match where everyone’s talking, no one’s listening, and somehow, we’re all worse for it.
Happy anniversary, CBBS. You had a good run. And then we took your brilliant little idea, set it on fire, and danced around the flames like idiots.
