Generation Chaff - Phase I: Social Control Media
In the early Internet days, those with access to the "Net" were privileged and well behaved. Many worked for well funded institutions and had gained formal education in scientific disciplines. Over time, however, the "Net" grew. Then came the Web. Then people started to have an Internet connection at their home. About a decade later those people were herded into social control media "platforms", based on the misconception that it is essential, e.g. to get a job you "need" a Microsoft LinkedIn account and to have real friends you need to mark them as "friends" in Facebook.
IRC predates the Web and we still use it. The protocol goes back to the 1980s and it suits our needs just fine. Unlike social control media, it is not a "battle zone" and unlike blog comments, it's not some high-maintenance vector for defacing/sabotaging article pages.
Today, in "Generation Chaff", we shall discuss how technology deteriorated over and who stood to gain from that. █