For better or worse, this is what happens when you democratize content production and lower barrier to entry. To be clear, I think it is a net win. However, the price we pay for it is an avalanche of crap. Just look at YouTube (and I say this as someone who makes her living from YouTube). The barrier to entry there is so low that the platform is 99.9% garbage. However there’s also some amazing stuff that never would have seen the light of day in any other medium. Including my stuff which, while not objectively good (I try but I’m no filmmaker) has a small dedicated audience that pays my bills because it’s a niche that no studio or professional would ever bother servicing.
Where I think the internet went wrong is in assuming we need everyone’s fucking opinion on everything. Product reviews were vastly better and more useful when they were gatekept to professionals. Aunt Mildred’s opinion on the candle she doesn’t like is worthless. Even before astroturfing took over all reviews rendering them useless, I don’t care what every cranky old man thinks about every restaurant. I sure as hell don’t need all those opinions on every single video, news article, photograph, song, podcast, etc posted everywhere. The hate and trash that I have to delete in my comments pretty much hourly is incredible. I’d turn off comments if I could, but the algorithm would murder me for doing so.
Maybe it would be a good thing if all these ad hoc communities were properly moderated and managed the way BB is, but without management, comment threads are a net loss, no question (in my humble opinion which is garbage like virtually all uninformed opinions on everything).
