Especially in the last 10-15 years I feel like all of it went to shit.

It's not your imagination. It actually is going to shit. It was actually going to shit sometime before that, but you didn't notice as much because it wasn't "in your face".
Enjoy the show. If you live in the USA, you get a front row seat.

Isn't it a sign of getting old to complain about how things are going to shit and it was better back in the day?

Which I have been doing for quite some time now that I think about it...

Well, nostalgics can once again enjoy the authentic 1970s experience of being nuked at any moment.

ptr1ck wrote:

Isn't it a sign of getting old to complain about how things are going to shit and it was better back in the day?

Or it's the world burning. Literally.

ptr1ck wrote on 2022-05-19, 01:42:

Isn't it a sign of getting old to complain about how things are going to shit and it was better back in the day?

I guess if it's about things you experienced in your earlier life it could be. But you can't be nostalgic about things you haven't experienced as a child and young adult. Also some things are just objectively got worse.

creepingnet wrote on 2022-05-18, 21:30:

I actually like 70's for most movies and some of the 80's, because that whole Car-movie genre is my favorite...

i like 'practical effects' and cgi, but prefer the former when it comes to the broad category of things that happen on earth at a human scale, like car stuff. I also prefer the stunts back then, especially car stunts. they had a raw quality to them, fenders handing off, wobbling panels - it all looked more 'real' somehow. Some are more ambitious now its true, but they can be spoiled by too many cuts and angles, i like the long sequences panned out enough to see all the action with a few meaningful cuts to the drivers face etc

And it seemed back then, you did not get too hung up on Celebrity past your teen years, but today, good god, I'm embarrassed that I'm a part of a generation who are almost 40 years old and still gathering around random celebrities like they're reading a a copy of Rolling Stone or Creem magazine and they're 14 years old. Honestly, they are just people, and often pretty crappy people at that.

it is strange. back then celebrities were more mysterious and better shielded, so one might think there would be more worship of them. Now they are on twitter making fools of themselves alternating between inauthentic political statements and undertaking repetitive apologies and trying to be a better person because they said something clumsy or insulting once. They have been brought down to the fans level, and often lower, so why all the worship? I sense a duality though, some people do worship celebs but a huge proportion of the general populace don't anymore and are quite sceptical about the whole thing. see the popularity of ricky gervais at the golden globes

I also liked cars better, my preference being mostly 1979-1996 for most stuff.

i absolutely think that most modern cars are much much better than cars of the past in just about every way - however the further back you go the more readily maintained cars are. You really owned them back then and they felt different to drive from model to model too.

Thanks for your posts guys.
I guess the more I do think about it I don’t really miss those old days that much.
Just the computer builder stores, book stores, and those white and beige computer cases.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2022-05-19, 11:22:

Thanks for your posts guys.
I guess the more I do think about it I don’t really miss those old days that much.
Just the computer builder stores, book stores, and those white and beige computer cases.

Honestly, on the subject of beige cases, I think that's something still doable today. Before Google Sketchup became a pay service, I was modeling some faceplates to 3D print for some metal-brake built case ideas I had that I was thinking about building a few to sell.

gerry wrote on 2022-05-19, 09:29:

I absolutely think that most modern cars are much much better than cars of the past in just about every way - however the further back you go the more readily maintained cars are. You really owned them back then and they felt different to drive from model to model too.

This is true to a point. Korean cars have improved a lot, and American cars improved as they basically accepted the fact that they sucked at building cars and just rebadged imports/foreign designs and technology. (not for trucks and truck based SUVs)
The golden age of Japanese cars was 80-mid 90s. They are still high quality, but less reliable due to increased complexity from constantly changing and increasing regulations.

Here's stuff I hate about modern Japanese cars:
-integrated painted bumpers that are easily damaged in minor collisions
-increased horsepower that causes more stress on the engine and more electronic controls that break and are expensive to fix
-high door sills that look ridiculous and lower visibility
-ugly aggressive head/tailight styling with huge grills to appease American buyers
-ultra low-profile tires that handle like crap for everyday driving
-less mechanical linkages and more computer control that kills road feel

As I haven't really driven much since 2007, I'm sure there's a lot more that I could complain about.

The 90s had its flaws. I'm not even all that nostalgic for the 90s. But, I'd take it over what we have now. Anyone that disagrees is probably an out of touch boomer or wasn't around back then.

I remember the time before cell phones were not that common (and texting was absolutely not). People just called each other and had conversations about nothing, they sure felt special though having an important call about "what-are-you-doing-nothing-at-all".

Cracked me up a few times when I saw these damn narcists waving there bricks around in public, and in 1999 I joined them with a used Nokia 5110. But I still prefer texting. 😀

I remember when texting cost real money and you had to limit how many you sent in a month. I don't miss that.

How many of you remember paying for internet access by the minute?

Shagittarius wrote on 2022-05-20, 00:08:

How many of you remember paying for internet access by the minute?

I kept grandfathered under AOLs $4.95 a month plan many years

My internet use patterns meant it always was cheaper than unlimited

Once I knew I was going to be high use doing a bunch of auctions and switched to unlimited and AOL wouldn’t allow me to switch back,

The $4.95 aol plan with the Juno free internet was a good combo while it lasted.

Juno canceled my free account after several years.

I was born in 97 so I didn't really experience the 90s, but something I say kinda in line with this thread is that I miss well forums. Nowadays everything is on consolidated on some giant social media or even discord. forums just aren't much of a thing anymore. And with sites that have both traditional forums and a discord server, well the forums are dead a lot of the times.

A discord server is one step above a group text, kinda useless for archival and search

The third-party attempts to discord off this forum hadn't been very noble from what I recall (and usually were from those on thin ice)

Shagittarius wrote on 2022-05-20, 00:08:

How many of you remember paying for internet access by the minute?

I remember paying for BBS by the minute (long distance charges from T&T).

leileilol wrote on 2022-05-20, 04:12:

The third-party attempts to discord off this forum hadn't been very noble from what I recall (and usually were from those on thin ice)

Sounds like they were sowing discord.

🐱‍🏍

retrogamerguy1997 wrote on 2022-05-20, 03:46:

And with sites that have both traditional forums and a discord server, well the forums are dead a lot of the times.

Adding to this, there were perfectly fine forums that suicided by adding social media things on top of them. User base changed and the forum died quickly, adding the new layer was what actually killed them. I'm not arguing against discord etc here, just commenting that I find them incompatible with "traditional" forums.

Forums are great, but they are still susceptible to a lesser version of the difficulties faced by broader social media.

Specifically, a massively diverse user base all coming together in one giant, free-for-all discussion area. A diverseness and freedom of social interaction which, under OG "real physical world" conditions, would only ever have occurred in rare, carefully choreographed social occasions.

It results in extra work, on several fronts. Moderation (including self-moderation). Conflicts arising from different perspectives (e.g. socioeconomic). Trivial misunderstandings. Tediously-long explanations, in attempts to get your point across to all - or to avoid accidentally offending.

But the payoff is a great broadness of information, perspectives and interactions.