Back in the 1980s when the internet was a baby (I was not there) I was told the places people hanged out in were abusive, tough and anything goes places. A lot of the people who were there moved into forums of various kinds where much of the same attitude prevailed especially as the rest of the world woke up to servers and the forums took advantage. Then came restrictions and private forums and reddit where again the same process of absolute liberty rubbed up against decorum and the sense that children were reading and adults needed to be circumspect..
The internet is over thirty now and the same arguments rage across the world but with one new element – in those days none of the members were trying to blow anyone up. Liberty and mayhem are not the same thing.
#internet