QC

Someone reminded me that NationStates existed the other day. I took a look at their forums, and they're... adorable? See for yourself: https://forum.nationstates.net/ 

It feels like the internet from 10-15 years ago. There's a kind of earnestness that I don't expect from the internet anymore. And I think the difference is that they're still using old forum technology, which crucially has no likes / upvotes / karma.

That means no hypercompetition for attention, no ruthless pruning for memetic fitness. Just a bunch of people hanging out talking about politics and stuff. It's like seeing a species of animal I thought had gone extinct, chilling out in its own very isolated niche.