Car forums are still alive and well because they’re a great repository of knowledge. There are plenty of computing forums too still.
Comment on Age Verification Is Coming for the Whole Internet
hansolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks agoI’m literally going around trying out old school forum sites this week.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Buelldozer@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Yep, and every one of them already complies with age verification laws so as new laws are added they’re going to comply with those as well. There are very few web admins / sysops / site operators out there who are willing, or even able, to buck these kinds of national laws.
PushButton@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I am already browsing the “old way”, since the mess with reddit…
I found out there is a forum for everything. It’s not centralized in one website, but it’s not that different than browsing /r/whatever you know.
More often than not, the discussions are more intelligent and on point too.
For my doom-scrolling needs, Lemmy does the job.
phonics@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Lemmy will be pressured into age verification also and most hosts will crumble. $50M per caught infraction is wild.
We gonna end up going back to libraries. Which actually would be cool as fuck. Like Yentl when all those dudes are hanging out in a big ass room talking philosophy. It’ll re-spark the postal service. Live music will thrive. Coz everyone will be like fuck the internet, we’ll do it live.
Buelldozer@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Many fediverse hosts will make an effort to stay open by shifting their servers to countries that are out of reach of verification and law enforcement but that will only last so long.
btaf45@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Lemmy will be pressured into age verification also and most hosts will crumble.
Then just self host
phonics@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
ah ha! Guess that’s how we beat the system. People would need to sub to your instance though for you to post content right?
What would the pros and cons be?
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Let us know what you find. I’m ready to go back to the 90s/early 2000s internet. Golden era of the internet.
Buelldozer@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Why do you assume that the old school forums are going to get exempted? They are going to get on the bus or get run over by it just like everywhere else. Government has already proven that they can, and will, regulate those forums.
hansolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Great question!
First, that the definition of content that is considered “adult” doesn’t necessarily mean every forum qualifies. Privacyguides.org likely would not. A car forum likely would not. Facebook must comply because links shared can be “harmful” anywhere on the platform. The fractured nature of Web 1.0 is a feature now, not a bug.
Second, that proxy measures can reasonably work for forums with smart admins. If I register with an email I can show has been in use since 2007, some forums are willing to accept that as enough evidence. I saw an article somewhere I can’t find right now that someone was accepting 5 year old tickets to a concert or something that was an 18+ event. Typically age verification laws are focused on large Web 2.0 platforms and can include lower cost, lower threshold options for sites with a very small number of users.
Finally, that it might simply take a longer time for anyone to care or even notice some smaller sites. By the time someone comes calling, policies might have already changed several times and reasonable exemptions now mean no work is needed.
WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
if it were so easy. you can post links to the privacyguides forum too. but the bigger problem is that anyone can post anything. if they don’t do age verification, they are liable for any forbidden content that slipped through. that can also be used as a form of blackmailing.
hansolo@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Sure you can post links, but that’s not the topic of the forum, and it’s not specific the a xountrybor market, which is also a factor right now with the UK law, so it doesnt ping as a problem worth dealing with.