Yep, I'm that old. I remember using a lot of ancient software and websites. I still think we'd be best off dumping social media like the birdpost and givemeyourdatabook and go back to using telnet talkers. There would be one room where everyone could join and talk about anything and everything they wanted. Then if you wanted to have a private conversation in a different room, there were ones already created that you could lock or create your own as a lot of talkers allowed that. Yes, people mostly went to talkers because it was about sex. It afforded an anonymity that couldn't be had anywhere else. I don't deny it. Anyone who went to talkers back then who say they didn't go there for that reason are just keeping their secrets to themselves and that's ok with me. I don't tell, either :)
But think about how it could be used instead just for people to have somewhere to gather, rooms that were separate because you had people who wanted to discuss new techniques in farming or living off the grid, or a thousand different things. Imagine a wagon wheel. The main room would be the hub and all these rooms would be the spokes, so people could come and go as their interests peak and wane. There would have to be moderators and rules, of course. Not because I'm against free speech because I'm not. I'm all for civil discourse as it enriches those who take part of the discourse and for those who just listen. I'm just firmly against hate speech in all forms that it takes. That's the kind of people/bots created by people whose sole purpose is to raise walls and separate people. We can't get away from that type in the world we currently inhabit, but finding a way to limit them on a site would be welcome.
I'm generally a walking conundrum. You would think that because I'm a liberal that I must be against X, Y, and Z and support A, B, and C+, but that's not going to be true. Every experience I've had in life, good and bad, has had a hand in shaping my perspective, my belief system. BTW, do not go evangelical on me, I will spontaneously combust and take you with me. What I'm saying is that you can throw away any preconceived notion of what I must be like because you'll always be partially wrong.
Ok, obligatory first post done to introduce myself to whatever masses there may be in this brave, new world.