I don’t think you’re taking scale into account. Millions of internet users then vs billions now makes a difference. Generous hobbyists and some universities payed for those services back then. The “massive” in MUD was a few thousand simultaneous players, with mostly text and maybe limited graphics. I very much doubt any of them could/would have paid if their usage went up by 10,000 times, with the higher quality and expectations that we have today. Again, I challenge you to come up with a service for a hundred million people that is open to everyone and doesn’t require ads. I hate ads too - I’ll join your service if you can make it work.
Just for reference, I was there too. I started with a shiny 300 baud modem. To compare the old days to today and say they’re even comparable in terms of information, media, knowledge, access, gaming, entertainment … it’s not even close.
Earlier you wrote that "I did pay for and have access to Compuserve forums", and that "if you loved the 1992 internet I can probably find an AOL disk to send you".
Could you clarify whether you had direct access to the internet (the newsgroups, email, ftp sites, web sites, not mediated by AOL or Compuserv) before mid-1993? Also, if yes, how many hours did you spend on it? I ask because I would be surprised to learn that it is possible for someone with your opinions to have had extensive experience with the internet pre-1993 (and I go looking for surprises).
I remember seeing spyglass and using NCSA mosaic at work and school, and Compuserve from home. There was definitely stuff out there, I downloaded images, a song or two and some programs. I saw a very early version of (I think?) Windows 95 (or 3.1?) that could play different videos in different windows and was amazed (these were from disk, not the web). Used a sysadmin for a Netware network.
It was a really fun time. But the breadth of what we have now more than dwarfs what existed then. It’s not surprising - that was 30 years ago. I don’t see any way to get from there to here without a ton of money being spent. Some of it was spent by governments and individuals, but I’m guessing the bulk was by companies. Economic realities require those companies to get something for their investments - they’re not charities. Advertising is the major vehicle for that investment. I’ll bet we’d find radio and TV followed a similar historical trajectory.
I use uBlock and avoid ads because they’re irritating (and I feel like a hypocrit for doing it). I hate going to recipe sites for all the garbage you have to wade through to get to the recipe. So I get it. The web, at current scale, doesn’t and can’t exist outside of economic realities. Micro transactions might have been the solution but it wasn’t. Kagi has a great model (happy customer here), but everyone can’t afford to subscribe to everything.
Just for reference, I was there too. I started with a shiny 300 baud modem. To compare the old days to today and say they’re even comparable in terms of information, media, knowledge, access, gaming, entertainment … it’s not even close.