I don't like it, no. But it won't be replaced, just like the wild west Internet of yesteryear wasn't replaced: it's still where we left it. And so will these behemoths be, when we move past them.
Don't believe me? Livejournal and mySpace are still running, at the same addresses. Your old login still works.
Why would being spoiled rate highly? It's a bad thing.
I'd rate mine a 10 but because of independence. My parents gave me both the trust and the skills to do what I wanted to do. I biked all over town, didn't need to check in outside of mealtimes, read the whole library, went to museums and concerts and dances. I taught myself to type and then to program. It was fantastic.
I wasn't spoiled, though. We didn't have any spare money, so anything I wanted to do I had to pay for myself; I was babysitting and mowing lawns from a young age. I had my chores at home including taking care of my brothers. I had food, if not my favorites, and clothes, though mostly hand-me-downs from cousins. Any electronics in the house were shared, and either bought used or received as gifts from most distant relatives. But stuff isn't what makes childhood great: friends, freedom, and family are.
Walking around in the early evening and stopping wherever people are gathering.
I was just popping out for salad greens, and ran across a group of young people having a picnic on the sidewalk. They had way too much food and were offering to share it with everyone who passed by. I wasn't hungry but I sat down and joined the picnic anyway. Great people! I stayed for over half an hour and I'm so glad I did.
And this isn't a one-off. This is how I met my wife, too, sixteen years ago. You gotta be open to spontaneous experiences.
It's mostly about the sound of your voice. My eldest got Vonnegut and Law & Order. So much of the latter that both before and after birth the "dun dun" sound from the show noticeably calmed her down.
Since most expenses are static but my income is variable, I have done the calculation for how much my expenses are per day and per week. Then I just make sure I'm making at least that much every workday / workweek. All the surplus gets split between discretionary spending, long-term plans (home improvement, family trips), and investments.
I've managed to make it even simpler by making the investments automatic and hands-off, so I can just figure those into the per-week number since they're also regular.
Lemmy is inherently democratic. If you don't like a muni, or an instance, you go to another one. Without centralization dictatorship is impossible.
That said, it's not democracy, either: It's a federation of interdependent polities, each with their own laws and administrators. Which is good, because it allows for rapid response to spam, inappropriate content, and verbal violence.
And if the admins or moderators overreach, well, back to the first paragraph: we've got open borders, go homestead your own community on another instance. You literally cannot be silenced here.
I think that people should be able to have guns to defend themselves. I also think that, in almost all circumstances, people should not use guns to defend themselves.
I don't like it, no. But it won't be replaced, just like the wild west Internet of yesteryear wasn't replaced: it's still where we left it. And so will these behemoths be, when we move past them.
Don't believe me? Livejournal and mySpace are still running, at the same addresses. Your old login still works.