◆ [Date updated: 2024/06/03(Mon) 10:19:27]
　■A small interview with Shiba (founder of Ayashii World) about his 
　│thoughts on the Internet, circa 1998 (shortly before he quit Ayashii):
　│https://web.archive.org/web/19981206130852/http://www.hotwired.co.jp/matrix/9808/textonly/question/shiba.html
　│
　│Google translate:
　│
　│Q.1 What were you doing on the Internet in 1995? Please be as specific 
　│as possible. If you were not using the Internet, please tell us when 
　│you started.
　│
　│In 1995, I downloaded strange underground tools and viruses. I was 
　│still mainly using PC communication. In 1995, people were just starting 
　│to leave NiftyServe, so BBSs and homepages were still interesting. I 
　│started using the Internet seriously in the summer of 1996. And around 
　│that time, I started a web page.
　│
　│Q2. What are you doing on the Internet now? Please be as specific as 
　│possible about the content of any projects you may have.
　│
　│I run a web page called "Strange World," which is mainly a bulletin 
　│board. It is underground to the general public, but not to those in the 
　│know, so it could be called the "gateway to the underground." 
　│Currently, it is mainly current events and inside jokes, but basically 
　│anything goes. The principle is that those who post and those who read 
　│are responsible for their own actions.
　│
　│Q3. Has your attitude towards the Internet changed between 1995 and 
　│now? If so, how has it changed? Or, if not, in what ways do you think 
　│it remains the same?
　│
　│I thought it would be good for the Internet to be a free and 
　│unrestricted space, but the reality has been different. In terms of 
　│legal regulations, it is difficult to know what is illegal and what is 
　│legal. There must be many people who are caught without even realizing 
　│that they are illegal. I also think that we are becoming in a horrible 
　│situation where even things that are not illegal are being regulated in 
　│the name of "self-regulation" to escape regulations by the authorities. 
　│On the other hand, as more people are using the Internet, the advantage 
　│has emerged of being able to share local information, rumors, and word-
　│of-mouth information on a national level. Information is being 
　│distributed at a different level than the mass media, which act as if 
　│they are providing all information even though they can only provide 
　│limited information. In other words, in an information-saturated 
　│society, it is now possible to select and discard information without 
　│being manipulated by the mass media. I think the future of the Internet 
　│can be found there.
　│
　│Q4. Three years from now it will be 2001. Please predict the state of 
　│the Internet in 2001 as much as possible based on your own experience.
　│
　│It is certain that the number of ordinary people (those who are not 
　│particularly knowledgeable about the Internet) will increase, so there 
　│will be more problems like those occurring in the real world. This will 
　│be a new type of problem with elements unique to the Internet added to 
　│it. Elements unique to the Internet include partial anonymity and the 
　│ease and convenience of taking action. It is expected that criminals 
　│will become younger and younger in particular. On the other hand, as 
　│commercial use of the Internet advances, the Internet will likely 
　│become increasingly "clean" on the surface. It will likely move in the 
　│direction of not only eliminating illegal things, but also "foreign 
　│objects." Once the Internet is cleaned up and only used for commercial 
　│purposes and broadcasting, it will be over. It will not be interesting 
　│if it becomes the same as magazines and television. However, time flows 
　│on the Internet several dozen times faster than in the real world, so 
　│it is difficult to predict what will happen three years from now.
　│
　└■scary that this is what is happening right now (;´Д`)
　　│
　　└■No, it's exactly what happened 20 years ago.