The structured user information is what I think killed the "free" vibe of the early internet: you naturally see a lot of information even before you contact anyone. That removes some intimacy of exchanging information about who you are, in a way you want. Around 2000, I was playing pool with random people on Yahoo Games, and trying to learn English talking to them. I've met a girl of my age from Jakarta, I talked to some boomer Arizona cowboy who was relieved to know "we're not fucking commies anymore" (I`m Russian). These were interesting conversations where we discovered each other. Now I wouldn't talk to the guy like that, because "I see we probably don't have much in common, and he wrote this and that to other people"

don't forget memes about the news