@bourgwick if I could impress one thing upon the general public from the professional side of my life, which has been spent either in or around computers, the internet, and digital media, it is this:
Every part of it that's driven by money is an absolute trash pile that's constantly about to burst into toxic flames. No matter how janky you think it is, it's *much* worse. It's only because a lot of brilliant people need jobs that the fires are usually extinguished quickly. Don't trust any of it.