Back in the embryonic stages of the internet, you had to actually pay by the minute to be online. You had a very high caliber of people who were focused on their online experience being quick and informative. There were no ads. One of the major things I enjoyed was something called “worlds away”, which allowed you to create a flat cartoon character in a flat “world” and chat with other people in real time using cartoon bubbles. The people that were on there were paying big money to waste their time. This game was on a service called compuserve. Mind you, this was around 1996.

All was good in the online world at that point. No spam. No children.

Flash forward to the day that a service offered unlimited usage. The entire internet changed that day. You had people on there who had nothing better to do, so they created havoc.

Announced recently was Oculus Quest. Good. No longer tethered to a high-cost PC. Able to get into VRChat while in your yard. Good.

Uh-oh. Just thought about it. Everyone will be able to get one like a game console. People will be wearing their Oculus Quest while on the toilet. A school busload of minors are about to get lost in a very unfiltered world. VRChat is an amazing experience. But you instantly have to lose your “feelings” and any kind of outrage at what people are saying. It’s harsh, but I feel it has more benefits in the long run.

Cut to a whole generation of kids who can now use this in public, in their cars, everywhere. No common sense to look where they are going. Falling, suing, parents too stupid to teach them how to use their brains.

I am going to enjoy VRChat as it is right now, and I am sure that one day, I will be telling the stories of how nice it was back in the day.