The WilderNet: A Throwback to the Old Net
Let's ignore the dystopian antics of Big Tech for a moment and take a look at the site that wants to "carve out a space on the internet by real people, for real people."
I launched this newsletter exactly one month ago, and I’ve focused exclusively on the enshittification of the internet since then. Fun, right?! For a change of pace, I’d like to take a look at one site that’s getting it right — or trying to, at least.
I learned about The WilderNet about a week ago via the r/Substack subreddit. A new writer lamented there that they’d spent “25 hours writing an article,” and no one on Substack was reading it. One of The WilderNet’s founders chimed in with this:
Consider my interest piqued!
I did some sleuthing and learned the following: the individual behind u/TheWilderNet is a fellow Millennial who’s frustrated with the present state of the internet. Like me, they fondly remember the early days of the internet: a time when making a quick buck by any means was not the sole goal of uploading content online. Unlike me, they have friends who work in web development. Together, these friends created a community- and volunteer-driven ad-free platform that exists to showcase interesting blogs and websites created by human beings with diverse goals and objectives.
For a better idea of what The WilderNet’s team is all about, here’s an excerpt from the site’s “About Us” page:
Once upon a time, the internet was a wild, amazing place where people from around the world could build community, discover solutions to their problems, and exchange ideas. Then, everything changed when corporations took over and turned the internet into a commercial hellscape.
We want to carve out a space on the internet by real people, for real people. The cool little blogs and websites that made the internet special still exist - but they are buried underneath a mountain of ads and corporate slop.
The founder posting under u/TheWilderNet has also spoken out on Reddit against the use of AI images and “AI written garbage,” so it’s fairly safe to say that GenAI rubbish is not encouraged on The WilderNet’s database (though it does rear its ugly head there — but I’ll say more on that later). If you’ve been paying even a smattering of attention to this newsletter, you’ll understand completely why this is the most refreshing online platform I’ve stumbled upon since … uh, StumbleUpon!
How It Works
Uploading sites to The WilderNet’s database is easy. Simply sign up for an account, click on the “Upload a Site” menu option, and follow the prompts. There is no vetting process; you don’t have to prove that you own the site you’re recommending, nor do you have to wait around for an administrator to approve the site. This is convenient, but it’s also not without some problems (again, more on that later).
Recently added sites appear chronologically on the main page under the “Recently Added” heading. Random sites appear beneath the “Check Out Something New” heading. There is also a “Recommended For You” heading on the main page that’s only visible when you’re logged in. It appears that this list is populated randomly, based on the (entirely optional) interest tags on your profile. If you don’t list any interests, you simply don’t get any recommendations. That’s right: predatory, addictive recommendation algorithms aren’t a thing on this platform!
The WilderNet has a few community-oriented features that don’t seem to be used all that much by the user base at the moment, but I think they have good potential. After you click on a website’s card on the main page, you can either “like” a site by clicking the heart icon, or you can go a step further and write a review. In the review, you can indicate whether or not you recommend the site. You also have the option to start a general discussion about the site, if you’d rather not leave a review.
Growing Pains
It should come as no surprise that there are a few things about The WilderNet that could be improved; it is, after all, a volunteer-driven project in its infancy.
The lack of admin vetting on The WilderNet is convenient if you want to get your site up on the platform quickly, but it does unfortunately open the site up to abuse by the usual agents of the modern internet’s destruction. For instance, I’ve seen quite a few sites listed that are just obvious attempts to sell goods and services. I’ve also clicked on a number of listed sites that feature nothing but lazy AI-generated content. To their credit, the devs are aware of this issue; I had an exchange with u/TheWilderNet on Reddit recently that left me feeling confident they’ll work something out soon.
Data control-wise, I don’t especially like it that reviews cannot be deleted or edited by reviewers once they’re added to the site. I only realized this was the case after I left a brief review for an awesome Substack I found (see below). I assumed, naturally, that my review would only appear under the site’s description; I quickly discovered that it also ended up being crossposted to the News Feed and was THE FIRST ITEM IN THE NEWS FEED (OH GOD). I immediately tried to delete it in a moment of crippling self-consciousness. No dice. Oh well, hopefully my very public review will at least bring more readers to Off the Rails. 🙂
Finally, page loading on The WilderNet can be painfully slow at times. In some ways, this is kind of fun and in keeping with the theme of the website; it reminds me a little of the pre-FTTH internet days, when you basically had no choice but to sit back and calmly take a few sips of your beverage while you waited for a page to load. I mention it, though, as it could be a source of annoyance to those of you who are accustomed to lightning-fast page loads. Hopefully site optimization will improve with time as The WilderNet grows in popularity and receives more donations.
Closing Thoughts
Going online used to be a rewarding pastime back when the internet wasn’t a toxic wasteland of corporate ads, sponsorships, hustling influencers, affiliate links, “SEO best practices,” and GenAI slop. Platforms like The WilderNet make it clear, however, that demand is still very much there for the ethos of the Old Net. As explained above, the site is not without some issues, but I think it’s absolutely worth checking out and supporting if you value human-generated content that isn’t constantly trying to sell you something.