It was much more fragmented and less homogenized, communities were often quite focused and different to each other, like a collection of nation states or towns with their own cultures and lingos. You had to lurk and try to fit in more. Also, you learned alot of things through word of mouth. Feuds and raids between commmunities were funny and interesting. My entry into the internet was a fan community of an ancient game series I liked back then, people there always claimed how community X was the worst thing ever and all, after a while I got curious and went there and stayed there for a while, and in X they again claimed how community Y was terrible and evil, eventually I checked it out and went there(which was 4chan sometime around 2007 or so). And all these places had their own charm and invited to stay for a while. It's like the difference between a cosy European village with comfy beautiful old buildings everywhere and an airport designed by Zaha Hadid. Modern internet is sleek, sterile, and hostile to humans in comparison, maybe busy, lots of people just passing through, as if it's designed to prevent people from lingering and getting too comfortable, and of course there's someone trying to sell you shit or scam you at every corner.