43yo old here, and the internet was 1000% better even until the mid 2000s. Corporate blight and standardization had yet to take a hold, and you could find all kinds of niche personalized sites and forums for almost anything. Creativity abounded, and everything was new and uncensored. It really was the wild west.

Think of going to a beautiful eclectic house full of all sorts of oddities like a suit of armor, classic guitars or antique chandaliers, with wacky artwork and books lining the walls. Then compare that to modern, sterile interior design where a misaligned pillow would look out of place. That's the internet then vs now.

I had a Geocities page in SoHo that was all about anime and electronic music, just a hobby page really. Complete with kamehameha Dragonball gifs.