For context I was born in 2005, so obviously much later than most people whose childhoods were enriched by technology, but all the same mine was. That is how I know succumbing to the Bad Side of the Internet is not inevitable. As a kid I would spend hours every day on forums, playing games, watching videos, programming, discovering new tech, fiddling with programs, OSs, emulators, hardware, you name it. The most amazing thing about the Internet to me was the infinite possibilities, how any topic I could choose would have endless resources, learning material, and discussions surrounding it. Whenever I got passionate about something, be it programming or space or Android or a band, the Internet was there for me to share that passion with, to learn, grow, explore, embrace, understand!

There still is, in 2026, a Good Side of the Internet (we are currently on it), along the Bad Side. What this post proposes is limiting access to the discovery mechanisms that would allow you to find the Good Side in the first place. By limiting your childrens' access to technology to only things you know are good, you are preventing them from exploring and finding their own interests and passions.

Software, on the other hand, can be free. Even before LLMs I would argue the best code was found in FOSS projects.

Nobody is going to use sloppy buggy software if a handcrafted well engineered alternative exists, and is free.

In the case of software, the group of people who have principles might be the ones funding FOSS projects, and the software itself would then be enjoyed by all. This is more or less what's already happening today.

I'm very surprised it was able to get this much traction despite being launched only 8 years ago, long after the heyday of these sort of sites. How'd you do it?