The Old Internet was Feudal

It's a known fact that many people claim (rightfully so) that the old internet during the 90s and 2000s was comparable to the Old West, with few pockets of civilization, very few rules and God forbid if you wandered in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I will argue to the theory that perhaps it was not much so of a Wild West as it was Feudal in nature.

One could argue that feudalism is how the internet is now as the powerful corporations hold the fiefs while us the "serfs" do their bidding and abide to their rules... But I would use the argument that feudalism in its real core was a quite decentralized system in which from small fief to small fief many laws, regulations, customs and mannerisms changed accordingly to the ruling lordship on said fiefs. It was fairly rare to issues and situations go directly to a higher lord or the monarchs. What does that has to do with anything? One might ask. Basically, the manner in which sites worked back then in the "Yesterweb" or "Indieweb" as we call today was fairly similar to this organic feudal structure. Each user could make its own site, with its own rules, regulations and customs which varied a lot from site to site (or fief), rarely ever depending on any larger structure above them to do so. These "fiefs" also were interlinked to other larger or smaller ones which created a sort of organic community, here I refer to linking sites of either friends or anyone really through your own page. It's a fairly curious similarity to a organic society.

In conclusion, despite the Old Internet having indeed so many Old West elements to it in the dangers, lack of rules and civilization in some areas. The Indieweb still abided to a more feudal structure that was decentralized and organic to the rulers of their own sites instead of depending on massive corporations in a few centralized sites dictating what you do and what you don't do.