VRML was a standard in 1995 but now everyone's excited about The Metaverse

Eh, yes, VRML was a standard, but it was a standard that enabled you to make very static little objects that could be rendered in an external viewer, not exactly 'The Metaverse'. WebGL is probably VRML's logical successor. (And is a standard, too.) But a Web page isn't necessarily how you want your metaverse delivered.

As to whether FB is gonna make something that a) is interesting, and b) isn't MAXIMALLY INVASIVE of privacy... Well, the answer there is NOT the fault of any future metaverse. ;)

I worked with X3D (the successor to VRML) and, yeah, it was primarily used for these weird low quality experiences that could best be described as "Second Life but worse".

So, if that, an open standard that did basically the same thing, didn't go anywhere, I can't imagine that Facebook's "metaverse" will either.

I don't thing the metaverse will go anywhere either. But not because it was tried before. Lots of things were tried and failed before they were tried again and succeeded. Timing is key. And technology was not there yet in 1995. We didn't have the processor speed or the bandwidth nor the legions of users savvy enough to pick up on it.