It's an awkward and elitist thing to say, but I believe it to be true: whatever is embraced by the masses, suffers in some ways.

The expert/nerd internet was pioneering, weird, edgy, cooperative. The internet for the masses is...different.

You'll see the same effect in movies, following "safe" formulas. Every movie must have a romantic side story, no matter how irrelevant. It must deliver to the broadest audience possible. And of course, nothing should be thought-provoking, keep it middle of the road.

Check out musical charts, songs are so repetitive that they seem AI generated.

I've found another recent example in F1 racing. It's a pretty technical sport that used to have a fairly limited following. Now the thing is exploding and there's friction between the "original" fans and the clueless idiots spoiling the well (not my words).

As soon as you have the masses on board, this obviously also invites a heavy commercialization of any space, with goals entirely opposite to the original spirit of the internet.

Concluding, the only way to get it back, is to be elitist. Create well defined spaces, heavily curated in both members and content.