All time since September 1993. One of the seasonal rhythms of the Usenet used to be the annual September influx of clueless newbies who, lacking any sense of netiquette, made a general nuisance of themselves. This coincided with people starting college, getting their first internet accounts, and plunging in without bothering to learn what was acceptable. These relatively small drafts of newbies could be assimilated within a few months. But in September 1993, AOL users became able to post to Usenet, nearly overwhelming the old-timers' capacity to acculturate them; to those who nostalgically recall the period before, this triggered an inexorable decline in the quality of discussions on newsgroups.
Funny how large numbers of immigrants overwhelming the host culture's ability to assimilate them is a problem that keeps cropping up. Also funny how we're allowed to talk about that in all aspects of life except one.
Eternal September:
Funny how large numbers of immigrants overwhelming the host culture's ability to assimilate them is a problem that keeps cropping up. Also funny how we're allowed to talk about that in all aspects of life except one.
"There is another organism on this planet that behaves in the same way. Do you know what it is? A virus."
Agent Smith