Nah, content as it exists today did not exist outside of TV, which you also had to pay for, and which also had ads. Arguably it didn't exist at all then, the diversity of content and viewpoints available on Youtube is staggering, and it's on demand. Your rosy view of the past is nothing like the reality of it. If you wanna go back to high schoolers making 320p video of their dumb antics then have at it, I'll stick with what we have now.
You paying for content isn’t benign or holy because you think “creators need to be paid” why should any of us be paid for what we do on the internet.
Is this even worth addressing, it's such a stupid take I don't even know how to properly respond. Mountains of content on Youtube is professionally produced and rivals TV programs in quality, it being on the internet doesn't somehow diminish its worth.
I'm all ears for a real alternative that provides anywhere near what Youtube does, but all I've seen is people bitching that they can't watch ad-supported content ad-free anymore. And while I don't see its relevance, I don't get paid to generate content, I work in IT. I just don't have a weird hate-on for content creators getting money for what they do.
Your takes keep getting more and more detached from reality, it's kind of impressive.
I said they had the same quality, they're not the same thing. You'll find a lot more independent viewpoints and in-depth analysis on Youtube these days than you do on anything mainstream
Your content preferences aren't everyone's, I don't really give a shit what you find 'necessary'. Honestly this alone invalidates your entire opinion, thinking you're the arbiter of what should be on the internet while saying the internet should be more free is a joke. The funniest part is I don't even know what ishowspeed is, didn't even hear the name until yesterday, the internet [and youtube] is so big that things you consider cultural staples are completely unknown to others. if you're getting garbage shoved in your face, may I suggest you stop watching it and telling recommendation algorithms you want more.
Again, the internet [and specifically Youtube] isn't television 2.0. And of course it wasn't going to be hostile to advertisers, the internet costs money to run and people don't like paying for things. And the idea that people actually making stuff others want to consume are part of the problem, good god how can you be so sanctimonious? I feel like when you're saying content creators the only people you can think of are losers like xqc, you're ignoring the endless amounts of thoughtful quality content that you could die without watching all of.
Anyways, I'm afraid if we continue this conversation you'll further drift into fantasy, so I think I'm done replying.