This is an article by Cat Valente during the Twitter Migration, discussing the cycle of enschittification and the history of social media.
We found it very perceptive and helpful when leaving Twitter, and I think people leaving Reddit may feel the same.
Dial up bulletin boards, run by hobbyists, existed at the same time as Prodigy and Compuserve in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There was a very large ecosystem of nodes that networked their message boards with other nodes, using technologies like FidoNet, and a large vibrant community of folks from all walks of life.
I’m writing this comment using a node that participates in a very large ecosystem of nodes that network their message boards with other nodes.
I hope these new BBSes don’t die out like the old ones did.