This is a highly abbreviated history of the internet and the culture as I see it.
The "Great Awokening" started around 2013. The critical aspect of the Great Awokening isn't any particular belief. Rather, it was the point
at which there were suddenly politically minded people in communities who could purge people for not agreeing with their politics. For not
agreeing with this movement, this religion. That is unprecedented in the history of the internet. For most of its history, politics was a cringe topic confined to designated boards.
The worst part of the Great Awokening is that it obscures changes that happened previously. Many people are nostalgic for the ~2007 4chan days, but I remember when that shift happened too as chan/meme culture transformed the geeky parts of the internet. I never particularly liked the "lulz"/Something Awful Goon/ED culture. As far as I'm concerned, 2003's Geek Social Fallacies actually shows the beginning of the end of internet geek culture. It was when enough normies were coming in that they started criticizing the then geek cultural values. I'd say for me, the era of 1997-2002 was the golden age of the internet. Though I'm sure old Usenet/BBS people who lived through Eternal September might place the golden age earlier!