Yeah, the mainstream is pretty crappy, but it’s always been that way from music to food to style. The mainstream internet was briefly interesting while it was based on the foundation of nerds, until the CEOs figured out how to make money on it and turned it to garbage. But the nerds are still here and the tools are still here.
They’re still in the first stage of enshittification: gaining market share. In fact, this is probably all just a marketing scheme. “Hi! I’m Crazy Sam Altman and my prices are SO LOW that I’m LOSING MONEY!! Tell your friends and subscribe now!”