A Practical Guide to Safely and Effectively Navigating the Internet in 2024

# The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet: A Reflection on Digital Spaces and Collective Creation

In today’s tectonic digital landscape, **Yancey Strickler’s** forthcoming book, *”The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet: How to Create, Live, and Survive on the Internet” (2024)*, offers a deep dive into understanding how the Internet has transformed from a budding space of creative freedom to a complex ecosystem driven by gamification and algorithmic controls. Though not just a work of theory, this book is positioned not merely as an academic artifact but also as a time capsule that seeks to capture the sentiments, challenges, and hopes of engaging with the Internet through a creative lens.

This anthology, developed over five years and involving a collective of writers, intellectuals, and creators, seeks to define and contextualize Strickler’s evolving vision for the platform **Metalabel**, an online space built to facilitate creative releases under better financial and artistic conditions for artists and other creators. Reflecting on his earlier success with **Kickstarter**, Strickler weaves together his groundbreaking ideas with critical thoughts from a cohort of writers and thinkers who consider the radical changes of the Internet over the past two decades.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of *The Dark Forest Theory* and its implications for how we relate to the Internet, both creatively and socially.

## What is the “Dark Forest”?

*The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet* is inspired by **Liu Cixin’s** science fiction novel *The Dark Forest* (2008), which is part of the *Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy*. Cixin’s philosophical concept describes the universe as a dark forest where countless civilizations hide in silence, fearing that revealing themselves to others will bring about their annihilation. Strickler adapts this idea to describe certain corners of the Internet—spaces that function under the radar, far from the glaring lights of search engines, social media algorithms, and data mining.

In today’s highly monetized, indexed, and optimized Internet, visibility often leads to exploitation. As Strickler explains, most of the Internet is subject to constant quantification: every click, like, and share represents validation, thereby influencing how we present ourselves online. However, tucked away from Instagram’s public displays and algorithm-dictated newsfeeds, exist “dark forests”—think newsletters, Slack channels, private Discord groups, and podcasts—which allow more intimate, relaxed interactions outside the constant need for visibility.

Strickler suggests these spaces protect us from the **”gamified” web**, where everything is ranked, optimized, and monetized. Dark forests, although private and isolated, present a double-edged sword. While they preserve intimacy, they prevent users from influencing or reshaping the larger digital ecosystem. In short, by retreating to these digital “dark forests,” we give up our public voice, leaving the Internet’s broader agenda firmly in the hands of larger corporations and data-driven algorithms.

## The Challenges of Writing About Digital Spaces

An anthology focused on the Internet faces obvious challenges, not least the paradox of writing about a virtual world that is endlessly mutable. Strickler and his collaborators step up to this challenge by introducing a creative blend of conversational prose and theoretical rigor.

Writing about the Internet often entails the description of abstract, evolving phenomena—online social dynamics, design decisions, algorithmic influence—all of which significantly impact our behavior and views. These matters are particularly relevant today as new technologies—including **cryptocurrency**, **blockchain**, and **generative AI**—further complicate our social and economic lives.

The book doesn’t shy away from critical technical terminology but also uses this jargon to pull back the curtain on sociopolitical and technological forces that shape our online lives. It oscillates between conceptual frameworks and personal reflections, creating a mosaic of varied intellectual and experiential perspectives.

Many readers may find the book’s lexicon cumbersome, but this complexity mirrors the chaotic nature of being online today. The Internet can be hard to interpret; new subcultures, terms, and frameworks seem to arise daily, rapidly reshaping how we express ourselves. Despite these difficulties, the anthology serves as a guidepost for understanding this chaos.

## Art, Commerce, and Control: Metalabel’s Vision

For artists, the online world has always held a mystique. Originally seen as a limitless arena for expression and financial independence, it has gradually conformed to mass platforms that often prioritize content virality over creative integrity.

*Metalabel*, Strickler’s platform born from the ideas in this anthology, aims to reform this imbalance. A collective or individual can “release” their creations—whether art, music, or writing—using Metalabel while retaining more direct control over their content and revenue. This is a clear divergence from existing systems that take a large portion of profits. True to its mission, Metalabel promises transparency in its financial structures—a stark departure from opaque institutions like galleries