Because not as many people were on the internet, the technological and social landscape is completely different today compared to twenty years ago.

Moderation has also pretty much always been part of the internet in some degree, I don’t believe that the internet being enshittified has nearly as much to do with the presence of moderation, good or bad, as it does with fundamental problems with the constant monetization inherent in capitalism and the adaption of social media influence and recruitment strategies by the far right.