Web Revival / the Old Web

[Mobbd]

I've been reading about the Web Revival movement for a while. Basically, a lot of cool kids (and doubtless some old farts) are fed up of social media and platform capitalism and set out to rekindle the spirit of the Old Web.

So they learn to code, build websites to document offline projects, commit to the longform writing of blogs, start community forums, independently host their photo albums, drill into the deep web, eschew search engines in favour of directories, etc.

CaB could be seen as part of Old Web continuity, so perhaps you're interested in the movement too.

Use this thread to post your thoughts concerning the movement itself or to recommend surviving quarters of the original Old Web and/or new sites evolving from the old ethic.

(Lets maybe keep social media- and algo-bashing tirades for threads like Xodus: and YouTube).

Some choice quotes from this introductory essay/guide:

The Web Revival is one name for a wider internet-based movement! The name itself is derived from the Folk Revival of the mid-20th century. The Folk Revival promoted a feeling of humanity, creativity and equality at a time of rapid mechanisation; whereas the Web Revival promotes these values in the face of the rapid digitisation that surrounds us today.

The Web Revival often references the early Internet, but it's not about recreating a bygone web; the Web Revival is about reviving the spirit of openness and fresh excitement that surrounded the Web in its earliest days.

The goal is to find what was best about the early web and what is best about new technologies and merge the two into a model for tomorrow; while kicking all the Zuckerberg's and Musk's to the curb so we can get on with our lives.

Surfing the web is about going on an adventure, it's about clicking links and seeing where they go. You won't find Web Revival sites on typical search engines, you won't find them on social media sites and no algorithm will pick them out for you. To surf the Web Revival, you start on one site, you find links and you follow the trail; be brave, explore, keep going, keep going!

It's important not to confuse the Web Revival with artistic styles such as Vaporwave; or other retro-core / aesthetic trends - the Web Revival is a set of creative values more than a visual style.

[bgmnts]

You can't go home again but this is a great idea and I'm all for it.

Although that link is broken for me.

[Mobbd]

You can't go home again but this is a great idea and I'm all for it.

Although that link is broken for me.

https://thoughts.melonking.net/guides/introduction-to-the-web-revival-1-what-is-the-web-revival

Any good?

[Mobbd]

Decent post from comedy nerd John J. Hoare the other day:

Click around. Or tap around. Or do whatever you need to do in the browser of your choice. If we want the indie web to flourish, the very first thing people need to get used to is actually browsing the web again.

If you care about the indie web growing, by all means write, by all means create, by all means curate. But most of all, just read. Or listen, or experience. Spend an afternoon clicking around, like everybody used to.

https://www.dirtyfeed.org/2024/01/click-around-find-out/

[bgmnts]

https://thoughts.melonking.net/guides/introduction-to-the-web-revival-1-what-is-the-web-revival

Any good?

My fault. Using a Three router. Says it all!

[Maurice Yeatman]

Decent post from comedy nerd John J. Hoare the other day

He's the mod who banned Lisa Jesusandmarychain from NOTBBC, so I guess he's pro-censorship.

[Mobbd]

He's the mod who banned Lisa Jesusandmarychain from NOTBBC, so I guess he's pro-censorship.

Aw. Why did he ban them? And how long ago are we talking? I always think John's a goodie. Same feelings about Lisa, mind.

[Uncle TechTip]

I read an article recently about how the ancient protocol Gopher is still around and indeed is implemented on modern platforms. Here's an example. https://gopher.floodgap.com/overbite/

Here's a decent directory site evocative of Yahoo v1 as described above. https://ooh.directory/

[Mobbd]

Here's a decent directory site evocative of Yahoo v1 as described above. https://ooh.directory/

I like that directory very much and I've spent some happy idle time browsing through the sites it links to. The only problem is that I recommended some blogs through its suggestion feature and they've never been added. If I try again it tells me to "be patient" but it was months ago. Makes me wonder if it's actually maintained.

[thr0b]

Truly it is the Webring for the 90s!

[buzby]

The start of the internet's version of the 'arts and crafts' movement? I wonder if it will have an Eric Gill as well?

Aw. Why did he ban them? And how long ago are we talking? I always think John's a goodie. Same feelings about Lisa, mind.

I think I can remember, but I'd rather not say as I'm not sure (edit:see post below). It was a long time ago though (a good few years before I migrated over here in 2015).

[Gurke and Hare]

He's the mod who banned Lisa Jesusandmarychain from NOTBBC, so I guess he's pro-censorship.

Or possibly just anti-people on a website acting like creepy weirdos to other people on a website.

[Maurice Yeatman]

Or possibly just anti-people on a website acting like creepy weirdos to other people on a website.

I was just being facetious. I don't think he's really pro-censorship, and enough people were fed up with the thread-bombing (sometimes amusing, to be fair) to make a ban inevitable.
The site has since gone from strength to strength.

[BlodwynPig]

Wiby.org

[JesusAndYourBush]

The only problem is that I recommended some blogs through its suggestion feature and they've never been added. If I try again it tells me to "be patient" but it was months ago. Makes me wonder if it's actually maintained.

LOL!  That's a very accurate portrayal of old web.

In 1999 search engines didn't crawl the web - you had to submit it - making sure to select the correct category.  But they never listed my site however many times I submitted it.

[Noodle Lizard]

I'm in my early 30s and sort of grew up alongside the internet, so I remember a time before, during and after its evolution into what it is now. I'm old enough to fondly remember the IMDb message boards, band forums, Usenet groups and the like. The fact that CaB  remains my primary online communication hub is telling of my inclination towards that sort of an internet, I suppose.

I don't think there's any way back. Unfortunately, the shift to a monopolised and commodified surveillance fuckscape was inevitable, but it was able to happen without much challenge and I don't think there's any significant way to challenge it now outside of simply not participating.

Still, some interesting links in this thread that I'll be investigating. Cheers!

[JesusAndYourBush]

Angelfire still exists and all the old sites hosted there are still there. Just add site:angelfire.com to your search terms...

https://www.angelfire.com/pq/radiohaha/MORRIS.html


https://www.angelfire.com/ct3/cosmetics/woolworth/woolworths-uk-85.html

https://www.angelfire.com/realm/gamersgallery/goodies.html

Ha, when I was on that last page it tried to play a mid file, I'd totally forgotten about that.

[dissolute ocelot]

I just got a notification from LiveJournal saying one of my blogs is 17 years old yesterday (and not posted in for about 15). Is that too modern?

It is a bit surprising that the idea of creating your own heavily customised corner for the web lasted from the earliest days of HTML through Angelfire/Geocities to MySpace, then kind of died. Allegedly the lack of customisation made Facebook more professional and adult looking, and led to its mass popularity. I'm sure there's a lot of hidden demand, and some slightly more niche recent sites like Tumblr did have limited customisation as well as letting you publish a wide range of content. But fashion and network effects collide in unpredictable ways.

I still own a domain name that I've had for 25 years, and don't really do anything with it (I took all the Flash demos down about 5 years ago). Any suggestions?

[daf]

eschew

Bless you!

[Jerzy Bondov]

I'm on Neocities. It's a sort of attempt to get back to Geocities but doesn't even have a WYSIWYG editor or anything, it's just you and HTML and CSS and all that. And what a pleasure it was to set up, after years on WordPress and Twitter and whatever. More of a faff, but an enjoyable faff. I moved my comic over there but I kind of want to start a more personal site, just with all sorts of stuff, I dunno. Like when I was a kid. Anyway I'm sure there are fewer people reading the comic now I'm off in my little corner, but I don't really mind.

[Mobbd]

I'm on Neocities. It's a sort of attempt to get back to Geocities but doesn't even have a WYSIWYG editor or anything, it's just you and HTML and CSS and all that. And what a pleasure it was to set up, after years on WordPress and Twitter and whatever. More of a faff, but an enjoyable faff. I moved my comic over there but I kind of want to start a more personal site, just with all sorts of stuff, I dunno. Like when I was a kid. Anyway I'm sure there are fewer people reading the comic now I'm off in my little corner, but I don't really mind.

Now you're talking! 10/10. Do PM me your Neocities url if you feel comfortable.

[dazed_and_bemused]

I'm in my early 30s and sort of grew up alongside the internet

I find that such a weird concept; I'm in my early 50's and discovered email / telnet / usenet etc. when I was 18. Despite a 30 year career in IT, it's still strange to think that knowing HTML / CSS is some otherworldly thing. YES I STILL SHOE MY OWN HORSE.

[Oosp]

The start of the internet's version of the 'arts and crafts' movement? I wonder if it will have an Eric Gill as well?

Eric Gill is exclusively dark web. William Morris does Vox video essays