Ryccardo wrote on 2025-06-23, 20:56:

Jo22 wrote on 2025-05-30, 08:35:

[...] That's about when I saw the last traditional websites, personal homepages being updated.
Some may also say 2005 or 2002, not sure. But if I had to choose, then I would go for 2007.

From my POV that would be 2006, when independent-ish websites by common people who knew how to use Frontpage were replaced by Blogger/Wordpress/Splindr - or, for most people in my middle school, MSN Spaces (that was a sad closure)

i think its still possible to get 'free' webspace and create a site now, but it just isn't done commonly. i'd agree on late 2000's as the last occasions when this was still common enough to be 'normal', but it was fading fast during the mid 2000's

first it was all the blogs and content systems that enabled rapid release of new articles. Many still exist, abandoned. I remember when some blogs had membership and people actually made money.

It was all blown away by

Facebook (2004)
Youtube (2005)
Reddit (2005)
Twitter (2006)
Pinterest (2010)
Instagram (2010)
Snapchat (2011)

and in among all that were myspace, flickr, tumblr, twitch and more

and the same time the iPhone (2007) appeared and in five years smart phones were common, i think they became the dominant seller around 2012/13 and ever since.

It all took time, which i think is why some people were still getting used to things as they were while all around them things were changing fast, it's why some people sound out of date when the refer to something that is still "new" but not new in the internet, for instance if someone at work in 2015 joked about starting a blog it because in their mind 'blogs are a big things on the internet', even though by then they weren't anymore

before all the social media and smartphones dominated the internet it seemed a quieter place - whether it was the gaudy coloured "always under construction" 90's or the friendly pastel shaded more professional looking 2000's. It's all gone now though, long buried anyway

There's a bit of hope though, thanks to neocities.
It's fairly big already for what it is. It also limits the file types to classic formats, I think.
Some users even use vintage HTML editors to design their homepages, I think.

https://neocities.org/

Only downside is that it forces HTTPS, so a proxy server is needed for accessing them by vintage computers.
The proxy can be locally or on the internet, I think.
Maybe we can have some ethernet box, eventually, that goes between vintage computer and internet router at home?
Some Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi or something? 😃

Jo22 wrote on 2025-06-30, 13:29:

There's a bit of hope though, thanks to neocities. It's fairly big already for what it is. It also limits the file types to clas […]
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There's a bit of hope though, thanks to neocities.
It's fairly big already for what it is. It also limits the file types to classic formats, I think.
Some users even use vintage HTML editors to design their homepages, I think.

https://neocities.org/

this looks good, i haven't really browsed before - some sites are very 90's. I'm surprised by the view counts, by how high some of them are - i don't think I've ever seen a neocities site come up in a broad search before.

What's in it for neocities? they would get a very small revenue from 'support' accounts, most would be free. they don't advertise or sell data, i wonder how they can afford it - i hope they stay around!

Jo22 wrote on 2025-06-30, 13:29:

Only downside is that it forces HTTPS, so a proxy server is needed for accessing them by vintage computers.

How vintage we talking? because there are a lot of ways around that without a proxy.

My precious...

The 90's internet was the wild west, and it was great! I truly miss it.

Today, most sites are cookie cutter, AI generated, conformity. Clean? Sure, but devoid of personality.

There's a reason my silly little blog looks like it does... https://theclassicgeek.blogspot.com/ 🤣

On a side note, WebTV is how I first got my wife online, long before she was my wife. Was a cool device for its time. 😀