Erik LedbetterJun 11, 2023
Jess👾
I miss the weird old web. Handcrafted html. Webrings. View counters. Frames. Works best in Netscape Navigator. Watching pictures download line by line. Java applets. Chat rooms. There were certainly problems, but the whole space felt limitless and fun - not just repackaged corporate, SEO, and ad riddled garbage...
Jun 11, 2023 at 8:30pmWeb
Show threadShelley PowersJun 11, 2023

@JessTheUnstill And it gave us this!

https://www.spacejam.com/1996/index2.html

Space Jam

Show threadIan TindaleJun 11, 2023

@JessTheUnstill but it was shit

What we didn’t expect was that from that point on it would only become so unbelievably and irreversibly much much much more shit

Show threadKat RavenwolfJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill The only good thing that'scome out of web 2.0 is the use of other languages for development; that way you're not limited to just HTML. I'm a budding #dotnet developer, so trying to advance things forward as best I can.
Show threadkubikillJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill You might want to check out https://neocities.org , a lot of people there still make old-school websites and they're really fun to explore
Neocities

Free web hosting and tools that allow anyone to create a website. Join our community today!

Neocities | neocities.org
Show threadGenders: ♾️, 🟪⬛🟩; Soni L.Jun 11, 2023

@JessTheUnstill we miss flash.

not flash player.

flash.

the *editor*.

there's nothing like it anymore.

Show threadrose (escaped not sanitized)Jun 12, 2023

@SoniEx2 @JessTheUnstill

Yeah, that weird vector-ink thing was really fun.

Show threadKyleH 🇨🇦Jun 16, 2023
@SoniEx2 @JessTheUnstill I just want to say that while I agree as a sentiment, the editor is still around, it’s just been renamed to Adobe Animate. I’ve been using Flash since Macromedia Flash 5, and aside some modern bells and whistles the interface of Animate and how you use it hasn’t changed much
Show threadLot⁴⁹Jun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill Today's web is five websites posting screenshots of each other, as some wise person (probably Cory Doctorow) said.
Show threadJeffJun 11, 2023

@JessTheUnstill Have you met Neocities?

https://neocities.org/

Or Omg.lol

https://omg.lol

Neocities

Free web hosting and tools that allow anyone to create a website. Join our community today!

Neocities | neocities.org
Show threadbenmcramerJun 12, 2023
@box464 i’ll give omg a look
Show threadKyleH 🇨🇦Jun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @aeva agreed while heartedly
Show threadWayne DixonJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @donmelton I think I kinda feel like this sometimes and I suspect that it is part of the reason that I ended up redoing my entire website to be static HTML. Granted, I'm using a static site generator, but all of the pages are just standard HTML pages, with minimal javascript. My site is so old-school it doesn't even have search.
Show threadbenmcramerJun 12, 2023
@waynedixon what static site tool? i’m learning Hugo but having difficulty with workflow
Show threadWayne DixonJun 12, 2023
@benmcramer I use Publish by John Sundell, it’s written entirely in Swift, which was one of the appeals for me. I had to create my own fork since I needed it to do things that it couldn’t do natively out of the box.
Show thread@dlenaresJun 11, 2023

@JessTheUnstill
I vividly remember the line by line download of the first photo I received of my son, born in Guatemala. Also blogging while I was in Guatemala waiting for the adoption to finish.

He's graduating from high school tomorrow!

Show thread@dlenaresJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill
But what was that weird animation thing where you could write your own dialogue? Simple life?? It haunts me.
This was probably 2010.
Show threadMark GardnerJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill If you like #WebRings, join @lmorchard’s #WebRing Enthusiasts of the #Fediverse! https://fediverse-webring-enthusiasts.glitch.me/about.html
About - Webring Enthusiasts of the Fediverse

Webring Enthusiasts of the Fediverse - About
Show threadTinFoilBeanieTechJun 11, 2023
@JessTheUnstill Mosaic. And before that text based Gopher, Fetch, and UseNet.
Show threadTarraccasJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill sign my guestbook 📖
Show threadDeweyDec 7, 2023
@tarraccas @JessTheUnstill first cgi I ever wrote was a guest book in perl. Good times.
Show threadTarraccasDec 9, 2023
@DeweyOxberger @JessTheUnstill Sweet! 
Show threadKing PoogieJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill angelfish and geocities pages were so freaking great. Remember custom mouse cursors and midis autoplaying when the page load? Lol
Show threadRiver Kitten 🏳️‍⚧️Jun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @aeva hell yes. If we could have that minus the browser wars sign me up
Show threadTony “Abolish ICE” Arcieri🌹🦀Jun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill the first time I saw a server push animation was magic
Show threadmndaJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill GEOCITIES and the hamster dance!
Show threadStraadin Jun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill I don't necessarily miss the level of technology, but I do miss the general vibe. Which is actually what attracted me to Mastodon - I feel like that vibe is alive here
Show threadFelis CatJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill under constriction gifs. my first website had about 6 different ones
Show thread🇨🇦 SteveJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @KingShawn high contrast animated GIF backgrounds.
Show threadNullNoMoreJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill - webrings!!!!!! Those were fun.
Show threadbenmcramerJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill I love my neocities site. Definitly a throwback to the classic web
Show threadelpetersonJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill I'm not sure if I miss it. But I do enjoy reminiscing about the memories created in AOL chat rooms, crafting 'cringy AIM away messages and the fast-forwarding to building my first sites on Geocities
Show threadLeah Jun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill I mean I and others still handcraft html (tho I've been learning some frameworks), can't say I do a lot of this but there are less cooperate sites made by normal people, it's just harder to find
Show threadBobReflectedJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill yes, those early stages were fun - even email, for those few who had access, had a certain positive buzz to it 🙂
Show threadborstradamusJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill
My feelings exactly.
Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill almost all click bait
Show threadBrian KruppJun 12, 2023

@JessTheUnstill

Agree 100%. I have noticed that I use search engines less because the web is full of content that uses SEO to get you to their page, which is really just the same content as other pages. In some ways, I am using the web like I used it in the early days where I am going to sites directly.

Show threadTassieJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill ….the joy of upgrading your Tandy from 1200 to a 9600 baud modem to play games on a friend’s BBS…
Show threadIndieterminacyJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill When moving the mouse around sped up the browser rather than track you and sent to unknowns!
Show threadBBJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill like I don’t really miss the +3 minutes content loading but I totally agree. Handcrafted web pages were a wonder. The internet used to a fun place to explore and learn new concepts. That’s why everything I do publish on the web has to be handcrafted because I value this a lot
Show threadrose (escaped not sanitized)Jun 12, 2023

@JessTheUnstill

I feel a lot of this, too.

Except for the part about Java applets. Maintaining those was an *awful* job. ;)

Show threadrose (escaped not sanitized)Jun 12, 2023

@JessTheUnstill

I feel like applet story time. ;)

In college, I was a customer service rep at a free ISP. Remember those?

We barely had anything to do, just answer chat requests that were usually QA testing.

We used an inhouse Java client. Bespoke including the GUI.

If you typed into the chatbox too fast, it started appending each new character to the beginning of the line.

*It started typing backward.*

Show threadTimPJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill It is still there, well all my stuff is.
Show threadBig WorkerJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill the fediverse has certainly brought all that back!
Show threadSteveJun 12, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @kittywifclaws no no no… not Java applets 😥
Show threadPeter RelphJun 13, 2023

@JessTheUnstill

There is not much that hasn't gone backwards in the past 30 years.

Show threadC0ppertopJun 13, 2023
@JessTheUnstill I miss the sounds of my modem making the initial connection.
Show threadmaiamaiaJun 13, 2023
@JessTheUnstill watch Atomic Shrimp on youtube
Show threadKyleH 🇨🇦Jun 16, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @aeva I always miss this. The good news is that it never really went away, you can still do and experience all that, you just gotta step away from modern social media to really find it. I have to remind myself of this every so often because the modern intended is just the same five core web “apps”. But then you find a traditional forum powered by phpBB or something and it all starts coming back
Show threadKyleH 🇨🇦Jun 16, 2023
@JessTheUnstill @aeva only problem is of course that you get immediately reminded of what modern conveniences provide if you ever try using that form from your phone, reminded that oh yeah.. We really only used desktop computers to use the finer parts of the web back in the day 😂
Show threadGM7077Jun 16, 2023
@JessTheUnstill 💯
Show threadRich CampoamorDec 7, 2023
@JessTheUnstill
100%
@jess
Show threadtuban_muzuruDec 7, 2023

@JessTheUnstill

I loved writing Java Applets. The way I wrote them, they could be full fledged Applications, too.

They communicated via a single Socket call to the server which had launched them - and they ran fast. And securely, too.

But - the world was run by morons then. Still true, today.

Sigh...

Show threadMrs Mouse at workDec 7, 2023
@JessTheUnstill Geocities. Blogs about actual hobbies not "Content"
Show threadMy camera shoots fascistsDec 7, 2023
@JessTheUnstill
And, so, here we all are on the fedi.
Show threadlights_rageDec 7, 2023
@JessTheUnstill and a lot of it was still accessible not a fight.
Show threadJenniferDec 7, 2023
@JessTheUnstill me too!!!!