01/02/2024
I've been sitting on this page for a few days now as I try and code everything to look the way I want it to. One of the things that's made me nostalgic are the amount of sites there are out there that are just filled with this ... love for what the Internet used to be. I mentioned to my partner when I was creating this site how sad I felt knowing what the Internet used to be and what it is now.
Like, and this isn't a new thought, the Internet now is just three sites and a whole bunch of Nazis for some reason. And all the sites are the same flat design. I mean don't get me wrong, I don't mind the flat minimalism look, but when every site looks like that? It's ... kind of boring. No flavour what so ever.
But, what made me feel so nostalgic for that time was seeing a lot of websites on Neocities, but also a few choice websites and videos. One of which is The Originz of Dollz, which, if you don't know what they are, they're these dolls that sort of fit an "aesthetic". I didn't realise that a) they were created back in 1995 (they're as old as I am) and b) that they were made for a specific site. I just remember using the ever loving shit out of them back on places like Piczo, Myspace and Quizilla. It's just so interesting, and I'm so glad this piece of internet history was saved.
I also found quite a few videos on the topic of missing forums and decentralising the Internet from OsakaSyndrome. Just, mostly about The Internet and what it used to be. Another is from Aztrosist who spoke about the designs of websites from the past.
I found both so fascinating in how earnest their commentary was on the matter. I'm glad more people are talking about the Internet as it is and where it could be better. Besides, so many people now are learning skills like HTML and programming code that will be beneficial in the long-run. That and I've found people are quite impress when you tell them you coded your own website. Even if it isn't big grand and flashy. You made it, and that's whats most important.
Though, when looking through a lot of websites, people tend to forgo accessibility in order to make things nostalgic. Which is such a disapointment. I agree that we should bring in the world of 90s and 00s Internet creativity, but we need to keep the trend of making things more accessible. I know I could be doing a lot better in places (I hope to eventually figure out how to code the stop/start gifs code), but I'm doing what I can with my own limited amount of spell slots (similar to spoon theory, spell slots is just a taking DND/fantasy term and replacing it. As you only have a limited amount of spell slots each long rest).
But reading fatgrrlz manifesto, they mention how the indie web has this "parasocial relationship with nostalgia". Which is kind of ironic on my part. But, I do quite agree with the sentiment. That and also mentioning how (and as I've stated above) in trying to keep that nostalgic feeling, many people make websites that "forgo important web design practices for the sake of 'authenticity'." Because there definantly is a way to make your site nostalgic for the old Geocity days, but still be accessible to today's demographic. With fatgrrlz ending their somewhat manifesto stating that "it's important to be upfront about aspects of your site that may affect users on your site's main index page (landing pages are perfect for this purpose)". I've noticed many people will mention the size of the monitor they built on and what engines work best for it, which I remember seeing similar comments back in the day.
The indie web sure is an interesting world to fall into. With loads of discussions, I've been having a blast reading everyone's site I come across. I'm excited to see what the future holds. Maybe I'll finally buy a domain name! Who knows.
