I hear all of these things about how it really did seem like it was a digital Wild West back in its early stages, and that seemed really cool. I've been going through Reocities a lot and it's really interesting to look at all of the old Geocities pages that they've salvaged. There's something so charming about its eye-searing design and goofy editing. Like there was an air of innocence that just isn't around anymore.
I will admit that I'm in no way complaining about the convenience of all of our information being so centralized, but sometimes I hear all of these reflections on the past before the Internet became this widely controlled and centralized thing and I can't help but feel like I seriously missed out.
I guess it's hard to articulate my point because my stupid brain can't type very well so late at night, but I wish I could've experienced what the Internet was like when it was new and I guess you can say "untamed."
the darknet is not dissimilar to web 1.0, except it has a lot more pedo shit
but if you avoid that it's a similar experience in terms of general jankiness and wackiness
It was ok. But it's better now that my animes don't take 5 hours for a 50mb rmvb.
>>28711519
It was actually easier to get pedo shit back in the day than on current dark web.
Yahoo albums were loaded with it, there was no real moderation.
>>28711288
"web 1.0" isn't what you think it is.
What you're referring to was the first zone of manchild communication, late 80s early 90s BBS crap.
>>28711288
Because everyone loved -0-14k modems.
It was good for the reasons you listed, the innocence and wild west feel of it all, but the jankiness of actually interacting with it was awful.
Internet connections themselves were godawful and web pages were poorly optimised and bloated. GIFs are oversized and terrible and security was something resembling swiss cheese.
Sure its totally legit to bemoan the corporate influence on the internet and the huge influx of normie users, but from a functionality perspective the internet is better for it as security holes have closed, UX/UI design is a thing, internet connections have improved at the same time better file formats and coding techniques have evolved.
Web 1.0 was fun for its time but, like VHS tapes, you wouldn't want to go back to it just because of some good memories.
remember those dollmaker sites where you'd drag 'n drop clothes onto pixel people and they'd take like ten minutes to load because of all the images
robro, you missed out on something special, but at the same time, not that special.
there is nothing from that period that you can't still find (most academic pages, most fringe culture/ideology) in that state.
frankly, if you want to lament any cultural period, try 0AD for the romans, or 1960s usa for space race, or even 1980s west for the synths and power suits.
I was born early enough to remember it a bit but by the time I go internet that internet world was already fading fast.
About the innocence though, yes. Just look at this guys page about starcraft, he thought it was the best thing ever. People back then were just so excited to share information its heartwarming, they loved the internet.
