Thoughts on the Yesterweb

It's been almost two weeks since I have fallen into the Yesterweb (old web revival) rabbit hole. I will proceed to describe my experience with it and how I discovered it.

The catalyst to my journey was some video about VR Chat. The Youtuber mentioned how that game reminded people of the old web. This got me thinking, could there be something with a similar spirit out there?

And so, the search began.

At first I found an article about how milk.com was one of the last bastions of the old web. This gave me a grim outlook as I feared that the world had completely moved away from what I was seeking. That being said, this was not enough to stop my search.

I found another article titled Tech Workers Rebel Against a Lame Internet. In the article, there was a link to Neocities. This was exactly what I was looking for.

Upon browsing the websites on Neocities, something awakened inside me. It was like as if a distant memory was unlocked. I felt relief and happiness. Perhaps I was not the only one liking old tech stuff afterall.

I think this feeling was caused by stark contrast between the sterile websites of the current internet and basically everything on neocities.

As a professional graphic designer, I was surprised to find myself liking the websites I saw. I thought that long-term exposure to the modern web would have disconnected me from the charm of the old web, but I am happy to report that this is not the case.

Every website I saw had a soul. This can't be said for most websites I encounter nowadays.

I first witnessed the internet in 2006 but I was not able to use it until 2007. I believe that I witnessed the tail end of the old web. Back in my day, I was mostly making website using prefabricated templates, like with WordPress. I was never exposed to the whole make a website from scratch thing.

Still, this did not stop me from having nostalgia for the old web. Upon finding the Yesterweb, I also found comfort. I was starting to believe that I was alone in wanting to make an old-style website.

Anyway, my overall experience with the Yesterweb has been positive so far.I have registered on multiple forums and started talking with people. One thing I really like about the whole thing is how there is almost no filter.

It is refreshing to see new ideas. As someone who used Reddit on a daily basis, using the forums felt like I was finally talking with real people and not a giant echo chamber.

This place is cozy. I think I will stay here. I have blocked Reddit using via DNS and will never look back. I will try to limit my usage of Discord in the following mode to become freeer.

At long last, eternity is in reach.

Written by manpaint on 21 August 2022.