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More "old web" sites?
I really love Tildes feeling of community, and how it feels like what the web used to feel like. Any suggestions for other sites like that?
I really love Tildes feeling of community, and how it feels like what the web used to feel like. Any suggestions for other sites like that?
MetaFilter (Wikipedia, MeFi Wiki) is a community blog that's been around since the earliest days of the blogosphere (it's turning 25 this summer!). The front page gets a dozen or so posts on a wide variety of topics every day (check the popular feed or Best-of Blog for highlights). There's also Ask MetaFilter for moderated community Q&A, along with other subsites like FanFare for media discussion, one for member's personal projects, personal music uploads, planned meetups, etc. I've been a member for over 15 years and really enjoy the cozy community feel and minimalist Web 1.0 vibe that's increasingly rare these days. Some of the most fascinating and valuable things I've ever seen online have been found via MeFi, and I'm not the only one.
It's been a struggle the last few years since Google suddenly halved their search traffic (and thus their ad revenue), but they've slowly transitioned to largely voluntary member donations to pay the small moderation staff and pay hosting bills. It costs a nominal $5 to join (mainly a spam-prevention measure) but you can ask for a free account if you need to (I can also gift an invite, feel free to PM).
I have thoroughly enjoyed MetaFilter and nearly forgot that it existed and that I had an account. Time to try to be more active at least as a reader there! These days trying to focus more on things like it that bring me joy
I asked about good online communities a while ago here, and while my question was not specifically focused on the "old web" feeling, I think a lot of the suggested websites may fit you as well
https://tildes.net/~tech/1bj6/do_you_know_any_other_good_online_communities
In particular, check out Midnight Pub and the Tildeverse
Came here to recommend tildeverse - there is so much on there. Everyone has their own homepage which may or may not have content. There are community projects like radio and collaborate pages, and most web 1.0 of all, is feels more browsing-oriented than search-oriented: YOU are the web crawler, poking around and discovering cool things
came here to recommend midnight pub, it's pretty similar to tildeverse - they, too, offer site hosting for all users, but it's kinda different in the sense that it's focused more on communication between the site users via forums
I mean, you're the person who suggested Midnight Pub in my original thread I linked above, so I know about it from you
haha yeah
I really enjoy "old web" or any lightweight / device-respecting sites with a focus on content and what reminds me of the older web. The following are not discussion forums like Tildes, but are other types of sites on the web that still fill that web 1.0 void or try to keep alive the paradigm
In particular I enjoyed this site I ran across:
https://100r.co/site/home.html
Which then inspired me to find more like it. I also now only build sites that embrace the positive things we can take from the old web paradigm (fast loading, non-ad-infested, non-spammy, text-focused, etc).
100rabbits is part of a webring, and so that led me down a number of paths. There are more than these- and as usual, many of the sites listed in these are personal blogs/sites that then branch out to other webrings and directories, etc.
Directories / webrings:
https://emreed.net/LowTech_Directory
https://hotlinewebring.club/
https://webring.xxiivv.com/
https://no-js.club/
https://512kb.club/
FARK is still around, and has a very old-web look and feel. I started visiting it back in the early 2000s, and it looks and feels much like it did back then.
Readup has Old Web vibes. Text-focused, no intrusive ads or annoying pop-ups, no shady opaque algorithm, civil discussions.
that is really neat -- especially with the extension.
Yep, transform any article into an old web site with the extension. :-D
Well, most. It doesn't play well with sites that use lazy loading, and some other quirks. But it gets around some paywalls; that's a nice bonus.
What extension are you referring to?
you can’t comment on the site until you’ve read the article — and they have an extension to track that. of you try to read an article there, it’ll give you the option.
Some pages on neocities has some old web vibes.
There's the SDF community. They've got a weird BBS system, shell accounts, a plethora of webpages, their own Mastadon server... It's worth checking out.