HPR3865: When did the Internet get so boring?

Hosted by Klaatu on 2023-05-26 00:00:00

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You can run a Gopher or Gemini site on SDF

You can see some Gemini sites on gem.sdf.org

Comments

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hammerron says: Why Did The Internet Get So Boring

Re: hpr3865::2023-05-26 When did the Internet get so boring? by Klaatu from the series Information Underground
00:31:52 Listen in ogg, spx, or mp3 format.

Klaatu,

I found this podcast to be very relatable to me. I miss the vast quantities of those independent websites such as Geocities that you mentioned. I almost forgot how poor coded they were. I’d sometimes see text overwritten with graphics on top or other text. It’s hard for me to complain on that issue, as my own personal website might not be written much better, but it’s mine and I’m learning as I go along.

Those small sites though, far less common than days gone by had a vibe that is far from the mostly corporate based sites today. It was nice when you’d see a description of what people were doing from their point of view. A recipe from a grandmother, a hike along a favorite trail, a little known but much loved music group, games, stories, poems. Many graced with gifs such as dancing flames on a torch, dancing animals, or fantasy castles and dragons perhaps copied from elsewhere. Many had background music from midi files with their electronic tones.

As you stated about ‘modern’ sites tending to talk and not listening a lot. I totally agree. A problem that I encounter is when doing a web search looking for information the sites often are not a good match with my search terms any more. Few of the sites offer quality information, most instead being geared for sales (hear them talk). It’s like entering a library to find that it is not a library, but a department store.

Something I’ve recently noticed is that if I look for a particular website (let’s say comparing Linux Distros), I can go to several websites and a few of the sites will have identical descriptions – word for word. It’s a shame to visit site after site to find information not similar, but identical.

Well, thank you for the podcast, Klaatu. And thanks to HPR

hammerron