Old Internet Shows Signs of Quietly Coming Back

1-24-2022

Old ComputerWebsites that are original and creative expressions of their creators' personalities were the foundation of the early 1990's Internet. In this article, I will use this as the definition of the term "old Internet", not to imply that these websites are passe, but because their purpose and sometimes even their look has not changed since then. Although the old Internet will not replace the Internet we have today, signs point to it growing in size and visibility as Internet users become increasingly disillusioned with the corporate-run shopping mall that today's Internet has become.

The Internet of the Early 1990's

The public Internet began as a loose collection of network services. Services that had been created for universities and military contractors first became available to the public to fulfill the needs of college students who had recently graduated and wanted to stay in touch with their friends and former professors. Usenet had been around since 1980, local "electronic mail" since the 1960's. In the first couple of years after the Internet went public, much of it consisted of newly-linked BBS's (Bulletin Board Services). Many BBS's also connected to Fidonet, another world-wide network that had been linked via modem over telephone lines since 1984 (and still exists today). The Gopher network also linked the computers of many universities.

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, this eclectic collection of networks and services initially seemed rather nebulous and mysterious to me. I remember at first not even being sure what to call it. Whenever I settled on a term, someone would inevitably ask me what I was talking about and then correct me by saying that it was more than just that.

My recollection is that I first stumbled upon electronic mail in 1985 completely by chance while exploring my university's computer network. I rarely had time for exploring because I was always very busy with school work. How I wished I had had more time to explore back then. For whatever reason, on this particular afternoon I had a free hour or two. As I sat in a wooden chair in front of a black-and-white monochrome VT-100 terminal, around me perhaps 8-10 other students peered intently at other identical terminals. Via a 300-baud modem bolted to the wooden table beside my terminal, I was connected to our shared Cyber mainframe that ran the Taurus operating system. The terminals in that room were often hard to connect to the network because students used to reset the modem dip switches. I never understood why, but this was a regular source of annoyance for me. By chance, I came across the sendmail command, wondered about its purpose, and began reading its online manual entry. As soon as I understood its significance, I was eager to try electronic mail, but no one I knew had an electronic mail address. Years passed during which I could only read about electronic mail and hope that one day I would find someone with whom to exchange it. In the 1990's, "electronic mail" became "e-mail", and finally "email". I am fairly certain I sent my first email from work, but I cannot recall that particular momentous event in my life. It probably did not occur until around 1996. The passing of perhaps eleven years between the time I first learned about email and my first use of it seems amazing to me now, after having used it daily, or at least weekly, for decades.

Back in the early 1990's, the spirit of the Internet was the pursuit of knowledge, exploration, innovation, fun, and community. Immediately after going public, it began to swell with websites created by tech nerds who enjoyed playing and experimenting with the new technology. Individuals created their own websites mostly for fun and for the learning experiences that they afforded. Most discussed little more than computer gaming, technical interests, and geeky hobbies. Personal websites soon comprised most of the public sites on the early Internet and essentially became the public face of the Internet. Other than a few blank placeholder websites, corporations and governments had not even established their presences on the Internet. Most were not even convinced that they should be there. A significant number of corporate executives and government leaders did not even know what the Internet was.

In those early years, individuals were free to express themselves on the Internet in any way they wished on any topic they wished without the slightest interference from corporations or governments. Mostly, individuals created the content and ran the platforms that hosted it--Internet-connected BBS's and home computers. Internet users could go wherever they wanted and view whatever they wanted without being tracked or spied on. We had no corporate gatekeepers, no search engines, no SEO or click-bait, no obnoxious advertisements. The "social media" back then--IRC, USENET, BBS's--had little in common with today's social media. The NSA was not monitoring email. No laws punished black-hat hackers. Governments were not even aware of the problem. The Internet was not just unworthy of their attention. It was essentially invisible to them.

The early Internet expanded tentatively at first and then picked up momentum like an avalanche that would eventually cover the earth. I say "tentatively" because even at double digit yearly growth rates, several years passed before a significant percentage of the populations of the developed nations were on line. Public dial-up providers that anyone could use to access the Internet appeared in the United States in the late 1980's. In 1990, the command-line Internet gave way to the graphical Internet when Sir Tim Berners-Lee created HTML and the WorldWideWeb Internet browser and put up the first website. In 1993 the Mosaic Internet browser came into existence, and this finally opened the door for the general public to access the Internet in large numbers. Nontechnical people at first trickled slowly onto the Internet. As I recall, most were drawn by curiosity. They wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Soon, dial-up Internet providers had added hundreds, and then thousands of local phone numbers all over the United States that enabled nearly every interested person to have toll-free access to the Internet. However, many developing countries still did not have direct access to the Internet, but they did have email. As a result, even into the late 1990's, many people around the world relied on a system of email servers that sent them web pages upon request. They "surfed" the Internet by email.

As soon as the Internet opened to the public, most new users raced to the first walled gardens created by early online service providers like CompuServe, Prodigy, and America Online. Seemingly, wherever an Internet corral was erected, the cattle of the Internet were drawn to it. Even back then, many in the general public did not realize that they did not need one of these companies to get onto the Internet. All they needed to access the larger Internet was a modem, a phone line, an account with one of the dial-up service providers, and a local phone number to dial into. By the late 1990's, every personal computer had a built-in modem for accessing the dial-up Internet.

I remember thinking in the early 1990's that the Internet was a fabulous invention, but websites were hard to find and small with not much content of general interest. My expectation was that corporations moving onto the Internet would improve it by adding much more interesting content. At that point, I was too naive to see the downside of corporate involvement.

The Internet of Today

Today our personal computers no longer have modems, and Compuserve and Prodigy are long gone. AOL has become a media company, although as late as 2015, 2.1 million people were somehow still using its dial-up service. The Internet itself seems to many to have degenerated into a giant advertising tool. And, a high percentage of websites load as slowly as a sick turtle awaking from a long slumber.

Just as radio stations, newspapers, and television networks were the communications gatekeepers of earlier generations, we now have Internet gatekeepers keeping us in line, on line--preventing our voices from being heard too widely, funneling us to their advertisements, online stores, and walled gardens, and monitoring whether we are taking their bait. They have even incorporated scary-sounding warnings into our web browsers telling us that all websites without certificates issued by them are unsafe! And, they are constantly inventing new ways of keeping the Internet cattle in their corrals. The problem is now so bad that The New Republic has called Silicon Valley executives "apex predators", named Mark Zuckerberge its scoundrel of the year for 2021, and called FaceBook "the worst website that has ever existed"! And, here I was, fearing that perhaps my hostility toward corporate manipulation of the Internet could be driving the Cheapskate's Guide into tabloid territory. The fact is that many, many people hate with a burning passion much of what corporations have done to the Internet.

Despite the widespread hatred of these corporations, the cattle appear to be staying in their corrals. As hard as this may be to believe, as late as 2016, millions may not have known the difference between FaceBook and the Internet. Perhaps this is partly the result of owners of walled Internet gardens telling their cattle for the past three decades that everywhere else is just too dangerous to explore, too wolf-infested to venture into.

Many governments around the world are also interfering with the Internet. Even in so-called "democracies", they seem nearly universally opposed to freedom in any form when it is practiced on the Internet. Many are in the process of fracturing the Internet into single-country "splinternets". For years the governments of Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, and Iran have been pushing for changes to the Internet that would make it easier to control. China is developing a new Internet protocol, unimaginatively called the "New Internet Protocol", that will allow it to more effectively spy on its citizens and ban those it decides are engaging in too much online freedom. In 2020, the Russian government passed the latest of a series of measures collectively referred to as the "sovereign Internet law" that, among other things, allows it to disconnect Russia from the rest of the Internet.

In the United States, in fact world-wide, we have had many wide-spread Internet outages that have been blamed on increasing centralization of the Internet but also look suspiciously like governments testing key infrastructure in preparation for placing it more under their control. Of course, I cannot prove this, but the US congress has publicly proposed putting in place laws to make shutting down the Internet easier, should they deem the need to have arisen. Since a case for the Internet being necessary for national security would be widely believed, more than likely, they have already secretly put measures in place and have merely been trying to get them approved publicly.

The Old Internet Shows Signs of Quietly Coming Back

Despite the new gatekeepers' best efforts, the old Internet never completely disappeared. Personal websites created by individuals that have always been the meat of the old Internet are still around. They are still about exploration, innovation, fun, and all the rest. Try as the new gatekeepers have, they simply have not had the power to eradicate the old Internet completely. All they can do is pretend it does not exist. And, that is exactly what they do. This means that one does not pursue, peruse, or pour over the old Internet on mainstream search engines like Google or explore it on FaceBook or other mainstream social media platforms. One does not stumble upon the old Internet by chance. If one is to locate it, one must ordinarily go looking for it. Fortunately, the practical difference between the old gatekeepers and the new gatekeepers is that we do not need the new gatekeepers. We can still speak freely and be heard on the old Internet without the permission of any gatekeeper standing guard over the mainstream Internet.

Despite the best efforts of the corporations that control the mainstream Internet, in fact because of them, the old Internet seems to be slowly and quietly coming back, and it is coming back even better than before. Now it has better technology and an additional well-defined purpose that it never had before.

Some people have begun to refer to personal websites as the "indie web", the "small Internet", or the "smol Internet". Some seem to reserve the last two terms exclusively for the Gemini Network, which nearly quadrupled in size last year. But, I think all three terms should also apply to some of the other networks that use alternative networking protocols--the Gopher Network, the Tor network, and the ZeroNet network, to name a few. I choose to think of all of these as being part of the re-emerging old Internet because they are composed almost exclusively of personal websites run by individuals.

Some people use the term "Web 3.0" to refer only to decentralized blockchain-based networks without considering that all personal websites have essentially the same goals, be they on the regular Internet or on the new blockchain networks. Those who use the term "web 3.0" seem to have forgotten that self-hosted personal websites that run on home servers and are accessible over the regular Internet are inherently decentralized. Unfortunately, despite common goals, some on today's old Internet are hostile to blockchain technology. I am not sure why. Perhaps this is because we seem to be hard-wired to focus on the new and ignore the old, and owners of personal websites on the regular Internet feel ignored. Perhaps they feel the presence of the new blockchain technology only helps to obscure the fact that personal websites on the regular Internet are likely to become a larger more important part of the Internet of the Future--regardless of whether we call it the "old Internet", "Web 3.0", or something else. Perhaps someone should come up with a more descriptive name. Maybe a name like "The Cyberfreedom Network" would attract more attention.

An increasing number of Internet users are revolted by the current corporate-and-government-controlled Internet, and those who create old-Internet websites are doing something about it. They are bypassing the gatekeepers by building their own mini platforms for free speech, where they have a voice that cannot be silenced. I have with some difficulty assembled some of their own explanations of what they hope to accomplish. The difficulty came in culling their words without dulling the spirit of their messages. Hopefully, the remainder, though somewhat lengthy, is an adequate representation of the full spectrum of their thoughts and feelings:

"The internet has become:

a marketplace (and we are the product)

a one-sided social experience

a capitalist hellscape

We, the people of the internet, have the power to transform the internet. The goal is not to go backwards, but to forge a new path forward." --Sadgrl Online

"Few are the websites that respect the user enough to make it actually intuitive, actually easy–to–use and easy to access, and have that philosophy built into the core of its being. ... I create beautiful, verifiable code, because this webpage is more than just a vehicle to deliver content on as soullessly and dispassionately as it can. It's a living, breathing, constantly–evolving entity, and the code is the sole reason it exists. I pay my respects by giving it the dignity it deserves. I respect my audience enough to give them the way a website should be built." --10kb.neocities.org

"While commercial websites display more and more agressive messages, target and track their users, the indie web respects the individuals, their intelligence and their privacy; it's an open forum for thoughts and debate. While purely commercial websites turn into information and entertainment magazines, while tycoons of media, telecom, computing and military agencies fight for the control of the Internet, the indie web offers a free vision of the world, bypasses the economic censorship of news, its confusion with advertising and infommercial, its reduction to a dazing and manipulating entertainment." --Lulu in Cyberspace

"These days, the Internet is contained, reduced to a smaller number of places that people may visit every day. Boring.

It's time to take it back." --Flamed Fury

"I offer up Hell on the Web not as a tribute to the Internet as it is or as it was, but as it could be. I want to share my ideas online, but I don't want it all to be a vain sacrifice at the altar of The Algorithm. The last haven for genuine online creativity is the personal, hand-crafted artisanal Homepage. I can't promise that my products will always be quality, but I can promise that they were created with love and sincerity. That's the Hell on the Web™ guarantee." --Hell on the Web

"Other than now, as a 31 year old woman, I don’t think I’ve ever had as many friendships with women as I did when I was a teenager spending all my free time on the Internet. Not only were other teen girls super into self-expression via blogging in a pre-WordPress era, they really wanted to help each other out!...

For 2017 I really hope that those of us who are trying to make the web / tech / design a more inclusive place will keep on encouraging those just starting out and those wanting to try something new. Don’t allow egos to crush inspiration!" --Keep the Internet Weird, by Rachel White

"Our creativity is stunted by closed walls, limited tools, and stupid algorithms. My social media account isn't a personal museum - it's just a lifeless husk of a personality who's forced into this structure, like a bird stuck in its cage. We're at the hands of the people who run these platforms. No longer is it about sharing that cool thing one has created to friends and strangers, but trying to beat the system, and trying to beat others.

Social platforms should aspire to be flexible, open, and fun. A place to share our humanity, not merely a place to sell a product or to take people down in an attempt to rise to the top. When social platforms reduce to cold, rigidly structured competitive bloodbaths, that's no longer a social platform - that's a bloody colosseum." --bikobatanari

"The web as we know it today, web 2.0, stifles creativity, exploration, and community. The web of today is a capitalist hell, that is actively hurting everyone on it. It hurts and hinders our ability to discover things via surfing the web, and it constantly harms the art of creation as a whole, regardless of medium or art form...

It is things like this and so much more that lead me to getting off my ass and begin working on my neocities [website] out of spite and frustration of the new web...

Together we can forge our own spaces on the web, and create an environment that fosters creativity, passion, exploration and discovery like the old web." --linkyblog.neocities.org

"I don't know why, but for a while I've held a fascination with the old Internet and its values. And so when I made this Website, I decided that I wanted it to harken back to that earlier time." --Purplehello98

"My work is heavily inspired by the myth of early technology, ‘80s CGI and the ‘90s web, a messy, inexplicable place, full of unknown possibilities and innocent ideals. The folk revival of the web is still out of sight but very much in reach. I see it as an antidote to the miasma the internet has become today, or at least a promise that tomorrow can be better." --Melonking

"I think that social media is the problem, and that we can take the internet back by making it a place for art, inspiration, learning, expression, science, math, basically anything anyone wants to share, at the pace anyone would like to learn it, read about it, hear it, or see it. I think we have to remember, because we now have two generations that grew up on this corporate internet, that you don't need the man to communicate on the internet. You don't need to depend on a corporation like Facebook or Twitter or whatever to get your message out there." --tabi98.neocities.org

"...but first and foremost my grief for the internet is sensory. it's about texture. It's about the emotions it made me feel, vs the emotions I feel now. It's mental images of kinds of people that I idolised and associated with the fabric of the web itself, and the sense that a whole kind of person has now disappeared." --Haptalaon's Journal

"Here, then, are the principles I’d like to see applied to the internet.

Passion over professionalism.

DIY over Insert widget A into container B.

Awkward individuality over faceless consistency.

Connection over commerce.

Every link a leap into the unknown." --Carl's Retro Web Corner

"I miss when the internet was a wonderland. I don't mean that it was perfect or utopian, because it wasn't. Of course, neither was wonderland, when the Queen of Hearts got ahold of you; she was a master of concern trolling before it really existed. There's always been someone in a hurry, who's running late, but not too late to tell you tl;dr. There's always been the already-in-progress party that only makes sense if you're already part of it.

What I mean is: I miss rabbit holes.

I miss starting with one site and getting led to more. It used to happen on personal websites, and then it happened on wordpress blogs. Sometimes it still happens on blogs or on tumblr, but mostly services want to keep you in their garden..."

"The truth may or may not be out there, but the web we once knew... some of it is still there. Some of it can be reclaimed. And some of it we can rebuild, block by block and snippet by snippet." --Rubedo

"It’s a sad state of affairs that we’re in - gone are the days of Web 1.0 where the humble personal blog and the likes of GeoCities reigned supreme.

Instead we’ve been left with Web 1.0’s rotten remains where centralisation, monopolies and tracking are the order of the day...

The rise of social media flipped content creation on its head. Instead of deliberately creating and editing content for static sites, people were now empowered to quickly and easily vomit their passing thoughts out to the world...

Firstly, as with social media, it’s all about money. The humble personal blog is often left out of search rankings, and is replaced by corporate entities who have teams of people on-hand that can manipulate the search rankings to their will." --The Web Is Fucked

"What we need is the opposite of Big Tech. We need Small Tech – everyday tools for everyday people designed to increase human welfare, not corporate profits." --Aral Balkan

"the internet once was a place for creative expression, vastly customizable; a space for people, by people! not controlled by big corporations.

this lasted all up until mid-2010s, when they decided to take away any creativity and customizability we once had, they threw it all away, in favor of adverisers and investors. alongside big corporations, clout-chasers and quasi-celebrities, also made everything about the money. its the main reason the internet is so boring nowadays, because if its crazy, weird, and colorful, advertisers won't like it. its time for the individuals like you and me to shine once again, and make internet ours. it's time to make internet enjoyable again! it's time to make internet weird again!...

apparently, nowadays, they're trying to 'fix' the internet by slow introduction of the 'decentralized' internet aka web3.0. which is bunch of bullshit. they want us to belive this will make internet free again, cos we'll be away from corporations. but how can it be free, when blockchain is involved?" --Rina's Fun Place

"As we were exploring the new magic of the internet, we often didn't wonder if our fun side projects would make money. Most of us knew they'd do absolutely nothing. Why make them, then? The act of creation itself is fun!" --Bryan Robinson

After these moving statements, I wish I could call for a standing ovation.

For those who are interested, I found most of the above sites from a list of links to Internet manifestos on yesterweb.org.

Final Words

The battle for the right of individuals to be heard on the Internet is largely a quiet one. Behind the scenes, governments are intimidating social media companies into putting in place ever more onerous moderation. Corporations and large social media platforms are silently fighting to keep users on their sites using whatever means they have at their disposal, including addictive algorithms. They call the contents of personal websites "blog spam" (as if their own advertisements were not spam) and ban personal website owners from posting links to articles on their personal websites. They shut down the accounts of individuals who receive too many followers, unless those individuals are surreptitiously working for them as "influencers". Corporations rig their search engines to largely ignore personal websites, and they de-index sites they especially dislike. They try to prevent users from exploring the larger Internet beyond their walled gardens by telling them that non-corporate websites and alternative networks are filled with hackers, thieves, malware, child pornography, and illegal drugs. All this occurs largely without the general public having much more than an inkling that they are being duped.

All indications are that this battle may well last as long as the Internet. Just like other public movements, the tactics will change over the years. Both sides will likely advance and be pushed back at times. The losing side will scream about it, and the winning side will remain silent. I expect that, as always, many Internet users will never even know or care. The battle will continue until perhaps the powers-that-be finally find a way of killing the old Internet completely and permanently through restrictive website certification or licensing, the creation of more easily controllable Internet communications protocols, improved filtering or blocking technologies, or more effective laws against free speech. Until that time arrives, you will continue to be able to visit the old Internet, assuming you know how to find it.

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