Website History Overview
The following is a general overview of when and why I created the site, with some commentary on its foundational principles and context. In contrast, if you want a detailed (i.e. fine-grained) history of the site, akin to what you would see in a version control repository's changelog, then visit the detailed website history page.
Additionally, since the big site reorganization, the detailed history page has been generalized to also serve as a small-scale personal journal (a mini blog).
This website was created on (November, Saturday) at noon (EST).
Though it was autumn that day, the warm sunlight pouring into the window created a kind of sense of peace and tranquility, which somehow seemed appropriate given the site's analogously illuminative purpose. Perhaps half or more of the leaves on the trees outside had fallen to the ground by then, so most of the leaves had turned brown, though just several weeks previously the fall colors had been more diverse and resplendent (including much more vibrant reds and golds especially).
I've actually had the idea of creating this website for years now (in some intended form or another), but finally decided to just dive in and do it.
You see, I also have a personal WordPress "blog" which is associated with my real name and which I've had for many years. As such, I debated for a while whether I should actually bother creating a new "old net" style static website like this, seeing as I already had/have my real-name WordPress site.
However, with every passing year I have become more discontent with any and all forms of unwanted intrusions into my digital space. WordPress is pretty good in many respects, but it is also bloated and disproportionately heavyweight for what is mostly plain text with a nice layout and occasional images. Furthermore, my WordPress host does periodic mandatory updates that break or alter things against my will.
Yet, my real-name WordPress site has an established presence and I do like the format of that site and use it for professional purposes. So, what I ultimately decided to do was to both keep the old site and also create this one. I was particularly inspired by Neocities' harkening back to the "wild west" freedom-respecting days of the "old net" and that is something I definitely want to support and be a part of.
Before my real-name WordPress website, first when I was a teenager and second when I was in college, I had also previously had a couple of plain HTML sites but they are long since gone. There was also at one time a different version of my real-name WordPress website (which I produced shortly after graduating college) which was wiped out completely but used the same domain name. I haven't decided whether I will link to may real-name site yet. I will postpone that decision for now.
I am excited at the prospect of building this website and getting back in touch with the spirit of the "old net" and with having a platform for sharing my thoughts and creative work without feeling a suffocating sense of not being truly in control of what I'm making and of feeling like anything could be taken away arbitrarily at any time for any random person's whim. A big part of the beauty of the "old net" is how much more freedom-respecting and individuality-encouraging it was and is.
Being tethered to arbitrary and capricious forces of centralized power that are outside one's own control is not healthy for the human mind I think, and especially seems not healthy for the part of the human mind responsible for genuine creativity, intellectual honesty, serendipitous curiosity, and freedom of thought!
So, in light of that, it is heartening to be in the midst of so many kindred spirits working together to build a more organic, creative, and healthy internet for everyone!
Being able to express one's authentic voice in an environment free of the technological overreach and groupthink of the walled gardens is no small thing! There is immense value in that. It's nice to feel like I'm going to have a real voice again, one that is outside the reach of those who think they know much better than they actually do!
As for this website itself, I am committed to ensuring that it becomes more than just an oddity but something that is actually useful and entertaining and provides real value.
I have a diverse variety of curiosities I plan on making available to you. That is, after all, a huge part of what makes the "old net" so fun and enriching. That "web surfing" feeling where you stumble upon hidden gems and oddities, like randomly coming upon some quaint and lively hole-in-the-wall business that only the locals know about, like its own tiny little cultural microcosm... that's what the internet should be brought back to.
Good things are on the horizon!
Anyway, thank you for reading and for visiting my site!
Here's a link to Neocities if you are interested in getting an account yourself:
