Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down What Most Folks Have Forgotten About The Internet's Early Days

People Break Down What Most Folks Have Forgotten About The Internet's Early Days

Oh, the beginning of the interwebs.

Those were the days.

We definitely did not see what was to come.

Maybe it should've stayed simple.

We'll never know.

Computers rule the world now.

Let's see where we are in another twenty years.


Redditor EzucraAaAa wanted to wax nostalgic about the good old days of technology and its humble beginnings.

They asked:

"Redditors, what's something the internet was crazy about but is now forgotten?"

I miss the simplicity of not having a thousand apps. I'm simple.

Ah Memories...

"Search engines before Google existed. Alta Vista, Lycos, Web Crawler..."

deenali

the messengers aol GIFGiphy

Bad Downloads

"Downloading custom cursors for your computer. I gave my family computer so many viruses back in the '00s trying to click things with a lightsaber."

TW1103

"Amazing. I had totally forgotten about all the virusy stuff I downloaded to my home computer, purely so the cursor would disappear and reappear. My parents had zero knowhow with computers either, so likely had no idea wtf I was downloading. Cursors were cool though, despite all the malware."

AdderWibble

Collections

"During the early days of the web, when most websites weren't plastered with advertising... Website view counters."

over_clox

"Back in the day of counters, one day I went to my website and the counter was in the thousands. I just thought it malfunctioned and ignored it. Years later I learned that my website, which had a MIDI collection, was published in a newspaper in another country. I couldn't say for sure if that was true and whether it aligned with the counter change."

pupeno

The Look

"Yea the internet was simpler too, layout style I mean. I like old style HTML webpage layouts. I personally don’t like hyper modern logos and designs on interfaces. Something about old slightly pixelated designs about them home screens and app logos really made them satisfying. I’ve even went as far as seeing if I could install some extensions that could change the layout of sites, make them feel older, give them that 2000’s html look."

Original_Ad_1103

Found It

"Stumbleupon.com"

idont*uckwithstupid

"I used to waste so much time with stumble upon."

lilbroccoli13

Looking The Loud House GIF by NickelodeonGiphy

What a strange and crazy place the internet was.

notification

"Poking on Facebook."

lamspartacus

"I had a friend that poked me and I never noticed the notification. He died. I now have this unreturned poke as a reminder that I’ll never be able to poke them back."

Klaus0225

Baby Love GIF by LINE FRIENDSGiphy

Playtime

"Flash games."

mc_mike810

"Many flash games are not dead. BEHOLD! The flashpoint project. They have saved thousands of the old flash games in a playable format. Go forth and relive your childhood Also paging u/The_Middler_is_Here"

Jayccob

I will find you...

"There was a rhythm game that I don't remember the name of that me and some friends would challenge each other in, and it had the song Guitar vs Piano 2 which introduced me to Envy, who was a pretty big newgrounds artist at the time. I wanna go check out their stuff again now, I'd completely forgot about them till now."

Silvervirage

GroupMeet

"Forums. There used to be so many, incredibly active and dedicated forums."

FromJavatoCeylon

"A lot of the forums I visited were ruined by photobucket when they decided they wanted paid a lot of money from their users. So many build threads and tutorials ruined."

jus_like_at

"IMDb had the best message boards back in the day. Chatting with your internet friends around the globe about every nuance in your fave movie. Man I miss that. Reddit is close, but nothing beats the olden days."

FeFiFoMums

Fun

"Do you guys remember those egg things that hatched little creatures after a while? You'd put one on your website and then the artist would update the source url with images of it hatching? There were all kinds of little fun things like that."

Sapiencia6

Egg Hatch GIF by The Roku ChannelGiphy

Those were the days!

Do you have something you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshots of Matt Gaetz and Scott Pelley
YouTube/60 Minutes

MAGA Has Meltdown Over Brutally Accurate '60 Minutes' Open About Trump's Cabinet Picks

President-elect Donald Trump's supporters were not pleased with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley's assessment of Trump's cabinet picks as not particularly qualified for the posts Trump has chosen them for.

Pelley noted that “some nominees appear to have no compelling qualifications other than loyalty to Trump" in his brutally accurate observation:

Keep ReadingShow less
Security footage of alleged bear inside a car
KCAL News

Four Arrested For Using Bear Costume To Damage Cars In Bizarre Insurance Fraud Scheme

A group of people in California were arrested for their involvement in an alleged car insurance scheme after they claimed a bear had caused significant damage to their fancy cars.

However, a Department of Insurance investigation quickly discovered the claim was fraudulent when close inspection of video evidence indicated the alleged beast wreaking havoc inside the car was just a person in a bear suit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Dr. Nick from "The Simpsons"
Allison Robbert/Pool/Getty Images20th Television

People Are Trolling Trump With The Famous 'Doctors' They Think He'll Pick As Surgeon General

As President-elect Donald Trump continues to nominate wildly unqualified MAGA cronies for his administration, social media users can't help but jokingly guess who he might pick to be the nation's next surgeon general.

The surgeon general is the chief medical doctor and health educator for the United States; in their role, they provide Americans with the best scientific information available on how to improve their health.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ariana Grande; AP journalist Liam McEwan
AP News

Ariana Grande Stunned After Interviewer Reveals He Found His Partner Through Her Fandom

Compatibility is a crucial foundation for healthy relationships, but couples sharing the same passions for music and art can reinforce a deeper and more meaningful connection.

So, it's no surprise that fans of Ariana Grande's catchy music and lovable personality have forged strong bonds, which is a testament to her artistry and relatability.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman with her head in her hands.
woman in black tank top covering her face with her hands
Photo by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash

People Break Down Which Things Are More Traumatizing Than Folks Realize

We've likely once stated that we were "traumatized" by an experience.

We, of course, were mostly talking in jest, and might even laugh about that memory more than anything.

Keep ReadingShow less