animation gifs and also things that aren't that

Idk when I was younger, you could just go and go and find exciting new websites full of whatever cool things you wanted to explore. An overabundance of ways to occupy your time online.

Now, it's just... Social media. That's it. Social media and news sites. And I'm tired of social media and I'm tired of the news.

You're right that the internet is smaller than it used to be, but there's still some cool stuff left in the corners. I'd recommend checking checking out Neocities if you haven't--it's an independent web hosting platform like Geocities of the old web, and there are hundreds of interesting and active pages discoverable both through their search function and through web buttons (links attached to small pictures with the title of a website) within the websites themselves. Here are three examples of web buttons you may find in link pages:

Most Neocities websites have link pages or button collections with anywhere from tens to hundreds of these. Don't be afraid to explore!

If you're looking for something more like a search engine, I can point you towards Marginalia. It's not a particularly smart engine, but it's perfectly usable if you've ever been taught to use search engines back when they were mostly run through keywords instead of full sentence comprehension. There's also an "about" and "tips" section on the front page with more information. The algorithm of Marginalia can be filtered by the user to allow, disallow, or require JavaScript depending on your needs, plus there are filters designed specifically to prioritize web 1.0 sites or mostly text-based ones. It is possible to search for modern websites with it, but it can return websites from just about any decade (since the invention of the web, obviously) so long as they contain the information you're looking for. For example, here are some random interesting sites I've found using Marginalia:

Native Languages of the Americas: Native American Cultures

BASIC HTML COMPETENCY IS THE NEW PUNK FOLK EXPLOSION!

Earthbound Text Labs by Bill Eager

The possibilities for discovery are truly endless.

Now you might want to know about directories. These make browsing for websites easier, but require you to read through and judge which ones to visit, as there aren't algorithms ranking the sites besides the whim of whoever coded the directory. Some of them have themes, others don't. Here are two that I've used:

Yesterlinks Directory

Ichigo Directory

Directories can be harder to come by just by surfing the net, but they aren't impossible to find. Many personal websites have their own directories of interesting sites hidden within them.

Webrings are similar to directories, but are actually more community-based. You have to register your website to be a part of a webring, usually by sending an email to whoever runs it and meeting some kind of entry criteria. For example, my personal website used to be a part of a webring called Sweet Dreams, which was for websites that heavily utilize color palettes and images of cute things, particularly sweets. Webrings will give you access to a widget upon entry that allow visitors and other members to browse between the registered websites in a massive ring, ergo, where the term gets its name. Webrings can have any theme or criteria for entry. If you can make a website about it, you can find a webring for it.

Now, you might be wondering about social media alternatives. I can't offer much, but I can nudge you towards the idea of forums. Here's one I found that could really use some traffic. I also browse a bit on MelonLand forum, which is actually closed right now--it's currently closed on Mondays--but on any other day of the week, you can find a fun community there dedicated to web revival. You can find it through MelonLand's main page. I'd also recommend checking out SpaceHey, which is a MySpace clone that's customizable and easy to use.

here’s a link for anyone who is willing & able to donate, please share so it can reach more people, especially as the weather grows colder & these children are desperately lacking resources.

messy comic i made of the Hater Siblings last year while i was playing through justice for all

DESPITE IT ALL, WE HAVE EACH OTHER

no matter how much hopelessness they corner us into, they cannot stop us from taking care of each other.

somewhere to start today is by helping nada, who is less than 40% of the way towards her goal.

https://gofund.me/e06f31d3

please continue to share mutual aid, whether its in your own neighborhood or across the sea. please continue to find both what's urgent and what's beautiful in the world.

Missouri is scheduled to execute Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24 for a crime he didn’t commit. Last week, after previously accepting an Alford plea that was subsequently blocked by the Missouri Supreme Court, St. Louis County Judge Bruce Hilton denied the request to vacate Marcellus’ conviction and death sentence, despite the prosecutor’s admission that the previous administration committed constitutional errors in his case. We need everyone’s help to call on Gov. Mike Parson to stop Missouri from killing an innocent man.

Earlier, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Marcellus’ conviction because he believed forensic evidence excluded Marcellus from the crime.

Then, at an Aug. 28 evidentiary hearing, his office admitted that the prior administration had committed constitutional errors that contributed to Marcellus’ unreliable conviction and death sentence, including improperly handling the evidence in his case.

Now, Judge Hilton has denied PA Bell’s motion to vacate Marcellus’ conviction and death sentence, and the Missouri Supreme Court is moving forward with the Sept. 24 execution date.

The Murujuga region, specifically, is estimated by archaeologists to be home to perhaps the highest concentration of surviving ancient rock art on the planet, with a million, or more, petrogylphs, some dating to 40,000 years before present.

In 2024, confirmation of this Aboriginal record were reported and published at Phys dot org ("Results from Juukan Gorge show 47,000 years of Aboriginal heritage was destroyed in mining blast", July 2024) and Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 338 ("A 47,000 year archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record from Juukan 2 rockshelter...", August 2024).

In the Pilbara region alone, not including the rest of the state of Western Australia, there are at least 13,000 formally documented Aboriginal/ancient cultural sites on land leased to Ri* Tint*, not including the land leased to other mining companies. Multiple other mining companies have also continued to receive approval to expand mines while knowingly obstructing, removing, or destroying Aboriginal cultural heritage sites. The B/H/P mining company "owns" over 8,000 Aboriginal sites in the Pilbara. In 2020, in the aftermath of the Juukan news, there were 536 formally-documented cultural heritage sites located within the Paraburdoo iron ore extraction hub.

Near Murujuga, the local area is also home to some of the planet's most massive gas plants, iron ore terminals, ammonium and nitrates and explosives plants, undersea gas pipelines, and what has sometimes been called the southern hemisphere's largest gas refinery.

~ ❀ ✿{x} ✿ ❀ ~

I started this on the night of the finale and I just finished it lol HERE YA GO GUYS

it’s been an amazing ride