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I miss older html internet (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Ignoring the security implications, I miss kb large old raw html websites that loaded instantly on DSL internet. Nowadays shit is too fancy because hardware allows that, but I feel we're just constantly running into more bugs first and then worry about them later.

Edit: I've thought more about it, and I think I just missed the simplicity of the internet back then. There's just too much bloat these days with ad trackers and misinformation. I kinda forgot just how bright and eye jarring most old UIs were lol.

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[-] [email protected] 90 points 2 years ago

You know what I miss? When information was condensed instead of spread out to insert more ads. When software willingly gave you all the options you could ever need instead of removing most of them because "people might get confused". When website took up the entire screen instead of a mobile wide strip in the middle because "it can be scary for people".

Fuck everyone who keeps lowering the bar of tech literacy just to appeal to the general public.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

I literally have a vertical monitor to avoid the middle strip of text problem. It especially sucks for higher resolution monitors, it just feels like so much wasted space on the left and right side of the article.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

The most used e-commerce platform on my country does this for the map for in store pick ups when selecting where the package is sent. The map is basically a long vertical strip and the actual map area occupies maybe 10-5% of a 1440p monitor.

Drives me nuts every time I have to use it

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Click next after each paragraph of the story so I can load more ads! And by paragraph, I mean one tag per sentence.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago

I miss the time when UI was utilitarian. None of that rounded corners and fancy themes nonsense. Function over form.

[-] [email protected] 68 points 2 years ago

Not that unpopular an opinion I bet.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 2 years ago

Google thinks otherwise :(

[-] [email protected] 18 points 2 years ago

Unfortunately, Google is also complicit in this

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[-] [email protected] 51 points 2 years ago

Ignoring the security implications.

There are literally none with basic html.

It's when you started adding shit like Shockwave, javascript and the like, all massive security holes, things got dicey.

Plain old HTML, none what so ever.

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[-] [email protected] 41 points 2 years ago

My friend, enjoy.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I was expecting this motherfucking website

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Thank you

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[-] [email protected] 36 points 2 years ago

I mean, there are basically no security implications for plain html.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Oh, I just thought older websites were less secure. But I guess now that I think about it, you only got viruses if you clicked on the sketchy links yourself.

[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 years ago

Most of the issue with loading times are the billion ads and trackers. There are sites I visit that load instantly with Adblock on but extremely slow without it.

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[-] [email protected] 32 points 2 years ago

https://motherfuckingwebsite.com/

And the drivatives: http://bettermotherfuckingwebsite.com/ https://bestmotherfucking.website/ https://perfectmotherfuckingwebsite.com/

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[-] [email protected] 29 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Find the right webring, and you’d hit a treasure trove of content. Dig a little deeper and find something even more interesting. The pre-corporate takeover internet.

We talk about enshittification ruining everything, but Facebook and Web 2.0 started ripping out the heart of the internet. Everyone went along with it, and corporate claws sunk in. The fun internet got pushed aside for the ad-friendly internet.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 2 years ago

Speaking as a web developer - sorry.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

No need. As someone who understands web development enough to know I know nothing about web development, it makes sense to me why the internet is what it is today. It's all about establishing a brand and identity now so doing extra things can make you stand out.

While YouTube has gotten more sluggish over the years, I do think some recent changes like ambient mode have been pretty cool. I also support reasonable hardware requirements because things get obsolete over time.

I guess I just miss the simplicity of early internet browsing more compared to all the bloat that exists today.

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[-] [email protected] 21 points 2 years ago

There isn't a day I don't think about how annoying the modern web is. Fancy crap, GDPR, a trillion frameworks weighing 1mb+ each, a ton of useless extra info for SEO and whatnot. All to see the pure information I initially seeked saying "yes". Which could've been a 1kb site.

[-] [email protected] 43 points 2 years ago

The GDPR is not annoying. The fact that it is necessary is annoying.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago

Truetrue. Yet it still doesn't serve much of a protection service. What should we care a about a tracking-cookie when most sites use multiple tracking-scripts anyway? Or force you to either accept or pay. Or simply deny entry at all.

I just need another plugin to block another thing...

[-] [email protected] 19 points 2 years ago

Right there with you buddy.

Craigslist and McMaster are so efficient..

[-] [email protected] 17 points 2 years ago

I miss kb large old raw html websites that loaded instantly on DSL internet

Instantly? We had very different DSL connections 😳

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

It depends on when you had it. I had a 4Mb connection when most people were still on dialup, and it flew.

[-] [email protected] 15 points 2 years ago

What would stop an individual or company nowadays to build a pure html website? Isn't this what a "static site" is?

Isn't this what HUGO and Jekyll produce, only a little bit prettier?

[-] [email protected] 14 points 2 years ago

Nothing. Warren Buffetts company Berkshire Hathaway has the most simple business's site of all time.

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/

The fault is a combination of execs wanting a slick site, marketing wanting a highly SEO scoring page, and Devs wanting to play with web frameworks.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago

Hey, they even have an old-school tracker-free static advertisement image on that page. Now that's a classic.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I’d love to know how much they paid for it. Even part of the “message from warren” page too. Must have been a pretty penny. I bet a lot of pages would love to do static links in exchange for upfront fees similar to it.

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[-] [email protected] 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I just learned about https://neocities.org/, seems up your alley

[-] [email protected] 12 points 2 years ago

Try this: https://makefrontendshitagain.party/

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Also wiby.me. (hit "surprise me")

[-] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago

I instantly hit the Firefox Reader Mode button or turn on Brave's accessibility reader. They cut all the crap out of most websites. Bonus is they often remove paywalls.

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 years ago

Neocities!

[-] [email protected] 9 points 2 years ago

This web thing is okay, but it will never replace Gopher.

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[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Maybe you'll appreciate https://spacehey.com/

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

Everything is a transpiled Rract SPA loaded with trackers ..want to read your neighbors blog? Suck these hundreds trackers ...

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

You can still use old Gmail. I do. It's fast. It has no ads. It's amazing.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 2 years ago

Enjoy it while you still can.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 2 years ago

I like using email client software instead. It just uses Gmail as a backend and the inbox looks however I want it to look.

Plus, it works while offline on the train or with Amtrak's shitty WiFi

[-] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Who cares about performance when you can have performance

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this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2023
364 points (94.4% liked)

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