Why an Old Website

This website is self-hosted at home. It was a lot of fun to set up with the help of modern AI, but the idea is very old-school. It took me back to times when teenage me discovered the wonders of HTML and would publish pages in hosting services of the likes of GeoCities.

But today, while my previously dormant geek side is having a blast, that's not the only reason why I'm doing it. There are actually far more important reasons why I'm keeping this and you too should publish and keep your own website.

On the surface

• Websites look different from each other, and that's cool! Aren't you tired of the same styles everywhere? You can shape yours any way you like;

• You get less trolls and hate. You may not even provide any means of contact if you don't wish;

• You can call yourself webmaster.

On a deeper level

• Different websites reflect the variety that exists in the real world, while modern interfaces all optimize for the same simplicity and absolute lack of friction. Design and creativity suffer from this. But our brains also suffer from the chronic lack of friction. In the physical world we've been removing obstacles relentlessly to the point of not having to even walk anywhere if we don't want to. We've also done it with computer interfaces. They've been extremely optimized so that you save as much as possible on eye movement and clicks/swipes/taps. The markets put on the incentives for this. But if you're not trying to sell anything, be creative with your medium, not only with your message (get out of FB and try Neocities).

• Frankly the trolling problem happens in big networks exactly because their interfaces and API's are well known and streamlined. Going to troll on your website with a unique interface requires more effort and that's why it won't happen as much. I know it will feel weird at first to get no readership, if you're used to have one. But hey, the ones you do get are the ones really interested.

• Calling yourself webmaster also means that no one can "cancel" you. Platforms come and go, but the web is still open and wide, so far, and it feels even like a moral duty to populate it in a decentralized way. For the purposes of reaching audiences, there's nothing stopping you from POSSE'ing like a true modern WEBMASTER, and over time, bring those interested closer to you.

Conclusion, for now...

I'm glad I have lately learned, or remembered, that the old web still exists, with modern twists. Some time ago, I was keeping a wordpress blog about fitness, paying much more for it and struggling to make it look acceptable to no avail (never learned wordpress specifics!). This is much, much more fun to me. And you get a little bit more of me when you visit, even before reading a word. If you absolutely hate my 2000's minimalistic design, I've recently implemented an RSS feed! Wow I'm old! :D

Now, if you don't want to set up servers or anything like I did, again, check out Neocities, create your page and share it with me!

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