3 ms·

What's interesting to me is that, in spite of the site having been online since 1998, the site has been updated long after that - on the same platform. There ar

What's interesting to me is that, in spite of the site having been online since 1998, the site has been updated long after that - on the same platform. There are new box sets from 2009 for sale, for instance. My naive assumption is that the site works well enough, and overhauling it or moving it to another platform (even a common one, that wouldn't require as much individual upkeep) just isn't worth it. I had a professor in college with a website like this, where it was updated each year with new course material, but still used the same Netscape Composer-generated layout from the late 90s: http://meseec.ce.rit.edu/ http://meseec.ce.rit.edu/ The course material was still relevant and being updated - more things are changing than just the year. It works well enough, and I assume he has better things to do than revamp his website.

colechristensen 5y ago
I have boots that were made to a design which hasn’t changed in 90 years, 50 year old books (but really book design goes back way longer)... lots of things which haven’t changed in decades, some centuries. Why should the interchange of information have to change in style as often as the clothing of fashion aficionados? Old styles have the benefit of being done in a time where you just couldn’t do as much so the purpose of exchanging information got more focus. Fashion is something to be aware of and wary of... looking like it was designed recently is a good way to attract people, but it’s also a good way to attract people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance.
- rapind 5y ago
  OK I’m not a fan of the ad riddled sites these days, but I think we remember a different 90s if you’re saying we were more focused on function than flare back then.
- toomanybeersies 5y ago
  How many evolutions did the state of the art for bookbinding and typesetting go through before we ended up with the modern book? UX and screen design are relatively new fields. I'm certain we'll eventually reach an equilibrium, based off a few decades of learnings and experience.
- hulitu 5y ago
  > Why should the interchange of information have to change in style as often as the clothing of fashion aficionados? Because of Material Design, Rust or because of the management. Using the brain is hard so they choose the path of least resistance. > Old styles have the benefit of being done in a time where you just couldn’t do as much so the purpose of exchanging information got more focus. Yes, but, but, but now we have RAM and disk space and processor power. Why not use it ? > Fashion is something to be aware of and wary of... looking like it was designed recently is a good way to attract people, but it’s also a good way to attract people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance. The problem is that _only_ attracts people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance.
gdubs 5y ago
Oh my god, your professor’s site is amazing - those torches! There’s definitely something to be said about focusing on the goal of a site and knowing when a fancier presentation is actually necessary.
- GekkePrutser 5y ago
  True, though it might be good to update the "Best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0" bit :)
  - sgerenser 5y ago
    But what if it really does look better in Netscape 4.0?
cbfrench 5y ago
So, the world of ham radio is basically full of personal websites that all look like they came directly from 1998, many of which are routinely updated. You’ll have radio amateurs posting really sophisticated antenna and circuit designs on these lovely old webpages. A notable example is eQSL (eqsl.cc), which is one of the central sites for confirming on-air contacts; it definitely has that late-90s flair to it. The outmoded web design is truly one of the underappreciated joys and charms of the hobby.
- chasd00 5y ago
  High power amateur rocketry is the same way. It seems like everyone made their site at the same time in 1999.
- auto 5y ago
  Homebrew modular synthesizer websites are the same way. Straight out of 1998, but literal gold mines in terms of domain knowledge and circuit diagrams. Here's a pretty run-of-the-mill example: https://www.elby-designs.com/webtek/cgs/cgs.htm https://www.elby-designs.com/webtek/cgs/cgs.htm
- fencepost 5y ago
  Isn't there some provision for low bandwidth data transfer in ham radio? Are the sites in that arena intentionally kept friendly to that kind of use?
  - viraptor 5y ago
    You wouldn't access internet over ham. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet exists, but you're not really supposed to send encrypted data over ham networks, so practical use is limited and you wouldn't be accessing those pages.
Izkata 5y ago
> the site has been updated long after that - on the same platform. There are new box sets from 2009 for sale, for instance. Look ma, no CSS! The Dr. Quinn Mega-Set released October 28, 2008. The Dr. Quinn Slimline set released October 20, 2009.
- toomanybeersies 5y ago
 That's still cutting edge in the world of email formatting.
 - Izkata 5y ago
 Not really, "style=" attributes work.
duxup 5y ago
Man I remember loving Netscape Composer. It was my go to editor at one point.

colechristensen 5y ago

I have boots that were made to a design which hasn’t changed in 90 years, 50 year old books (but really book design goes back way longer)... lots of things which haven’t changed in decades, some centuries. Why should the interchange of information have to change in style as often as the clothing of fashion aficionados? Old styles have the benefit of being done in a time where you just couldn’t do as much so the purpose of exchanging information got more focus. Fashion is something to be aware of and wary of... looking like it was designed recently is a good way to attract people, but it’s also a good way to attract people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance.

rapind 5y ago
OK I’m not a fan of the ad riddled sites these days, but I think we remember a different 90s if you’re saying we were more focused on function than flare back then.
toomanybeersies 5y ago
How many evolutions did the state of the art for bookbinding and typesetting go through before we ended up with the modern book? UX and screen design are relatively new fields. I'm certain we'll eventually reach an equilibrium, based off a few decades of learnings and experience.
hulitu 5y ago
> Why should the interchange of information have to change in style as often as the clothing of fashion aficionados? Because of Material Design, Rust or because of the management. Using the brain is hard so they choose the path of least resistance. > Old styles have the benefit of being done in a time where you just couldn’t do as much so the purpose of exchanging information got more focus. Yes, but, but, but now we have RAM and disk space and processor power. Why not use it ? > Fashion is something to be aware of and wary of... looking like it was designed recently is a good way to attract people, but it’s also a good way to attract people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance. The problem is that _only_ attracts people only interested in surface appeal instead of substance.

gdubs 5y ago

Oh my god, your professor’s site is amazing - those torches! There’s definitely something to be said about focusing on the goal of a site and knowing when a fancier presentation is actually necessary.

GekkePrutser 5y ago
True, though it might be good to update the "Best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0" bit :)
- sgerenser 5y ago
  But what if it really does look better in Netscape 4.0?

cbfrench 5y ago

So, the world of ham radio is basically full of personal websites that all look like they came directly from 1998, many of which are routinely updated. You’ll have radio amateurs posting really sophisticated antenna and circuit designs on these lovely old webpages. A notable example is eQSL (eqsl.cc), which is one of the central sites for confirming on-air contacts; it definitely has that late-90s flair to it. The outmoded web design is truly one of the underappreciated joys and charms of the hobby.

chasd00 5y ago
High power amateur rocketry is the same way. It seems like everyone made their site at the same time in 1999.
auto 5y ago
Homebrew modular synthesizer websites are the same way. Straight out of 1998, but literal gold mines in terms of domain knowledge and circuit diagrams. Here's a pretty run-of-the-mill example: https://www.elby-designs.com/webtek/cgs/cgs.htm https://www.elby-designs.com/webtek/cgs/cgs.htm
fencepost 5y ago
Isn't there some provision for low bandwidth data transfer in ham radio? Are the sites in that arena intentionally kept friendly to that kind of use?
- viraptor 5y ago
  You wouldn't access internet over ham. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPRNet exists, but you're not really supposed to send encrypted data over ham networks, so practical use is limited and you wouldn't be accessing those pages.

Izkata 5y ago

> the site has been updated long after that - on the same platform. There are new box sets from 2009 for sale, for instance. Look ma, no CSS! The Dr. Quinn Mega-Set released October 28, 2008. The Dr. Quinn Slimline set released October 20, 2009.

toomanybeersies 5y ago
That's still cutting edge in the world of email formatting.
- Izkata 5y ago
  Not really, "style=" attributes work.

duxup 5y ago

Man I remember loving Netscape Composer. It was my go to editor at one point.