HTML/HTTP/URL (1993-ish) was a massive win over Gopher. It later turned bad with way too much complexity introduced in a symbiosis between Google and a relativ

HTML/HTTP/URL (1993-ish) was a massive win over Gopher. It later turned bad with way too much complexity introduced in a symbiosis between Google and a relatively small group of prolific key web standards people. It was a variation of embrace, extend, extinguish, but with a combination of open standards and sheer complexity.