c/abandoned-web-finds

Just realized I was using an old browser game guide backwards for 2 years

I've been playing this browser game from 2008 called Neptune's Garden for ages, and I always followed the fan-made guide on Angelfire that said to sell all your fish early. Last week I got bored and clicked through to page 2 of the guide, and it turns out page 1 was a joke the creator wrote in 2011, the real advice was on page 3. I wasted probably 300 hours grinding for shells I could've had in a month. Anyone else ever open an ancient guide and find out the whole community had moved past it?

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robert275•1d ago

The old webring on my bookmarks finally kicked it

I kept a link to a webring from 2003 that connected fan sites for a dead MMORPG. Clicked it this morning and it just times out now. For years that thing was my little time capsule, way more reliable than the wayback machine because it had all the broken quirks intact. What finally got me to admit it's gone is I went looking for a specific guide on that ring about crafting armor, and not even a cached version exists. I'm kinda sad, but also it made me realize I was holding onto a site that nobody else cared about. Does anyone else keep tabs on a dead corner of the net just because it used to be your hangout spot?

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richard_roberts80•3d ago

Overstock.com still has that same grainy photo of the same table lamp from 2004

Was looking for a cheap floor lamp last week and landed on Overstock. Noticed one of those generic brass table lamps in the clearance section. I swear I remember seeing that exact same photo back in 2004 when I was shopping for my first apartment. Same bad lighting, same weird shadow in the corner. The site still updates with new stock, but that one listing never changed. So I clicked it. Still says "Limited quantity" and still has 3 reviews from 2006. I almost bought it just out of respect. Anybody else got a product page that feels like a time capsule?

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skylergrant•3d ago

Found a working 1997 cat breeder directory in Tampa

Last month I stumbled on a site for a Tampa cat breeder that clearly hadnt been touched since 1997. The domain still had a working guestbook and a visitor counter stuck at 1,204, plus a FAQ page that promised answers within 72 hours by mail. I emailed the address just for fun and got a bounce back, but the whole thing felt like opening a time capsule. Anyone else got a dead old site that somehow still loads with its original features intact?

c/abandoned-web-finds

Just realized I was using an old browser game guide backwards for 2 years

The old webring on my bookmarks finally kicked it

Overstock.com still has that same grainy photo of the same table lamp from 2004

Found a working 1997 cat breeder directory in Tampa

A guy on an old forum told me to use wayback machine favorites, I ignored him for 2 years

That old flash game site from 2003 still somehow runs on my laptop

Paid $80 for a domain name that's still live but useless, is keeping it a hobby or a mistake?

Found a 2004 forum still hosting file attachments after 20 years

That diet forum from 2003 still has my old posts and it's weirdly sad

Best week of 2012 on a dead forum full of strangers

That old 1997 web ring site about extinct birds is still going

The weather site from 1998 that still updates every hour somehow

My talk with a retired sysadmin made me see dead sites differently

Took me 3 days to figure out a 2004 forum's verification image

Talking to my mom about a 2003 fan forum made me see it different

The 2004 weather site that still predicts my weekend better than the apps

The GardenWeb forums from 2004 are still up and somehow still have the best advice

That 2008 flash game site ate 14 bucks of my allowance and still works

Found an old IRC channel from 1999 still running on a private server

Stumbled on a Geocities fansite for a TV show that ended 15 years ago

Found a geocities page from 1998 about how to clean a VCR head, still works

The debate on old web design: CSS table layouts vs. flexbox...

Found a forum post from 2003 that perfectly answers my 2024 question

Pro tip: that old Geocities site about making chainmail still works

Found an old web comic site from 2001 still running on a dusty server