Post #3346095

2026-06-13 15:44 UTC

It's difficult not to go down the rabbithole of "What we need is a really really good well-written HTML/CSS tutorial, I'll go write one" rabbithole, or "What if there was a lovely template that worked on desktop or mobile and was commented out the wazoo with an open invitation to use it" junk, those things already exist, when what the internet REALLY needs is * a modern WYSIWYG website maker * that is free * that normal people can use * that everybody knows about, either because it came with your computer or someone told you about it * that comes with a bunch of free hosts pre-programmed in * that the AVERAGE PERSON (IE not anyone who'll ever read this post) can use to make a website in an evening or two * (EDIT because I know FOSS people are reading this) That has a good name, not the worst most ridiculous fucking unpronounceable garbage name you've ever heard of, a name that you'd be comfortable or even proud saying in public or on television, don't call it KWebExtruder or Martin'sKoolHTMLPooper or xhngthfffrrr or some shit like that If this sounds bananas it's because you didn't use this exact program in the late 90's

Replies (9)

@SarraceniaWilds@sunny.garden 2026-06-13 15:46

@ifixcoinops@retro.social yes i want that

Open ##3346152
@ClaireH@blahaj.zone 2026-06-13 15:54

@ifixcoinops@retro.social how common are free hosts nowadays anyway?

Open ##3346153
@reb@retro.social 2026-06-13 15:54

@ifixcoinops@retro.social I think you've highlighted a barrier to this being made before: the people who could create suxh a thing have in general not been exposed to the average person's computer knowledge in a looooong time, if ever

Open ##3346157
@twobiscuits@graz.social 2026-06-13 16:28

@ifixcoinops@retro.social which exact program was that in the late 90's?

Open ##3346163
@xan@xantronix.social 2026-06-13 16:28

@ifixcoinops@retro.social 👏 BRING 👏 BACK 👏 AOLPRESS oh and AOLserver too while we're at it

Open ##3346176
@barcode@mastodon.ie 2026-06-13 16:46

@ifixcoinops@retro.social 🤝

Open ##3346177
@amsomniac@mastodon.mit.edu 2026-06-13 16:59

@ifixcoinops@retro.social I miss amaya https://www.w3.org/Amaya/ that was the last good one

Open ##3346178
@ajroach42@retro.social 2026-06-13 17:00

@ifixcoinops@retro.social I'd add that, at least from what I can recall, people were more willing to tinker in the late 90s and early 00s. I knew not tech people who were willing to experiment and see what would happen. That sense of safety and optimism will also need to be rebuilt.

Open ##3346179
@tay@tech.lgbt 2026-06-13 17:09

@ifixcoinops@retro.social ok i as a whole agree with the sentiment, but i don't get what the end goal is here, because like like, those original programs, do still exist, and do still work. my grandfather maintained the website he built in the late 90s/early 00s up into the mid 2010s, using the same copy of FrontPage, just on a Windows 10 laptop instead of a Windows 98/XP desktop. and that site still works, in the latest firefox & chrome. my father built websites in 2010 using kompozer, which still works, I built a simple site in it in like 2020-something, and sure you'd probably disqualify it on the seemingly petty 'worst most ridiculous fucking unpronounceable garbage name' criteria, which i don't know how many people really care. i mean 'dreamweaver' is a pretty woo-woo name but people still say it. ok, and admittedly, these tools do not use modern standards, they don't work well on say, an iPhone or whatever, but they work.

Open ##3346181