Hello, Internet! Is there anybody out there? Is the internet dead? It feels like I'm always using the same handful of websites these days. X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Instagram... really, it's just half a dozen or so, and that's basically it. Honestly? I'm tired of them all.

Where are all the fun, amazing websites I used to stumble upon in my youth, during the early days of home internet? Some are still around; many are gone forever. But more than that, why doesn’t anyone make sites like that anymore?

Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, having a personal or fan/interest website was just something most internet enthusiasts did. Social media? That always felt more for the “normies”, the folks who stayed away from the web until the self-promoting fellas in charge decided we all needed smartphones.