Manifesto?
Why Neocities?
a quote from my about page
"truth is i wanted to make a tumblr theme, so i set about learning html and css. i made html files with examples of what i learned, each one styled differently with css. A few i was proud enough of, that i wanted to publish them online to share with friends, but i had trouble finding a site publisher that let me use html/css instead of templates. i finally found neocities and it was exactly what i was looking for! seeing other peoples sites i decided to make my own homepage and publish some art along with my site designs. i never ended up making the tumblr theme, but my site has grown so much!
resonating with the culture here was incidental. it turns out most everyone else here is also tired of being bombarded with ads, big companies selling their data, algorithms, subscriptions, clickbait, mindless scrolling, etc. here everyone is so genuine. people decorate their sites with whatever inspires them and make detailed pages on niche topics theyre interested in. the creativity and earnest here is refreshing"
Webmaster?
I am no webmaster. I am far from the master of my site let alone the web. I'm more of a hack (not a hacker), a tinkerer, a jack of all trades kind of guy. I'm not really a Webdesigner either. I may design my webpages, but I don't get paid for it, and I am not creating any soulless corperate sites. I'm really just throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. And honestly I love it like that; the trial and error of webdesign is such a gratifying experience!
This is no dig at anyone who calls themself a webmaster, I totally get wanting to use a term with connections to the old web, but i feel it does not describe me personally. Instead you can call me a webartist! Creation is at the core of my activities, and this site is just another one of my creations ^^ as such its as messy as my other projects! :3
Personal Webpages
as an artist who finds the process of creating to be soothing, i love that personal sites are a constant work in progress! I will always have something to tinker on, whether it be making a new page, adding to an old one, or changing an old one. the creation of a personal website is not a means to a finished product/project, but a part of the experience. no one expects your site to be "finished", its a given that a personal webapge is a changing and growing life. Some people even maintain and update their personal sites over decades!
if you are reading this and have not yet made your own personal site, i highly recommend it!!! its a very rewarding process. its ok if you dont have any ideas at first, overtime you will, and gradually your site will grow. I initially made my site to display two little webdesigns, and two years later it has grown so much!
I really appreciate neocities for making personal sites accessable for people like myself who were too intimidated and inexperienced to jump into buying a domain and webhosting, especially for something we didn't even know if we would have more than a passing interest in. The fact that neocities is free and so easy to use is amazing! I appreciate it so much I became a supporter, and im normally very reluctant to pay monthly for something I can have for free (looks at my 800 some mp3 files)
Social Media
Social media Bad, blah blah blah, you've heard it a million times. anyways here's why i abandoned conventional social media platforms
I was never inclined to join social media as a reflection of my social life, not having much as an awkward self concious teen, but I did join art sites. I joined deviantart in 2013 as a 13 yr old who was less shy than i am now, but still self concious enough not to connect my face or name to my account. I made some friends, broke up with friends, and when i switched to drawing my ocs from fan art, i felt disconnected from any community
I left deviantart for instagram around 2015/2016, following my closest friend who i had made on deviantart. By then i had grown shyer, and didnt have much sucess on instagram either. I didn't find a niche, and instagrams algorithm grew more hostile. Your timeline showed out of order, favored people who posted Every Day, favored videos, favored tiktok style reels, showed only the last three days, and shoved ads/sponsored posts everywhere. I couldn't stand it anymore and stopped posting, eventually deleting the app from my phone
I had tumblr, but never posted on it, my art not fitting into the communities that appeared active (fan art, pixel art, furry art, etc), and finding that any topic i had interest speaking in, was full of mean spirited people who had the worst faith assumtions. Discussion based internet communities tend to feature that, and a mindest of proving oneself right and morally supperior, rather than reaching an understanding together. twitter is even worse than tumblr, not even having the funny reblog chains, and only having enough text to make witty (insufferable) one liners. and of course now elon musk is the ceo
neocities is the first place i feel like i belong. People make weird, ultra specific pages about their niche interests, and while i may not share said interests, I adore the genuine passion these pages display. I would never see these earnest projects on conventional social media platforms. not only are their posting systems limited, but they favor "branding" oneself. If your interests frequently change (as mine do as an adhder) you lose almost all your follower base. if you cant create new content for your interests everyday, you cant even gain a follower base. If you dont like making or watching videos (me) you might as well go fuck yourself. But on neocities you can have a wide variety of interests, and make pages for each one! While I don't aim for a huge follower base, Neocities is the first place i feel like my work is appreciated
lets not forget that neocities is a form of social media. You can comment on peoples profiles, you have a feed of updates from people you follow, you have followers, and you can search neocities for neocitie accounts. And i appreciate that! its a great way to get started in the personal website scene without feeling like you are on an island all alone
The Internet
from social media to news, the internet landscape is a minefeild of ads. Some are abvious annoying pop-ups obscuring recipies and clickbait "articles," some are trendy influencer promoted sponsorships. Desperate for views "news" sites and influencers alike generate/spread the most controversial content rather than honest work - more views = more people to advertise to = more money (ah it was capitalism all along). this explains the 5 minute "craft"/"hack" accounts, mobile game ads, incoherent "fact" accounts, top 10 list articles, long ass recipe pages, absurd skin care routines, etc. they aren't the human desire to share information and form community, its just convoluted schemes to make money. Meaningless content is churned out just to attatch ads to. Its a bleak and soulless landscape
a common theme on neocities is nostalgia for the old web and disdain for social media/phones. While I tend to agree, I think we're missing a little nuance
I also think social media has detatched us from our communities and hobbies. instead of spending our free time developing our skills or participating in organizations, we scroll online. the lack of connection and personal acheivement in turn contribute to anxiety and depression
but lets not forget social media was created out of our desire to connect and form communities as humans. we can keep in touch with friends who are hundreds of miles away and thats wonderful! the old web was not without its faults either. it was far too easy as a kid to stumble upon beheading videos and graphic porn. not to mention hostility towards women and minorities.
i find the disdain towards phones on here to be funny honestly. phones are just small computers to me. you dont have to use social media on your phone. i have a cheap android with a 15$/month data plan and its great. i like to see what my site looks like on my phone, as such ive designed all my pages to adjust to screen size :3
all in all i think neocities is a wonderful place with wondeful creative users!